Restless [Ob/Gol]

[Alice Brown]

It was late. 

Late enough for most, if not all people, to be asleep by now. All the windows were dark, none had any lights in them, except for maybe one or two, at the opposite ends of the building. The corridors were empty, and doors were closed shut - nobody wanted uncalled distractions to their beauty sleep. The only things that pierced the stale silence, were the buzzing of the lightbulbs, and insects beating themselves to death against them. But soon one more sound was added to the monotone melody of the night...

*Step, step, step...*

Alice was wandering the corridors. Walking slowly, hands in pockets, back a bit hunched, and looking down, as if thinking about something. She was tired, her eyes were red from two consecutive nights of not being able to sleep. Her steps were soft, but in the silence, they echoed across the hallway. There was nobody around, too. The prefects were not masochists, and loved their beauty sleep, just as much as the next guy. Alice did not look happy.

This... Kayla. Best. Roommate. Ever.

She thought to herself, sarcastically. This night, the emotional empath did not sleep. And that meant the same for Alice, who shared a room with her. The emotions her roomie was channeling through herself weren't the happiest ones. And they couldn't let Alice sleep. Which was why she was here. Walking alone. Not wishing to be sent into a plummeting depression by her roomie's moodswings. Though, being here, alone, like this, did not help things either. She stopped in front of a window, looking into the darkest night. Everyone was asleep, except for her. Alice pressed her cheek against the cold glass. 

- I don't like it... this place.

[Tobias Fordson]

        Calm nights: They should be a thing that help you fall asleep... the quite chirp of crickets outside, the cool air swirling about. For anybody else, this probably would be a peaceful night to rest for the next day.

        Tobias wasn't so lucky.

        Yet again, his mind tormented him... the same images that plagued him his entire life appeared once more and pulled him closer to despair. Ever since he had made it to this island, he's been using every ounce of willpower he has to fight back, working to stop the memories from resurfacing. Some nights, this is to no avail, and this just happens to be one of those nights.

        The worst part of this night, though, was something that was different than all the nights: He wasn't waking up. His willpower has not just faltered, it literally can't break him out of his sleep, making the night feel even longer as the images become real in his mind. Sounds no person should need to hear echoed through his mind. Screams of terror, the creaking and bending of metal, and the roar of the massive truck's engine droning out any other sounds.

        Combined with these sounds were the sights of his parents, their horrified faces twisted into a look of sheer terror, burned into his very essence. Then the flash of bright lights peering through the glass windows mere moments before shattering. And all through this, one single element that, while wasn't there initially, keeps pulling at him in the background, whispering ever so slightly...

        "It's your fault... And you know it"

        These are the words that turn this normally bad dream into an unrelenting nightmare. That same self-doubt gnaws at him from the inside, destroying his sense of self piece by piece. Nothing could break him out of this, it seemed. And as the night grew longer and longer, Tobias felt like his last shred of self seem to just about fade.

[Alice Brown]

Alice kept staring into the dark void that was the night outside.

She could not see any lights. No moon, no stars. It was as if the building was a submarine, or a batisphere, traveling the depths of the ocean, where light cannot reach. Her mind was empty, mostly, random thoughts and memories appearing, and vanishing, replaced by others. Though, one way or another, her thoughts always fluctuated towards a single subject.

I wonder how my family's doing out there... Do they miss me?

Of course they did. Alice knew it for sure. She remembered her last day home. Mom was crying back then, wiping her tears with a handkerchief. Dad remained stoic - he did not cry, and did not speak much. But if eyes could speak - the way he looked upon her was more than a thousand words. And while she missed them dearly, it also felt ... good, to know that someone was waiting for her... Still loved her, no matter what. Alice wanted to tell them the truth that day, but just did not have the heart to do it.

Maybe in a letter, some day...

