Such a Crazy Dream, Right?

I walked into my room in Meredith High Boarding School, exhausted. Jeannie, and Margret were there, chatting.

“Hey guys,” I said, dropping my stuff on my bed. “How was your weekend?”

“Good,” Jeannie said.

Margret, without looking up from her book, said, “I got a gerbil. His name is General Marshmallow.”

I grinned, “Was that your idea?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“How about you?” Jeannie asked.

I shook my head, “God, I had the weirdest dream. It was about you, actually.”

“Really?”

I nodded.

“What kind of dream?” Margret asked, smirking.

“Gross,” Jeannie said, tossing a crumpled math sheet at her.

I grinned, “Aw, bestie, you don’t want to hear about-”

“Stop it! I don’t want to hear it. That is so gross.”

I laughed, “It wasn’t that kind of dream anyway.”

“What was it, then?” Jeannie asked.

I flopped on my bed, “It was weird. I was in my house and you called me, asked me to come over. I got over there and you were in a panic, all pale and your eyes were gonna pop out of your head, and everything. You made me sneak up to your room and told me you had a dream-”

“A dream in a dream? Dream-seption,” Margaret said, tapping her head. “That’s deep.”

“Shut up, I’m not at the good part yet. So I was at your house, and you said that you had a dream about this old brick house and there were these postcards that were written by this girl, saying your dad was doing something terrible. So we took the bus to school to check it out. On the way, we saw a few people running along the side of the road, you know the charity marathon they were putting on last night?”

***

The school had two buildings, a main building for classes and the teacher’s lodgings, and a building for the kid’s rooms and the gym and cafeteria and stuff.

"It's so quiet," I whispered. "And so dark."

"I know," Jeannie said. "It's creepy. Like some werewolf is gonna jump out from around the corner and try to eat us, like a movie.”

“Yeah…”

It was silly, of course. Werewolves weren’t real. We were in highschool now. We shouldn’t be scared.

We climbed the stairs, holding each other, jumping at every little creek. Jeannie unlocked her dad’s office. It was creepy, all hard and cold and professional. There were no personal touches except for one photo he kept on his desk. It was Jeannie, hugging her grandfather when they went to visit him in Korea. He died shortly after. Jeannie had cried for weeks. It was one of the only time I could remember her father letting her skip school. Even when she got in the car accident where her sister died. As soon as she was out of the hospital, she was back in school. I had to help her with even the smallest things for a month, longer. That was back in middle school. She changed after that. She’d lost her sister. Of course she’d changed.

“Where do we start?” I asked.

The problem was, there was nothing here. Just a desk with three stacks of paper in trays. Not much to go on at all.

“What am I doing?” Jeannie whispered. 

“What?”

“You’re right, it was probably just a dream. A mad, crazy hallucination. And even if it isn’t, why am I dragging you into this? What am I doing?”

“Well, we’re here now. And I’m not leaving. So where do we start?”

“I don’t know… Actually.”

Jeannie closed her eyes, reaching out her hands. She took one, two, five deliberate steps, running her hand over the walnut desk. She pulled out the black, leather chair, eyes still closed, and sat down. She reached back, searching for something.

Zip

“What was that?”

Jeannie opened her eyes, “I- I don’t know. It just felt right. I don’t know.“ she looked back at whatever she’d done and pulled out a long, skinny pad of paper from a pocket in the back of the chair. Most of the slips had been ripped off, but some of them were still there.

“Test 326,” Jeannie read aloud. “Patient Y is not responding normally, so I was recommended to try adding a relaxant to Glitter before giving Patient Y the next dose.”

She looked up at me, “Glitter?”

I shrugged.

Jeannie flipped to the next paper, “Patient Y is responding better when the relaxant is added. But they still think Patient Y is not ready for incorporation. They believe Patient Y would be better suited if they were given something to help with the twitching, although they have admitted patients with twitching before,” she turned to the next page. “Adding more relaxant made Patient Y go into a comatose sleep for three days, until the dose wore off,” next page. “We tried adding benzodiazepine to Glitter, although we were warned that may have negative effects, and the twitching stopped. They will be transferring Patient Y after final tests are over.”

Jeannie flipped over another page and looked up at me, “That’s it.”

“Wow.”

“It’s definitely my dad who wrote this,” she said, looking down at the papers again, too chipper.

“So this proves it?”

“I don’t know.”

We fell silent, and only then did we hear footsteps outside. Jeannie quickly slipped the pad of paper back into the chair while I picked up a lamp from the desk, my hands shaking. I stood next to the door, while Jeannie stood on my other side.

At the last second before the door slammed opened, Jeannie whispered, “What if it’s my dad?”

But it was too late. When the door opened, before I could think, or recognize the tall, black haired man in the doorway, I swung as hard as I could, hitting Jeannie’s father in the face.

“Run!” I yelled, but we were both already moving. I shoved Mr. Yoon out of the way and sprinted down the hallway, past two big men who were too stunned to move. But they got a hold of themselves when Jeannie passed because I heard her scream. I looked back as I ran into the stairwell, but she was right behind me, her coat gone. 

