A Late-Summer's Night Dream

She still couldn't shake the previous nights dream. Even as she stared at the beautiful sunrise over the mountains through the kitchen window, the vivid, horrifying images that filled her mind wouldn't go away. As Caroline went through her morning schedule, snippets of that dream came and went, and no matter how hard she tried to think about other things, they just kept coming. "Maybe a shower will help," she mumbled to herself.

It all started with Caroline sitting on the back porch, while her dog, Daisy, had her last bathroom break for the night. She noticed the sky starting to turn into its beautiful shades of reds, oranges and purples, but there was something different about this sunset, something almost sickening about it, as if those pink-tinted clouds would open up to reveal the terror that hid behind them. Daisy started barking at the edge of the yard, nothing new, but Caroline felt nervous. "Maybe I should check it out this time" she said to herself, smiling..."of course, that's exactly what those idiots in horror films say right before they get eaten." Still, she moved toward the steps but stopped when the phone started ringing. Thinking "who's calling me this late?" she headed back inside for the phone. "Hello?" no response, "Hello?!" again, no response. She hung up, "Oh well" she mumbled to herself as she went back outside to bring Daisy in.

She noticed that sickeningly gorgeous sunset hadn't changed at all, nor had it gotten any darker. Her familiar backyard began to feel like she had never been there before, and Daisy was no longer barking. The surroundings began to fade, and Caroline was now standing beside a wide, steel blue river. The woods beyond the river were thick, and very green, like spring just arrived even though she knew it was nearly September. She followed the river, she didn't want to, but her legs were controlling themselves. There were birds flying around with sharp, jagged teeth, and huge snakes swimming along beside her. She stopped and looked at her reflection in the water. She was now wearing a knee-length white, lace-trimmed sundress and she was pregnant, very pregnant from the looks of it. She continued walking, feeling the cool mud squish between her toes. She heard the bloodcurdling caw of those birds off to the side. There were three of them, gnawing away at a man who was still partially alive. Caroline was sick, but she still managed to run.

The backdrop changed again and she was now leaning against a large boulder. The river was still in sight, and that terrifying sunset still claimed the sky. She had pain in her stomach, like someone was ripping out her insides. It felt like the baby was actually squirming out of her on its own, and it was. She could now see it laying there, it didn't have arms or legs, only a little body that resemble a snake, and it slithered away into the river. She stood up, and began walking along the river again. She saw Daisy swimming in the river, and tried calling for her. Caroline's mouth was moving, but no sound came out. Something swirled in the water around Daisy, and then she disappeared. Caroline wanted to scream and drop to her knees, but her feet just kept walking. An old, wooden boat floated down stream with those terrifying birds perched on the side. Blood was dripping from their mouths; Caroline didn't need to see what was in that boat, she already knew.

It was strange, all these awful, carnivorous animals around her and yet they all kept a distance. Her surroundings were the weirdest kind of wonderful and she felt oddly at home. The walking seemed to go one for hours but Caroline never felt tired. The scenes were all the same, the blue river with creatures lurking beneath the surface, the jagged-tooth birds flying around and occasionally perched over the mutilated remains of their meal, and an occasional glimpse of her baby. Her feet finally stopped, and that little pink, limbless body that came out of her slithered closer. It started sliding up her leg, and just as its head disappeared under her dress, the surroundings faded, and a faint beeping could be heard echoing in the distance.

....

The shower seemed to help, and Caroline managed to make it through the day with only bits of the dream crossing her mind. By the end of the day she had forgotten all about it, and began her nightly routine. She opened to back door to let Daisy outside, and decided to sit out there with her, something Caroline normally didn't do. It was a nice night, and Caroline felt relaxed, but that quickly evaporated with the sound of the phone ringing.