Excerpt: Dreamers Awake

“So anymore rabid bird attacks recently?”

With a slight grin Jenny continued to walk, one hand in her pocket, the other letting her cigarette burn between her fingers, saying slightly, “Nope, I’ve been lucky.”

Though that wasn’t entirely true, at least not when it came to the fact that she had been getting more and more paranoid with each passing day, thinking that every little snuffle Tock made would form into a word. It hadn’t happened…yet. And that was what kept getting her, the yet. Would it happen and if it did then when? Was she going to have to hang, suspended in this strange, startled state of being for months? Was she just stressed or was she really losing her mind?

She didn’t want to talk about it with anyone for fear of actually sounding crazy. So she had avoided the subject at all costs, even when Tabitha called though her friend could tell that something was wrong. Jenny played it off as just stress from work, nothing serious, just one of those months. And she tried to relax, tried to forget about the dream which had since turned into dreams. More and more dreams of animals talking to her, Tock especially, and every time she woke up she almost wished that the Dog really would speak so she could at least know she was insane and not just having strange, vivid dreams.

But, of course, it hadn’t happened yet and the logical, rational part of her brain told her that it wasn’t going to. So she went through the motions of the day but was wary of every chirp of every bird, every meow of every cat, every chitter of every Squirrel. And she had a feeling that Peter and other Co-Workers were starting to notice. But they didn’t mention it, at least not to her face. Now though seemed to be a different story.

She watched Peter’s black, polished shoes step one after the other and didn’t lift her head, staring at the ground, noticing how they seemed to walk in sync. And then, the older man’s voice came to the air, quiet, gentle almost, not a tone that he really reserved for her. And his question made her bristle almost immediately.

“So, what’s been on your mind huh Denair, you’ve been more tense than usual and that’s saying a lot.”

“I’m not tense” was her immediate response, full lips pulled into a deep frown. She hated how he was so intuitive and she barely knew him, he barely knew her, they were just work friends, competitors really. Sure they shared the occasional cigarette, talked civilly in the break room, Hell, they had gone to dinner and drinks a couple of times. But she didn’t know if she’d ever list him as one of her friends. And she had always thought that friends, aside from Family, were the ones that were supposed to know everything about you. She found herself defensive and angry that he dared ask her such a personal question but now she felt silly for having blurted out words that would automatically key him into the fact that she really was tense and distracted, just as he’d expected.

She had proved him right the moment she had opened her mouth.

Avoiding his gaze even more vehemently now she took a drag off her almost done cigarette and then tossed it aside a bit more forcefully than at first intended. Peter noticed based on the fact the let a small noise escape his throat, clearing his throat, a lame attempt at an apology maybe? Or he had seen how much his simple question had rattled her and he was trying to bad pedal. But no, Jenkin’s never backpedaled, he never apologized for everything. So she wasn’t surprised when he spoke again, still walking with her, keeping pace.

“You certainly seem tense. I mean, I’m just making an observation, I didn’t mean to upset you or anything.”

He didn’t mean to upset her, sure. That seemed to be Peter’s purpose in life, to get a rise out of her. But then again, he was a really nice guy. One of those people you loved to hate, or hated to love, or one of those things. He was the bad guy, the jerk with a good heart though and she couldn’t be angry with him. With a sigh she shook her head and ran fingers through her long brown hair, shrugging her coat tighter around herself and finally giving him an honest answer, though her voice was muttered.

“I’m just…tired is all.”

“We’re all tired Denair, it’s a part of life.”

She felt her eyes droop slightly as she shook her head minutely and almost whispered, “Not this tired…”

A moment passed where nothing was said as they continued to walk, the bus stop looming every closer, their shared destination. It was a daily routine with them, they’d walk to and from the bus stop together, surrounded by their idle chatter. And it was something Jenny enjoyed very much. But today, the questions were too personal, too deep, touching upon a subject that she was too afraid to touch upon for fear of the stability of her own mind. And after that moment of silence where the only sound was their footfalls and the gentle whisper of the breeze, Jenkin’s spoke again and in his voice was real, true concern.

“What’s going on Jenny…” and his next words almost stopped her in her tracks. “You can talk to me.”

