I'm at a party where everyone is dressed nice. It's not formal, just not an everyday hang-out, either. I've kind of blown off the dressing nice thing, but not really. I fit in (mostly) but I'm not in anything that isn't comfortable.
I don't want to be here. This isn't a party at a friend's house. I don't know everyone, or even most of the people here. I hate social situations like this, but I'm handling it. On the outside, I look pretty normal, just another guest at the party, chatting about inconsequential things with a group of people I never met before. On the inside, it's pure torture. I'm sure I'm going to say the wrong thing at some point and look completely stupid, give these people something to make fun of for the rest of their lives, and embarrass the crap out of the party's host.
I don't even know whose party this is, or why I'm here. I must have come with someone. I excuse myself from the group and begin looking around.
As I wander through different rooms, I realize I don't know anyone here. I recognize some faces as people I've seen before, but not as people I've hung out with. Why the heck am I even at this party?
A guy approaches me and puts a hand on my shoulder. He leans in like we're old pals, greets me warmly, and gives me a hug. He knows my name, but I don't know his. When he pulls me into the hug, he puts his face right next to my ear, and speaks quickly and quietly. "Don't look now, but there's a lady following you. She's been staring at you all night. She seems to be trying to pretend her movements are random, but she's definitely focused on you."
The guy steps back from the embrace, gives my arm a squeeze, and tells me it was good to see me again, and to give his regards to the family. I thank him and say I will, and admonish him to do the same. We walk away from each other. I duck between some people, and through a doorway into another room, where I step to the side and put my back against the wall. I figure I'll wait and see who comes through the doorway, but no one does. I peek around the corner.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and from behind me, a voice says, right into my ear, "You don't remember me, do you?"
I spin around to see who is behind me, but there's just groups of people talking to each other. I back into the wall again and look around, trying to see everywhere at once. I notice there's someone moving rapidly away from me across the room. I try to get through the crowd to see who it is, but suddenly people seem to be bent on getting in my way. All I can see is the top of a head with dark hair moving through the doorway on the other side of the room. As I watch, it appears that the dark was a shadow, and the hair is actually white.
I get about to the middle of the room when my "friend" from before grabs my arm. He gives me a serious look, and says, "You don't want to go there. You'll only end up in trouble again. Don't let your guard down, kid." This guy is noticeably younger than me. Why is he calling me kid?
Before I can do anything, it's all just gone. I find myself in an empty, deserted, old, decrepit house with no lights, no music, no party. The room has the same layout, even some of the same furniture, but it's all falling apart. I look around the room, but there's nothing else remarkable about it.
I'm suddenly very anxious, butterflies in my stomach, an electric feeling in my chest. I want out of here. Which way was the front room? I go back through the door that led me into this room, trying to retrace my steps, but after a few more rooms, I can't remember which way to go. There are no windows in the room I'm in. I think, if I just keep going the same direction, maybe I'll get to a room with an outside wall.
I start running. I can hear other footsteps, but I can't tell where they're coming from. Sometimes, it sounds like they're over my head. Other times, it sounds like they're behind me, but there's no one there when I look. I keep going straight, through several doorways. I come to a long hallway full of doors, with a door at the end, and a stairway. At the top of the flight, there's a landing, and the stairs turn and continue up over my head. I can just see someone's shoes, and the long legs of a pair of wide-legged pants. A hand rests on the rail. It's impossible to tell whether the person is male or female. The fingernails aren't long or nicely manicured, but the fingers are kind of long.
The voice that was behind me at the party calls down, "You might as well come up now. You know there's no way out of here."
For some reason, I find that terribly offensive. It should be up to me, shouldn't it? I decide where I want to go and what I want to do, who I want to associate with, and so on. I look at the door, then back up the stairs. I don't want to go up there, but for some reason, I do feel kind of drawn in that direction. I'm pretty sure that when I get up there, I won't find the owner of the voice, though, and that annoys me.
I turn and walk toward the door. From behind me, I hear, "I see. You're going to make this difficult again, aren't you?"
When I woke from this, it was still dark. I felt like I'd been chastised, like a little kid who just ignored a lesson recently learned or well learned. I was still really annoyed, like someone had been pushing my buttons, even though it was just a dream. I was still really tired, too. When I went back to sleep, I dreamed again.
I'm outside in the dark, surrounded by trees and smaller plants. There's something pulling on my hair. I grab for whatever it is, and find my fingers wrapped around a wrist. I find the fingers and pry them loose, only to have something grab the front of my shirt, make a fist, and slam me against a tree. The back of my head hits hard, pain shooting forward into my sinuses.
I throw my arms up in front of my face, but whoever I'm fighting with is more interested in my ribs. The hand I pried off of my hair digs in, fingers pressing into my flesh as if to tickle, but I'm not ticklish there, just really over-sensitive. It hurts. I involuntarily collapse at the knees, pushing at my opponent's arms with my hands. A jolt of energy goes through my belly from those fingertips, making my insides feel watery. I shove the hand away and try to dodge to the side, only to feel the other hand gripping my hair again.
I kick at my assailant's knees, but I'm not hitting anything. I'm yelling and panting now, and I can feel bits of bark and leaves getting under my clothes. Ignoring the pull on my scalp, I try to wrench myself out of the person's grasp. I put both feet on the ground, lean away from the tree, and thrust. Instead of escape, I find myself in a wrestling match, with my left hand pinned to the ground by the wrist, my head turned to the side, and the hand that was in my hair pushing my cheek into the dirt. I try to roll to the left, but the weight on top of me is really heavy.
A feeling of desperation takes over. I can't move freely, but I can turn my head just enough. I sink my teeth into the edge of the hand that is holding me down. From the darkness above me, the voice from the previous dream shouts in pain. I taste the salty flavor of human skin, then blood. My attacker jerks back away from me momentarily, letting go of my wrist, and pulling out of the grip of my teeth. I draw my knees up to my chin and thrust both feet out in front of me. I hit something - it feels like someone's chest - and then I hear a body hit another tree. There is a loud grunt in that same voice. I scramble to run away, but I hear footsteps coming after me.
I know I can't outrun whoever this is. My body aches from hitting the tree and the ground. My ribs are sore from being poked. I can barely stand up. I know I can pull energy. I'm in the woods. I gather what I can, with the lack of focus I'm experiencing right now. When I do, the footsteps stop, just short of the distance I can see. From the darkness, I hear that voice again. It sounds surprised and amused. "Are you serious? Who do you think you are?"
There is a blinding light in front of me. I know it's coming. I panic, and release everything at once, pushing an unfocused blast outward before me. I feel disconnected from everything, like I'm floating. In the distance, I hear that voice bust into a tirade of cussing.
I woke with sunlight in my face. I slept until well after sunrise. I don't do that very much - I'm still used to when I had to get up at 3:30 A.M. for work every day. It feels weird for it to be so late. I don't know what to think about this dream. I'll have to figure it out later, though. I have to go to work today.
This is going to really suck. I'm in so much pain right now.
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