Recurring Nightmare Part 5 Finale

Author: bigsmile21
Title: Recurring Nightmare: Part 5 (Finale)
Date: 02 February 2020

Glen woke in a pool of sweat. He reached down and felt around his balls, which were sore. He slowly got up, got to the freezer, and pulled out a pack of frozen peas that he'd never cooked. He had a tall glass of water to help quench his thirst, and then made his way back to his bedroom. Finding a jockstrap, he slipped one on, slipped the peas into the front pouch and collapsed onto his bed. He'd need to wash his sheets, but first he wanted to check his emails. There were two emails from Zeke.

From: ZekeOliver24:
Oh God, I thought we were free. I thought you were right behind me when we were running. I woke up in the dream bound worse than ever last night and now we only have one more night to escape. I don't know if I can do this anymore. I don't want to go to sleep tonight.

And another:

From: ZekeOliver24:
Okay. I looked again at what you said. Sorry my first message was frantic. I have the weekend off from work, aside from some grading which I've asked a coworker to take care of. Yes, there were originally six arms on that beast when all this started, then four after my first escape during your first week, and now only two arms.

I'll admit that I didn't see much during last night's ordeal. I woke with my arms crossed in front of my body, by legs standing at attention, and my whole body encased in what felt like a metal sarcophagus. I could not move my head to any side. My mouth felt taped and wrapped in leather straps. I could see out of my encasing through two small eye holes and there stood the monster, staring straight at me. It waved with one of its arms, and showed me a large key with the other. It hung the key on the back of my cell door, then lit up the torches in my room so I could plainly see it, and so I'd sweat in the encasing. I couldn't do anything to move or shout and my alarm noise barely made it through to my ears to wake me this morning.

For us to get out, you'll need to escape to my cell, quietly unlock the device holding me captive, and help us both get out. After tonight, we may not be able to escape together.

Glen considered his reply. He wrote to Zeke that he'd flubbed his first and second attempts to escape. He left out the part about the boot hanging from his balls, though. He said he tried leaving a Swiss army knife under his pillow but didn't have it in the dream with him. He wrote that he had tomorrow and Monday off for work, and would be available all of today to communicate.

Zeke's reply came pretty quickly. He wrote that he still had a few hours before he'd go to bed, and would try to delay that for as long as possible so that they'd be in sync. He wrote that he hadn't found anything else about the monster in his research. At this point, he didn't get much coherent work done during his waking hours. Just enough energy to drink coffee.

Glen by now had showered and shaved. He didn't like the haggard looking reflection in the mirror. He peeled off his sheets and put them in the washing machine. He thought about how to reply to Zeke. He wanted to be positive and inspiring, akin to a hero's speech before a big battle, but he was at a loss for words. Sleep deprivation was a horrible curse. He tried to think about writing up a blog post a a warning for future captives. But what would he say, and what would it matter if they didn't stop the beast tonight? He wrote back to Zeke that they could do this, and that he would be there to free Zeke before he knew it. Zeke didn't reply back.

Sheets washed and dried, Glen wondered again about when to set his alarm. He ended up setting it for noon the following day. He considered not setting it at all, but he wanted to give himself as much time as possible to escape, without leaving himself in an endless nightmare bound and chained in a dungeon. He closed his eyes once more, and woke staring in the face of the monster. He dropped into his usual routine of presenting his hands and complying as much as possible. He loosened his shoelaces along the way and in his cell it took him only about ten minutes to get unhooked from the ceiling. He dropped as quietly as he could to the ground, got his boots back on, and made his way to Zeke's cell.

The journey along the corridors was quiet and tense. Everything had to go perfectly. He knew he had time to get to Zeke's cell before the beast saw that he was missing, but didn't know how long it would take to free Zeke. One inside Zeke's cell, which had torchlight coming from beneath the door, Glen stood facing what was indeed a sarcophagus. A large black monolith stood in the middle of the cell, shaped in the outline of a black and gold pharaoh with his arms crossed. Glen closed the door to the cell quietly, seeing the key. He grabbed it and searched the sarcophagus for a lock. None seemed visible. He checked the center chest area and the sides but didn't see any distinct openings. He checked the back and finally there it was: a small opening in the back of the head. Glen moved the key inside and turned it. The lid of the sarcophagus popped and began to fall forward. Glen darted to the front and caught it. He gently set it against the nearest wall and moved back to Zeke.

