Sam(Feeling angry): Dude, what happened back there, you were supposed to explain to the boss about the proposal we made. Why didn’t you?
Mike: (Lost in thoughts) I don’t know… I…
Sam: What do you mean you don’t know, you were supposed to do that on Monday, but no… you didn’t… now it’s Thursday and the week is almost done. You know we won’t get another chance till next week right?
Mike: I’m sorry bro, it’s just… I…
Sam: Dude, I think it’s time you see a doctor about what’s happening to you, it’s starting to affect your job.
Mike: (With a scared look on his face) He is everywhere…
Sam: What?
Mike: I see him everywhere…
Sam: (A little confused and concerned) Who… the man in your dreams?
Mike: (With a trembling voice) Two days ago… in my dreams… he caught me, I couldn’t outrun him as I used to… he… held my hands…(Mike’s heart beating fast) his hands felt like they were …. covered with scales, immediately… I woke up and realized I was on the floor … next to the door… holding my sheets… and not on my bed. Like… I was dragged from my bed…
Sam: (Feeling scared) What… are you sure?
Mike: Ever since then… he is closer, not just in my dreams… but everywhere.
Sam: (Still scared) Wow… are you serious. Ok… do you know what he looks like… or maybe his name… did it… or did he ever say his name?
Mike: (His voice trembling) I don’t know his name. Yesterday on my way to the grocery store, while walking… my shadow was of a different form… it had horns… like a crown… the legs were bent like that of an animal… and it looked much bigger than it should. When I walked into the store… for a second there… I saw its reflection on the glass door… all grey.
Sam: (Trying to calm his friend) Are you sure… maybe it’s just your mind playing tricks on you.
Mike: I saw him again… today.
Sam: Today… where?
Mike: Here… in the office… just before we went to see the boss, I went to use the toilet… and I saw its reflection in the mirrors… this time it was much much closer… it was pointing at me… and it said something…
Sam: It said something… what did it say?
Mike: It said… “I have come for you”… almost grabbed me… then you opened the door… and … it was like… it was never there… (Looking confused and scared) Dude… I don’t know what’s happening to me… maybe I am losing my mind… but I know what I have been seeing is real.
Sam: (Short of words, yet trying to be supportive ) Umm… I umm… I don’t know what to say, dude… You’ve been fine all these while… how come all these all of a sudden?
Mike: It’s Jessica…(Crying and sobbing)
Sam: Who?
Mike: (Wiping the tears from his eyes with his hands) Jessica… the girl we met at the club some weeks ago,(Still trying to help Sam remember) I danced with her at the club that night… the one who worked in the finance department.
Sam: Oh… yeah, so that’s her name. I never knew her name. What about her… how is this her fault?
Mike: We had sex that night… and the next day I realized she had resigned, and ever since then, the nightmares have been coming, getting stronger by the day.
Sam: (A little Confused) Wait a minute, so you think because you had sex with her, that’s the reason why these things are happening to you?
Mike: Yeah, I think so…
Sam: But why didn’t it happen with other girls you’ve had sex with in the past?
Mike: I don’t know… but I feel all this is connected to her. (With a sense of determination in his eyes) I need to find answers… before… before it gets worse than this.
Sam: Ok… what do you have in mind?
Emmalase