A/N: Yes, this is the continuation of the over-all 'Dream' story. Just in the mood to be extra Sinister. Mweh. As well as, yes, offer a tip o' the hat to the Matrix-verse. Because one can mix genres in fanfic if one wants. Dontcha know.

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The Nightmare - Part 14

by Bex

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The night following the Council of Elrond and the formation of the two Fellowships, Temeril escorted me back to my room, as was our custom. We smiled politely and bid each other good-night, neither bringing up what had happened earlier that day. I retired to my bed, and drifted off to sleep.

And at long last, I dreamed of home. My home. Earth.

It was the first time since I'd been pulled into Middle Earth that I did not sleep a deep, dreamless sleep.

In it, I opened my eyes, and found myself in the familiar surroundings of my darkened bedroom. Curled up in my bed, duvet askew. I lazily, instinctively streeeetched, one hand reaching out, clutching the sheet below me...

A sudden, blaring screeetch assaulted my ears and I jerked upright, my heart thudding into over-drive as I looked wildly around.

A memory returned. My alarm!

I scrambled over and slammed the off-button, and blessed silence returned.

I sat on the edge of the bed, blinking and still shaking with residual adrenaline.

It was then that I finally realized I was awake.

*****

Two hours later, I was still sitting at the kitchen table, head in hands, one of several cups of coffee before me, growing cold.

That dream-- That dream I'd had--

I recorded it, of course. As best I could; it was already starting to fade. As you can see, I remembered quite a lot.

My thoughts circled obsessively around the dark-haired elf, my escort, the helper from my dream, the one who'd lured me there, as my index finger poked idly at the still moist coffee ring left by one mug.

I'd not be forgetting that face, nor that name, anytime soon.

I laughed inside, self-deprecatingly. Well, who would? Especially someone on her own at the moment? Just a little bit uncertain of herself, just a little bit unsure of the future, just a little bit lonely...

The perfect dream-male, after all.

Well...I could always compliment myself on the good taste my imagination had. As opposed to just feeling embarrassed about it all.

But of course, because he was an 'elf' in the dream, it would never have worked out.

Couldn't give myself a break, even in my dreams.

The chair scraaaped back as I pushed away from the table and got to my feet. It was a Saturday, and besides a few errands, I had nowhere to be. But it was no good spending all day stewing over a dream, no matter how realistic it had seemed at certain points.

A couple of messages on the answering machine that I'd been too tired to check the night before when I'd gotten home from work: one telemarketer offering me a 'free' vacation, a reminder from my mother about an upcoming family function.

My glance fell on the copy of The Fellowship of the Ring lying on the coffee table nearby as I finished listening and deleted the first message. This is all your fault, I silently scolded the book.

It had nothing to say in its defense.

I showered and dressed, munched a semi-stale bagel. My grogginess was extreme this morning, but after such a night of detailed dreams, I supposed that was to be expected. I decided not to push myself, and so stayed in a slow, contemplative cast of mind, my mind drifting back, again and again, to images and the vague emotional residue from the dream scenes.

Especially I recalled the sudden terror I'd felt when I'd realized the...well, craving... I'd felt for my elf squire.

My mouth twisted in rue. Elf Addict. Sad, but not like you're the first... A very popular canvas for one's desires these days, elves were...

Poor fellows.

And that train of thought reminded me of online, and e-mail. I plunked myself down at the computer to check. There were a few posts from mailing lists I was on, a friend sending 'round a chain-mail joke...

I opened and perused one post from a fan-fiction writer's list I was on. Someone kvetching about canon mistakes in one member's story. Just as I was about to delete it, my gaze fell on one sentence. Something about how Radagast hadn't gone to visit Saruman until much later in the story...

I blinked. Not canon; AU. I clicked the delete button, went on to the next message. A reply to the earlier post. A firm (but polite) rebuttal, quoting verse and even page number. Why, this was just silly; this wasn't the way it'd happened...