We raced down the stairs, but my foot caught on something and time stopped. I screamed, my stomach dropped, and I wanted to vomit. I was gonna die. I stared and the floor racing up to meet me.

Jeannie grabbed my flailing arm, catching me before I fell.

“Go go go!”

She’d saved me, but I couldn’t say thank you. My voice had escaped.

We made it out the door and to the road, but then we stopped.

“What do we-” Jeannie started, but when the door slammed open, I panicked. I started running along the side of the road. I could barely hear my ragged breaths over my beating heart. I was dying today. Oh god. Oh god.

Jeannie was beside me when I finally calmed down enough to notice anything other than the road under my feet.

“Where do we go?” I panted.

“I don’t know. We’re running away from town.”

We were, and that was a problem because there was nothing for miles and miles out there. So we just kept going until our legs felt like they were giving out, and then we ran some more.

We managed to catch up with a large group of marathoners. They seemed to be friends, and were going at an easy pace. I looked over at Jeannie, unable to say anything, but she nodded and we slowed down. Their pace was easier, but I couldn’t go much longer. The adrenaline was already wearing off.

“Can we join you?” Jeannie asked one of the older ladies.

The lady smiled at us, her dark skin wrinkling around her eyes, “Of course sweetie. But are you ok?”

Jeannie nodded.

A familiar voice called out to us, “Jeannie, he- What happened to you two?”

Ben, a tall, cute boy came up to us.

“Oh, are these your friends Benny?” the lady asked.

“Yeah, sure mom. Are you guys okay?”

I nodded, “Yeah. Ben, are you ok?”

“What?”

“I- Sorry, what?”

“Are you alright?” Ben’s brow was scrunched, and he reached out to grab my sleeve. “Why are you wearing this?”

I looked down. I was still wearing Jeannie’s coat, “Fuck.” I took it off, trying to throw it far from the path, but it didn’t work. I was exhausted.

“Seriously, what happened?” Ben asked.

I looked over, “I’m not sure. Jeannie?”

When I looked over, Jeannie’s face was white, her eyes wide, like when I’d first seen her at her house.

“Jeannie?”

“I think- Look.”

She pointed forward, to a splotch far away.

“That’s it.”

“That’s what?” Ben said.

“That’s the house?” I asked.

Jeannie nodded.

“What house?” Ben insisted.

“The house from her memory.”

Jeannie nodded, “We should go in.”

“What? Your dad will know we’re going there. It’s too close to the school. He’ll be waiting.”

“What? Your dad?” Ben asked.

Jeannie ignored him, “I know. But we gotta go. What if he’s not? I have to know.”

“Fine, but if there’s a car outside…”

“Fine.”

“Jesus Christ, what is going on?”

“None of your business,” Jeannie snapped.

Ben looked at me and I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what was happening for myself.

As we ran, we passed a table where one of our teachers was handing out water. She waved to us and smiled. Her name was Ms. Hampton, our English teacher. She had dark hair, big eyes, and a wide face. She was the sweetest person.

After a while we were at the house, and unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, there was no car in front of it. Jeannie grabbed my hand and we ran off the path towards the house. It was brick, long, and skinny, just like Jeannie described. But as we ran, Ben caught up to us.

“So, anything I should know, or are we just breaking into a creepy house for no reason?”

“Go away,” Jeannie said. “You could get hurt.”

“But you’re letting her come?” he said, nodding towards me. Wow, thanks for not knowing my name. We’ve met, dumbass.

Jeannie looked at me, hesitant, but I jumped in, “I’m already in this. I’m being chased by him, too, whether I want to be or not.”

And it hit me. I’m in this. Fuck. This shit was way too creepy for me. But nothing to do now, I guess.

Jeannie tried to open the door, but it was locked. I wanted to scream. Couldn’t we catch a break? I was drained from running, I didn’t even care anymore. I punched the window and it smashed. I’d hit someone in the face with a lamp, right? What was a little property damage? Was this what losing your mind felt like?

I looked at Jeannie.

She nodded, “Ok, I need a boost.”

I got down on one knee next to the window, “Jeannie Yoon, will you-”

“Shut up.”

“Right, sorry, wrong time.”

Losing my fucking mind.

Jeannie crawled in the window and I went after her, then Ben. A jagged piece of glass left a long gash on my stomach, but I ignored it. I was wound up, and this house gave me shivers. 

It was old, with rotting floorboards and exposed wires. There were only two rooms, a room on the right that was closed, and a room on the left, which was wide open.

Jeannie went first, creeping into the left room, trying to step lightly so the floors didn’t creak. She peaked around the corner and froze.

“What is it?” Ben asked, not nearly quiet enough. “Jeannie?”

Behind us, there was a thump. We all stopped.

There was silence for an eternity as we waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

“Maybe it was a rat,” Ben whispered.

Sure it was.

“What’s in there?” I asked Jeannie.

“Nothing. It’s just… I remember it so much. It’s like I’ve been here before, which I have, but… this is the real deal.”

I looked past her. It was just a room, with a mattress in the middle, a drain in the corner, and a locked cabinet behind the bed.

