He awoke to something that confused him greatly, he was in Lab 7, but not as he last recalled. Everything was still intact, no bodies, but scientists. Everyone was still doing as they normally do, every floor was mopped, every employee was gaunt, their rinky-dink soda fountain was surrounded by The Last Hope, hell, he even had a pack of smokes resting on his desk by his action figure. Once all this set in, he realised he was being shaken awake.
"Hey, are you alright? You seemed like you were having a really nasty dream."
He glanced up to meet a pair of bright red eyes in little wire glasses. It was Christmas, Christine, his girlfriend for a good while, now.
"I'm fine," he replied, "Just a bad dream, I guess…." He stood upward, running a hand through his hair before lighting a cigarette.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Not yet, just give me a bit to destress," With that, he swished the cigarette over to the corner of his mouth, and planted a small kiss on her temple. This gesture brought an expression he could only describe as adorable before she spoke again.
"Alright, but I'm holding you to it. We can't all read minds and know exactly what's up."
He'd give a smirk with a single breath of laughter, her concern always had such a warmth.
Warmth…..heat...hot winds….he felt it all briefly as he took a long drag, ashing it on the tray that sat comfortably on his desk. He could see it all now, but all besides these sensations was quickly giving way to the fog of a woken mind.
"I saw the lab...it wasn't pretty. Something went wrong somewhere, no, someone royally screwed it up. Whole damn place went up like a powder keg. I saw some things I don't think I'd be able to handle in real life...nothing in the Psychic Ward came close to that sort of thing."
Christmas remained silent, she had no idea what to say, the whole thing seemed so unreal. In an attempt to say something personal rather than something professional, she gently embraced him from the side, sighing some. "Look at it this way: it was just a dream, and you had the luxury of waking up."
((A/N: Kani here! Chapter Two is finally where I'm happy with it. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the sort of "Writer's High" I got as my hands flew on this little keyboard here. Still very open to suggestions on Brain Drain's name, so don't be a stranger! Message and comment!))
