Chapter 5

“James! James!”

James could hear Nick silently yelling at him to wake up. It took James literally a second to process what was going on at that moment. As soon as his eyes were open, James shot out of his bed, standing at attention. He got up so fast, that he almost knocked down Nick who was hovering over him as he was trying to wake him up.

Nick quickly reacted, backing up a few steps, barely dodging James as he got up. Nick was about to curse at him, until their dorm door opened, followed by two people walking in.

One of the two who came in was Shawn, their RA for that floor. James couldn’t recall his last name. He only met Shawn once and that was during the first day of moving into their dorm rooms. He even introduced Nick to James as his roommate. Based on the first (and only) time they met, Shawn seemed to be a pretty cool guy. He seemed like he really wanted to make sure every resident on his floor were taken care of. James was no exception. He came off as standoff-ish and aloof but Shawn meant it when he said that James could go to him if he needed any kind of help. So far James has never taken up on his offer.

James has never seen the other person who had come in with Shawn. Judging by the man’s uniform, he looked to be a University Police Department officer.

“Hey, guys,” Shawn said, “uh, sorry to bother you, but there’s been a situation. We need your help.” He looked genuinely embarrassed as if feeling guilty for disturbing them in the middle of the night.

Both roommates looked at each other with a confused look, before looking back at Shawn and the UPD officer. Shawn was about to speak again but the officer cut him off.

“Have you two seen or heard anything unusual tonight?” the officer asked.

“This is Officer Hill,” Shawn said.

“Well?” Officer Hill asked again, with noticeable irritation in his tone.

Officer Hill looked like an average Joe. A little pudgy around the waistline. It was hard for James to take him seriously as someone to uphold the law. Even school laws.

“What do you mean? What happened?” Nick asked.

“Just answer the question,” Officer Hill asked again. Shawn gave a “sorry, guys” look.

James didn’t know what to say. His mind was still back on the dream he woke up from moments ago. He didn’t even hear most of the conversation that was happening in the room, leaving Nick to do all of the talking for the two of them.

“No, man, nothing, okay? Geez, what happened, Shawn?” Nick asked.

“Are you sure?” Officer Hill asked again, cutting off Shawn who was about to the answer Nick.

“Yeah,” Nick responded, agitated.

Officer Hill then moved his focus to James, who still looked out of it.

“What about you?” Hill asked James. James didn’t hear him. “Hey!”

James snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Officer Hill.

“What?” James faintly asked.

“Did you hear or see anything strange tonight?” Hill asked clearly.

“No, uh ... I was ... asleep?” James said, sounding unsure for some reason. Hill wanted to continue grilling James after that response but Nick spoke up once again.

“Look, man, he was sleeping before you guys came in and I was studying all night. I didn’t have my headphones on so I would’ve heard something. James would’ve woken up if there was something weird going on. Alright? Now, are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?”

Officer Hill took a moment to assess Nick’s answer before answering.

“I think you know more than what you’re saying. If you’re not being honest with me, it’s going to be a lot worse for you two later on.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, hold on. Let’s just all calm down here, alright?” Shawn finally jumped in. “Look, Officer Hill, if these guys said they didn’t hear anything unusual, then I believe them. Nick and James are not the types to lie about something like that.”

Officer Hill didn’t say anything. He just kept giving the stink eye to both James and Nick.

“Look, you know where these guys live. If you have any reason to detain them, you know where to find them. If I find out they’re lying, then I’ll put the cuffs on them, myself.”

Officer Hill gave an expression to Shawn that said, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Shawn just shrugged, failing to get his point across.

The UPD officer just whipped out a card and handed it to Nick.

“If you boys forgot to mention anything about what happened tonight, you make sure to let me know.”

Nick swiped the card away from Hill.

“Whatever. Now can you please tell us what’s going on? What happened tonight?”

“Have a good night gentlemen,” was all Officer Hill said before turning around and walking out of their dorm room.

“Asshole,” Nick whispered.

“Sorry, guys,” Shawn said before turning around to walk out until Nick stopped.

“Wait, Shawn. C’mon, man you gotta tell us what happened. We’re gonna find out anyway. Might as well just tell us.” Nick pleaded.

