Dream Journal Ultimate
Date: 1/24/2019
By Ecnelis_Lataf
**Connects to “Dream: Cataclysmic Facility” in a time-skipped way** “Isaiah!” I heard someone shout and saw my former roommate calling out to me. I’d been walking through town towards one of my favorite coffee shops. “Razmiv hey!” I called back and waited for him to catch up to me. He seemed out of breath. His dark hair had grown long and was tied back behind him. Eyes bright with excitement. We hadn’t seen each other in a couple years. He’d gone back to his family. Turned his life around and gone through college. I had been living in a sort of lab up till the past few months. The scientists there had been working on recreating the pills my family had made and dissecting the pills so they could hope to cure me. I’d done what I could to keep in touch with him, Desric, and Byron. It wasn’t easy. There was only so often I had free while I’d been in the lab. I wasn’t cured, but the pills had gotten stronger and took longer to wear off. I could actually hold a job. I could walk around. “How’ve you been?” He asked me and pulled me into a tight hug. I laughed and hugged him back. “I’m fine. Meds are getting stronger. I have a job and my own place nearby. How are you?” He let me go and grinned, “Finally got a decent boyfriend. He and I are talking about getting a place together soon.” “Okay. This sounds like an ‘over coffee’ type conversation.” I told him and hooked my thumb towards the coffee shop I’d been heading towards. “Definitely.” He said and walked with me there. We talked as we headed there. I grabbed a black coffee with a splash of honey. He grabbed something I could only describe as liquid sugar. We caught up at one of the tables and swapped new cell numbers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I fidgeted as I sat in the office of my friend’s P.I. business. I didn’t know he’d been doing this line of work since he’d come back around here. I didn’t know too much on what life’s been like for him though. I heard the door open up and the family faint footsteps he’d make could be heard. The faint scent of a cigar passed my nose as I looked up to see his tired expression. “Ms. Donahue right?” he asked me and I felt my smile falter a bit. “Uh… yeah. Isaiah Donahue.” I answered as I got to my feet. “It’s been some time.” It seemed my name caused something to click in him. His eyes lit up a small bit. A faint smile crossed his lips, “Isaiah, good to see ya. Raz tell you where I was?” “Yeah. You started a P.I. business. Your son help you or is it a one man job?” I asked him as I continued to fidget. It was weird. Maybe Razmiv being gay made it harder for me to feel awkward around him. Maybe it was because I clicked easier with him. I don’t know but I really felt like I was on the spot when talking to Desric. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna interrogate you.” Desric told me and pulled me into a gentle hug. “I’m glad you’re okay kid. Been worried about ya.” I hugged him back too. Tight. I felt tears fall that I felt betrayed by. “I’ve missed you. All of you. I really have.” Desric gave a light laugh and kissed the top of my head. “How bout some dinner? I’m sure the wife would love to see you again. Byron probably would be glad to know you’re out of the lab life now.” “I think that would be nice. I work mornings so I could do a dinner with everyone.” I answered and stepped back. “You sure do cry a lot kid.” Desric teased me. “I’ve been told.” I laughed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I walked off of the transit bus with my hands in my pocket. I sat down at the stop and waited. I had to switch busses here. “Been too long.” I whispered and looked at my phone. On it was a picture of myself, Desric, Arya, Razmiv, and Erik. It was our old gang from the facility. I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. Relief maybe. It was just moments later when my phone went off. I didn’t recognize the number but I had just handed off my number to Desric a bit ago. He wasn’t that great at memorizing numbers. “This is Donahue.” I answered as I watched for my bus. “Don’t get on the next bus.” I heard an all too familiar voice say. “Byron?” I replied a bit quieter now. “The next bus has been hijacked or something. Police are trying to keep it on the DL to be able to get it contained.” Byron told me as I stiffened. “Well that was my last step towards you guys and no offense but the path from here to there isn’t exactly pleasant.” I answered while glancing to the few people on the other side of the bus stop. “Yeah I know. I’m working on that.” He responded before I heard a squealing of tires come down the road. I looked towards the noise and saw a black car speeding towards the bus stop. “And yes that is me speeding towards you.” I hung up the phone and stood back from the curb. The black car slowed and parked next to the bus stop. “Get in.” Byron said after rolling down the window. I opened the passenger door and got in. He locked the doors and sped off as I got the seatbelt on. “What’s going on?” “I lied. The bus wasn’t being hijacked. You’re being targeted. Seems some of the old ‘associates’ at that place you guys came from have escaped or something. Raz and his boyfriend were attacked on a date. They nearly killed him. He’s in the hospital. His boyfriend has a gun and is keeping guard of him.” Byron explained as he kept speeding down the road. “I’ll assume dinner is cancelled.” I said with an awkward smile. Byron shook his head. “That’s definitely one way to look at it. We’re heading to a safe house that dad got a while back. Not entirely off the grid and has a good panic room. He and mom are on their way to the hospital to make sure Raz and his boyfriend were being kept safe.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I sat on a chair in the kitchen of this safe house. No windows in the kitchen. Other windows throughout the house had been covered by their blinds or curtains. It had been a few days. I was still a bit antsy. Byron had shut off our phones and removed their cards so no one could track us. He’d given me a burn phone to use while we were there. I’d used it to call my boss and let them know the lab had called me back for some new tests and that i’d be away for a bit. My boss knew how that all worked. “All taken care of.” I told Byron as he made some coffee. We were waiting to hear news from his dad. News from any of them really. “Good. Thankfully my work is on the go.” He told me as he looked over the laptop. It wasn’t hooked to any internet connection. He was apparently a published writer. A couple novels, some short story anthologies, and so on. “Lucky you.” I told him and felt my nerves starting to give. I was exhausted. My pills were helping with my health but not the exhaustion. All this chaos was hitting hard. “I really had hoped it would be over.” Byron looked over to me. He saved his work and shut down the computer. He had been typing away on the counter as the coffee pot worked to make our elixir of energy. He walked over to me and took my hands in his. His eyes piercing into mine. “It will be. This is the last step okay? Just one final hiccup.” I squeezed his hands lightly. “You’re very optimistic, but I don’t think it will be as simple as that.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I could hear the faint sound of snapping twigs outside. I quietly climbed out of the bed, leaving the lights off. I crept over to Byron’s bed on the other side of the room. I shook him quietly and put a finger to his lips. “I think someone’s outside.” I whispered as quietly as possible. He nodded against my hand as we heard what sounded like footsteps again. He climbed out of the bed and we pulled the emergency bags from under his room. We made our way towards the panic room door and slipped inside it, locking the door behind us. He flipped the lights on and turned on the screens that showed each room. He had trained me how to act in this situation. The only way I’d been so calm before we got down to the panic room. “Each camera is equipped with night-vision and thermal-vision. They will be recording the entire time to save any and all evidence of the situation.” Byron explained to me. I just nodded along and sat on the cot. I watched each camera. There had, in fact, been someone outside. A few people dressed in what seemed to be tactical gear. They were looking over the house and the area. Byron pulled out his burn phone and sent a message to his parents. He let them know we had company. “This room can keep them out right?” I asked him. “Yes. We’ll be fine in here.” He told me and came to sit beside me. He held one of my hands in his and gave a tight squeeze. “We aren’t losing to them. I’m not losing you to them.” I awoke after that.