More Than One: A Novel (3 page)

Chapter Three

August had turned into September without me noticing. And as the weeks went by, the dreams slowed down, but got more gruesome at the same time. I wasn’t having them every night, but they were still about murder.

              After the first dream I had of me killing someone in an alley, I started a dream journal. Every time I would wake up from my mass murdering nightmare, I’d document everything that happened in such detail, it felt like I was writing a book.

              I don’t know why I started this, but it helped me stay up when I was too afraid to sleep and it was another way I could get it off my chest. I still hadn’t told anyone about the dreams, and I didn’t want to keep them bottled up.

              It was Sunday, so I didn’t have any classes, and by chance, I was off work. Rach was already gone and I wasn’t sure where. The room was already clean, so I had nothing to do.

              I looked out the window and saw it was a nice day, so I decided to take a walk. I threw on some  clothes and grabbed my keys. While walking out the door, I bumped into Rach coming in.

              “Where ya headed?” she asked.

“I was gonna take a walk. I’m really bored and I need some air,” I replied.

              “Okay, do you want some company?” she said, putting her things down.

              “Sure, I’d love some.”

              Rach threw on some tennis shoes and we headed out the door. When we made it down stairs, I felt the wind hit my face and it was refreshing.

              “So, you’re free all day, no school, no work. What will you do with yourself?” Rach asked.

              “I’m not sure. This walk was out of the blue, so I figured I’ll just wing it,” I said.

              “Well, you’ve been like a zombie for the past couple of weeks, so let’s try and have some fun today,” she said while nudging me.

              “Yes ma’am.”

              We walked along the path that led to the hill where everyone gathered for picnics. There was once a sign that informed us to
keep off the grass,
but more than a dozen of students decided to rebel against the crazy law. They gathered there every Sunday, just to hang out. After enough students joined in on the Sunday ritual, the dean had no choice but to take down the sign, figuring he couldn’t expel everyone, and allowed the festivities to continue.

We sat down on one of the benches. I leaned back and closed my eyes. When I took a deep breath, I could smell the newly cut grass.

“So, how are things going with Derrick?” I asked.

“Really great, actually. I really like him and we have such a good time together.” She blushed.

“Awesome, I’m glad. At least one of us has a life.”

“Seriously Jay, when are you going to take the time out and find someone? It sucks being single, you know that. There are so many guys interested in you and you don’t even notice.”

“Like who?”

“Well, there’s James Caldwell.”

“Ewww, not him, no way. I think I’d rather live vicariously through you, if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind,” she said, “I want you to be happy chica, and you can’t be happy through me.”

“What makes you think I’m not happy?”

“Jamie please,” she rolled her eyes, “all you do is work and go to school. Your life is pretty pathetic right now. I know something is going on with you and it hurts you feel you can’t confide in me. I mean, we’re like sisters.”

“I know Rach and it’s not like I can’t confide in you, I just don’t want you to think I’m crazy.”

“I would never think that. I do want to help if you’re going through something. You should dish, it’ll make you feel better.”

I considered the possibilities. I was tired of keeping this to myself and Rach is my best friend. I knew I could trust her with my feelings and fears.

“Please,” she said with wide eyes.

“Well, lately I think I’m losing my mind. I’ve been having these crazy dreams.”

“What kind of dreams?” she asked.

“First, they were dreams about me being trapped in different places, like in a bedroom or a hospital room. In my dream, the same two guys are poking, prodding, and hovering over me. Then there are dreams where I feel like I'm hypnotized. I'm on this couch spilling my guts about things I have no idea about. It is really weird.”

“Wow, okay, but you said at first. What are the dreams like now?”

“Now, they are like horror movies. I’m killing people in these nightmares. Every time I have these dreams, they all start out the same. First, I’m scared and then the dream changes and I’m stalking someone. I’m slicing throats and pushing them off of buildings or something like that. The dreams are getting crazier.”

“Well, are you watching anything scary before you go to bed? You know they say the last thing you watch or read before you sleep, you dream about it,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s the thing, I’ve been avoiding scary stuff, and I still have the dreams. The crazy part is, after I wake up, my body is tense like I was actually doing the killing. I can’t explain it, but in my dreams, it’s me, except for the eyes. They’re like this pitch black color, and there is definitely something evil there.”

“So how often do you have these dreams?”

“Before it was every night or every other night, but now it’s not as much. But, like I said, the murders are worse. Then on the nights I don’t have the nightmares, it’s like I don’t dream at all. There is nothing but darkness, as if I’m blind in my own mind.”

I turned to look at Rach and take in her expression. She looked concerned, but not scared. I was relieved. She put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I was so glad to finally tell someone about this.

“So, what do you think? You think I’ve lost my marbles, too,” I asked.

“No, I think you should talk to a professional, though. There has to be a root to the dreams. You need to find out what triggered all this.”

“Are you saying I need to talk to a shrink? So you do think I’m crazy, huh?”

“No, Jay, but I’m not a psychiatrist, and I think it would be healthier if you knew what was going on with you.”

“Uh huh,” I said turning away.

“I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you’ve been under a lot of stress lately and you can’t harvest those dreams. Look at what it’s done to you so far. You’re taking too many classes and working overtime, clearly trying to avoid any chance of thinking about it. Not to mention, Ash and I hardly see you anymore and when we do, you’re like queen of the dead.”

