Park Chung-Ho woke up. Everything was as in this dream, except that Aislinn was lying on the floor, asleep, it seemed. He searched his pocket and found the key, exactly like she said.
He kneeled and checked if he could get a pulse on her wrist. She was alive.
How did she get here? He did close his door, didn't he?
He checked the door. He did close it.
He had to call someone for help, and Aislinn told him exactly who to call. But how to explain the situation?
Suddenly, he remembered the cuts from the nightmare and checked his body. He had scars from it, but he didn't seem to have bled. Like the smoke that was making it difficult to breathe, the cuts had an impact for real, but he wasn't really sure if he could have died or not in this dream. He was looking all around him. That Dark figure wasn't here; it had disappeared with the dream, but then, why was Aislinn lying on the floor in his locked room?
It was bursting in his head. He had to focus. First of all, Aislinn. He opened his door and checked the corridor. It was 3:00 a.m. ; no one was in sight. He locked the door behind him again. He had Aislinn's key in his pocket, but what was the number of her room, and in which dormitory? He looked at the key ring. There was a phone number on it. He called it. It didn't matter what time it was.
"I know. I'm coming."
He didn't even have the time to say a word. The woman who answered was probably Aislinn's mother. He went back to his room. How long would he have to wait? What was he gonna do till Aislinn's mother was there? He sat on his bed to think. He couldn't move Aislinn as he didn't have a single clue why she was lying on the floor.
Was she hurt?
How did she enter the room without unlocking the door?
Why was she here?
Why was she unconscious?
Questions were busting in his mind and blurred his vision, or was it the tears that started to come to his eyes as he felt less and less in control of anything that was going on. He lost track of time and jumped when his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"We're at the entrance of your dormitory, come open us."
Park Chung-Ho was pulled out of the overwhelming amount of questions that were dragging him down. All of a sudden, he wasn't thinking anymore. He came out of his room and locked the door, then went down 2 floors to get to the entrance of the building. Two people were waiting there. Aislinn looked very like her mother; Chung-Ho couldn't mistake who she was. The tall and visibly strong man standing next to Aislinn's mother must be her father, he thought. He opened the door.
"It's on the second floor."
He led the way, not saying another word. He held his head down; he didn't know what to do except to go further and lead them to his room.
No one talked until they arrived at his door. He turned the key and pushed the door.
"I'm sorry," he started. But the 2 people he didn't even know entered the room promptly.
"Check how she is." Aislinn's mother said to the man, then she turned to Chung-Ho, "Sit on your bed, and explain everything to me, in detail."
Chung-Ho was stunned. They both seemed so calm in a situation like this. Too many things happened in such a short amount of time, and now he had to live it all again. He was remembering every detail of this night, picturing everything in his mind. Without talking, without moving.
"Talk to me, boy." Aislinn's mother said. "I need to know all that happened. I need to understand what happened tonight."
"She's in a catatonic state," the tall man said, "you know what this means. We'll need to get her back to the DS."
Aislinn's mother snapped her fingers in front of Park Chung-Ho's eyes.
"Are you here?"
"Yes, sorry." He had to speak. "You'll think I'm totally crazy when I tell you everything that I know."
"Don't worry about how strange your story will be. I've seen stranger things, I'm sure."
"Well, first of all, I did nothing to your daughter. I don't know why she's here, in my room."
"I know that you did nothing to her. She warned me she had to rescue you."
"I'm not sure that I understand what you mean."
"Keep going with your story, please. We need to react fast."
He decided to explain only tonight's story; it was strange enough in itself not to add the fact that he seemed to remember a day when he was a baby.
And this, almost
EVERY.
SINGLE.
NIGHT.
He was about to end his story, but didn't feel like explaining that Aislinn kissed him. This was very awkward. Like the strange feeling he had when she did. This could stay silent.
"She murmured to me to call you. That her keys were in her pocket, then she disappeared with that dark man, and I woke up to find her on the floor."
He had ended his story calmly, but added quickly
"But my room was locked. I don't know how she entered." He looked at Aislinn's mother and the man who came with her.
"It's him, Diane." The man said. "Albormare found her."
Diane Nòttdottir didn't answer. She had her head in her hands, thinking. Finally, she turned to the man and told him
"Let's bring her. We'll try to find a way to contact her, but I fear it will take time. And we won't be able to use most of the protections to ensure she has a way back."
Park Chung-Ho was confused. He just told something that was supposed to be pure nonsense, but the two people in front of him didn't seem to find this strange. They were speaking even more nonsense.
"So," Aislinn's mother turned to Chung-Ho, while the tall man took Aislinn in his arms. "You're telling me you modified your dream, right?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"I think there is more to this story than what you told me. You're sure you explained everything ?"
"Well... yes, almost..."
"I don't know what you're not telling me, and you may have your reasons, but you're in danger. You need to follow us so that we ensure that this man won't find you again."
"You know that man?" he asked.
"Yes, we have known him for a long time. And it's not good to meet him. But we have a way to avoid him when we dream," she stared at his apothecary desk. "What are you doing with this?"
"I'm trying to craft a sleeping pill that would prevent me from having nightmares. I have had nightmares all my life, and I can't keep going like this. It's exhausting..." he took a break. "I'm exhausted."
"I can't promise you that you won't have any nightmares anymore. But we can provide you with some protection. We'll show you at the DS."
He could have asked what this was, but the exhaustion he was feeling was too strong. Aislinn told him to contact her mom, and she was here, trying to help. He followed them back to the entrance of the dormitory. Exhaustion was becoming stronger and stronger.
"I'm feeling so sleepy..."
"Stay awake a bit more. Once we arrive, I will show you a room where you'll be safe. If you sleep now, you risk going back to a place where that man found you."
They were murmuring in the corridor since they left his room. The man was holding Aislinn in his arms.
"We're not far enough. You'll discover something you never saw in this Campus, and tomorrow I'll show you that this Campus isn't based on sleep study for nothing."
They left the dormitory and entered a car. They didn't drive for more than 5 minutes until they saw the road going through a garden full of big trees, just to reveal an old house Park Chung-Ho hadn't seen before. On top of it was written "Dreamers Society".
"That's what DS stands for," he thought.