When Dreams Turn to Nightmares

William was a hard working man. He always tried to do the right things, to provide for his family. He never stayed out late with friends and always came straight home from work. He and his wife Sarah had been saving to buy a home in the country. They dreamed of someday having a little place where they could grow a garden and raise some kids. They both worked very hard and the day had come when they were able to buy a place. Sarah had found a house on ten beautiful acres, everything seemed perfect. They made a deal with the sellers and the loan was approved, so it appeared as though their dreams were beginning to come true.

The house was in a neighboring county, but too far for them to drive to work, so they both needed to find new jobs. Sarah had been a clerk at a local convenience store, so finding a job was as easy as getting a transfer to the closest town. William worked at a factory that made windows. He soon found a job at a factory near where they were moving, this time in a warehouse for a company that made bicycles. They both had scheduled a few days off between jobs to give them some time to get moved into their new home.

It was Saturday and they had been making trips back and forth all day, trying to at least get the things moved that they would need for their first night in their new home. It was dark as they were making the last trip for the day and they were exhausted. William was driving this trip and Sarah had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. The radio was playing low as William thought of how nice it was going to be to live in the country, away from all the traffic. No more rush hour, no more horns. Life was good. Out of nowhere a deer was right in front of him, he swerved to the left, but the deer was too close. He hit the deer with such a force that the deer came over the hood of the truck and broke completely through the windshield. William couldn't see anything, he could hear Sarah scream. Then the truck left the road, crossed a small ditch and plowed head on into a tree, where it came to a very sudden stop.

When William woke up a short while later, there was steam coming from under the hood of the truck. There was blood and deer hair everywhere. It was dark as William searched frantically for his wife Sarah.

"Sarah" He called out. "Sarah, where are you?"

Then he felt her hand under the deer. She was still in the truck with him. William struggled to get his seat belt off and free Sarah from beneath the deer. The broken glass from the windshield was everywhere. He could feel it cutting his arms as he tried to move the deer. He couldn't get to her so he climbed out of the window and ran around to the other side of the truck. He pulled her door open to find her lifeless body smashed against the seat. He was bleeding badly from the cuts on his arms and the bump on his head was growing larger. He tried to stand up but he was too weak. He fell unconscious across his dead wife and the deer.

When William awoke in the hospital, the horrible memories of the accident came rushing back into his head. He screamed as he tried to set up in the bed, before realizing where he was. He loved Sarah with all his heart. He didn't know if he could make it without her. He didn't know if he wanted to make it. His world seemed to have fallen completely apart. He was injured pretty bad in the wreck. He had three fractured ribs, a broken leg, a bruised kidney, and a lacerated liver. Not to mention a concussion, numerous cuts, and bruises. It was going to take some time to heal up.

As the days passed, William came to know his nurse on a first name basis. Her name was Sam. She came in everyday to change his bandages, bring him his pain medicine, and after a few days she even started stopping by after her shift had ended, just to keep him company. Sam was divorced and didn't have any children so she didn't have anyone to go home to anyway. William enjoyed her company a lot. It seemed to make the days go by faster when he had someone to talk to. After a few weeks it was time for William to go home. William didn't really have a home yet. They hadn't even spent one night in the house before the accident. He didn't know if he would be able to go back there without Sarah, It was their home, not just his. Sam offered to let him stay with her for a few days until he felt more comfortable. She had a house all to herself and there was plenty of room. After some hesitation, William agreed that maybe it would be okay. So he went to stay with Sam.

William slept in the guest room but as the days went by, they became closer and closer. They were both all alone in the world. They both needed someone, anyone to be with. One evening, after supper, they were watching a movie together in the living room when Sam suggested that William come to her room to sleep for the night. She explained that some nights she just felt more alone than others. It had been nearly three months since Sarah's death and William thought to himself that if he was going to live, he needed to get busy living. That night as they lay in the bed together, William thought about Sarah, what wold she want him to do. He slowly fell asleep with Sam in his arms and dreamed about Sarah.

Time went by quickly and the two of them feel deeply in love. William felt like a new spirit of life had been breathed into him. He had hope. He had a future once again. They planned on being married as soon as possible. William lost his job at the warehouse after the accident and was still unemployed. Sam worked all day so William was at home by himself. He searched the papers looking for employment. He finally had a reason to want to work again. The night before they were to be married, Sam told William that there were some things he needed to know. Things about her.

"I know I love you, that's enough for me." William said

"There are other things sweetheart, important things, things about me." She looked at his eyes

"The only important thing is that I love you. Nothing else matters" he replied

"If only that were the truth" She went on "is it? Is it the truth darling? Nothing else matters, really? You will always love me no matter what?"