“Sorry, Nick. It’s not for me to say. But it’s bad. Really bad.” The look of worry on Shawn’s face seemed unnatural for someone who’s always in a positive mood. Whatever the situation was, it was bad enough to make a guy like Shawn afraid.

Without saying another word, Shawn followed Officer Hill out the room.

“What the fuck happened tonight? And what’s wrong with you?” Nick smacked James on the shoulder.

James, once again, snapped out of his thoughts, jumping from Nick’s slap.

“What?!” James said, annoyed.

“What’s your problem? Where were you when Shawn and Officer Douchebag were in here. You looked like you were guilty whatever the hell they were talking about.”

“I ... just had a bad dream. That’s all.”

“Must’ve been some nightmare,” Nick teased.

“Bad dream,” James corrected him.

“Whatever, man.” Nick proceeded to put on his jacket and sandals.

“Where are you going?” James asked.

“Out. Gonna find out what happened tonight.”

“But the officer said to stay inside our room.”

“Fuck that. I’m too wound up and curious. Gonna get some answers. Wanna come?”

James just shook his head.

“Alright, suit yourself.”

When Nick was ready he quickly left the room, leaving James alone. He went to their bathroom to splash cold water on his face. He was sweating. Good thing it started after the officer left, James thought. He didn’t need any more evidence to make himself look more guilty.

His mind went back to Asil and how she looked worried when Officer Hill and Shawn showed up. What did she know? What was she so afraid of?

James looked at himself in the mirror, not really looking at anything in particular. This whole thing was strange, to begin with. He thought his dreams alone were weird enough. Now, something from his world is affecting his subconscious. There was only one way to figure it out.

Like Nick, however, he too was a little wound up. He needed to sleep, not just because he wanted answers from Asil, but he also had a test in...

James exited the bathroom to check his phone.

3:57 A.M.

Geez, James thought, I have class in 5 hours. There’s no point in sleeping. He still had to finish that last chapter.

James figured now is as good as time as any to do so. Making himself comfortable on his bed, James read the last chapter from his biology textbook.

Even though he only had eight more pages to read, it took him a very long time to finish. James couldn’t stop thinking about what Asil said and how she looked worried. How did she know before James that it was a UPD officer? He realized she has never seen Asil look like that before. What could’ve possibly spook her?

It was almost 6 in the morning when Nick finally returned. He looked like he had something he needed to get off his chest.

“Dude, I’m glad you’re awake. I know what happened.” Nick exclaimed.

James didn’t know what he was talking about, completely forgetting about the UPD officer and Shawn dropping in a few hours ago. Nick refreshed his memory.

“I know why Shawn and UPD were here. Some girl got raped tonight.”

James’ interest in Nick’s news skyrocketed.

“What?” James asked incredulously.

“A female student who lives right above us,” Nick pointed at their ceiling, “was raped last night!”

“Are you serious?” James closed the textbook

“Dead serious. Can you believe that shit?”

James didn’t know what to say. Was that why Asil was so afraid? Did this rape have anything to do with him? How can it? He was here in his room the entire night. James thought he probably didn’t know her.

“Who was it?” James asked.

“It’s either Rebecca or her roommate. I don’t know her. Just Rebecca. I haven’t seen her tonight so it makes me wonder: was it her? Did Rebecca get raped?” Nick started taking off his jacket and sandals.

James didn’t know Rebecca. He couldn’t think how he had anything to do with her rape.

It just seems coincidental that this happens after James opened up to his subconscious about his desire to rape Lisa Collins. There was no way the two were connected, James asked himself. Right?

“What else do you know?” James inquired some more.

Nick jumped into his own bed, feeling tired all of a sudden.

“That it just happened right above us. That’s why UPD was grilling us if we heard or seen anything. You didn’t, right?”

James had to think about that for a second before responding by shaking his head.

“I still can’t believe that happened. Right above us.” Nick just laid there quietly.

James was quiet too. He didn’t know what to think. Whatever happened tonight somehow affected Asil. And he needed to find out.

But it wasn’t going to be anytime soon. The time told him so. After finishing the required chapter, James was feeling tired, but he knew he couldn’t sleep.

