Sure. I've got it in a file of other shorts and a couple scripts and things I wrote back then. Here you go:
Dream, Eternity
Normally, the little bit of light shining in the second story window of Ray Warren's bedroom would not have been enough to wake him. On this particular Wednesday morning, though, he woke instantly. The young man felt strangely alert as he sat up and looked around his small room. The bedroom seemed slightly wrong, as if something had been moved or taken while Ray slept. He shrugged it off as the result of waking up too fast.
Ray checked the clock and reached down to shut off the alarm. He had a little over an hour to get ready for class. The mathematics course was fairly simple, almost the same as what he had taken in high school, but he hadn't done very well the first time around. There had been a few... distractions.
He walked across the wooden floor to the door at the end of the hall. He pulled a washcloth and towel from the closet and turned back to the bathroom. The door across from the bathroom was slightly open, as he had left it. He glanced into the large room... the master bedroom... his parents' bedroom. At least, it had been their room, until the old station wagon had gone out of control and rolled down an embankment, killing both of them. Ray, days past his eighteenth birthday and only weeks from graduating high school, had found himself suddenly alone in the old house.
The insurance settlement and inheritance would get him through college, at least, and the house was his too. His parents' bedroom, though, Ray left as it had been. A psychiatrist would probably tell him that wasn't good, but the young man refused to go see one. He just stayed in his own room and went to the Tri-County Community College. On mornings like this, though, Ray wished he had a pet so the house wasn't quite so quiet. Maybe he would stop by the Humane Society and get a dog on the way home.
Ray took a quick shower but was slightly surprised when he began drying off in front of the mirror. He had always been average, really average. His hair was 'kinda' brown and 'sorta' short. His eyes were a muddy brown and he had plain features. In fact, this average-ness carried over into most of his life. He didn't participate in any activities at the college and he didn't play any sports. This had led to his being slightly out of shape... until this morning.
The body in the mirror wasn't a weight lifter, but it was certainly well-toned. Ray wondered how that could have happened without his notice. True, he had a jogging class this semester, but that wouldn't account for what he saw in the reflection. The young man shook his head in confusion and went back to getting ready.
After he finished dressing, Ray realized he was hungry. Food was usually a bad idea in the mornings, he didn't wake up enough for his digestive system to start working until after he left the house. The young man opened the cupboard to get his Fruit Circles and found a box of Corn Flakes. He must have grabbed the wrong box at the grocery store. A heavy dose of sugar was poured into the bowl along with the milk. Even with the sugar, the breakfast seemed bland. Ray wrote himself a mental note to buy some real cereal.
The drive to the campus seemed just as strange, just as wrong as his room had earlier. Ray discovered just how strange things had become when he found himself pulling into the commuter parking area of the State University. He grabbed his math text and notebook and headed for a nearby building. As he walked along the sidewalk, he had a sense of deja vu and remembered that his classroom was the first on the right on the second floor.
A group of students passed him, then glanced back recognizing him.
"Hey! Ray-man... way to go last night."
"Warren! You’re the man... great catch!"
"Uh... thanks.", Ray responded. Who did these guys think he was? For a brief moment, Ray thought he recognized them, then the feeling passed.
He got to his class before it started, but not without being stopped and congratulated several more times. The confused student wasn't sure who everyone thought he was, but the likeness must have been pretty good. One gorgeous girl even kissed him, "for luck tonight", she claimed. Ray nearly sprinted for class, sure he liked girls but he wasn't terribly comfortable with intimacy... like getting kissed by someone he didn't know.
The professor was already there as he walked in and sat down near the back of class. The man looked up, almost with surprise, as he realized Ray had walked in. The mathematician shuffled his stack of papers together and cleared his throat to get the attention of the students.
"Well... it seems we've all been granted something of a treat. Tell me, Mr. Warren", he directed at Ray sarcastically, "to what end has the great baseball legend graced my classroom?"
Baseball?, the young man wondered curiously. I've never played baseball... have I?
Suddenly, Ray remembered the wrongness in his room, there had been a trophy case along one whole wall. Trophies he had never won had filled the shelves. Suddenly it all came together, the comments, the trophies and the toned muscles of his body; somehow he had been moved to a world where he was a baseball star.
"Well Mr. Warren?", the professor interrupted his thoughts.