But then, suddenly, a jolt of emotion interrupted her slow, lazy train of thought. Her eyes widened a bit, as she turned around. A dreampath, her mutation had a lot to do with dreams. Granted, she could feel a lot of people sleeping right now, and the majority of them blended into background, but one... one person's dream kept screaming out to her. It was not a good dream... no, it was a bad one. And coming from inside of one of the rooms. 

Curious, Alice had approached the door. Sharpening her senses. She could tell there was only one person in the room. Either that or the other person was not sleeping. She pressed her ear against the door, to listen, for a few minutes. It was rather quiet... If there was anyone not sleeping, surely he would make some noise?

I shouldn't be doing this...

The cautious side spoke. And, for a bit, it did work. She took a step away from the door. But ... then the adventurous part got the better of her. The one that kept quiet after the incident with the police, and the robbing of small stores. Sighing, the girl's image began blurry. Transparent even, as she phased right through the wall. I

It was dark inside. There was no light. Her form regained tangibility a few moments later. Alice stood still, like a statue, narrowing her eyes and trying to get them adjusted to the dark. Soon enough, she could distinguish a silhouette. It was a boy, he was asleep. His facial expression did not say much to her, but she knew that right now, he was tortured within his own mind. The girl approached, tiptoeing to not make a sound, and stood over him, next to his bed. Her hand slowly reached out for his forehead, but not touched it, staying several centimeters away.

Lets see what he dreams about...

[Tobias Fordson]

        It seemed that tonight, his night terrors had a life of their own... and they were enjoying the pain they wrought on him far too much

        As his mind's eye seemed to go black at the last moments of this turbulent time, more images appeared before him: the foster homes he's lived at, the orphanages he's stayed in, and the families that tried to care for him all passing by in a flash and yet burned in place.  A mixture of fear, agony, resentment, and sorrow flooded him as the sounds began to drone out even his own thoughts. Then his schools came into view, and the emotions surged even more as resentment turned to anger. All the things he hated: The happy tones of voices, the sound of bells ringing constantly, and the images of bullies picking on their newest prey all raced through his mind.

        At this point, his body started to show the signs of his agony: His body began twisting and straining under the covers, his face contorted in a mix of pain and and fear, and sweat seemed to bead down his brow. His mouth seemed to word things, but no sound seemed to usher forth for a while, seeming as if he were talking to some hidden creature in an indescribable tongue. And then, his face echoed even more pain as an image crossed his mind...

        The last time he went to his old school; The first time he found out about his powers.

        He could see, in plain view, just as if he was there that moment, the view of the hallway. The students walked in their normal small groupings as they discussed meaningless things. That's when the sight of a group of bullies flashed into view: They were looking for someone to pick on, that much was certain... and that's when they spotted a new kid who was getting ready for his classes. As they prodded the kid, Tobias's anger seemed to well up even more.

        "S... stop it..."

        The words seemed to screech ever so silently from his lips as the view in his mind showed him stepping to stop the bullies. And as their fists started flying, his fear began to surge even more.

        "It's...... all my f-fault....

[Alice Brown]

There was darkness...

These few moments, when Alice traveled into another person's dream felt horribly long. While her body remained still, in the material world, with its eyes closed, her consciousness traveled elsewhere, into his. In ways more than one, she was dreaming too. But there was a difference between the boy, and Alice. She was constantly aware of where she was. And, unlike him, who had to suffer through whatever picture his subconsciousness drew for him, she was the painter herself. Able to bend this reality to her own will.

Within dreamworld, she was a God.

Soon, she would feel herself present within the dream. Still in the same form she was in when she was in the material world. But with one difference. She was invisible to the rest of the 'dreamcreatures', part of which this boy would become. She was suspended in the air, high above the scene that developed before her eyes. A nasty road accident. There were bodies... and ambulance. All in great detail, especially the mangled corpses carried off in bodybags. Driven off for the morgue. But she could also see the boy - he looked much younger. It was obvious this was no mere image born of imagination. The details, the logic of the picture was too great...

It was real... It happened to him.