The test was in two hours and he needed to stay awake long enough to take it. He only had one other class today but it was at 6 P.M. His plan was to go to his BIO class at 8 A.M., come back to his dorm to sleep most of the day, and wake up just in time for his next class.

After another Red Bull, thanks to Nick, and a quick Call of Duty session, James was on his way to class. Nick was asleep by the time James left.

James kept nodding off during the shuttle ride to his class, fighting to stay awake. Before stepping off the bus, he rubbed his face vigorously to snap out of his tired state.

The test was slightly difficult. James caught a break when the essay questions involved the material he just read in the morning. As soon as he was done, he turned his test to the professor and left.

When he returned to his dorm, Nick was nowhere in sight. James fell on his bed in a heap, feeling exhausted. His bed felt like a cloud that soothed his tired body. James momentarily woke himself up to set up his alarm on his phone, just in case he overslept.

He set his alarm to 5:30 P.M.

With that set, James relaxed and closed his eyes. He was ready to see Asil again with some questions.

James let his tired mind slowly take over. Right when he felt he was about to sleep his alarm went off.

What the fuck, he thought?

He shot his eyes wide open. For some reason, they didn’t feel as heavy as they were a few seconds ago. James reached for his phone to turn off the alarm.

5:30 P.M.

What the? That can’t be right, James thought. He thought his phone might’ve been broken. That was the last thing he needed.

After examining his phone, James concluded his phone did not seem broken.

James noticed something outside. He opened his blinds to see the day looked like it was half-way done. It looked darker as if ... it was 5:30 P.M.

That can’t be, James thought. It’s just not possible.

Was it really 5:30? How can that be? I felt like I just closed my eyes. Like a minute just passed. Not even a minute. Literally, one second!

James made another weird discovery. He was not tired anymore. Not as tired as he was when he laid down. James honed in on his awareness and realized he felt ... rested.

If he did in fact sleep then that means he slept over 7 hours. He slept for 7 hours in one minute. It was uncanny. He has never had this weird phenomenon before.

But if I did sleep, he thought, why didn’t I see Asil? None of this was making any sense. As if any of it did when he first met his subconscious.

James still couldn’t make sense about what happened when he was in class. He was distracted by the events that have occurred in the past 24 hours. James had no idea what the professor’s lesson was. He just sat there, looking at nothing, deep in thought. What if he had something to do with what happened to Rebecca?

How could I? I don’t even know what she looks like. What could I have possibly done to cause her rape? It doesn’t make sense. Yet, Asil looked scared when she heard the UPD officer and Shawn knock on my door. It was as if she knew what they were there for? And what’s up with sleeping 7 hours worth in only a minute? What the hell is going on with me now?

When James noticed the other students getting up at the same time, he realized class was over. He has forgotten where he was and was surprised that he missed the entire lecture. It will probably hurt him when it came to the next exam but James didn’t care. He had other things to worry about.

Instead of going back to his dorms, James decided to make a quick stop at the library to use one of the computers since his laptop was still broken.

Plenty of students were milling about in the library, working on different assignments for different classes. James had no intention of doing any kind of school work.

He had to go to the second floor of the library to find an available computer. There were so many students at the library tonight, James was lucky he found one he could use. It annoyed James greatly that there were so many students tonight at the library. If it wasn’t for his broken laptop, he would’ve left a long time ago.

James found an empty slot at the back of the room on the second floor. His annoyance dissipated when he saw there were dividers separating neighboring computer-users. James valued his privacy even if he had no reason to hide anything.

Resting his backpack underneath the table, James sat down and logged into the computer. He noticed the time was 8:57 p.m. The library closes at 10:00 p.m.

James typed in “7 hours sleep in 1 minute”. Most of the results were methods of how to fall asleep in a minute or two. James decided to type in something more specific.

“Why does it feel like I slept for only a minute but 7 hours had passed.”

One of the results was from a Reddit post by someone 2 years ago. His question was similar to James so he clicked on the link.

James found some helpful comments from other people who replied to the Reddit question.

“u/bstix,” says he read somewhere that parts of the brain involving consciousness and short-term memory are inactive. That we forget that we exist when sleep and lack of our conscious make people unaware of how much time has passed.