"I... decided I needed to learn some math?", Ray answered cautiously. He wasn't sure how the Ray of this world dealt with his classes.
Evidently this was an unusual answer because suddenly the students were chanting his name and the teacher was scowling. Ray was going to like this, he was a God....
Normally, the little bit of light shining in the second story window of Ray Warren's bedroom would not have been enough to wake him. On this particular Wednesday morning, though, he woke instantly. The young man felt strangely alert as he sat up and looked around his small room. He thought about the dream he had been having, so real and vivid. Too bad he didn't dream like that more often, that had been a really pleasant dream.
As Ray looked around his small room, he felt that same odd sensation of something wrong. Was he still dreaming? No, there weren't any trophies in the room. The young man shrugged it off as the result of waking up too fast.
Ray checked the clock and reached down to shut off the alarm. He had a little over an hour to get ready for class. The mathematics course was fairly simple, almost the same as what he had taken in high school, but he hadn't done very well the first time around. There had been a few... distractions.
He walked across the wooden floor to the door at the end of the hall. He pulled a washcloth and towel from the closet and turned back to the bathroom. The door across from the bathroom was slightly open, as he had left it. He glanced into the large room... the master bedroom... his parents' bedroom. At least, it had been their room, until the old station wagon had gone out of control and rolled down an embankment, killing both of them. Ray, days past his eighteenth birthday and only weeks from graduating high school, had found himself suddenly alone in the old house.
The insurance settlement and inheritance would get him through college, at least, and the house was his too. His parents' bedroom, though, Ray left as it had been. A psychiatrist would probably tell him that wasn't good, but the young man refused to go see one. He just stayed in his own room and went to the Tri-County Community College. But on mornings like this, though, Ray wished he had a pet so the house wasn't quite so quiet. Maybe he would stop by the Humane Society and get a dog on the way home.
He took a quick shower and was slightly disappointed to discover he was slightly out of shape, but in a way, it was reassuring. The tossed the towel in the hamper and reminded himself he'd need to pick up some laundry soap when he went to the store for the Fruit Circles. Ray finished dressing and went downstairs to grab some breakfast. Food was usually a bad idea in the mornings, he didn't wake up enough for his digestive system to start working until after he left the house.
The young man reached into the cupboard to get the box of Corn Flakes and the sugar and realized that he held Fruit Circles. Ray put the sugar back onto the shelf, startled that he could have confused something from the dream with real life. It was almost embarrassing. He ate the cereal in silence, puzzled about the vivid dream.
Ray's classes went quickly though everything he did felt odd, as though someone was watching him. He pinched himself several times during the day, just to be sure he was awake. His last class of the day was a psychology class and since it was held in the evening, only once a week, it ran pretty late.
During the long class, the feeling of being watched grew. By its end, the student was so nervous he almost sprinted to his car. When Ray reached the old sedan, three scruffy looking men came out of the shadows. One of them approached as he fumbled with his keys; the dark-clothed man drew a knife from his pocket and flicked it open with a practiced twist of his wrist.
"Take everyt'ing outta you pockets, man.", he told Ray gesturing with the knife.
Ray nodded carefully reaching for his pockets. He didn't have much money on him, and he didn't have any credit cards, so the thieves wouldn't get much. After he had placed everything in the leader's hands, the man opened his car door and searched the ashtray and glove compartment. He shoved several tapes into his jacket and turned back to Ray.
"Not much here.", he commented, the accent of before strangely absent. He turned to his assistants. "Put him in the car and kill him."
It took Ray a moment to realize what had just been said, but when he did there was a rush of adrenaline and he turned and ran. Even with the adrenaline, the young man was too slow. He felt the knife slide into his back, a searing pain following moments later. As he tripped and fell to the ground fighting to stand, he wished he had been in better shape...
Normally, the little bit of light shining in the second story window of Ray Warren's bedroom would not have been enough to wake him. On this particular Wednesday morning, though, he woke instantly. The young man sat up, looked around his room and screamed. Ray grabbed for his back, feeling for the knife that had caused him such pain. It was gone, as was the pain... it had been another dream.
The bedroom was wrong, this was his parents' room. Was this never going to end, would he be trapped in an endless series of dreams? A beautiful young woman sat up in bed beside him, startled out of sleep.
