It wasn’t a nightmare, it lacked raw fear. And as such was all the more traumatic. It stuck with me all day. I wish it made more sense, but this is what happened.

Colonisation, hailing both at once from somewhere in eastern Europe and a humanoid yet certainly extra terrestrial race.

I was in the city the first time I knew I was going to die. The first explosion peaked over the top of the skyscrapers. I saw the second as it came, a huge propeller driven zeppelin let go a small cylinder, The very same immense structures evaporated like rigid hydrogen balloons. A chain reaction that removed rather than leveled half the skyline. The third was too close, I saw it dropping and knew running was of no use. Utterly useless, this was boolean and we were dead. I huddled among my parents and siblings as we prepared to meet sweet Jesus our Savior.

Suddenly; elsewhere, home, further away, local, and a more subtle realisation. No college today, obviously never, but all I could piece together were the consequences for today.  Then an explosion, a flare shooting up into the sky, an invader has arrived. We round ourselves up to stand helpless before him. He has short blonde hair and is heavily built. He fires many more flares, signaling to others. Gives a ammunition shell to me, I’m confused, now it’s a grenade. 20 seconds.

“Give it to someone else” he says.

Uselessly I look around, the outcome it obvious and time skips forward. I look for an empty space in the crowd, I lie down with the explosive under my stomach. 3 seconds. I’m going to die. 2… 1 second. I’ll be somewhere else soon. Jesus.

Nothing happens, the invader picks up the grenade. A test, an experiment, the invader looks at me. The anti-climax hits full of subtle amusement. I see her in the crowd, catch her eye, she smiles and says something. I wake up.

Advertisement