Inside, Zeke was wrapped tightly in what looked like mummy bandages, but were actually thick strips of tan leather. Glen took the key and used it to cut and rip away the thinnest part of the wrappings. Finally, he had everything removed from Zeke, including the tape that was wrapped around his head. Zeke didn't have any clothes on underneath. Glen was going to offer some of his but Zeke held up his finger for 'quiet' and looked towards the cell door. It was still silent outside the cell. Zeke left all the bandages in the cell, whispering that he didn't want the monster to animate them or something during their escape. Their last escape. They were going to do this. Tears welled up in Zeke's eyes as he kept whispering that over and over. They were going to do this.

Outside the cell, Zeke led the way towards the exit. Glen still had all his clothes and boots on, and was a little embarrassed that Zeke was still nude in front of him. As they turned the last corner, the coast completely clear of red eyes, they began picking up their pace. Not quite running, but moving faster than before towards the daylight. Behind them, they heard a deep roar echo throughout the dungeon. The monster had just been to one of their cells and was not happy. The two men broke into a run, not letting go of each others hands. As they both crossed the threshold into the daylight outside the cave, they turned to see the monster at the far end of the corridor. A bright light flooded into the dungeon towards the monster, and they saw it's body fall to pieces before the light flooded their vision.

Glen woke up, not moving his body. He looked around with his eyes, rubbing them. The alarm said 10:00 AM. He moved a hand towards his smart phone and checked his emails. Nothing. He thought about sending Zeke a message, but before he could send something he got a new message.

From: ZekeOliver24:
I think we finally did it. The scary part is we'll have to wait to see later tonight.

That was it. A short message, especially after all they'd been through this week. But Glen figured Zeke was just being apprehensive. After all, Zeke had thought he'd broken the cycle before, only to wake up in a worse predicament. If the pattern of escalating bondage held, going forward Glen could expect to start each night held in weighted and chained bondage similar to how he'd first seen Zeke. And Zeke, after three escapes, may not have any hope of escape left for him. The monster could leave Zeke bound tightly in a sound-proof box, buried in the ground with the only key kept around its neck. Zeke may not be able to wake at all, and those thoughts were likely leaving him in a pit of despair right now.

The day crawled by. Glen ate, tried to watch shows to take his mind off things, but ultimately his thoughts went straight back to his recent experiences: what he might have to face tonight and for the rest of his nights. Being a creature of habit, he set his alarm for the usual morning time and laid down to sleep. He'd have the day off tomorrow if all this worked out. He closed his eyes, and had for the first time that week a dreamless sleep. Glen woke to his alarm, blinked at it a few times, and hit it. It slowly dawned on him what he'd, what they'd, finally done. He went for his email and sure enough there was a new message waiting for him.

From: ZekeOliver24:
No dreams, only sleep! We did it.

Exhausted and content, Glen went back to bed. He didn't bother setting his alarm. Throughout the following week, Zeke shared that with a sensible amount of sleep he was finally able to get credible research work done. He theorized that they'd cut themselves off from a "dream world", where people can interact with their thoughts and the thoughts of others while sleeping. The good news was they'd never dream about that monster or its dungeon ever again. The bad news was they'd never dream again, period. A small price to pay, he rationalized.

Zeke wasn't sure if the monster was completely destroyed, or if it would surface in a few generations. He was writing a book about his findings, keeping it strictly to his research, so that the details of what it was and how ancient "warriors" once sought to defeat it. He also offered Zeke a place to stay, if he ever found himself on the other side of the pond. It took some time, but the two eventually met in person. And spent many sleepless nights together. The end.