"What's wrong, dear?", she asked. Her voice was pleasant, but he backed away. He didn't have a girlfriend.
Who was this woman? Why were they in his parents' room?
Ray suddenly noticed the gold ring on his left hand. The hand was trembling uncontrollably. Married? He wasn't ready for marriage. It was another dream! It had to be... What could he do? He had to wake up!
"Honey, are you all right?", she asked him as he jumped out of bed. Ray started toward the hall, then turned back toward the woman. His eyes grew wider with the shock of what was happening and for a long moment neither of them breathed. The chill air of the room caused goosebumps to rise on his bare skin and he realized that neither of them were clothed.
"It's just a dream.", Ray told her. He ducked out of the master bedroom and ran to his own. Inside, the young man discovered a small office with some obviously feminine touches. The bathroom was different as well. He was definitely married, but was it real? He tried to sort out the memories. Each of the dreams had left impressions on him, he could remember taking classes at the community college, but he also remembered playing baseball at State and getting stabbed in a parking lot. Worst of all, he could remember getting married. Her name was Stacy and she was a writer, they had met right after Ray's parents died. She'd helped him get over it and they had fallen in love.
...but, it couldn't be real! There was still that odd wrong feeling, like in the other dreams and he didn't remember everything about Stacy!
"Ray, do you want me to call the doctor?", Stacy asked carefully from the other side of the bathroom door.
"No!"
"Honey, what's wrong?", she asked, sounding a little hurt.
"I'm dreaming, right? I'm going to wake up and this will be over..."
The door opened slowly as Ray sank to the floor. Stacy had put on a robe before leaving the bedroom. Her husband had a memory of giving it to her for Christmas, just a few months ago. She helped him to his feet and handed him a robe. Then, the pretty woman took him downstairs and sat with him on the loveseat.
As they talked quietly, Ray began to feel more comfortable. His memories began to fill in and the other dreams began to fade. He finally stopped shaking and Stacy stood and walked slowly to the window. She pulled the curtains closed and turned slowly, sexily back toward Ray.
"I know how to make you forget about those dreams.", she told him, slipping out of her robe and onto his lap.
Ray felt the last doubts stream away as they kissed, no dream could be this great...
Normally, the little bit of light shining in the second story window of Ray Warren's bedroom would not have been enough to wake him. On this particular Wednesday morning, though, he woke instantly. The young man felt strangely alert as he sat up and looked around his small room. The bedroom seemed slightly wrong and Ray could still feel the tingle from Stacy's lips pressed on his own as he realized that he had woken from yet another dream. He almost sobbed aloud at what he had lost.
Ray checked the clock and reached down to shut off the alarm, that simple mothin reminding him of the other times he had done the same. There was a little over an hour to get ready for class, but he couldn't go. The mathematics course was fairly simple, almost the same as what he had taken in high school, but the young man was afraid of what the dreams would bring this time.
He walked across the wooden floor to the door at the end of the hall. He pulled a washcloth and towel from the closet and turned back to the bathroom. The door across from the bathroom was slightly open, as he had left it. He glanced into the large room... the master bedroom... his parents' bedroom. At least, it had been their room, until the old station wagon had gone out of control and rolled down an embankment, killing both of them. Ray, days past his eighteenth birthday and only weeks from graduating high school, had found himself suddenly alone in the old house.
Strangely, this room seemed different, as well. A slight difference, maybe, but Ray was sure that someone had been in his parents' room. The remembered pain of a knife in his back suddenly caused him to be worried about burglars. He ducked into the bathroom, looking for something to defend himself. There was a monkey wrench on the toilet, which he quickly grabbed. Then, the young man wondered why there would be a wrench in the bathroom. Sure, he had needed to do some work on the leak under the sink, but he'd been putting it off. He certainly didn't remember getting out any tools.
Ray shook his head slowly, he was letting his imagination get hold of him. Those realistic dreams were messing with his head. There weren't any burglars in the house, he kept the doors and windows locked and the windows were wired with a security system. If someone had broken in, the alarm would still be going. He put the wrench back on the toilet. It was probably a good sign that this was another dream.
He took a quick shower and dried himself off with a towel. As he tossed the towel into the hamper, he reminded himself that he needed laundry soap so he could do the wash. Then he took a second look, the hamper was empty. Where were all his dirty clothes?
