Dreams Chapter 2

         Darren awoke and shot foward in his bed, his breath was heavy and his body was covered in sweat.  He turn on his bedside lamp and reeled at the pain the sudden light had brought.  He slowly staggered his way into the bathroom and threw some water into his face.  Looking up at the vanity mirror he saw his once smooth skin looking ever more blotchy, his bright green eyes had dulled and even his hair look as though it was becoming matte.

         "These dreams" he said aloud "These dreams are gonna kill me"

         He wiped his brow with a towel and walked back to bed, as he pulled the blanket over his chest he reached to turn off the lamp but stopped.  He stared into the ceiling of his new house. 

         "This house was a blessing, it was amazing in every way and cheap...it was so cheap. People couldn't get a place half this size for twice what he was paying. Still though" He tried to stop there but his mind wouldn't allow it "The dreams...they started when I moved in...almost immediately" 

         Darren was a smart guy for his age, a mere twenty years old he was more mature then most people twice his age and with the money his folks left him he wouldn't have to work for his life...if he was smart.

         "I am smart." he thought "But these dreams."

         It had only been a month but this dream had been visiting him every single night without fail. He wasn't the type to be thrown off by a mere dream but this was different..it seemed real...too real to be a dream.  He could remember every last detail by now, down to the smell of the ancient warrior woman (Lavender) or the phase of the moon (Crescent).  He had talked to his therapist about the dreams and she was no help, it was the same shit as always.

         "I believe the dreams are linked to what happened to your parents" the blonde woman said as she shifted in her seat

         "They aren't" Darren replied coldly

         "But your subconscious is trying to say that..."

         "They aren't" Darren interrupted in the same cold tone

         "Well then" The woman said frustrated as she adjusted her glasses and shifted in her seat once again "What do you think they mean?"

         "I don't know. Thats what I'm paying your for" Darren said

         "Well if you won't accept my answer then I don't see how" the woman started

         "I am telling you that they have nothing to do with my parents" Darren said getting angry now

         "I know this is a tough topic for you Darren and I want you to know that I am here to listen." The woman said in a gentle voice as she shifted in her chair once again

         "Same old bullshit, I am not here to talk about my parents. I am here to talk about these dreams and if you won't help me then I will show myself out" Darren said as he got up to leave

         "Don't leave Darren this is something you need to face in order to move on with your life"

         "I have faced it." he said walking towards the door, his backed turned to the woman "Its shrinks like your that keep picking at an old wound hoping to get some great insight out of what happened to me, maybe even a book deal. Ive dealt with you people for the past five years" he stopped and turned to her "You aren't going to fix me and you aren't going find out anything about what happened to my folks either"

         "I wasn't trying to..." the small woman started

         "Save it" Darren said and left

         He lay awake until the sun arose over the skyline, daylight made him feel less empty, less alone.  Everything was nicer during the days, the house seemed so big at night and with the few pieces of furniture Darren owned it felt like he and the furniture were driftwood floating in a black sea.  Darren didn't have any friends, a side effect his lack of partying, he graduated college at the age of nineteen and landed a job as a photographer for a magazine soon after.  He was on vacation now to move into his new place, the house was built in the 1920s and was newly renovated, the inside was beautiful, hardwood floors, new kitchen huge living room. Every thing he was looking for in a place, he bought it the same day he saw it.  Something about the old exterior with its chipped bricks and rattling windows mixed with the new clean features of the inside appealed to Darren. 

         Darren reached over a checked his cell phone, no messages. That wasn't anything new, the only place that ever called was work and he wasn't even sure he was going back.  Its not like he needed the job, it was just something to get out of the house.  The dreams were the only bad thing about the house, during the day the sunlight would shove the thought of the dreams to the dark corners of his mind and he would enjoy the day painting or cooking or just watching tv.  As long as he was in the house he was happy.  Today was no different, after getting up showering and throwing on some ratty clothes, Darren continued painting the ground floor bathroom. He took a few breaks to eat and watch some trashy tv shows, he returned to paint just as dusk set in.  Just as some woman was screamed on tv about her brother sleeping with her baby daddy's younger sister the doorbell rang.  Darren walk suspiciously to the door and looked through the peephole.  There was a man at the door in a brown uniform holding a box.

         "Who would have sent me a package" he thought

         He opened the door and threw a polite smile the man's way

         "Delivery for Darren Hihn" he said in a high voice

         "That'd be me" Darren replied

         "Wait...are you THE Darren Hihn? Like from the murders?"  the man said shocked

         "Give me that" Darren said as he snatched the package from the man all kindness drained from his voice

         "Oh...sorry..i just" the man tried to said but from the look Darren was shooting him decided to stop "S...Sign here"

         Darren quickly signed the mans electronic pad and slammed the door in his face.

         "The nerve" He said to himself 

         He set the package on the kitchen counter and examined it, it was wrapped in dirty brown paper and tied with twine. The sender had neglected to include a return address.  He grabbed a knife out of the drawer behind him directly below the sink and began cutting the twine.  Suddenly a scream emanated from the TV Darren looked up at saw that the women had now proceeded to beat her brother senseless with her shoe. Pain shot through his finger and he look down to see that the twine was gone and instead he a sliced his finger open. Small droplets of blood dripped onto the package as he ran to get a towel to wrap his injured figure in.

         "Damn it" he said clutching his figure tightly to stop the bleeding.  "Stupid TV"

         He reached for the remote and switched the distraction off, then he headed for the bathroom.  The smell of fresh paint filled his nostrils and he reached underneath the sink for the first aid kit.  After applying the necessary creams and bandages he headed back to the package.  He quickly ripped open the paper, he had bled for this package and he sure as hell was going to find out what was inside. As Darren opened the box his stomach sank inside of the box was a brand new bright red hat.