Alice's expression became saddened. Her glare softening. She couldn't sympathize with loss of parents in full - she never lost hers. But for a moment, she imagined them gone. For real. And stopped, immediately. It was not a thought she wished to think about - it was ... scary. The girl couldn't imagine her life without the two people she loved the most... And he probably couldn't, too. Waves of pain, anguish and regret ran transparent through this dream... And the picture soon changed to another.

His school seemed rather familiar. But then again, all schools were the same. Classes, hallways, lockers... And people. Alice frowned again - she loathed most people in her school... And as the scene unfolded, she grew to loathe them here too. The kid was now trying to fight off the bullies. While the rest of the students not involved simply passed by. Pretending that nothing happened. Uncomfortably, Alice slid her tongue through the hole between her teeth. Where her tooth used to be. She was in a similar situation, and got off easy. And things could've ended far worse.

Kid didn't have a good life, did he?

Alice was tired of this dream.

- Enough.

Her voice would ring out in a powerful chord. And suddenly, everything around the boy would freeze in place, and become gray. The bullies, the school, the passerby, everything would lose color, becoming black and white, as if it was nothing but a movie. The only person that would not be affected, and retain his colors, would be Tobias. He would be alone... with the voice that seemed to come out of nowhere.

- Do not be alarmed. This is just a dream... - Alice's voice sounded softer, and less forceful when she made this reality freeze in its place. She didn't let the dream end however - if she allowed him to wake up, he'd have to go back to sleep, and the nightmare would likely repeat itself.

- You see such dreams often, don't you? 

The voice sounded very ... pitying, this time.

[Tobias Fordson]

        The harsh images, the painful sounds, and the flood of emotions continued to consume Tobias for what seemed an eternity. An eternity, Tobias feared, he could never break free from.

        Then the voice spoke.

        It wasn't a voice he'd heard before. This one was commanding... powerful and absolute in tone. It echoed through his mind unlike anything he'd heard before. And as it echoed, his nightmare suddenly froze. The students that passed by were locked in place, mixed up in there own little worlds, it seemed. What startled him the most was the image of the bullies: held mid-swing in their punches, cockiness and resentment clear in their faces.

        What... this... isn't natural. W-what's happening? T-that voice

        Tobias was completely lost in his dreams for an entirely new reason tonight. That's when the voice echoed again, but this time gently. This was a dream, that was easy to tell, but this voice seemed to block out the one thing he could not: His self-doubts control over his sleeping mind.

        He didn't know what to think with things happening the way they are. All he could focus on was this voice. It spoke again, seeming to ask about things as if it were truly there. Maybe his mind had somehow fractured finally under all the stress? He didn't know, but he felt that this voice would be his only solace tonight, so he decided to answer back.

        "Y-yeah... This happens... A-alot, to b-be honest.

        Why did he feel he could talk to this voice? There was no indication of it any time before. Not only that, he could be talking to some fragment of his mind, and just speaking to it would fuel it until it settles and he ends up going permanently insane for real.

        But no matter all that, he still tried talking... Hoping it was a symbol of hope instead of agony.

[Alice Brown]

Although unseen to his eye, Alice was there.

Standing right next to the boy, who's name she did not even know. She did not need it, anyway - after having seen his nightmare, her desire to help him was rather ... genuine. He seemed confused and frightened by the odd change of the scene, but the girl cared not for that - it was to be expected. Her attention, however, was not directed at him, but at the frozen bullies - the creation of his memories, and a tired mind. She frowned.

... Disgusting.

One by one, the bullies would start disappearing, quickly catching fire and becoming nothing but ash on the floor. The passerby people were next, and after that the walls of the very school, reduced to nothing within moments. Alice mercilessly destroyed what was left of the dream - the kid needed none of this. No, these memories would bring nothing but more pain. 

Tobias would be alone now, hovering in air, and surrounded by nothingness, which took many obscene colors. However, he would not be truly alone - Alice was still there, hovering right next to the boy now, even if he could not sense her presence.