She was stunned for a moment, left to simply blink and wonder at the sincerity in his voice. Jenny knew he was a nice guy but there had never really been a time where they had offered each other sympathy or comfort. Sure, if a day was going rough they might offer the slight condolence, help in some way to make the work load easier. But when it came to personal lives, there had never really been an interest, a need to know. But before her silence could become rude Jenny cleared her throat and forced a laugh, a light, breathless thing as she shrugged and said, “I know Pete…and thanks but really…I’m alright.”

Their footsteps stopped, having reached the bus stop and they stayed a few feet away from the muttering crowd of people. And finally, once they had come to a stand still, Jenny forced herself to lift her chin and meet his eyes. He was watching her with concern in his eyes, brown behind his black framed glasses and for a moment she fumbled. He had never looked at her like that before. It was nicer than she would have thought. But one little question and honest concern over how she was doing was not enough to break her shell, at least not completely, at least not with Jenkin’s.

Forcing a small smile to her lips Jenny shrugged thin shoulders and said again, “Really Pete, I’m fine. Thanks though.”

Finally, after what seemed like one hundred heart beats the older man let an easy smile come to his lips and nodded, saying easily, “I’m just lookin out for ya, I can’t let me hardest competition slack off or else I’ll lose my edge.”

Rolling her eyes but smiling wide Jenny nodded, silently glad and grateful that the topic was onto lighter, more normal things. And with a laugh she glanced at the crowd, saw old women muttering together, saw teenagers with ear buds shoved deep into their ears, noticed two old men conversing while a small beagle snuffled at the ground. She took a deep breath and nodded again, saying gratefully, “This is true, I’ve gotta keep you on your toes.”

They shared a smile then, neither of them sure of what to say. Until finally, Jenkin’s seemed to remember another routine of theirs. And with a quick glance across the street to a Starbucks he rolled on his heels for a moment and said eagerly, “The usual I presume?”

At first unsure of what he was talking about Jenny glanced across the street and then saw the familiar green text and immediately realized how much she would love a coffee right now. It was getting colder with the change of seasons and the Seattle winds were never pleasant. She could smell the salt of the Puget sound on the breeze and let it wash over her as she nodded and turned back to smile at him, saying easily, “But of course.”

He was off the sidewalk and over into the street before she could offer to pay. Already he was grabbing his wallet out of his back pocket and waving it in the air, saying loudly, “It’s on me Denair, you get next time.”

Her mouth opened to answer him, lips parted with a smile to make a joke, some sort of snide remark. Suddenly though everything became very quiet and the sound of the cars on the street, the people beside her, the Earth seemed to turn off. And in her head, she heard a loud, frightened, panicked voice, yelling sharply, “LOOK OUT…WATCH OUT!” Blinking Jenny felt her brows furrow, heart frozen in her chest at the panic in that voice. And she didn’t have time to see where it had come from. Instead, the sounds of the world turned back on in a flood of noise and one stood above them all, the razor sharp squeal of tires.

Everyone was silent, frozen in shock, eyes wide with terror at what Jenkin’s didn’t even see. There was a cab, barreling towards him, having taken the turn at an insane speed and didn’t have time to slow down. Her breath caught in her throat, no one cried out, no one shouted, too frozen to do so. And Jenny was running off the sidewalk and towards her friend before her mind really registered her actions. She was there with fingers digging deep into his coat, an arm wrapped tight around his waist, fingers locked around his arm and she was throwing herself backward, pulling with all her might.

It was enough, as she felt Jenkin’s stumble and trip, both of them falling to land in a heap near the sidewalk. The cab finally screeched to a halt, fishtailing and almost spinning as it stopped. And just as quickly as it had happened, it was over. The driver was out the door and crouching by them in an instant, voice sounding dim and distant in Jenny’s suddenly roaring ears.

Things were starting to make a bit more sense now as she was pulled to a sitting position, managing to catch Pete’s wide, frightened eyes. He stared at her for a breathless moment, a hand pressed hard to his chest, over his heart, as if making sure that he was still physically here, he was still alive. She saw a shaking smile start to tremble to his lips, the man speaking to her breathlessly but his words weren’t heard. She was concentrating, looking somewhere else.

All her eyes saw was the two old men across the street and the small Beagle standing straight, legs stiff, ears perked, long snout pointed straight at her. She stared at the animal for as long as she could remember, staring into its black eyes and with an understanding nod, the Dog turned away from her and sat obediently at its Master’s side. Before she could really understand, though she already knew that the Dog had been the one to yell, she was being pulled to her feet and checked over for injuries, someone already having called 911.