A Choice of Dreams

The last few days have been so very stressful, I can’t even begin to try to explain. But, I do have this quick little flash fiction for you. It was inspired by a writing prompt from a friend a month or so ago. I hope you enjoy it!

A Choice of Dreams

The woman in white flitted around the room, her hands busier than manic hummingbirds. She muttered as she moved, her voice low and soft enough to leave her words unintelligible. I must have caught her attention somehow, though, for she turned. Her piercing green eyes framed in black lashes stood out against her pale green skin. She studied every centimeter of me in a heartbeat.

She tsked several times and zipped to my side. I tried to watch as she adjusted an IV near my head, but darkness swirled through my vision at the mere suggestion of movement. The woman tsked again and pried one of my drifting eyelids open. She reached up and adjusted the IV once again. A few seconds later she smiled and nodded.

“I would not have you descend into your own dream. No, no, no, that would not do at all.”

Some fogginess cleared from my mind. I could focus on the woman and her movements easier now. A bevy of machines whirred and hissed and beeped around her in some macabre symphony. I still did not remember where I was or how I got there. Without a doubt, I did not remember the woman’s name.

She continued her odd ballet of flitting back and forth in time to the noises from the machines. My mind refused to clear more, though, which made speaking or movement impossible. The clarity was enough to keep me aware and too much to keep me from slipping into unconsciousness. Enough to keep me trapped, unable to move or think or question. Just enough to bear silent witness only.

Time grew meaningless as I lay in limbo. The woman in white muttered to herself several times. I couldn’t tell what she’d said or if it was even in English. I had no idea how much time had passed when a sudden silence and stillness dominated the room. Even the woman in white interrupted her skittering dance to freeze in place. A grin split her pale green skin, and she turned those piercing green eyes on me.

“It is time. All is ready. Now you will ascent to the dream of us all.”

I blinked, just once, as she jabbed a button to her right. A burning started at my IV site.

With each heartbeat it spread until my whole body felt as if it contained the heat of a thousand stars. A brilliant white filled my vision until I saw every color imaginable dancing in the brilliance.

Then I felt myself separating from my body. A tugging sensation as if I were pulling myself out of the mud filled my core, overriding even the burning. And, as the last strand tying me to myself released, I hear her voice one last time.

“Ascend and save us all.”