Layers Of Nightmare

BEEP! BEEP! BE-

A hand reached out toward a phone on the table. It was exactly after one hour that William woke up from his nap; the clock had hit 5 p.m. by then.

Thankfully, he did not get dragged into the Nightmare realm this time—just like what Alex stated.

He stretched his upper body and slowly got up, feeling slightly drowsy yet refreshed.

The first thing he did was getting some water from the kitchen, then he picked up his phone to ask Felicia about the parchment. Though this time, she did not answer outright.

Putting the phone down, William leaned back in his chair. 'What should I do…?'

Usually, he would have played some games, read his favourite novels, or voice chat with his friends. But now, the pressure from the incoming Nightmare instance had stressed him out enough to not do anything.

William sighed. As far as he could remember, today must be the day he sighed the most.

He opened his laptop and began to open his lecture notes listlessly. Like before, his brain was able to scan the entire notes with just a single glance.

After a short 15 minutes, William had finished reviewing every notes from all of his subjects. A bitter smile formed on his face; everything was so unreal. It was merely yesterday that exams was the most important thing he worried about, the next day, he became a soldier on the battlefield.

Now, he got nothing to do again. This, however, further fueled his unrest.

Human mentality was not so easy to temper, especially in this day and age where most tended to worry about little things. When they were exposed to a greater problems, many will experience drawbacks and finally suicides in a worst case scenario.

Suddenly, the phone on the table gave a long vibration, followed by Chopin's Nocturne op.9 no.2.

It has been a really long time since the ringtone last played. And with the rise of social media offering free call function, he never bothered changing his phone ringtone for years.

William grabbed his phone and found an unfamiliar number on the screen.

'Who?' He pressed the green button to answer anyway. "Hello?"

"Hello, William?" A man's voice sounded from the other side. "This is Alex, I hope I'm reaching the right number."

"Ah yes, hello sir. Do you need something from me?" William replied respectfully.

"Can you come to the South Park in the campus by six? We have an urgent announcement to tell."

William looked at the time on his laptop, showing 17:20. "Sure, do I need to bring anything?"

"Nah, just bring your whole body and you're good."

"Okay then, I will see you later."

"Yea, see you." Before he hung up, Alex added, "Also, drop that formalities. It's redundant."

"Ahaha," William let out a hollow laugh. "I'll try."

"Mm." The call hung up after a single beep from the other side.

William put the phone down, then put up his jeans, shirt and jacket. Since he got nothing to do, he might as well walk to the university again.

…

5.54 p.m., William arrived at the South Park.

Contrary to his expectation, there was no one there. Due to the sparse lamppost, the whole park was dim, and not many students were willing to spend their time around it after sunset.

At this moment, a hand suddenly reached for his back.

William quickly jerked his whole body like a startled cat. But as he turned around-

"Surprise!"

Two dull bangs resounded as confetti flew onto the air.

"Huh?" Wiliam had a dumbfounded look on his face.

Felicia, who held a confetti tube giggled merrily, whereas Alex, who held another one yelled, "Come on out guys!"

William turned around once more, then saw tens of people and several tables filled with a variety of foods and expensive beverages magically appeared. Moments later, these people begin to clapped and whistled loudly. The whole park turned crowded in a blink of an eye.

"What are you…" William asked, feeling speechless.

This time, Alex moved to his front with an open arm, saying loudly, "With this, we officially welcome you to the Australia's Dream Treader Association! Come on guys, give him another round of cheers!"

WOOO! WOOO!

*WHISTLE*

"This…"

"What? Cat got your tongue?" Felicia chuckled, then followed William's gaze. "Amazing isn't it? These are not even the whole members of our association."

"You still got more people?" William gasped in astonishment, there were at least 40 people in front of him!

"Hahaha," Alex came with two glasses of champagne in his hands, he offered one to William. "Over the course of the years, we have acc.u.mulated countless experiences as Dream Treader. As such, the mortality rate of our members continues to drop every year!"

"Ah…" William nodded in understanding, whilst accepting the glass that Alex offered. "Is this how you always greet the newcomers?"

"Indeed!" Alex replied unhesitantly. "One thing is for getting to know each other, while another is for-"

"Mind if I explain it from there, Alex?" A voice suddenly came from behind.

"Oh, it's you!" Alex said as he turned his head. "Sure, go on."

William caught sight of the figure. It was yet another familiar face; a middle-aged lady with long wavy hair, high nose bridge, and gentle countenance. She held a glass of wine in her hand and dressed rather simply—a brown blouse, black trousers, and a pair of white sneakers.

"Professor Laura," William called out, nodding his head lightly.

This brown-haired madam was a professor in psychology and wellbeing. Just seeing her being here, William already had some guesses.

"You see, being Dream Treaders is the same as joining a war," Laura said, apparent British accent in her voice. "Be it veteran or rookie, many suffered from mental problems due to the long exposure to deaths and inexplicable horrors in the Nightmare realm."

Laura took a sip of the wine, then added, "Especially for newcomers, many have died pointlessly due to the shock. Suicide is the most common."

She stared right at William's eyes, showing a smile. "I bet that you're greatly nervous right now, am I right?"

William forced a smile. "Can't say I'm not."

"It's normal to be nervous," Laura assured. "But do know that you can depend on us, look at those people."

Laura pointed at the crowds, some were probably still in highschool, some were old enough to have grandkids. "We have all kinds of people here. From those who are veterans of thousands instances, to those who are still fledgling of less than ten instances.

"Nonetheless, we don't see anyone looking in despair, don't we?"

William observed the people in front of him. Indeed, the atmosphere was cheerful; people chatted among themselves while enjoying the beverages—just like any normal people did.

He nodded subconsciously.

She said once again, "Remember what I have taught you, as long as there is a will-"

"There is a hope." William completed the remaining words.

"Good." Laura nodded in satisfaction. "It's no use to mule about it too much, you can rest assured that we'll help you survive as best as we can—this is our, the Dream Treader's vow!

"And of course," Laura added, a teasing smile on her face, "we can provide you additional items, as long as you do your best to live!"

"Ah…" William scratched his head in embarrassment. It seemed that Laura also saw his spams in the chat two hours ago.

"Now, let's go." Laura nudged William forward. "We have kept everyone waiting. It's time for the star to introduce himself!"

William looked at their side. It seemed that Alex and Felicia had left them for a while now.

"Alright…" He straightened his back and tried to walk forward steadily, Laura by his side.

He was nervous. Not because of the thoughts on the Nightmare anymore, but because there were so many people in front of him!

It would have been fine if no one paid attention to him. But now, it was inevitable that he will be the center of attention.

'What should I do if my behavior causes them to hesitate in supporting me?'

'What if I invite someone's ire? Will they left me to die in the next instance?'

Similar thoughts started to surfaced in his head.

Suddenly, a certain voice disrupted his thinking.

"Heya man~"

William turned his head at the source of the voice.

"Wha-" He was stumped.

The voice came from a young man, who was slightly on the chubby side. He had a tanned skin and had a somewhat easy-going aura around him.

"James?!"

The man was one of the few good friends William made in the last couple of years. He was born in the same country as him, but grown up here, in Australia.

"Fancy meeting you here, pal!" the man with the loose shirt said.

"Fancy meeting, my ass!" William smacked his shoulder. "I thought you're on vacation!"

"Pft, that was a lie, obviously." James showed-off his white row of teeth. "You weren't a Dream Treader yet last week, so how could I tell you? By the way, I think you should go to say a few words to everyone first."

"Agh!" William got reminded about the situation he was in. He turned around to see that all of the eyes were staring at him. Including Alex and the few others he had met this afternoon.