Goosebumps littered my arms and legs. My teeth chattered against my will. I walked down the bare hallway, little light guiding my way. Its well into the night by now. I feel so fucking sick. My body is aching, I can hardly walk.. I'm just so out of it. Everything was a blur as I stumbled into the nurse's office, hardly making it to the bed before I collapsed on it, blacking out.

Weight pressed down against my abdomen. My breathing was labored and an immense heat suffocated my body. Where am I? Piercing red eyes glared down at me. Ben's voice rang out, calling my name. I glanced in front of me. A girl who looked almost identical to me had him pinned to the ground. "ROSALIE!" The girl caught a knife in mid air. The piercing red eyes leaned in closer to me. A man's voice chuckled. "KILL HIM!" Everything happened so fast. I shoved my hand upwards as hard as I could, trying to break free. I heard a sharp crack, and time stopped.

"NO! STOP! Don't hurt him!" I screamed. Hands grabbed my shoulders, jolting me awake. The nurse looked down at me, her eyes wide. My head throbbed terribly, my throat hoarse. Goosebumps and fatigue overtook my body. "W-where am I?" I breathed. White walls surrounded me.

She leaned back, sitting in her chair. "Summer, you're in the infirmary. Don't you remember stumbling in here? Now that you're awake, tell me some of your symptoms."

I took a deep breath but a terrible sharp pain made me cringe. The nurse took note of that. "I'm freezing.. uhh.. I'm really tired, and uhh.. I can't seem to catch my breath. I'm also really confused and out of it." She took my temperature, my blood pressure, and my heart rate. By the time she had finished, fatigue was consuming me.

"From the looks of it sweetheart, you have bacterial pneumonia. We don't have the proper antibiotics for this illness so you might be in here for a while. For now, get some rest. If you need anything, hit the little blue button on the wall behind your bed." She got up and began to walk to her office but she stopped suddenly. "Ms. Minami, if you are to have another nightmare or any hallucinations, feel free to hit that button and I will assist you."

The nurse walked back into her office and shut the door before I could thank her. So, bacterial pneumonia huh? This is a first. I feel horrible. Maybe I should just go to sleep..

My head throbbed slightly. A boy stood a few yards in front of me, staring with defeat in his eyes. The man next to me grinned. "Kill him." His voice was menacing. Almost instantaneously, I sprung into action. The boy gasped as I ran past him, slicing his arm with the blade of my knife. What is going on? I know I'm supposed to kill this boy, but who is the man in the red giving me orders? I guess it doesn't matter right now.

The guy avoided my attacks, deflecting them easily. I was able to get a few good punches and kicks in. A frustrated growl escaped my lips as he knocked the knife out of my hand, pinning me to the ground. "Summer! Listen to me! You have to wake up! Please!" He cried out. That voice. I know it well. Why can't I remember? His grip faltered, allowing me to flip us over so I was on top. I retrieved the knife, holding it down to his cheek drawing blood. His skin in so smooth, and flawless. His rich brown eyes were teary. Wait.. Ben?

"Finish him!" The man in red yelled. My hand lifted the knife up in the air.

Ben shook his head. "Please Summer.." What is going on! I can't stop myself. Why am I doing this!? No, I can't do this, I love him! I felt tears stream down my cheeks as I thrusted the knife down to his heart.

I screamed in terror, thrashing around. I killed him! I killed him! The only person I had left. He is dead because of me! Ben, no! "Ms. Minami! Wake up!" My eyes shot open. Everything is spinning in circles. As things started to calm down, I noticed light shinning in through the window. The nurse looked down at me sadly. "If there was a medication for nightmares, you'd be the first to get it." She sighed, walking back to her desk.

"They are strange nightmares. Everything seems so real. But.. I just don't understand." My voice was raspy.

The nurse tapped her chin with a pen, looking at the ceiling. "You know, some psychologists believe dreams can be a warning or message of future events. Others believe they mean absolutely nothing. I am more of a believer with the latter. Summer, whatever it is you are dreaming of, I am almost positive it means nothing. You need to focus on getting better. Pay no attention to these hallucinations. The antibiotics will arrive in a few weeks. So until then, enjoy your time off and get some well deserved rest." She smiled. I nodded, turning on my side to face the window. I could feel sleep luring me in once again. Just as I started to really fall asleep, the door slammed open.

"Nurse! Help us!" That's Kate. "He was pale all morning and on our way to breakfast, he collapsed!" The nurse ran over. As I turned to look, my heart sank. Ben leaned heavily on Keith, his eyes closed. "His breathing has been irregular, he kept saying he was cold despite the heat.. um.. and he also said he was really tired for no reason." Keith lead him to the bed next to mine. Kate looked to me, gasping. "S-Summer? What are you doing in here!? I've been worried sick. What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Keith stood next to Kate, worry written on his face. "She has bacterial pneumonia. And from the looks of it, Mr. Natsuya has it as well. You two need to sterilize your dorms as well as possible and wash your hands. We don't want an epidemic spreading. I'll take care of these two. Now hurry, class will start soon." The nurse shooed both of them out. She walked to Ben, taking his temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. My eyelids became too heavy to keep open. And before I knew it, I was out of it.