- I've seen your dreams. They remind you of things that happened before. You need not to suffer through them again... - the voice sounded calming and solemn now. A pause would follow, as the notes of her voice rolled in all directions, meeting no obstacle that would muffle them. 

- Are there any good memories? Things you'd be ... fond to recall?

[Tobias Fordson]

        Tobias' words seemed to echo through the hallway that was his memories, with nothing responding. Maybe he really was going insane. Maybe the voice was just is imagination trying to toy with him. Maybe...

        His mind wasn't given any more chance to wander before he saw the world start to catch fire. First, the bullies that caused so much torment these past few nights. Then, the other students who skipped by with not a care in a world. Soon, everything about this scene erupted in a flash of orange light and extreme heat.

        Everything... except him.

        After but a few moments, the world he was just in, as frozen as it was, lay as a pile of ash and soot. Then almost instantly, it all vanished and Tobias was left in a strangely void realm. The pitch black background soon shifted colors into a perplexing kaleidoscope, giving a surreal look to the world around him.

        And then the voice echoed out again, signifying it hadn't left. And it echoed out in a soothing tone, to boot. Where did his mind come up with this voice? Why is it that it could do what he had been unable to do all this time?

        Something told him he shouldn't ask these questions directly, so he instead kept them to himself, near as he could tell. Instead, he felt that the voice should be trusted, which is when the voice rang out again. Good memories? Those were something he could barely recall through the pain of his past. But there was one that, without a doubt, comforted him more than any, and that was the one that came to mind.

        December 5th, 2004 was the date. It was late into the night of his birthday, and this had been a wonderful day. Tobias was left to his own devices playing around with the cooking set his parents got him this year. He so enjoyed cooking, and his mother just finished a small treat he baked with the cooking set, which she found splendid. A few moments later and he was sitting curled up next to her, nibbling on one of his other treats as his father came in from work.

        That moment ended with Tobias' parents carrying him up to his bed, with him still curled up nibbling on the treat. Though everything moved normally in that instant, everything seemed to go so fast for him: There wasn't enough time to be there; Not enough time to stay with them, even in memories. And even then, he had no luck with it. The torturous life he experienced afterwards dominated his subconscious mind, and it seemed like nothing could fix that.

        But maybe, just maybe, this voice had the power to bring that memory to life once again. He didn't know what it was, nor whether or not it was benevolent in the slightest. But if it could banish the bad, maybe it really could bring back the good. Tobias stood still for what seemed an eternity before breathing slowly and speaking.

        "M-my... s-seventh birthday. It's... o-one of the f-few good... memories I have."

[Alice Brown]

Though buried within a large plast of the boy's memories, the particular event Alice was able to delve in.

All she needed was to know where to look, And as the child remembered it, so the picture was open to the dream-catcher as well. She was slightly amazed, that Tobias's most pleasant memory was so ... mundane. One must have a really shitty life to consider mundane things to be 'pleasant memories'... I could bring it to him again... But...

Alice had been mindful of her powers, and what it could do. And she was well-aware that in some cases pleasant memories can bring more pain and suffering than the scariest of nightmares. Because, in many ways, a good dream worked inverse to a nightmare - once you wake up from the latter, you feel happy and relieved that it wasn't true. But if a dream was nice and enjoyable...

- Do you want to relive your 7th birthday?

The question echoed through the kaleidoscopic space. Alice had given him time to think, for a bit, before adding to it:

- I need to bring a warning, however. - the voice suddenly sounded more grim; - Outside of the dreams, they are gone. But so is the pain. You do not miss them as much as you did the first moment they were lost to you. Having to relive the good things will rekindle that fire, and once you wake up - the only thing you'll have wrought is more pain.

Alice made a pause, to allow the explanation sink in.

- I can bring back good memories... Or I can give you a dreamless sleep. You decide.

[Tobias Fordson]

        The words echoed, seemingly into his very soul. Could she really help him relive that moment? It seemed to be a miracle that this voice, wherever it came from, could break him out of his torment. And now, it was offering to let Tobias relive one of his fondest moments? He couldn't believe it.