A vague memory of a dream scene flitted back to me, and I swallowed hard, an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. The Brown wizard, volunteering to go visit Saruman...

I knew how it'd happened. Radagast had been a bit player, mentioned only in passing.

I deleted the mails and got off the computer, but now it was gnawing at me. How odd, that they were posting that...had to be misuse of the term 'canon'. Just an AU discussion.

I prowled the apartment for a while, doing odd tasks, my circuit taking me closer and closer to the book lying on the coffee table. I had no intention of looking; I just happened to be going by...

With an inner snarl I paused and snatched up the book. It this was what it took to banish that odd feeling in the pit of my stomach and get on with my weekend, then I'd look!

I flipped open the cover, past the first few leaves, my gaze falling on the contents, scanning rapidly over it. Everything looked the same; no difference, wait--

The chapter names...some of the chapter names were different.

Impossible! I stared. All the chapter titles after 'A Long Expected Party' were different. Chapter Two was called ' A Mysterious Stranger'. After that, 'Flight to Rivendell', and after that, 'Many Meetings', then 'The Council of Rivendell'....then...

My vision blurred, and I blinked, then refocused. 'A Betrayal'. I skimmed in growing disbelief. "Attack in Dunland', then 'The Breaking of the Fellowship'...

My God... I slowly put the book down and backed away. I didn't dare look any further, nor into the chapters themselves.

"I'm still dreaming." Yes; that was it. All I had to do was wake up.

"Wake up. WAKE UP!" I pinched myself, hard.

Nothing happened.

A sudden fury seized me. "I DEMAND TO WAKE UP!!! I shrieked.

And in that instant, I got the sudden impression, the strongest feeling of being noticed by something I couldn't myself see.

And it was bad, very bad. I stood frozen, gripped by the sudden urge to flee. To just run, get out.

Something very very Bad was watching, and while it might not come here, all I knew was that if it did, something very very very very Bad would happen.

It was a moment of frozen horror. The mouse, already lost, sensing the cat behind her, with paw poised to Play.

Then it passed, it passed. That Regard turned elsewhere. My knees buckled and I sank heavily onto the couch, which fortunately was just behind me, and sat, staring.

"I'm going insane...I've got to wake up!"

The phone rang, and I twitched violently, my head whipping around to stare at it. But, I knew I would answer it. I knew, somehow, that it was a message for me...

My hand slowly reached over, picked it up. Put the headset to my ear. "Yes?" I said, faintly.

A voice, rich, smooth, faintly accented. No one I recognized. It said: "You have been sent for. Stay where you are!" Peremptuous. Curt. Demanding.

"I..." I replied, stupidly. "Who are you?"

"Stay where you are!" it repeated.

I blinked as the call-waiting tone sounded, and reached slowly to switch to the other call.

A spate of crackling static met my ear, but within a few moments receded slightly. An urgent voice was on this other line. And I was of course losing my mind, but it sounded like, it reminded me of, I'd swear it was--

"Temeril?" I asked, dully.

The static receded further. He was shouting at me to flee, now, I was in great danger, spirit-something, a spate of garble, more static, then more demands that I flee--

It was the most garbled gobbedlygook I had ever heard. But I knew he was right. I laid the headset down on the edge of the couch and began that slow, weighted-down movement one always feels in--

--Nightmares--

I wasn't truly awake; I understood that now. I was trapped in a nightmare, and something bad was about to happen to me. I got up to flee, moving the best I could through that quicksand...

That was when I glanced over my shoulder and saw the shadowy, rippling, distorted figure, seen as if through water, leaning forward and reaching for me, finger tips just inches from me.

And I knew that this time, it wasn't Temeril.

I turned away and tried to lunge forward but it was too late.

--and the sensation of heat burst around me, fire racing over me, my spirit screaming with utter shock as the figure behind me grabbed me by my shoulders and yanked--

~End Part 14~