A man snapped his eyes opened with a heavy breath that came out suddenly in his mouth.
His eyes were constricted, sunken deep, and within them one could see his fear laid bare.
Only when he began to take in his
surroundings did he finally start to calm down.
"Was it, A dream..?"
The tone in his voice is both a combination of disbelief and confusion.
'It felt.. so real. As if, it truly happening..'
The man continued talking to himself, as he started to felt relief of his new reality.
It was obvious, the man is just merely having a nightmare. A bad nightmare, that he didn't want to come through.
It may be in form of end of the world, his family death or his death.
But, surely it was a dream. That he would forgotten in the flow of river of time.
So, his fear was only matter of time to dissipate to continue his life as it was before.
-
The man is Miles Zeno, he is a college student that was enrolled in Trinity University.
He was living in a boarding house close to his school.
-
After calming his nerves, Miles reached out and shut off the alarm that had been blaring in his ears.
Silence settled over the room, broken only by his uneven breathing. He checked the time, squinting at the glowing numbers.
He had no classes. It took a moment for that fact to sink in, today was only the third day of his summer vacation.
The realization eased the tightness in his chest, though a lingering unease still clung to him.
Miles lay there for a moment longer, staring up at the ceiling. Pale morning light slipped through the curtains, tracing faint lines across the walls. The fan hummed softly above him, steady and indifferent, as if nothing had happened at all.
He swallowed and sat up, running a hand through his damp hair.
Whatever had torn him from sleep was already slipping away, the details dissolving like smoke, leaving only a dull ache behind his eyes.
Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Miles planted his feet on the cold floor.
The chill grounded him. He took a slow breath, then another, until his heartbeat finally settled into something normal.
"It was just a dream.."
With that thought, his nerves finally began to settle.
He walked over to the window and pulled the curtains wide open, letting the morning light flood the room. As the world outside was expose through his eyes.
His roommate was nowhere to be seen. That wasn't surprising; he had gone back to his parents' place for the vacation.
Miles stood by the window for a while, letting the warmth of the sunlight sink into his skin.
The road is a bit noisy, with car and motorcycle going through from time to time.
A few leaves stirred in the breeze, and somewhere in the distance, a bird chirp called out.
Which Indicate, the start of a new day.
He exhaled slowly and turned back into the room.
As he ate, his mind drifted, turning over possibilities for the day ahead, wondering how to fill the quiet hours of this new morning.
His family would only return back home in a week, so he had no choice but to stay in his boarding room as he had no key to the house.
After finishing his meal, he picked up his phone and lay back on the bed, idly scrolling through social media. Posts blurred together as the minutes passed, his earlier tension fading into a dull calm.
Before he realized it, his eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted back into sleep.
Sleep took him faster this time.
Miles sank into it without resistance, the phone slipping from his loose grip onto the mattress beside him. At first, the darkness was gentle—warm, formless, almost comforting.
Then the silence changed.
He stood somewhere unfamiliar.
The air was thick, heavy against his lungs, and the ground beneath his feet felt wrong; too soft, as if it might give way at any moment.
Shapes loomed at the edge of his vision, stretching and shrinking when he tried to focus on them.
A sound echoed in the distance, it was slow, deliberate.
Miles turned, his heart beginning to pound once more.
He wanted to tell himself it was just another dream, but the fear felt sharper now, more vivid and too real.
And then something whispered his name.
"Miles.."
The whisper slid along his spine, close enough that he felt it rather than heard it.
He spun around, but there was nothing, only darkness folding in on itself, thick and endless.
His chest tightened. He tried to move, to run, but his feet felt rooted to the ground, as though the floor had grown hands and was gripping him in place.
The sound from before grew louder now, each one measured, patient.
Whatever was it; knew he couldn't escape.
"This isn't real," he said, his voice trembling. The words sounded weak, swallowed by the dark.
A shape began to form ahead of him, tall and indistinct, its edges blurring like smoke. The closer it came, the colder the air grew, biting into his skin. His heart hammered so loudly he was sure it would give him away.
Then...
Miles jolted awake, gasping. His room snapped back into focus, the bed beneath him, the curtains fluttering faintly, his phone vibrating with a new notification.
His sweat clung to his skin like a second skin, and his hands shook as he pressed them into the mattress.
He was awake..
Or so he hoped.
[Author's Notice: The day of my birthday is the day this is destined to be uploaded, a lot of chapter ahead is already schedule.]