The Labyrinthine Nightmare

By Kenneth Dube

Andrea painted away in art class. She occasionally looked over at her friend, Michelle, to see what she was doing. Michelle did the same, as they were positioned next to each other. They were both happy to be in the same class doing what they liked to do best.

The two were exchanging glances when Andrea noticed the teacher walking over to Michelle. He stopped and looked at her work. He was quiet at first, but then broke out into a rage as he scolded Michelle for not applying the last lesson to her work. He yelled and screamed, causing everyone to stop their work and watch. Andrea watched in disbelief. He had always been a great teacher and never lost his temper about anything. She gulped as he walked over to see her painting. She was afraid because her painting was the same as Michelle’s, only she had painted it upside-down.

He stood behind her and said nothing. She relaxed as it appeared that he had walked away. She looked at Michelle in disbelief and then noticed that she was looking behind her with her mouth open. A strong sense of horror came from Michelle’s expression. Andrea turned around and saw that the teacher was still standing there. His body seemed to bubble like boiling pea soup. His mouth foamed and his eyes bulged. The professor seemed to explode, but rather he changed into a dove that flew away into the sky-line.

Michelle applauded from her grassy seat as the two of them watched the bird fly over the quiet town. It took Andrea a moment to understand her surroundings, but then remembered that she had day-dreamed the art class. Michelle sensed Andrea’s momentary confusion and climbed up the tree behind them to get away.

“You’re going to corrupt the rest of us!” Michelle shouted from the tree.

“Come down!” Andrea shouted back. “Don’t leave me here!”

The tree pulled Michelle into its trunk and reached down to pick up Andrea with its branches. Michelle’s eyes appeared on the trunk of the tree and watched as the branches strangled and crushed Andrea. Andrea tried to scream, but she could not breathe.

Andrea woke up from a cold sweat where she sat in front of a computer terminal. Michelle put her hand on her shoulder.

“Boy, I thought you would never snap out of it,” Michelle said. “I’ve been calling you for the last minute.”

“Ugh,” said Andrea. “I must have dozed off.”

She looked at her computer monitor and remembered that she had tons of pages to enter into the computer. She had 200 pages to do in.. she noticed that it was 3 o’clock... two hours. There was no way. She was going to lose her job for sure. Michelle understood her problem and heated a cup of tea for her. She told Andrea that it was good for her, so it might help. Andrea drank it quickly, but the pile of papers remained. Michelle looked at her disappointed and they both sat trying to figure out how they were going to get all of the paperwork done.

Anxiety ripped through them. If Andrea lost her job, she couldn’t go to the company dance upstairs. They could hear the classical dance music playing already. The computer started to electrify and a zap evaporated Andrea. She had been terminated.

Andrea cried out as she realized that she was in hell remembering her failures over and over. Flames rose everywhere. Screams and cries came from everywhere and nowhere. A laugh of pleasure and evil echoed through the enormous cave. “If only I hadn’t fallen asleep,” Andrea said. Michelle, who had been lying lifelessly in the flames to the side of her, overheard her and said, “Why did you have to drag me here with you. Why did you copy my painting?” She twitched in pain as the flames burnt her flesh over and over again, eternally.

“I didn’t know,” Andrea responded in sadness.

Andrea awoke in tears, her face deep in the pillow. Michelle called over to her. They were both sharing a room in the university dormitory. “Are you Okay? She asked. “You were crying in your sleep.”

“I just had the worst nightmares,” Andrea told her, wiping away her tears. “I had one nightmare, and then when I thought I was awake, it turned out that I was in another nightmare. Then I awoke in another nightmare. It was horrible.”

“That’s terrible,” Michelle said. “What were they about?”

“Well...we were water skiing and then something happened,” Andrea started. “Barbie lost her leg and...”

“What?” asked Michelle, confused (something wasn’t right). “Who is Barbie?”

“Barbie,” Andrea said knowingly, “the doll, don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?” asked Michelle, the confusion growing. She looked at her doll on the shelf and back at Andrea.

“Barbie’s leg fell off and we had to find it or else she would disappear.” Andrea replied.

Michelle tried to sort out what Andrea was talking about. Andrea was wrong. The nightmare was about painting and flames. Why was she talking about Barbie? Just then a horrible feeling spread through her.

Hesitantly, she asked, “They weren’t your nightmares, were they?”

Andrea didn’t answer. She lay with her back to her on her bed across the room. Michelle got up from her bed and walked across to Andrea, afraid of what she was going to find out.

“Andrea,” she said. “Tell me whose nightmares they were.”

She shook Andrea’s shoulder. She was stiff and cold. Andrea’s weight shifted and she turned over onto her back. She had the face of the bubbling professor.

In a shrieking voice, the professor shouted, “They’re your nightmares, ha, ha, ha!”

Michelle screamed and the nightmare shifted once more.