CHAPTER 5

Lora was afraid of her bed that night. She didn't want to have another nightmare so she just sat on the chair next to her PC, glaring at her bed like it was a vicious foe. Her skin crawled at the very thought of dreaming, however, she could not fight it for long. Sleep started calling to her like a dark fairy and her eyelids began to fall. She shook it off and got up from her seat. She watched the curtains dance to the wind at the window and decided to get a cup of coffee after closing it. She went down to the kitchen and put some water to boil. As she did so she thought of Deano…(Oh yeah! He said he might come tomorr--.) She paused there...and began to feel frightened…(what if I dream of Dante!?)she stared at her cup and watched the coffee move in it before she shook off the thought. She sipped her cup of coffee...and it had no effect. As soon as she sat down her head started to feel heavy, her eyelids slowly started closing shut. She tried to lift her feet but they had already succumbed to the same spell her brain cast on her eyes.(N--No) Resistance was futile and she left reality, hoping she wouldn't have to witness the reality of a near future.

"Ahhh! So good...." A teenager hidden in the school bathrooms is immersed in the sensations of the weed rolled into 30 blunts for his consumption. His eyes were blood shot as he stared at the ceiling...or whatever he thought the ceiling was.( Whoa… that guy wasn't kidding, this is the best weed I've ever smoked!) He had bought weed earlier from a dealer in his neighborhood, he was a usual customer, but this time he encountered a different dealer. The man was tall and seemed middle aged.

" Hey, who the heck are you? Where's bull dog?"

The man lifted his head….

" He isn't feeling too well, so he asked me to cover for him...he said there's some stuff he wanted you to try….it's gonna blow your mind."

The teen, letting his addiction act before his mind did, bought the weed which had already been rolled into 30 blunts for him. (Thanks bulldog), he thought as he watched the smoke rise up into the air. Luckily, there was no one at school to catch him. The students had already knocked off and so did many of the teachers who made it their personal duty to roam and patrol the school. " This is bliss…" he said aloud. But it didn't last for long. It was an hour later that he began to feel his head ache. It started growing bit by bit. (Ouch!… what the hell!?) He thought to himself. Hoping to fix the problem he lit another blunt and inhaled it, when he exhaled he could feel it stop….( Yes… that's more like it.) He went on to enjoy the moment. Then, like a strike of lightening the pain hit him. He screamed loudly… the warped reality he enjoyed now became a nightmare. He stood up, stumbling across the bathrooms he reached for the exit.( Dang it! My head feels like it's about to blow up!).....blow up…...blow up….. IT'S GONNA BLOW YOUR MIND…. He started sweating heavily when he collapsed and fell to the ground." That guy! Did he and bulldog even know each other!? SCREW HIM!!" The pain hit his head with greater force and he screamed even louder. " AAAAAAAGGH! HELP! I NEED A DOCTOR!" Well unluckily for him, no one was around to catch him...or in this case, help him. He got thrown into a violent convulsion, his mouth started foaming, he couldn't even perceive his thoughts anymore...only his pain. Until he finally froze… and died. His bloodshot eyes didn't even take the time to roll backwards they just stared into the open…. seeing and yet not seeing.

*GASP*

Lora awoke from bed... sweating, her head banged like a drum, she knew fully well what this meant. She got up and checked the time on her phone…. 05:25am. She woke up Abit later than usual, she started pacing her room, not knowing what to do. She didn't tell her parents about her dreams… of course they'd never understand. She thought of Matthew and Samantha, they're the only people who knew what was going on… and the only ones who might be able to help her. She got into the shower, and when she came out panicking, she got into her school uniform. She didn't even greet her mother, she went downstairs and out the door. About half an hour later, she arrived at school. Lora met Matthew at the main entrance to the school.

"You're here early-"

" I had another dream!" Lora interrupted.

"Lora, calm down-"

"How do you expect me to calm down WHEN…"

They were already in the school hallway, Lora didn't realize she was raising her voice and attracting attention, one of the things Matthew hated... especially since he 'dated' Sam.

" Look, I know this is scary for you but panicking won't solve a thing, calm down, then we can discuss this properly…"

Lora took deep breaths and started walking straight forward. Matthew followed after adjusting his glasses with his index finger. They sat down in class, Matthew stared on, waiting till she was ready to speak. She gave Matthew a tense look.

" Okay, I'm ready."

"Good...who is the victim?" Asked Matthew.

"It's Donald, from our class."

"You mean the guy Sam turned down last term?"

"Yes, it's him."

"What does he die from... suicide?"

"No, he dies from smoking weed." Matthew raises an eyebrow to the thought.

" That guy smokes weed!?, stop joking, I would have known by now."

"Well he does, and he's really crafty about it. I don't know where he hides his weed though."

"That doesn't matter right now, do you know the killer?"

It just dawned on Lora that in the three dreams she's had, she has never seen the face of the killer...or maybe she forgets it, at this point she wasn't sure of her dreams anymore. However she was sure of one thing….

"There is only one killer, I haven't seen his face but I just know." Said Lora. Matthew seemed discouraged by those words.

"Agh… so you don't know eh? Damn, things would have been much easier."

Lora looked downwards…

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this." She says.

"You don't have to be sorry, I've learnt something from what you've just told me. It might be that you only dream about people with whom you share some kind of relationship. But that's just a speculation waiting to be confirmed, and if it is so, then I have no choice but to be involved in this. I don't wanna be killed by some lowlife who kills people while raping them dead."

Matthew thought of what he just said and he noticed Lora shed a tear.

"Oh...I'm sorry." He apologized.

"No it's okay...I'm okay."

"Alright, oh, and don't tell Sam about any of this."

"Why is that?"

"She's smart, but she can only focus on one thing at a time, just act normal...on that note…"

Matthew pulled out his lunch from his backpack and put it on her desk.

"Eat something, and relax… your panic is already enough to tip her off, and now you wanna starve yourself!?" He said.

"I'm fine Matthew, don't worry about me--"

"I wasn't asking, and I already have a spare lunch packed for me."

Lora, stared at the lunch box...then shifted her gaze towards Matthew.

"Thanks…"

"Don't mention it."

Matthew abruptly looked away when Samantha came in. She greeted them and took her seat. She looked at the both of them…

"You're here early Lora, what happened?"

" Oh nothing, we were just discussing the evolution theory."

" You can't go a single day without arguing can you?!"

" And you can't go a day without minding your business." Matthew shot back at Samantha.

Their argument continued for 20 more minutes till the teacher walked in. He greeted the class and they greeted him back.

"Okay, so attention students…I am proud to announce that we have a new student joining our class." He said. At that, a tall young man with green eyes and brown hair walked into the class. He's appearance struck the class, and he had a comforting but reserved aura around him. Of course Lora was too deep in thought to notice that until she heard a familiar name…

"Hi, every one...I'm Deano Santez, I hope to enjoy my time with all of you."

Lora's eyes lit up,( it's him,...he's actually here!) The young man smiled over as their eyes met.

"It's nice to meet you…"