Dreaming While I Wake

There was photo of her father sitting perfectly alive, smiling in a hospital bed with her mom nearby. It was dated Oct. 2008. The mother was explaining that she had just gotten back from seeing him last week, but she wasn’t sure when her daughter could. She started to cry… all she wanted was to see her Papa again…

-jerk-

A hyena slammed into him, and he fought it back a staff, the sole protector of the lodge at his back; his family and partner among them.  A shout echoes after the animal as it flees…

-jerk-

Darkness, the mind fails to recognize where it is. It looks around, there is nothing. Though it realizes there is no body to move it, it somehow is able to move.

Suddenly, it plummets.

-jerk-

His body hits the ground and explosion causes everything around him to shake. Ringing fills his ears as he crawls to safety, the normal cacophony of distant explosions, shouting, and gunfire slowly overtakes the screaming silence. He feels rain on his face, and realizes that some of the noise is thunder. The noise rises until it becomes unbearable, causing him to curl up and clutch his head. Soggy from the rains, the trench wall collapses on him.

-jerk-

There is still a deafening noise, but now everything is pitching, rolling; a mess of foaming, angry water. Looking back, he could see an arrow buried deep in the wet mess of shaggy black wool on his shoulder. Telling by the strong burning pain of the wound, the arrowhead must be iron. He vainly struggles to make any progress to shore, but ends up being swept over the precipice with the rest of the boiling water.

-jerk-

Everything felt so heavy. The large body twitches annoyed her; either they woke her up, or they would change dreams like you would change channels. She lays there, still unsure if she was still dreaming or awake. Gravity was making her painfully aware of the way her awkward body was digging into the mattress. After sucking in a large breath in an attempt to get more comfortable, she feels the familiar feeling of being held. She cracks one eye open; the room is still dark, so her body starts to settle back into the mess of blankets. Her head turns, and when she sees that she's the only one there, she knows she's awake. Slowly, she settles back into sleep, a voice floating through her head as she drifts off.

'Sorry...'