I was at home when I realized that something didn’t seem right. Who was with Andy if his nose was bleeding and he passed out?
I ran back to the laundromat, but the stranger had already left. I decided to take the route to Andy’s house.
I don’t know what I was expecting when I got to the street. I didn’t know anyone this far away from my house and I didn’t know which one was Andy’s.
I decided to turn and head back, but something caught my eye. I could see the changing blues of a tv playing inside a house, but through an open door. Normally I can tame my nosiness in potentially dangerous situations, but it was after two and my judgment was gone.
I slowly walked into the house and saw something a lot different than I expected. Not one, not two, but three bodies, seemingly dead; on the stairs, on the couch, and in the kitchen- all people I knew, all people I had went to college with.
I don’t remember making a decision, but at some point I had hunched over all of them to check if they were breaking and frantically trying to give CPR even when I knew they were gone.
I don’t know if I called the police, but I was back in the laundromat, using the machine that the stranger had used, taking off my clothes and frantically shutting them in a machine.
My hands were shaking and I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, the bell over the door gave its familiar jingle.
The person chuckled. “Wow, I didn’t realize people did laundry as late as me.” It was the stranger. What was happening?
“Oh, my god! Are you ok?” He asked anxiously as he took in my appearance. I seemed to have only taken off my pants, but my shirt was still on and I could feel blood drying on my skin.
“What?” I called back faintly. I couldn’t think straight and the stranger wasn’t helping. He must be a murderer.
I looked around for the owner, but she was nowhere in sight. I didn’t know who could possibly help me. When I looked at the stranger, he was walking towards me.
“Stay away from me!” I screamed hoarsely.
“Whoa! Calm down, I’m not going to hurt you, just put it down and then we can figure out what happened,” he reasoned.
Put it down? What was he talking about? But then, there was a knife in my hand. How did a knife get in my hand?
“Oh, Jesus Christ,” the stranger moaned.
I walked over to where he was looking; the owner was dead behind the counter, multiple stab wounds in her stomach.
“Oh my god,” I cried, dropping the knife. What was happening? “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…” I continued repeating this even after I’d fallen to the floor.
“JACKSON!”
My eyes opened as if the guard were standing right over me. It was time for breakfast.
But I couldn’t help but stay in my bed thinking for a few seconds more. It wasn’t the first time I dreamed about that night, but how strange that I didn’t kill everyone? The guy was quite cute.
