Chapter 75

I'm dead. I have to be dead. There's no other explanation for the nightmare I just experienced.

Despite the panic ripping her innards to shreds, she allowed her training to take over: calm breathing, logical thinking, situation analysis, and an attitude adjustment.

She only had to open her eyes and deal with whatever she found on the other side. Maybe it was her own bedroom; maybe she hadn't just experienced the most terrifying event of her life. She hadn't slipped through the carpeted floor of her bedroom into a whirling pool of night and nausea. She hadn't screamed until her voice gave out. She hadn't fought the urge to pluck out her own eyes. No, she was lying on her bedroom floor recovering from a strange, sudden seizure. When she opened her eyes, she'd see her closet, her dresser, and her gun lying on the bed. She'd get off the floor, take a deep, soothing breath, and immediately call the state mental hospital.

Hearing voices, objects disappearing, strange sensations...