Hall

[Begin Audio log #75426]

''Note; Patient 19102694 (**** Crowe) requested a copy of Audio log #75426 be handed out to him. Doctor S. Abrahamson approved the request and noted that the patient will receive a copy of said audio log.  ______________________________________________________________________________________________   Dr. A: Okay, ****, you have to recount this dream to me. We still haven't reached its conclusion it seems, and that is what appears to be bothering you. Crowe: We did, Doctor. Dr. A: Doesn't seem so to me. I recall you saying you have a degree of lucidity over your dreams. You've also stated that if a dream would reoccur to you after you've woken up abruptly in the middle of one you could reach its conclusion over the following nights. Isn't it so? Crowe: No… Dr. A: No? Crowe: Yes… No… I mean… I usually can… Not… Not with this one. Dr. A: Oh. I see. Well, perhaps I can help you resolve the conflict that this dream is causing you. For that, I need you to repeat its course to me. Crowe: (Sighs) Okay... Dr. A: Take your time, if you need to stop at any point, let me know. Crowe: (nods, before taking an audible breath) It always starts the same. I am standing at the entrance to some building. The Wall around the entrance is colored yellowish white. It's midday, I can feel the sun directly in my back. I am wearing some sort of suit. A protective suit, I suppose. I don't know why. I don't know why anything happens the way it does in this dream. I… I just… It just happens. (Nervous breathing audible) I walk into the building, and its mostly deem. There is this gold-rust colored light coming off from above me. I never bother looking up. I just look forward and walk. There isn't a lot of space to go, just a narrow passageway forward. I walk alone. There's this clicking noise, I guess coming from within my suit. It sounds like the tapping of a pencil on a table. It's constant. It never stops. For a while, the only thing I hear is this tapping noise and the sound of my presumed boots hitting the concrete floor. After walking for a while, I see pipes and tubes running along the walls. I keep on walking. The pipes become a network of tubing stretching all over the walls and I guess the ceiling. I never look up. Never… I keep going some more time and I get lost in this space. I stop noticing things. It's all just a long… never-ending passageway colored in golden rust and the tapping. Always tapping. I almost hit my head on a pipe. I narrowly notice it before impact. I duck it awkwardly. My senses sharpen again. There are more pipes. Everywhere. The tapping noise gets more frequent for a few moments, louder, then it dies down. I simply keep walking. Occasionally I avoid pipes that hang low. I keep on walking. Aimlessly, I think… Everything becomes blurry, sort of. This yellowish blur all over my field of vision. I just keep walking. I'm perfectly calm. After some more walking, I come to an intersection; I look at my options for a few moments. There's a pathway leading left and another one to the right. I choose left. I don't know why, but I do. I keep on walking. Water sloshes beneath my feet. I keep walking. The lower-hanging pipes become more frequent. I dodge them a lot more. I feel myself beginning to strain. I keep walking. Water covers my ankles. Occasionally I hear a single tap of water in the distance. Not too close, but not too far. I keep walking. The sound of tapping water gets more frequent. I keep walking. More low hanging pipes. I keep walking. My breathing hastens. I keep walking. Water is at my knees. I keep walking. More pipes. Heartbeat rising. Walking. More walking. More pipes. Breathing heavily. More walking. Heartbeat fast. Breathing goes fast and shallow. Everything blurs out. Yellow, rusty, shapeless, endless hall. I'm still walking. Tapping water becomes very frequent. Still walking. Chest begins to tighten uncomfortably. Very heavy breathing. Feels like I'm not breathing at all. Pencil tapping becomes more frequent, louder for a few seconds. A single drop of water echoes unbearably loudly through space. I trip over a pipe and nearly fall. But I don't and I keep on walking. The water reaches my groin. It's very cold and I shudder. I keep walking. Everything begins to spin slowly around me. It's getting smaller. I keep walking. Tapping noises. Fade in and out. I keep walking. My ears are buzzing. I keep walking. My legs become heavy. I keep walking. My whole body feels tired. I keep walking. The walls seem like they're closing in on me. I still keep walking. The tapping… (long pause) Dr. A: ****, What about the tapping? Crowe: It's unbearable. It coming from within me. Dr. A: Your heartbeat perhaps? Crowe: I… I don't know… All I know is that I just keep walking and walking. I'm getting cold. The room is spinning and getting smaller. I feel the light fading in front of me. It's almost like I am about to pass out but I don't. Another drop of water echoes through the space jolting me back into consciousness. I keep walking. The room is getting smaller. I think. It's hard to breathe. I'm struggling to breathe. I have no air. I keep walking. Pipes everywhere. Rusty lights everywhere. I keep on walking. Water up to my waist. It's getting hard to walk. I keep walking. Losing speed. Ears ringing so loud I can't near anything else. I keep walking. The passageway keeps shrinking. A static noise fills my ears as I keep walking. The walls feel like… Like… Dr. A: Like what? What do they feel like? (heavy breathing audible) Dr. A: We can stop if you want. Crowe: (attempts to collect himself) It's fine. The walls, they, they feel… like… like… they are about to crush me.''

''Dr. A: I see. Crowe: I keep walking. I'm out of breath. My breathing is awful. Shallow and quick. The static noise takes over everything. I still feel the resistance of water against my body… (Long pause; **** Crowe is staring into space) Dr. A: **** are you alright? (silence) Dr. A: ****, I said, are you alright? (silence) Dr. A: ****, I think we should stop this here. (The sound of Dr. Abrahamson's feet walking across the room follows.) Dr. A: (touching the patient): Are you crying, ****? Crowe: (incoherent, begins crying) Dr. A: It's alright, it's alright, we'll do this another time. Crowe: (through the tears) It just ends. [End Log]''