Closed at Dark

by Rob Blackwell

  *****

  Soren raised his hands to the sky as Ken aimed the gun at him.

  “Ken, I didn’t do anything to anybody,” he said. “I don’t know where you think you are, but we’re here to save Alex. This is a dream and we need to break out.”

  Ken looked over at Alex for a split second.

  “Did he hurt you?” Ken asked.

  Alex shook his head.

  “He’s right, Officer Ken,” Alex said. “This is just a dream.”

  “I saw him!” Ken said. “I saw what he did to my unit. He’s not a man; he’s a monster.”

  “Ken, it wasn’t real,” Soren said. “I’ve seen plenty of strange shit in here myself. You have to trust me.”

  Ken’s lips curled into a snarl.

  “Why should I? I know you’ve been sleeping with her. I saw that too.”

  Soren looked again at Alex, who wore a confused expression. When he glanced up in Soren’s direction, Soren stuck out a finger on his hand and rotated it close to his temple in a classic “he’s crazy” gesture. Soren saw Alex give him a hint of a smile.

  “Ken, nothing in here is real,” Soren said. “You have to break free.”

  Soren could almost see him trying. His face was covered in sweat, and he seemed to be fighting against an urge to shoot Soren on the spot.

  “No,” Ken said. “What I saw was the truth. You killed them; you’re going to take her from me.”

  Soren knew he was out of time. Ken was a lost cause. He either made a move now or Ken was going to shoot him. He didn’t know what would happen in the real world, but he remembered the cop had an actual gun in his hand the last time he saw him. Soren didn’t like his odds.

  He sprinted across the room, hoping his sudden movement would catch Ken off guard. The cop tried to aim his weapon, but Soren was too fast. He jumped at Ken, knocking him to the ground. The gun scattered across the cabin floor.

  They landed in a heap, and Ken looked momentarily dazed. Soren made a move to go after the gun, scrambling across the floor, but Ken yanked him back and punched Soren in the face.

  Soren felt like he’d been hit with a hammer. He cried out, putting his hand to his cheekbone. Ken tried to turn himself over, looking where the gun had fallen.

  But Soren pounced on him, launching a series of blows at Ken’s head. He forgot what his real purpose was. He’d never liked Ken, not since he’d first met him at the police station. The idea of him and Sara being together was repulsive to him. And this was his chance to beat the guy to a bloody pulp.

  His first two punches connected, hitting Ken in the nose and bloodying his face. But the cop held up his arms to block the next punch and then kicked out with his right leg, sending Soren sprawling.

  When Soren landed, his neck snapped back, hitting his head hard against the floor. He tried to get up again, but his vision was blurry. He could just make out Ken crawling across the floor to the gun.

  Soren frantically wiped his eyes and tried to clear his head. When his vision cleared, he saw Ken’s hand close around the gun.

  “No, no, no, no,” Soren said.

  He made another attempt to rush Ken, but he knew it was going to be too late. As he moved, he saw the cop, still lying on the floor, bring the gun around and aim it at Soren’s head. He was a dead man. He saw a sudden blur of motion and then the gun went off.