out. "I think someone needs a time-out."
"Someone needs a two-month vacation in the Bahamas without her boyfriend along." Chrissy's eyes brightened. "Oooh, hey, sex camp. Yeah. That's the ticket. We need to start a sex camp where women can tell their hubbies they're going to a fat farm and instead of the boot camp diet with Nazi dieticians, they go to the beach and have hot men treat them like goddesses!"
Erin laughed.
"No, I'm serious. We'd be rich."
Erin laughed even harder. "You'd better get back to work before Lord King Bad Mood catches you over here again."
"Yeah, I know. See, proves my point. All men should be shot."
Erin was still laughing as Chrissy returned to her desk. Two seconds later, Chrissy was back, peeking over the cube wall again. "Hey, are you still having those nightmares?"
Erin's humor fled as she remembered the horrendous nightmare she'd had last night where she'd been cornered in a dark cave by an unseen force that seemed to want to feed off her terror. For the last three weeks she'd barely slept a wink. Her exhaustion was getting so bad that she was even having dizzy spells.
"Yes," Erin said.
"Did that medicine the doctor gave you help?"
"No. If anything, I think it made the dreams worse."
"Oh, man, I'm sorry."
Erin was, too. She'd hoped for at least one good night's sleep. But that no longer seemed possible.
Their boss's door opened.
Chrissy dodged off as their rotund, militant boss left his office in a huff and headed toward the coffeepot with his extra large coffee mug in hand. Oh, yeah, like that man needed any more caffeine to add to his jittery crankiness.
Erin sighed as John filled his mug to the brim and her thoughts turned back to her nightmares.
Honestly, she no longer knew what to do about them. They were just so bizarre, and every night the dreams seemed to worsen. At the rate she was going, she figured she'd be a raving lunatic by the end of the month.
Rubbing her eyes, she focused on her computer screen. She had to get her marketing report in by Friday, but all she really wanted to do was sleep.
In the back of her mind she kept seeing that huge, snarling monster that came for her. Hearing him call her name as he reached his taloned hand out, trying to claim her. Like some bad horror movie, the scenes kept haunting her, whispering through her thoughts during any unguarded moment.
Shaking her head, she dispelled the images and focused on her computer screen. But as she read, Erin felt her eyelids getting heavy again. She blinked fast and widened her eyes in an effort to stay awake.
Marketing report, marketing report...
Oh, yeah, like that was a good way to stay awake! Why not down a couple of sleeping pills and drink a glass of warm milk while she was at it?
What she needed was more caffeine, and since she couldn't stand coffee, she'd have to go to the Coke machine. Maybe the walk down the hall would help revive her, too.
She slid her chair back and opened her desk drawer to get her change, then rose to her feet.
As soon as she was upright, a strange buzzing began in her head. The world tilted.
And in one heartbeat everything went black and her body froze...
Erin felt herself falling down a deep, dark hole. All around her, winds rushed and howled in her ears, sounding like huge, frightening beasts trying to shred her.
They were hungry. They were desperate, and they wanted her.
They whispered her name on breaths of fire. Told her they waited only for her.
Not again! She couldn't take any more of this horrible nightmare.
Wake up, wake up!
But she couldn't.
Erin reached out to grab anything in the darkness to stop herself from falling. There was nothing to hold on to. Nothing to save her.
"Help!" she screamed, knowing it was futile but needing to try.
Still, she fell.
She didn't stop falling until she reached the cavern she knew all too well. Dark and dank, it smelled of rotting decay. She heard the hissing and screams, the absolute agony of souls in torment.
Run away!
Her heart pounded as she stumbled in the dark, over the rough floor that seemed to grab on to her feet with rocky fingers as she tried to find an exit. She struggled to see, but the oppressive darkness wouldn't let her. All it did was stab at her eyes like tiny needles.
She reached out with her hands and touched a slimy wall that slithered