There was an ominous sense of foreboding, something was about to happen and Ray knew that whatever twist of Fate was causing him to dream all these strange things was about to strike again. The young man moved carefully downstairs, nervously expecting the worst.
"Morning honey.", came a voice from the kitchen. He stopped on the last stair, stunned. The voice, so familiar, yet he knew with absolute certainty that he could never hear it again. That beautiful voice belonged to his mother.
Ray forced himself to move, to take the steps around the corner and into the warm cheerful kitchen. His kitchen never looked like this. He cooked a little, but it never had the same feel to it, not since she had...
"Are you all right, Ray?", asked his father from his usual seat at the table. A half eaten plate of eggs and bacon sat before the older Warren. He was currently juggling the paper and his coffee, both of which he had to have before really being awake in the morning.
"Mom? Dad?", Ray stammered out. How could it be? They were dead, his mind screamed. This has to be a dream! and yet he didn't want it to be. He wanted desperately for the other life, the long year and a half of pain, to have been a dream.
"Are you sick, honey?", his mother asked, setting down her skillet and moved to check his forehead with her hand.
"No... no. I'm ok. I'm just glad to see you.", he managed to say. God was he, but he couldn't stay home now. It would hurt to much when the dream ended and they were gone again.
"Well", replied his father, "that's one advantage to your taking these early classes. Much better than those evening classes last semester. We almost never saw you."
"Ummm... right. I guess I better get going or I'll miss that early class.", Ray explained. How could this happen? How could someone be so cruel to make him lose them again?
Out in the driveway, his sedan sat parked behind his father's station wagon. The dents in the wagon's hood were still visible where hail had hit it years ago during a storm. Ray pulled out of the driveway and heard the screeching of tires. He had only a moment's glimpse of the blue truck that hit him before everything went black...
Normally, the little bit of light shining in the second story window of Ray Warren's bedroom would not have been enough to wake him. On this particular Wednesday morning, though, he woke instantly. The young man felt a strange tension as he tried to sit up and look around his small room. The room seemed slightly wrong, as if something had been moved or taken while Ray slept. Then he realized he was strapped to a hospital bed in a small room..
Another dream!
He must have been hurt pretty badly in the accident. He couldn't feel his legs and his fingers were tingling. Ray tried to twist his neck around to see if his legs were still there. He couldn't move quite far enough. A small buzzer went off beside the bed as he moved. A moment later there was an electric click and a woman's voice came from a small speaker near the head of the bed.
Gotta wake up!
"Please lie still, Mr. Warren, your doctor will be in in a moment.", she explained.
A minute or two passed and then an older man in a white coat came into the room.
"Ray, hello, I'm Dr. Morgan Howard. You can call me Morgan. It's good to see you conscious again. We were a bit worried about you for a while."
"We? Are my folks here?", Ray asked. Was he still in the same dream?
"I'm afraid not Ray... they were both killed in the crash."
"But I was by myself..." NO!
"The police found them in the station wagon, Ray. Your father was driving, your mother in the passenger seat. They were both trapped in the car as it rolled down the hill. You only survived because you weren't wearing your seat belt. You were throw from the vehicle as it went over the guard rail. We weren't sure you would survive, either.", the doctor explained gently.
"A dream...", Ray whispered in sorrow.
"No, I'm sorry, but as we told you last time you woke, it's all quite real.", Morgan told him firmly.
"No! Before... before I woke I dreamed some strange dreams. I dreamed that they had died but I was fine. Then I dreamed that I was a baseball star... and married?"
"Probably caused by the drugs. You can see some strange things when you're on morphine.", explained the older man.
"So they're really dead? Now what?"
"Well, you'll have to go through therapy. It's possible you'll regain some sensation in your legs, but the spinal cord was nearly severed. The head trauma was what caused the coma, that was the worst of it.", the doctor told him.
"That's why I can't feel my legs..."
"Right. Now I think you should rest some more...", the doctor urged, getting up from the edge of the bed where he had been sitting.
"No! I have to know if it's a dream or not... have I really woke up? Or is this just another dream?"
Dr. Howard shook his head.
"I told them you weren't ready for the truth yet...", he reached out and twisted the knob on the dosage system.
Ray could feel the world twisting and fading around him, the sensation that everything was wrong.
"No! I've got to wake up. Please! Is it a dream...?"
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