Elena Gray had just begun her graduate studies at the Sleep Research Academy. The Academy’s new technology, known as the Dreamscape Program, is designed to enhance dream research like never before. Yet for Elena, the program triggers a bizarre nightmare sequence that won’t go away – even when she isn’t logged into the program.
When the nightmares persist, Elena convinces her lab partner, Vincent Miller, to help her hack the dream program and put an end to the recurring cycle. In the meantime, they follow the clues from Elena’s dreamscape to discover an old manuscript written by a dead French scientist, and an ancient machine in the basement of the Academy, both part of a prototype for the Dreamscape Program.
With every attempt to find the truth, Elena uncovers more of the Academy’s obscure history. But it soon becomes clear that in order to end the nightmares, Elena must face some of her own.
Genre: FICTION / Psychological
The terror I’d been subject to up to that point melted into adrenaline and rage. I whipped my sword through each foe, matching their speed and fluidity. I was aware of Vincent somewhere nearby, flashing like lightning as he annihilated shadows. But we made no progress. The shadows persisted until we found ourselves being pushed backward. They were pinning us in.
“We have to get at the big one,” Vincent shouted to me.
I’ll cut around left.
I knew Vincent would be able to hear my thoughts. Sure enough, he sped off to the right so that we could get around the shadows and engage the larger form behind them. The closer we got to it, the stronger and thicker the hoard. We managed to break through them and were suddenly attacking something much larger and more difficult to cut through. The black monster – whatever it was – seemed to be made out of the sludge substance we’d encountered earlier. Yet it moved impossibly fast and consistently avoided our attacks.
I started to notice the more we attacked, the more we were covered in the creature’s sediment. It began to impede my movements. Vincent was slowing down as well.
“This isn’t working. We should fall back,” I heard him say.
Turning, I realized we had forgotten the shadows behind us. They had made their way back toward us and now we were pinned from all sides.
“This isn’t good,” I said.
I heard Vincent abruptly cry out. His leg was wrapped in a black rope of slime attached to the larger mass, like a tentacle. He made an attempt to stab it, but before he could, it yanked him off his feet and dragged him toward it.
“Vincent!” I shrieked, bolting after him.
I couldn’t get to him in time. He was swallowed up in the monster and I was left alone in my nightmare.