“Cozy.”

I crept to the cabinet and I felt for something, anything, praying there was nothing there, but there was. Postcards, covered in dust. I pulled them down. The handwriting on them looked like it had been written by someone on death row, giving their final confession. And the words told no prettier a story.

“Oh my god,” I whispered. “Oh my god.”

“Shit,” Ben said, reading over my shoulder. “How did she even get this stuff? Why would he do this?”

There were four postcards, telling the story of a girl, trapped in this room, being given drugs, learning to need it. It was terrifying.

“Aaaaaaah!”

An agonized scream pierced the silence like a needle piercing flesh. Then Jeannie was screaming, and we were running, and we were out the door, praying nothing stopped us. We ran until we caught up with Ben’s family.

“Oh, Benny, are these your friends?” his mother asked.

“Yeah, sure. Are you guys okay?”

What just happened? What just happened?

“Yeah, are you ok, Ben?”

“What?”

“I- What?”

“Are you OK. What happened?”

“I don’t know, Jeannie?”

Jeannie was quiet. We were all in shock. But from what? What just happened? We ran, silent, but suddenly she pointed forward.

“Look,” there was something on the horizon. “It’s a house.”

“What?” Ben asked.

“A house,” I said. “Like from her…”

I stopped. What was going on? What did we just do? We were just running… running from the school? That wasn’t right. What did we just do?

“We should go in,” Jeannie said.”

“What?” I said. “No. Your dad will know it's there and go in. It’s so close to the school.”

“What?” Ben asked. “Your dad?”

Jeannie ignored him, “I know, but we gotta go. What if he’s not?”

“Fine but…”

“But what?”

“We can’t go.”

“Jesus Christ guys, what’s going on?”

“None of your business,” Jeannie snapped.

Ben looked at me. I shrugged. Was this dejavu?

But I was sure this wasn’t just dejavu when we passed a table where Ms. Hampton was handing out water. She couldn’t be here. Not twice. And I know I'd seen her before.

“Guys,” I whispered. “This isn’t normal.”

“Have we been here before?” Ben asked. “I could’ve sworn we did this.”

“We did, but I don’t remember-”

“We’re going,” Jeannie interupted, then turned.

“Stop! Jeannie! This isn’t right!”

But she wasn’t listening.

I sprinted after her to the house. It was brick and old, and familiar.

“I’ve definitely seen this before,” Ben said to me as we ran up behind Jeannie.

Jeannie tried the door, but it didn’t- it opened. That wasn’t right, was it?

I looked down at my stomach. I had a gash there, a rip in my shirt. This wasn’t right.

“Jeannie,” I warned. “You’re not ok. Don’t go in there.”

But she did. Was I going crazy?

The house was old, creepy. There were only two rooms, a room on the right and a room on the left.

Jeannie went straight for the room on the left, walking in, right to the cabinet, and pulled down a packet of postcards, not being careful. There was a loud thump behind us. Ben and I froze, but Jeannie just started flipping through the postcards.

“Probably just a rat,” Ben said.

I nodded and looked over Jeannie's shoulder.

I’ve been here for days, weeks? I don’t know. They inject some drug into me. It hurts and I feel trapped. I took a chunk out of the wall on it. If I die here, God, please let someone find this. I just want to have been loved. I want someone to care that I’m gone. Even if I don’t. -Kayla

How long have I been here? I can barely move, let alone think. But I think it’ll be my birthday soon. I’ll be sixteen. I could get my driver’s license. I was practicing so hard, too. Now Gwen really will get hers before me. I talk to Suzy and Matilda a lot. They say to take the drug and kill them. Kill them, break out, escape. I don’t know. I don’t know if I could survive without the drug. -Kayla

I’m dying. Withdrawal. I need more. I’m gonna die. I hate looking at my arms, hate seeing the scars, hate getting the needle, but hate dying more.

So tired. Want drug. Can’t even write. Hands shake when not on it. God, I need it. They’ve said I need a reset. But I’m gonna die. I need it. I got a knife yesterday. Matilda made me steal it off Mr. Yoon. Thought about breaking out. Didn’t. Gave knife back. Need more.

That was it.

“Oh my god,” I whispered. “Oh my god.”

“Shit,” Ben said.

But Jeannie, she relaxed, like this was what she was waiting for her whole life.

“Jeannie?”

“I get it. It makes sense. It was my fault. My sister-”

“Is dead, died in that terrible car accident,” an authoritative voice said behind us.

***

I stopped talking.

“That’s it?” Margret asked. “It just ends?”

“Yup,” I sat up.

“That’s crazy,” Jeannie whispered. “I had a dream kinda like that, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was in the back of this truck and I was injected with something and I jumped out of the car and ran down this long road, but then this bunny came up to me, like seven times my hight, so that was definitely a dream.”

“Yeah,” I said. “But still. It’s creepy, right? So that kinda creeped me out the whole weekend. Oh yeah, also, I don’t know how I got this. Look.”

I lifted my shirt to show my stomach, and a long, red scratch there, made by something, like jagged glass.