"Of course I will Sam, there is nothing you could say that would ever change that." William said.

She took his hands in hers and said "William, I wasn't always who I am today. I was someone else. I had a different life"

"I know you were married before, dear. It doesn't matter" William explained

"It does matter William. It does." She paused for a few seconds and took a deep breath "William, I was married to a woman!"

"You're a lesbian" William questioned

"No William, I am a man. I mean I was a man. I am a woman now, but I was born a man." She shouted.

William sat there in disbelief. He was in shock. This couldn't be true he thought to himself. How could she do this? Why would she do this? The confusion turned to hurt as William let go of her hands and sat back against the sofa where they were sitting. The confusion quickly turned to rage as William grabbed Sam by the throat and started choking her. His arms were shaking. His teeth were clenched. His heart was pounding. He couldn't stop. Soon, her lifeless body hung in his hands until, he finally let go and she fell to the floor.

"What just happened" he said out loud

Ten minutes earlier he was the happiest man in the world and now this. What could he do? What should he do? he thought. He sat there lost in thought for hours. He had to hide the body. He had to get rid of it. He rolled Sam's body up in a blanket and carried her to the car. He drove for miles not know where he was going. After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled over by a river bridge. There he took the body out of the car and let it fall to the river below. He got back in the car and drove back home. The sun was starting to show on the horizon when he finally collapsed on the bed in the spare room. He awoke a couple of hours later to the sound of the telephone ringing. It was the hospital wanting to know why Sam hadn't showed up for work. Still confused and half asleep William told them that she had left some time ago. He told them that she left early today because she was going to walk to work. He said that he hadn't heard from her since then.

The days passed, The hospital had reported her missing. The police had been by several times to question William about the last time he saw Sam. William told them the same story every time. They searched the house and impounded her car. William took his things and went to the country house Sarah had picked out for them to live in together. It was very hard for him to adjust to the changes he had experienced in just the past few months. His life was so different now. It would never be the same. He eventually found work at a garage in town. It didn't pay much but it was enough to pay the mortgage and buy a few groceries. William kept to himself rarely going anywhere but to work and the super market for supplies. One Saturday morning there was a knock at the door. William rolled over in bed and tried to ignore it but who ever it was, kept knocking. Finally William went to see who it was. It was a doctor from the hospital where Sam had worked. She wanted to come in and ask him some questions about Sam. William tried to shut the door as he told her no, but she stopped the door with her foot. She informed William that she was not leaving until he agreed to talk to her. Just five minutes was all she asked. William let go of the door and turned to go to the kitchen. The doctor followed him, looking around the room as she went. William started brewing a pot of coffee and said in a rude tone "What is it? What do you want to know" I have already told the police everything"

"Nothing!" she screamed as she stabbed him in the arm with a syringe.

William tried to fight her but whatever she had injected him with was so fast acting that he collapsed immediately to the floor. When he came to his senses, he was hand cuffed to the posts of his bed. His feet were tied tightly to the bottom rail. His clothes were gone. He lay there naked. The woman was standing at the end of the bed, waiting patiently for him to wake up.

"Who are you?" William demanded "What do you want"

"Who am I?" The woman said "I am Sams wife. You never loved him. You never appreciated him like I did. I loved him and you killed him!"

William was terrified. What kind of nut was this? What was she doing to him? How did she know? The thoughts of what this woman might be capable of sent shivers of fear down his spine.

"I was there, watching from the street. I tried to get to the house to stop you, but I was too late. You killed him." The woman kept talking louder with each word "You killed him because he lost his man parts! There is more to a man than man parts!" She was screaming hysterically "We'll just see how you feel without man parts!"

The woman had a surgical scalpel in her hand as she came towards William. William screamed in terror and tried with all his might to get away, but the hand cuffs were to tight. He was trapped there in the bed at the mercy of the woman. This can't be real, he thought This can't be happening! The woman used the scalpel to do her work. William screamed in pain as he lay there bleeding on the bed. She quickly bandaged up the wound to stop the bleeding. She explained to him that she wanted him to live. She wanted him to live every day thinking of how he killed Sam. The woman took the hand cuffs loose. William was too weak to move. The woman packed the parts into a paper towel, shoved them in her coat pocket and walked out of the house.

Over the next two days, William drifted in and out of consciousness. He was feverish. An infection was eating away at him. He grew weaker, suffering more with each passing hour. He had dreams of Sarah. He had nightmares of the woman. He didn't know what day it was. The smell of rotting flesh filled the air in his room. His fever climbed so high he lost his senses. Pain was all he knew now. He wanted to die. One more agonizing day and he would get his wish.