        And then came the warning. As if the world couldn't be harsh enough as is, now this new spark of pain was brought before him. As the voice shifted from it's calm, soothing tone, the gift that Tobias so desired was given a consequence. One he wasn't sure he could handle. It had never occurred to him that having his good memories come back could be as bad, if not worse, than living through the nightmares he experienced.

        Tobias didn't know how to respond. He desperately wanted the nightmare to end, to have the chance to glimpse at his mother and father once more. Yet, would he be able to handle the misery afterwards? Sure, he drifted to minor images of his parents in the past... Those were calming, but they never held as much sentiment as his full memories.

        Then the last thing the voice spoke rang out. A dreamless sleep? This was something he'd never heard of. His mind always made him dream, and almost always for worse. But what would a dreamless sleep be? Was it even possible?

        Tobias wasn't sure what to do now. He could take the chance with his old memories, but they might cause more pain, just like the voice said. Or he could see if this "dreamless sleep" was real, and whether it would cause greater anguish. The choice was seemingly unbearable. Tobias didn't know which risk he should take.

        So he decided to let fate make the decision for him.

        He pulled out a coin from his pocket, and held it in his hand. He decided that, were the coin to land on Heads, he'd take up this "dreamless sleep." If it was Tails, then he would take on his old memories, and risk the pain that could follow. As he threw the coin into the air above, the rainbow of colors that flitted around him seemed to reflect and shine off the coin as it twisted and turned. The time the coin was in the air seemed like an eternity. His heart seemed to stop in place as the coin hung above.

        Then it landed, and the image of a man's head was clearly on the top. The choice had been made.

        Gathering up every inch of willpower that was left in him, he took in a deep breath and let out in as strong a voice as he could muster.

        "If you can... please make the dreams end... just this once"

[Alice Brown]

- As you wish.

As soon as the voice had announced that, it vanished. And so did everything else around. The blurry images faded away, instead replaced by complete, pitch-black darkness. It was material - it would suffocate all sound, suppress all light. The boy would not be able to see, or hear himself. The darkness would flood his vision, and even his mind, numbing the thoughts, silencing them as well. His inner, in-dream consciousness would vanish, for the time being. It was Alice's gift - dreamless sleep.

The girl's own consciousness soon returned back to her body, and she took her hand away from the boy's forehead. It was done. He would wake up in the morning, as usual, but, perhaps, he'd be able to have a good night sleep, just this once. A small smile appeared on her face - it felt ... good, somehow. Doing a good thing, even for a perfect stranger who's name she never even known. Turning around, she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else, and quiet enough not to disturb the slumber:

- Sleep tight.

With that, she would phase through the wall once again. Alice looked at the time - despite the adventure within the boy's head felt like 5 minutes, it turned out that almost an hour had passed. Remembering the room's number, the girl left, back for the girls' wing. Hopefully her sleepless somber roommate would be asleep by now. Or, somewhere else. 

I'll have to check in on this room tomorrow night... In case the kid has bad dreams again...

[Tobias Fordson]

        The odd, somewhat mystical voice rang out one last time before the colors around him seemed to fade. It was oddly comforting. A miasma of darkness seemed to fill the limitless expanse of this realm. The lights faded, the sound died off, even the air grew calm as it expanded. This shadowy expanse finally reached Tobias, whose first reaction was to pull away. However, as it began to surround him, he felt calm, at ease, and altogether quieting.

        I... feel like my mind... is being numbed... it's so peaceful.

        As the inky miasma finally engulfed him, his inner consciousness faded completely as the gift of a dreamless sleep finally settled on him. Tobias didn't make a single noise afterwards until the next morning, surprised at how peaceful he rested. He swung his legs off the bed, putting himself upright before walking to the window, smiling ever so slightly as he looked out to the.

        For the first time in a long time, he was glad to have been asleep...