I Dream of Zombies Read Free Page A

the duvet. Sorry.”
    “It’s okay,” said Marla. “Don’t worry about that and I’ll give you one of mine.”
    “Thanks,” Ellen replied, and then paused for a while before continuing, “In the dream there is this corridor and I’m wandering down it, and I see this bed and there is someone lying on it. When I get there… and it takes a while… I notice that it is a man. He’s asleep. He looks normal.” She stopped and closed her eyes. “But then his face changes... his skin flakes off... his face begins to rot and his eyes are gone, and his hair falls out, and it seems to take forever, and then he looks at me. I can’t move. Then he gets up real slow and I really want to move, but I still can’t. I’m stuck. And he cannot talk because he has no tongue. His mouth is this big, black hole where there should be something. I scream and the screams echo, but no one comes, and I try to run, but I can’t.”
    “Go on.”
    “Then he stands up and…” Ellen stopped.
    “I’m here, Ellen,” Marla said. “Go on.”
    Ellen took a deep breath. “Then he grabs my arm and he sinks his teeth into it, and I’m yelling even louder, but I can’t run. My body is frozen. And I just stare. All I can do is watch as he rips the flesh from my arm and then he sinks his teeth in, and again and again. He’s pulling the skin and muscle, and it hurts so much. I can’t stop screaming. Then he moves even closer. He bites at my arm, higher and higher, getting nearer to my face, and I still can’t move. I’m frozen.
    “ I can sense someone behind me, but they don’t come to help. So, I turn my face, but I can’t see anyone, yet I know there is someone there, watching. I don’t know who, and I scream for them to help me, but they are hiding. Then I hear someone laughing, but they are far away. I turn back and the pain is overwhelming, and I feel sick to my stomach. I try to run, but I feel each tendon in my arm snapping. Then his face is in front of mine, and I can see the skin rotting and the dead, empty sockets where his eyes used to be, and the maggots, and the smell of... of death. Then he opens his mouth and I look down into the big, black hole inside. I try to scream out, but I can’t this time, and the fear feels like a pit that surrounds me and I am falling backwards into darkness.”
    Marla shook her head and stared at her sister. “That’s horrible. You dream this every night?”
    “Yes ,” Ellen answered softly. “It’s always exactly the same. But that’s not all. There is a voice. It sounds like a man’s, but I cannot tell if it is one person or many, as it seems to echo. It’s like I’m thinking things but someone else is speaking them, so I can’t tell if they are my thoughts as it’s so confused. He tells me that this is a warning and that I have to run, but I just can’t. He tells me this will be the last warning before the end. Then pain overwhelms me in the dark, but for some reason I do not die, and the thing continues to bite at my flesh until I wake.”
    “Jesus.”
    Ellen looked at Marla and nodded. “I know. Three weeks of it. This is why I don’t want to sleep. I read the newspaper articles about that scientist, and his dream is the same as mine – every single detail. Did you know he won the Nobel Prize? He’s not crazy; he’s an intelligent man, Marl. Maybe it is my imagination, but why would I dream this exact same thing every single night? My nightmares started on the same day as his. The date was in one of the articles. You do believe me?”
    Marla nodded. “I believe you and I think the dream sounds horrific. When I saw you sleeping it scared me, but there are no such things as zombies. I’m sorry, but I think you are stressed and I want to take you to see my doctor. Maybe he can help.”
    “By giving me sleeping pills? ! My GP gave me those and then I slept even longer, and it was even harder to wake up. No way!” cried Ellen, kicking off the duvet and getting up. “I