"STOP! Please stop!" I cried out. Hands grabbed my shoulders. My eyes shot open. Tears fell down my cheeks. I breathed harshly, unable to catch my breath, looking up at the nurse. She looked at me sadly, taking my heart rate.

When she finished, she sighed. "Summer, these nightmares are raising you heart rate to dangerous levels. You need to calm down and breathe. They are just dreams." I nodded, still breathing shallowly. She went back to her office.

I turned to Ben. He stared at me sadly. "I'm sorry for waking you up." I said quietly, hardly able to get the words out. My skin crawled thinking back to my second dream. He isn't dead. I didn't kill him..

He smiled, his eyes heavy. "Don't worry about it." He croaked. "How long have you been getting nightmares?"

That's a good question. Why have I been getting them all of a sudden? "Just recently. The nurse just thinks it is my fever talking. That is just a dream." Ben lay there for a few seconds, thinking.

"It's never just a dream." He trailed off, falling asleep. Why does him saying that scare the hell out of me? If those dreams were 'warnings', I don't know if I want to live to see them. They were terrifying and it wasn't even real. But that's not possible, right? There is no way my nightmares can tell that future. That's some weird fantasy shit. No. I refuse to believe that those terrible things could ever happen to me. I mean, why would they happen? Who would want to kill Ben? Why would I take orders to kill Ben from someone I don't even know?

It makes no sense. Yea, I'm not buying it.

But I'm afraid to go to sleep. I don't want to see those things again. These hallucinations or nightmares, whatever they are, are somewhat dangerous. The nurse said if my heart rate raises too high again, I might be in trouble. I should just stay awake for a while..


"How long has it been since you've last slept?" Her voice was distant, requiring all of my concentration. How long has it been?

"Three days." The sound of my voice was hoarse and crackled. She doesn't understand. I don't want to deal with those dreams. They are driving me over the edge. To think events such as those could happen to me is scary.

The nurse sighed. "Sooner or later, your brain is going to shut down. You'll go into a coma. Your condition will get worse. It already is. You are supposed to be getting rest. The antibiotics will be here within a few days. Please just try to get some sleep." She patted my head, turning off the little lamp by my bedside. Ben lay still, his breaths calm and steady. It must be nice to sleep so soundly.

Maybe it's time to actually try and sleep. If I think of something nice before falling asleep, maybe I'll dream about it as well.

There was this one time, I remember, when my mom was cleaning the house. She had the radio on. The song.. how did that song go?

"Talking away. I don't know what I'm to say. I'll say it anyway. Today isn't my day to find you, shying away. I'll be coming for your love, OK?" I walked down the stairs to see my mom dancing with a duster in her hand. A smile spread across my face as I ran to her. She laughed and took hold of my hands, spinning me around in the air. "Take on me.. take on me. Take me on... take on me. I'll be gone, in a day or two!" She placed me on the ground, dropping the duster. We moved our feet gracefully to the fast paced music. "So needless to say. Of odds and ins, but I'll be stumbling away. Slowly learning that life is okay. Say after me, it's no better to be safe than sorry." We laughed at each other as we played the 'air keyboard' hitting each invisible key with our fingers. "Take on me.. take on me. Take me on.. take on me. I'll be gone, in a day or two!"

A bright light flashed. The music died out, a quiet crackling taking its place. Ash fell from above me, nestling itself in my hair and on my torn clothing. Smoke burned my nose, creating a nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked around me to see the house I once loved, in shambles. Wood burnt to a crisp. Glass shattered and spread throughout the area. Everything I once loved, gone forever.

I woke with a start, breathing heavily. Sweat rolled down my forehead. The nurse ran over to me, holding my shoulders down. "Deep breaths! Try and calm yourself down." I nodded, breathing shallowly. Its so difficult to breathe. In and out.. in and out. After a few moments, I could feel myself calming down. This really sucks. I just want to get better. The phone rang over at the nurse's desk. She walked over and picked it up. "Yes, they are here. Oh really? Yes.. I'll be sure to let them know. Thank you for calling." She looked at us with a smile on her face. Ben gave me a curious look which I returned. "That was Achilles Montario. He called to let you both know that Ellie Cotter and Melrose Adley are recovering smoothly. He also wanted to let you both know that as soon as you feel better, that they would love for you to visit." She smiled.

That's wonderful news! Ellie and Mel are so strong. Such determination and will power. If they can get through what happened to them, there is no doubt, I can get through this. I just have to be strong, like them.

Well geez. Long time no see? Anyway, somewhat short, sorry. Regardless, hope yall enjoyed. -A (Shout out to "Take On Me" by A-ha)