I'm standing in the ring in front of a capacity crowd, looking out at the sea of faces chanting for me and my partner. The shouts of DX are rampant, and I feed off that energy. I go and get the mic for our promo spot, then run around the ring a few times to keep pumping this crowd up more, more.. MORE! I'm running, running, yet I'm not in the ring now, I'm in the gym and I'm on a treadmill, my feet pounding down on the machine as it speeds up and I know I must keep on running, can't stop or else he's gonna get me, so I run and even when my side develops a stitch I can't stop; even when my breath comes in hot, heavy pants, I can't stop. I must run... everything is a blur, the room seems to be spinning, I can't look up, can't stop... My legs cramp up and I fall off the machine and my only source of safety... the lights in the gym dim and now I'm in an empty room, save for the lights that are now blood red; there is only one door and I'm not near it... I've got no place to go, no where to run to, nowhere to hide... the door opens and they both enter the room, one larger than the next... I can feel the heat of the hellfire and brimstone as he leads the way- setting the room ablaze in flames while doing so... He's laughing at my pain, from the cramps, the heavy hot air not filling my lungs, he's laughing at me - his face in a twisted grimace that must be a smile from the Big Red Machine... yet its not him that has me cowering as much as the other one behind him... that tattooed face and horrible stench.. I know my time is up now as he half slithers, and half crawls towards my body; his mouth is filled with bits of gooey worms- dripping blood and guts all over the floor... he reaches in his pocket and pulls out another fresh handful, shoving the wiggling creatures into his gaping maw - chewing them slowly and with obvious relish... I'm more than repulsed, yet he inches closer to me and there is no where to hide as he opens up his mouth to spit those disgusting, half-chewed creatures all over my face in into my screaming mouth...

I sit bolt upright in the bed, my heart hammering, my body perspiring heavily while I pant and try to keep from yelling out. My stomach gives a sickening lurch as the room begins to spin. Bits of the nightmare flit into my consciousness with every breath I take. The final image that woke me is the same one that fills my insides with revulsion, my stomach turns again and decides my next course of action. I can't fight the inevitable.

I toss the covers off me and run for the bathroom; pushing open the door, flicking the light on and running for the toilet, barely having enough time to lift the seat up before my stomach begins to void itself of the contents within to the water below. My hair drops like a curtain to hide my face as I kneel before the porcelain god, gripping the sides tightly, hanging on for dear life. Wave after wave of nausea washes over me as I continue to retch loudly.

In between the waves, I hear footsteps enter the room but I can't look up. I've now emptied my stomach of anything and everything inside, yet I'm still vomiting up bile. The spasms rack my body and I'm wishing it would just end.

I feel hands pulling my hair back and holding it behind my neck, then one hand places itself on my forehead as another spasm has me leaning forward, almost forcing the last of the bile and acid to exit my body. I spit hard into the water, then I'm left with dry heaves.

He holds me that way for a few minutes, calmly pressing his hand tightly while keeping my hair out of the way until the last of the spasms calm. I hear his voice now, soothing and quiet. "Shh. It's okay. Take a breath, Shawn."

I do so and slump against the toilet, the porcelain cool against my skin. Hunter releases me and reaches over to flush the stench away, allowing clean water to fill within the bowl. He gets up and I see him walk to the sink, take a washcloth and one of the plastic cups from the stash by the sink. The water runs briefly and then he returns to my side.

I haven't moved, and I'm still panting like a marathon runner, my body spent and my energy drained. He perches on the edge of the tub, absentmindedly pushing the curtain out of his way and hands me the cup. "Rinse your mouth out."

I take the cup with one shaky hand, sip the cool liquid and swish it around a few times before turning and spitting it out in the toilet. I repeat the action a few times until the sour taste has left my mouth. I dump the remaining water into the bowl then flush again. Hunter takes the cup from my weak grasp then wipes the cool cloth over my face. I sigh at the tenderness of the touch and the feeling of the grime being wiped away. My eyes close and I can't stop the shudder that travels down my spine.

"Are you finished?" He asks me and I can hear the concern in his voice.

I wait a few moments, concentrating on my stomach. It rolls a few more times but decides now that it's going to settle down. I open my eyes slowly and look at him. "I think so."