Another user by the name of “boombae86” said there is a neurological reasoning behind it. Instead, when people try to remember what they dreamt, they can only recall some of it, if not any. That, in turn, makes people believe that had a short sleep or a nap. This is especially the case when the person can not remember anything from their dream at all.

James didn’t know about that. Although he recalled not dreaming anything, in particular, it still felt like he closed his eyes for only a minute before waking up.

James was so engrossed in the material he was reading, it surprised him when he saw the time on his cell after hearing the notification of a text message.

“Dude, where are you? RC is gathering everyone for a quick meeting after what happened last night.”

Shit, James thought. It was almost 10 pm. He didn’t even notice the announcement, warning students about the library’s time of closing. James logged out of the computer, grabbed his backpack, and headed out the library. He was practically the only one left out of the entire building, it made him feel eerie. There wasn’t even anyone at the front desk when he passed it.

At 10 pm, it was pitch black outside, except for the shuttle bus stop for students right outside the library. To James’ dismay, he realized the last stop was at 9:30 pm. He rarely goes to the library, let alone at this time, James didn’t know what time the last stop was.

His dorm was 20 minutes away on foot. Without any other option, James concluded his only choice and began walking.

It seems he was the only student walking around this late at night. James hasn’t heard anything bad happening around this area at night. But it did little to help him calm his nerves as he walked alone at night.

Lucky for him, there were directions and streetlights guiding him back to the dorm. It was a cool night, making it comfortable for him with his usual attire.

After walking for a little over 10 minutes, James noticed up ahead the path went dark. He could see light from the other end of the dark path. There were no streetlights nearby nor any kind of light touching the path up ahead. He guessed the distance to reach the other side was 50 yards, give or take.

Trees surrounded the path, giving it a creepier look. James stopped right before he was about to step out of the light from the streetlight, and into the darkness. Alternate paths would set him back 30 to 40 minutes. He checked his surroundings, looking for nothing in particular.

There was no one or anything. The only thing he heard was the cars driving from a street out of view. James didn’t want to walk any farther than he had to. With a deep sigh, James scraped up any courage he had and walked forward into the dark path.

For good measure, James speed walked. At the same time, he thought how stupid he looked and how paranoid he was. There hasn’t been any incident involving a student around these parts. The thought reassured him for a moment until he remembered what happened to the student who was living right above him in the dorms. James quickened his pace.

James would look back every few seconds to make sure there wasn’t anyone suspicious around him. When he was halfway through the dark path, James once again looked back to find no one around still. He nearly had a heart attack when he turned back to look forward. What he saw made him stop dead in his track.

A dark figure stood a good distance away from him. Thanks to the light on the other end of the path, the outline of the figure’s body was shone. He just stood there. Doing nothing.

James waited for the figure to do something but to his dismay, he didn’t.

James’ breath quickened. Clutching his backpack for dear life, he took a few steps back.

His mind raced, thinking numerous thoughts. Mostly of him dying painfully.

What does this person want? Why me? I just want to go back to my dorm. I don’t want to die today, James thought.

Keeping his eyes on him, making sure the dark figure didn’t move, James kept walking backward. When he felt he had made a considerable distance between himself and the stranger, James did a 180 and was prepared to sprint (or attempt to anyway, due to his lack of athleticism) towards the other direction.

James took no more than two steps when he bumped into another dark figure head on. It was so dark, James couldn’t see who or what he ran into. He thought there was nothing or no one. But James squinted through his glasses just enough to make out, to his horror, another dark figure. This one was tall and loomed over him. That was all James assessed before being knocked out cold.

“ ... James ... James...”

“Nnngh ... ugh ... what?...”

“ ... wake ... have ... to ... time...”

“Who’s that?”

James didn’t know what was going on. Everything was, for lack of a better word, black. He couldn’t see anything. He thought maybe someone had called his name but he couldn’t hear anything anymore.

He didn’t know what was going on. James didn’t know what to feel. It wasn’t fear he was feeling. More like confusion.

Wherever he was, he felt weightless. As if he was hovering in the darkness. It was difficult to check the environment since it was pitch black. James tried his best to feel anything in the darkness. He had the crazy notion of being just a head, floating into nothingness. For some reason, the thought didn’t bother him.

“ ... James ... you ... hear... ?” the voice said again.