Of All I See.

The Man in Grey always says: "There is a place of time for bodies, soul, and mind."  I don't know what it means, nor does my friend.  The Man in Grey gets angry when we don't understand.  He pokes us with needles when we talk nonsense, and I wake a day later, unsure if it was a dream or not.  Everything is like that.  I can't tell reality from dreaming.  My friend says this is something called, Psychosis.  He says Ghost told him this.

I Saw what will happen tonight, a blurry vision of tableaus, this pre-seeing that happens all the time; but never as graphic, never as horrifying as this one: nine o'clock tonight; a fire; a hidden door; four gun fires; red everywhere.

"What if we die?" my friend asks, eyes wide.

I look at the clock.  Eight-fifty-nine.  "We'll find out soon."

There's a brief moment of silence, comforting and haunting.  I close my eyes, breathe, grasp the edge of normality for a split second.  And then--

There's a scream, loud and piercing, vibrating horribly in my eardrums.  There's a blast of heat, giant flames igniting the room.  The Grey Ones run chaotically; the ones like me and my friend sit soundly, admiring the colorful flecks of orange, red, and burning yellow dance and stretch.  It engulfs a boy, eating him alive, disintegrating his flesh, leaving nothing but char and crimson.  At this, panic rises.  My friend takes my hand, leading us away as the Other Ones enter the fire as if they don't realize they'll die, as if they don't care if they die.  

We head down a long passage of blinding white.  I feel a pang in my chest, a horrible ache.  "Run," I whisper.  We do as The Man in Grey and three Grey Ones appear, chasing us.

We sprint to the end, but there are no doors, no windows.  We're trapped.  Then--flash--I See it.  "There," I say, pushing the wall, and, like I Saw, it opens.  We look out.  I'm struck with surprise, with awful realization.  My friend, however, looks sick, worried to death.  

"DON'T!"  The Man in Grey gains closer...

We look beyond, trying to find more.  Then--flash--I know.  I See it, rushing before me in color, with faces and details. 

I slowly pick up the object and as soon as I touch it everything makes sense, everything falls formidably into place.  I turn, point the gun at The Man in Grey, and pull the trigger.  Bang.  He falls, eyes shell-shocked.  I aim at the Grey Ones.  Bang.  Bang.  Bang. They fall, the white-washed hall now turning scarlet.

I stare absently, hoping this is just a dream...

The gun falls from my hand, the fire spreads.  I look at my friend and, finally, I feel okay, and I suppose this isn't the way I pictured dying; but I'd rather die by fire next to my friend than by needles alone in my room.

The fire burns closer....We await, holding hands, shutting eyelids, and I feel the heat upon us....

It's a lifetime before I peek, only to see no fire, no blood, no gun.  Just blinding white and my friend.  And, very vaguely, a pearly shadow moving towards us...

"This way," Ghost says, chilling and welcoming, entering the hidden door.  "Come. There's much to do now."

Perhaps it is the narcotics or the freedom or both, but I grab my friend's hand and we enter, not knowing what lies behind, not knowing if this is just a dream or if this is real. But, in the end, does it really matter?