He puts the cloth and cup down by the sink then helps me to my feet from where I had been crouching. He pats me on the back once as I pass him to return to the bedroom. I walk slowly back to my bed and perch just on the end of it. I feel a bit better after the experience yet I'm exhausted as if I had just wrestled an Iron Man match.

Hunter comes into the room turning off the bathroom light and picks up my bag, setting it down on the bed next to me. "You might want to change out of those clothes."

I look down at myself and realize just how damp my clothes were. I must have had fever dreams and sweat buckets last night. I grimace and reach for the bag, unzipping it carefully. Pushing past my dirty tights, I locate a fresh change of clothing. "What time is it?" I'm aware that I have no clue as to how long I might have been sleeping.

"Just a bit after 3 am," he answers me and goes to sit on his bed.

Now that I am awake, I realize that the antihistamine must have worn off as my nose is starting to close back up. I sniff tiredly, and attempt to pull my sweater over my head, wanting nothing more than clean, dry clothes and to be back asleep.

Hunter watches me briefly before coming to offer his assistance, helping me ease my arms out of the sleeves and pulls the fabric over my head. He drops the dirty garment on the floor and then strips me of my T-shirt. "Do you want to shower now, or later?"

"Later," I advise him, knowing I didn't have enough energy to handle a shower right at the moment. My whole body ached, and now that I was partially undressed, I was feeling quite cold. My headache was returning and goosebumps now covered my exposed flesh. I reach down and undo my belt, pulling the leather free from the straps of my jeans and allowing it to join the rest of my clothes at the floor.

Hunter waits patiently, ready to offer assistance again if needed; but I'm able to unbutton and unzip my jeans on my own. I pull them down then step out of them before sitting back down on my bed, clad now only in my boxers and socks. I'm too ill to care as I now remove the remaining undergarments and change into clean boxers. Hunter has seen me nude plenty of times in the locker room; as I have him; so there is no embarrassment present. I forgo the socks for the moment choosing to put on a pair of sweatpants I had brought along to sleep in.

As I'm dressing, I'm fighting the urges my body is sending me. It wants to just collapse into a heap on the floor and curl into a ball. One of the urges I can't combat is the returning urge to sneeze, and I have to stifle two of them into my shoulder as my hands are somewhat occupied at the moment with putting my pants back on.

Hunter goes to the dresser and comes back with the complimentary box of tissues and pulls two out of the top, handing them over to me. I take them from him and blow my nose as he goes and gets the wastebasket from the bathroom and places it next to the bed. "You need any more help?"

I toss the tissues away, and pick up the T-shirt, unfolding it carefully. "No, but I'm gonna need more of that antihistamine." I take two more tissues out of the box and try to blow my nose again as it is quite stuffy. I rub it dry and the new tissues join the others in the bottom of the wastebasket.

He fetches the pills and this time pulls out a bottle of water from his bag. I pull the T-shirt over my head and shoulders, sticking my arms in the sleeves, each one feeling like it weighed over 500 lbs. My joints ached, my muscles were not cooperating completely and I was exhausted.

He hands me the pills and the water. "Don't drink too much too fast or you're gonna end up back in there," he nods towards the bathroom with his head. I take the pills with a small sip of water, then another few sips before handing him the bottle back. I start to turn to head back to my bed but am quickly stopped by the urgency to sneeze again. I grab for the tissue box as my eyes flutter closed and my jaw drops open. I grab a few and bury my nose within the paper folds. "Hehh-KEHHTchhhh! Hehh-EKKTshhhh!"

"Gesundheit."

"Thanks," I weakly blow my nose again and sigh. I turn to my bed and realize that my side of it is damp from the nightmare. Hunter follows my gaze with his eyes. "Your fever broke last night." he advises me with a small smile. He pats his bed with one hand as I toss the tissues away. "Come on, Shawn. Back to bed with you."

I'm too tired and sick to argue as he turns down the covers. I grab the tissue box and a couple clean hankies from my bag, placing both on the table between the beds. It's a relief to finally slide beneath the clean sheets and I expel a tired breath. Hunter moves the wastebasket next to the bed before climbing in the other side of it and pulling the covers up over both of us. "You gonna need anything else?"

"No," I yawn tiredly, already half-asleep. He gives me a brief hug as he reaches across my body to turn the light out. "Sleep well, Shawn."

"Night, Hunter." I respond and snuggle into the bed, his presence both warming and comforting to me as I slide back into a deep, dreamless sleep.