lacuna || voltron

Chapter 1

The Three

"So what you're saying is you saw, ah, a ghost in your dream, and you think its a warning signal for us?"

"You don't have to say it like that-"

Hunk spoke with his mouth half full of buttered popcorn. "But that's what you said, right? I'm just trying to make sense of it. It's just kinda weird, y'know? It just seems like a nightmare."

"Yeah, Lance," Keith added, "I bet it's just one of those dreams. About your insecurities or whatever."

"It felt so real," muttered Lance, his gaze tracing the lines on the hardwood floor. "I know its some kind of warning. An insecurity about something happening in the future is just as important."

Pidge sat up on her elbows. "He's got a point. We could look it up. It's probably explained in a dream psychology-"

"No," Lance said. "I checked. Nothing was like the one I had."

Shiro finally spoke. "And you said it made you feel physically ill?"

"Yes," Lance said, no doubt in his voice. "I'm telling you, what I saw- what I felt- I just have a weird feeling." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Keith squeezing his arm uncomfortably.

"Keith?

Keith snapped out of it, though he still nervously played with the hem of his shirt. "Nothing. Just thinking." Normally, Lance would've made a joke. Now, everyone was too on edge to do so. 

"I just wish you guys could've seen it too."

"No offense, but that would've been too scary," Hunk smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Lance."

Lance frowned. "No, I get it. Yeah. I guess it could've just been a nightmare." 

Lance knew it wasn't that simple. He wasn't stupid- it couldn't have just been a weird dream. He remembered the constricting feeling in his throat. The dryness  of his eyes. The slowing of his breath. Mostly, he remembered the black masses glowing eyes staring through his body as if he were transparent, and the sudden rush of the ghost coming closer.

"Breathe, Lance," Allura spoke for the first time since she'd been there. She'd been trying to calculate answers, though nothing had been adding up. "Let's try and get your mind off of it."

"Popcorn?" Hunk offered, holding up a piece between his fingers. 

Lance absently smiled and took it, only playing with it in his hands. "Sorry, guys. I know how it sounds."

"It's okay," to everyone's surprise, Keith tried to comfort him. His voice sounded as on edge as Lance's did minutes ago, yet it had a calming aura. "You couldn't control it. It happens."

"Thanks, man." Lance wondered how Keith had sounded that understanding. It wasn't like him. Maybe he had his fair share of insecurity dreams too. 

. . .

After winding down into slumber, Lance hadn't thought of the ghost too much.

The first scream definitely belonged to Hunk. 

Everyone but Allura shot up immediately. Lance rushed over to Hunk's side, where he was practically wheezing and out of breath. The light from Lance's blinds illuminated the fear in his wide, chestnut eyes. Pidge flipped on the light switch, which eerily flickered a few times before filling the room with the bright light.