11.

James awakened suddenly.

Two lights coming closer. Headlights coming closer. He remembered that he met with an accident.

Only his eyes moved, and he saw shadows and silhouettes. Shadows and silhouettes.

Was he dreaming?

He heard mechanical beeps and whirring.

It was all a dream.

He remembered looking out the window of the taxi, of waving to stop the taxi, of taking the elevator down to ground floor and thinking hard whether to go for a pizza or chicken wings.

Now, the images of the dream were swimming in his mind. The fragments were connecting, scenes were emerging, and he was remembering.

The things on his mind in brackets of memory, melted in shapes that staged on darkness. That's what happened. Oh, the speed at which it happened. How could he not realize that it was a dream? Well, maybe because it felt so real. But doesn't it always when we step in?

The image of headlights coming at him caged him in a feeling that something of urgency has hidden in clouds of his mind.

The clouds disappeared when he realized his clothes were wet.

12.

He jumped out of his bed but was held back by his wrist. His left wrist was tied to the wall. His whole body was feeling numb. He pulled and pulled and pulled, but it was still bound. Panic thundered upon him.

But then he halted. His hand had touched what was holding him back. He wasn't tied or handcuffed. From the wall, a thick metal wire was just coiled thrice on his wrist, and its end was loose. He picked the loose end and easily uncoiled it. Then, he kept holding the wire like a statue. His fingers opened and the wire fell out. He got out of bed.

Suddenly, the room became semi-dark. The wire that held him back was burning red. In the corners of his eyes more things have come to life. He turned quickly and saw there were beds around him and on them there were human shapes burning red from inside. The same thick metal wire was coiled in their wrists and was run over by blue and orange electric threads. Then, they stopped shaking and blue and yellow sparks shot out from the length of the wire like firecrackers. The smell of burnt flesh filled the room.

James stood there for a long time, lost in the darkness. His body frozen, his eyes unblinking.

In the depth of darkness, he remained lost. Then, as if awakened from sleep, he came back to himself. Without further ado, he ran. Searching for a door in the darkness, with outstretched hands. A wave of air touched him. He followed it. He felt the direction it came from, moved in it and touched the wall till his hand slipped, and he felt the air entering. He moved with it. He felt the wind travelling around him. The direction of the wind was the only way to walk in this blinding darkness. But the wind didn't come alone. It brought voices with it.

He closed his eyes and tried to feel the wind, feel where it's cutting corners, feel where it's thick and where it's thin.

But the wind had stopped, and he kept waiting. Waiting for another touch of this invisible hand.