The Shades of Dreams: a Sandman fanfiction

CHAPTER 1: DEEP RED

Andrew O'Brien. She has read about and heard this name so many times, it starts to lose meaning. Andrew O'Brien, who was found lifeless in an alley behind a convenience store, his eyes gone and his face bloodied. Andrew O'Brien, whose billionaire father came red-faced, storming down her workplace's high-rise building, straight to her boss' office. Andrew O'Brien, whose death became another statistic, attributed to a serial killer. Andrew O'Brien, whose life was cut short at twenty years old, leaving a mystery to be solved.

Her laptop fan suddenly whirs, waking her from her daydream. In her head, she saw a swirl of Andrew O'Brien's blue eyes, a splash of blood, and the faint security camera shots of the man presumably known as The Corinthian, moments before Andrew's body was seen thudding on the pavement. His back to the camera, the slight outline of sunglasses peeking out the side of his head. Another one, his face a cacophony of gray and tan, coat open, sunglasses reflecting the lights around him.

I need to rest, she thinks to herself. Nine hours have passed since she first opened her laptop today. She is her firm's best investigator, or so says her boss. She is close. She can feel it. She might just figure out where The Corinthian goes next - right after she takes a nap. She forces her stiff legs to walk to the bedroom.

She closes her eyes, and she dreams.

She was back at school. She could see her reflection on a glass cabinet - her hair cropped short, her lips pale. She hadn't dyed it to its current color. No tattoos or piercings on her body. Not yet. She was 13 again, and she was in the middle of an exam.

The girl stared at her exam paper. Still empty. She tried to read the printed words but they were blurred. She rubbed her eyes and tried again. Still blurred. It was almost as if they were in another language. She forced herself to yawn, trying to wet her eyes. Nothing changed.

Her hair swayed on her neck as she looked up. Who were these people? Why didn't she recognize any of her classmates? Why were their eyes all hollow?

Suddenly, a burst of red stained her pristine white exam paper. Drip. Red again. She realized they were coming from her nose. She felt the entire class staring. None of them had eyes, but they were staring at her. Drip.

She touched her fingers to her nostrils. Deep red. Her head started to spin a little, blurring her vision even more. Eyebrows furrowed, she scanned her classroom left and right for a box of tissues. Nothing. Every pair of nonexistent eyes still zeroed in on her. Somehow their gazes felt like hot pokers through her forehead.

The girl tilted her head back, trying to stop the nosebleed from soiling her clothes. On the ceiling, she saw a faceless man with sunglasses, his arms extending to choke her. She could feel his fingers around her throat. She tried to lift her arms, but she couldn't move. She screamed. Nothing came out. It was a silent scream.

Her eyelids flutter open. She is an adult again, alone in her room.

Sweat dripping down her brow, she pants and jolts up from her bed. She sighs. This is her eighth nightmare in the past week. Ever since she learned about The Corinthian, all she ever has are nightmares. She tries to hold off sleeping by working more. Maybe the more she works, the sooner she solves this case, the sooner the nightmares will go away.