Deadline

by Judy McDonough

Running. Again. Through the woods, frantic. Why must I always be running? Caroline didn't know who was chasing her or where to go, but her clothing kept tangling around her ankles. The warm temperature was proof of summertime, but a bed of leaves had begun collecting on the ground, meaning the season was nearing its end. She stopped to listen, but heard nothing. Not a sound. Strange to not be able to hear anything at all.

  She closed her eyes and focused on her surroundings. She heard birds up in a tree. . .baby birds. Little squeaks rather than full-fledged chirping. Acorns bounced off branches before hitting the ground, and squirrels chattered as they ate. Oh come on, give me something!

  An obvious draft wafted through her clothing. A long, thin linen night dress. Yep, definitely thin. She wore only her undergarments beneath, but. . .wait a minute. . .this wasn't her underwear. These were some serious granny panties!

  Her head throbbed again in the same familiar place between her eyes. She found it difficult to focus for the shooting pain. Faint footsteps in the distance closed in. She sprinted off again. Just like in any dream, her legs didn't work as they should, and she felt like she was running through waist-deep pudding.

  Caroline hid behind a moss-covered boulder surrounded by brush and broken trees. Apart from the first dream like this, she usually participated in these dreams as a spectator. This time, she was obviously in Rachel's shoes. She glanced down at her bare feet. Or lack thereof. Caroline was nervous, frightened even, about who was chasing her, or, rather, Rachel. This couldn't possibly end well. She knew the outcome, and didn't really want the first hand experience.

  The loud clunky footsteps grew near. She crouched down closer to the rock, her face pressed against the cool surface, inhaling the earthy moss.

  Caroline's stomach ached. Like an egg beater churned her organs to mush. She placed her hand over her mouth and looked around for some clue to where she was, to plot an escape. She slipped her hand down to her belly in an attempt to settle the roiling sickness. Most certainly Rachel's body. Rachel's pregnant body. Maybe five months along. That explained her nausea. Rachel must have tired from failing to tell her what happened, so now she wanted to show her. Terrific. Literally barefoot and pregnant, Caroline stifled her sour laugh and shook her head. What a pitiful analogy, but terribly accurate in this case.

  His boots came into view not three feet away. Caroline held her breath, fearful he might discover her, and prayed she wouldn't vomit. She couldn't see his face, but she did make out a bloody bandage on his left hand. He's after her again.

  She immediately regretted all the times she and Kristy made fun of the victims in those cheesy scary movies. Her legs shook now, keeping time with her racing heart. The throb in her head pounded relentlessly and she desperately tried not to pass out. Stay quiet, maybe he'll go away.

  He walked off, the crunch of his boots fading. Caroline counted to ten before releasing her breath in hopes he was far enough away not to hear. Her clenched throat threatened to close completely from sheer terror, but she focused on breathing for now. Disregarding her spinning head, she stood, and, without looking in his direction, ran back the way she came. Only, her legs wouldn't work. Panic was an issue now. She had to do something quickly, but what? A bloodcurdling scream tore through the woods and she realized it was her own as a strong hand grabbed her shoulder, pushing her down, her face pressed hard against the ground.

  She did the only thing she could think of to do. She turned to the hand on her left shoulder and bit down as hard as she could manage. Just as she sank her teeth into his nasty, bloody bandage, a sharp pain ignited in her right shoulder. He yelped followed by laughter echoing off the trees. The same evil laugh she'd heard in her very first nightmare. Whoever he was, he was definitely the same one who had raped her in that first life-altering dream. She scrambled to her feet and took off, but her legs still wouldn't function. She stumbled around in a stupor. Had he injected her? Given her a shot of a paralytic or anesthetic. Caroline was drowsy, incapacitated. . .vulnerable. He pushed her, nudging her. She managed a whisper. "It's too late. Please. . .my baby. It's too late."

  "Caroline! Open your eyes. You have to wake up. Caroline. Please, wake up." She slowly opened her eyes. Cade sat by her side shaking her, trying to wake her up.

  "I'm awake. Okay, I'm awake," she slurred. "What's wrong?" She still felt drugged from her dream as she lifted a shaky hand to rub her eyes.

  Cade smiled and flicked on the bedside lamp. "There's my girl. Welcome back. What the heck were you just dreaming about?"

  Dreaming? Oh, thank goodness it was just a dream. Caroline slid her hand over her belly just to make sure. Cade searched her face waiting for an answer. Groggily, she attempted to explain. "I um, I was running. . .fast. So tired. . .and running. . .in the woods. Chased. . .by a pregnant man in a white night gown."