“Ash,” I whispered. I hadn’t told him and I still didn’t want him to know.

“Yeah, Ash. He’s worried about you too and when he finds out, he’s...”

“I don’t want him to know,” I cut her off, “not right now at least. I need some time to figure things out. Promise me you won’t tell him.” She looked disappointed and then sighed.

“I promise I won’t tell him, but you have to promise me you’ll think about talking to someone.”

“Deal,” I said, holding out my hand to shake on it.

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes. I couldn’t imagine what was going through Rachel’s head. Maybe in a minute she will think I was insane and have me committed.

“I really don’t think you’re crazy Jay. You know that, don’t you?” she asked.

“Are you reading my mind or something? I was just thinking that.”

“No, I’m reading your face and I don’t like what this is doing to you.”

I started crying. My emotions were playing tug-a-war on my insides. I didn’t know how to feel anymore. Should I be scared? Confused? Hurt? I didn’t know. Now I’m bringing Rach into all of this and I feel horrible. When I looked back at her, I saw that she was crying, too. I felt even worse.

“Please don’t cry. I hate that I brought you in on my mess. That was so stupid of me,” I said.

“You're so silly. We’re in this together. You would do the same for me.” She wiped the tears from her face.

“Thank you for being here for me. You don’t know what that means.”

“No problem.”

We hugged and some of the weight was lifted, it felt nice. I could breathe a little easier.

“You know something else that has been haunting me? The letter I got weeks ago. You remember?” I asked, letting go of her shoulders.

Rach looked away, “Yeah, I remember. I thought we agreed that it was a practical joke.”

“It wasn’t funny and who does that? We haven’t talked to anyone in the dorm to find out who did it. You don’t think that is weird?”

“Calm down, Jamie. I mean nothing has happened and that is the only letter that came. What kind of mass murderer or kidnapper or whatever
A
is, sends a letter then forgets to kill you or something,” she said.

“That’s not funny.” I sighed. “But I guess you’re right.”

“Now you can take that off your list of worries.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever you say.”

“You know what? We’re not gonna sit here all day looking at grass and trees. Let’s go do something. So, clear your mind.”

“Okay, it’s clear,” I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. “Now what?”

“Okay, what’s the first thing that pops in your head?”

That was going to be hard. The first thing that popped in my head was the faces of the victims I killed in my dreams. I didn’t want to bring that back up though. Rach was really trying to help.

“You’re thinking too long, I said the first thing, not the fifth,” she said.

“Okay, okay, what about a bar? I’m in the mood to shoot some pool. What do you think?”

“Perfect. Let’s go get pretty and then head to the Station.” she said with a delighted look on her face.

“Kay.”

We walked back to our room and Rach had already decided on what she was going to wear. When we got to the door, I fumbled around for my keys. Rach produced her keys first and opened the door. She leaned over to pick something up from the floor.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Nothing, it’s something that fell out of my bag,” she said, looking suspicious.

I didn’t think too far into the look. I went in and headed for my closet.

“Let’s hurry, I’m ready to get out of this stuffy room,” Rach said.

“Should we call Ash?’

“He said he was going to be busy today, he’ll probably catch up with us later tonight.”

I hadn’t talked to Ash much over the last couple of weeks. It felt weird not knowing what he had been up to.

“You ready?” Rach asked.

“Yes. Can you drive? I don’t feel like it today.”

“Sure, grab your things and let’s go.”

I picked up my purse, threw my cell phone in, and headed towards the door.

“I love that outfit. I'll have to borrow it, of course,” Rach said.

“Thanks, I’m loving your ensemble as well.”

Rach struck a model pose and then laughed. She was so pretty, especially when she wore something to bring out her mint green eyes. Her style was that of a fashionista. She had on an emerald green, banded bottom shirt, with jean capris and strappy wedges. She accessorized it with bangles, a long twisted necklace, and her auburn hair with thick curls, paired with her perfectly tanned skin. Even though she was only an inch taller than me, she was still runway model material.

“Okay, let’s go have some fun,” she said. Then she grabbed my hand and squeezed before we left.

We made it to the Station and there were a lot of people walking around. After we parked in the garage, we walked up the stairs to the main street.

Once in the bar, we got some pool cues and found a vacant pool table.

“Okay, best two out of three, loser pays for dinner,” Rach said.

“You’re on!”

After three games, Rach was the victor. I knew every chance she got, she would rub this in my face.

Rach had to go to the restroom and I stayed to watch the television that was over our table. The waitress brought me the remote and I flipped through the channels, trying to find something to occupy my time.

I skimmed through slowly and stopped when something interesting caught my eye. It was a story on the worldwide news about a serial killer. I tried to turn the volume up, but I still couldn’t hear over the blur of voices in the background. I turned on the closed captioning and tried to keep up with the script.

“Police are pursuing the case of the serial killer who is wreaking havoc on Rome, Italy. Everyone is baffled at the fact that after five murders, the police still have no clue as to where to look for the unknown subject... the police chief will be here later to fill us in with the information they have so far. Until then, here are photos of the victims who were found in the most gruesome way. Police are asking everyone to…”

While the pictures flashed across the screen and the names were called, I stopped breathing. My eyes were wide with disbelief and my hands flew up to cover my mouth.

The dreams started flooding, coming fast, but still sharp with clarity, stabbing at my heart. This can’t be real. How far can this joke go? These are the faces that haunted me in my dreams and they were really dead.