Chapter 48: Nightmare
But he had a strange dream, Kyle couldn\'t recall the place or scene but was a seven-year-old child, standing in the middle of an abandoned playground.
Kyle looked around, there was no one there, no cars, or any sign of life.
This place felt familiar even though he had no memory of it, Kyle had the consciousness of his current self even though he was a child in this dream.
"Hello!?" Kyle called out but got no response, only the echo of his voice.
Kyle knew he had to explore the area, so he walked around hoping to find signs of life.
He walked carefully, this didn\'t feel like a dream, if anything it felt like reality was mixed into some morbid fantasy.
"Where the fuck am I?" Kyle thought to himself, looking at his hands, it was so small.
"This isn\'t right…" Kyle muttered to himself in fear but saw a figure seated a couple of paces in his front with its back turned towards him.
It had long brunette hair dangling just above its lower back, Kyle knew this person wasn\'t there a moment ago so how did they magically appear?
Either way, this was the sign of life he searched for, approaching the person slowly.
"... Hello?" Kyle called out in, a calm voice, as if he didn\'t want anyone but them to hear it.
He got no response, not even a twitch to acknowledge his presence. Kyle expected this much but once again, there was something familiar about this.
Kyle couldn\'t wrap his fingers around it but he knew this person or at least he thought he did.
The way they sat, their posture and hair but he was within range.
He grabbed the shoulder of the person, slowly turning them around but what he saw horrified him.
Kyle saw a person with no eyes in their sockets, no tongue, and blood dripping out of their ears.
It tried to speak but it couldn\'t, Kyle was frightened and backed away instantly, dropping on his arse.
"What the fuck man!?" Kyle barked.
The figure got to its feet and slowly walked towards Kyle with its hand outstretched.
He tried to crawl away from her, but his legs were weak and didn\'t respond to him.
"This has to be a fucking dream!" Kyle exclaimed, he tried to force himself awake but to no avail.
He wasn\'t waking up regardless of how hard he tried to but suddenly, the sluggish creature was walking towards him accelerated, making Usain Bolt look like a snail, as it was mere inches from grabbing Kyle\'s face, only then did Kyle jolt awake.
His breathing was heavy and sweat trickled down his forehead but the problem with this nightmare was that Kyle couldn\'t remember anything that had just transpired or at least that would have been the case before he came into contact with the system.
"I-I remember…" Kyle was shocked, he remembered every single thing he had seen in this nightmare which made it scarier. He no longer had the luxury of forgetting.
Kyle was still in a dazed state but checked the time only to realize he had slept for approximately two hours, it was the early hours of the evening and the time was reading 3:12 PM.
Kyle didn\'t have anything planned on his agenda today but had to get out of the house to get some fresh air. It felt like he would suffocate if he stayed here any longer.
Kyle rushed to the bathroom and placed his head under the shower to cool off before looking at his reflection in the mirror.
He didn\'t like what he saw, he realized that he needed a haircut. He needed to change his overall appearance so he could look neat.
He looked a tad bit unkempt and Kyle realized that his next destination should be a beauty parlour even if he had no idea what kind of haircut he wanted.
Kyle stumbled out of his apartment but didn\'t feel the need to use the vehicle.
He opted to walk instead because he needed to clear his head and didn\'t need the attention that came with driving such a vehicle.
Kyle didn\'t want to be perceived as he headed to the nearest salon to get a haircut.
The scorching heat didn\'t do him any favour but it was the least of his problems, Kyle kept recalling the figure he saw in his nightmare and what it could mean.
Why was it in such a state?
"WATCH IT PUNK!" A man barked at him the moment Kyle bumped into him.
"I\'m sorry!" Kyle quickly apologized. Fortunately for Kyle, this was enough to de-escalate the situation.
The man hissed in frustration and walked away but Kyle knew he had to get it together.
He realized that this skill to remember everything might be a curse rather than a blessing.
Kyle didn\'t need to walk for long because he was fortunate to see a salon around the corner.
He had to take care of himself, he had to look how he wished to be addressed.
People couldn\'t keep paying attention to him just because he drove a fancy car, he had to groom himself to garner that respect.
Kyle entered the salon and the breeze that brushed against his skin dried up the sweat just as fast. It made him feel nasty but one of the barbers was rounding up with a customer.
He gestured for Kyle to come over and have a seat, Kyle did just that.
The man was covered in tattoos from head to toe, he looked like the cliche thug you would see in a movie. He belonged in a biker gang, not a salon.
"What hairstyle do you want, buddy?" He asked but Kyle had nothing in mind.
"You know what? Surprise me," But if Kyle would come to regret this decision was to be seen.