  He made a weird face and laughed quietly. "What? You sure you weren't smoking something in that dream? You're not making any sense. Here, wake up some more so you can tell me what you dreamed about and who was chasing you." Still laughing, he propped her up against the pillows and smoothed the loose hair from her face with his hand. "Now, are ya with me? Are we all here and alert, or we still flying high?" Caroline pressed the heels of her hands to her eye sockets and breathed deeply. When she opened them again she got a good look at her bunk mate.

  How is he not freezing without a shirt on? My goodness, he's beautiful. Yum. Grow up, dork. It's just a bare chest. . .and amazing abs. You've seen 'em before.

  "Funny. Seriously, I'm good now. Anyway, about my dream." She averted her gaze and fidgeted with the bedspread to avoid the distraction of his smooth bare skin within an effortless reach. "I found myself in the woods wearing nothing but granny panties and a long thin night gown. Barefoot and pregnant. Rather than a spectator in this dream, I was in Rachel's body. And chased by a man wearing big black boots, and a bloody bandage on his left hand. I hid, but he found me. When I tried to run, my legs wouldn't work. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. I was so scared."

  She realized her voice had dropped to a whisper, so she cleared her throat to break the emotion. "So, of course, he caught me. He shoved me to the ground and injected something into my right shoulder. But before he did that, I bit his wounded hand. Whatever he injected me with made me woozy. Maybe a sedative."

  Cade stared hard at her, all humor gone. "You were pregnant?"

  "It wasn't me. He was really chasing a pregnant Rachel, not me."

  "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Why would someone want to hurt a pregnant woman? I wonder who he was and why he drugged you, er. . .her? Did hypodermic syringes even exist back then?" He scowled. Caroline giggled at how involved Cade had become in her delusional dreams. He looked up, surprised. "What's so funny?"

  "You're really getting into my dream drama, aren't you? By the way, the hypodermic syringe needle was invented in 1853 by Dr. Alexander Wood. So yes, it was possible for him to drug her with a needle." She smiled triumphantly and tried not to focus on the flexing muscles beneath his smooth tanned skin.

  "You know, you really had me worried. You were gasping, twitching and twisting like you were strapped to the bed. You screamed a few times, kept mumbling, 'It's too late' and 'Help me.' Then it took me forever to wake you up."

  She leaned over the side of the bed, and saw a few blankets and a pillow spread on the floor. "Caden Luke! I told you not to sleep on the floor! You can't possibly be comfortable down there!"

  Amused, he shrugged and grinned sheepishly as he turned the lamp off again to lie down. "I'm sorry, love, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. The only way I could do that was to be in here with you. It's a good thing I was so I could wake you from your nightmare."

  "What time is it?"

  Cade checked his watch and the green glow momentarily filled the dark room. "It's about 3:30." Maybe she should start wearing a watch so she wouldn't have to rely on her cell phone for the time.

  "Cade?"

  "Yeah, I'm right here. What's up?"

/>   "Would you think me too forward if I asked you to stay up here with me until morning?"

  "No, not at all. I've been in here all night, anyway."

  "No, I mean. . .up here. With me. In the bed." He sat quietly for a few minutes. She desperately wished she could read his mind.

  "Sure, love. No problem. You know, I'm willing to sacrifice myself at the mercy of your martial arts while sleeping. I'm a pretty big guy, I guess I can handle the beating." He kissed Caroline's forehead as he crawled under the covers next to her. His skin was as soft as it looked and she couldn't resist touching his chest with her ice cold hands. He flinched.

  She giggled and before she rolled over she mumbled, "Maybe you should have worn a cup."

  He chuckled and lay completely still next to her. . .in the bed. . .beneath the covers. A first for Caroline.

  What would Trevor think if he saw this?

  She forced herself to stop feeling guilty, her mind at war with part wishing he'd scoot closer and the other thankful he left a little space between them, and attempted to fall back to sleep.

  Guess technically now I can say I've slept with a man. She snickered at that very thought, knowing it was nowhere even close to the same thing. She couldn't get enough of Cade's warmth and his titillating smell. The man should have to wear a warning label. He was extremely habit-forming.

  In the haze of pheromones as she found herself wishing even more things she should not be wishing, Caroline drifted into a new dream. She thought she heard the bedroom door open slowly, but that could've been the dream.