NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: [9] A Door to Somewhere
Friday night.
Daniel sat at his desk, staring at the open notebook. The four rules he had written earlier that week stared back at him like an unspoken challenge.
The Dream is Real.
2. Every Dream Has a Countdown.
3. The World Will End.
4. I Can Fight Back.
He ran his fingers over the words, pressing down like he was trying to etch them into his skin.
Tomorrow, it would happen again.
A new life. A new world. A new ending.
And this time?
He was going to take something back.
A memory. An object. Proof.
Something to show Marcus. Something to prove, also to himself that he wasn't losing his mind.
He checked the time. 11:49 PM.
In eleven minutes, sleep would take him.
And he had no idea where he would wake up.
*****
Daniel opened his eyes.
The world was dark.
Not like night. Not like shadows.
This was absolute emptiness.
He took a slow, steady breath. He was standing. The air was cold and heavy, pressing against his skin.
Something was wrong.
This wasn't a world. There was no sky, no ground, no people, no memories flooding in.
This was…
Something else.
Then—
Footsteps.
Soft. Deliberate.
Not coming toward him. But circling.
Daniel's pulse spiked.
"Who's there?" he called, his voice swallowed by the vast nothingness.
The footsteps stopped.
Then—
A door appeared.
Right in front of him.
It stood alone in the void, unattached to any walls or buildings. Just a door—wooden, old-looking, with a brass handle.
Daniel took a step forward. His heart pounded.
This had never happened before.
The dreams always started in the middle of a life—not in some in-between space.
And never with a choice.
A voice whispered from the dark.
Not from a person. Not from a direction.
Just from everywhere at once.
"You shouldn't be here yet."
Daniel swallowed hard. "Where is here?"
No response.
The door sat there, waiting.
He hesitated, then reached out—
Gripped the handle—
And turned it.
Light exploded around him.
Warmth. The scent of salt in the air.
Daniel stumbled forward, blinking against the sudden brightness.
He was outside.
A long wooden dock stretched beneath his feet, waves crashing against the supports below. The sun was setting, streaking the sky with soft oranges and purples.
Wind tugged at his clothes.
And just like before—
The memories hit.
His name was Daniel Carter. He was twenty-six. He had grown up in this small coastal town, spent his childhood fishing off this very dock, sneaking beers with friends after dark.
And he wasn't alone.
A woman sat on the edge of the dock, her legs dangling over the water.
Her long auburn hair whipped in the wind as she turned to look at him.
A slow smile spread across her face.
"You finally woke up, sleepyhead."
Daniel's breath caught.
Because he knew her.
Her name was Elena.
And she was the woman he loved.
*****
Hours passed like minutes.
Daniel and Elena walked along the shore, their feet sinking into the cool sand. They talked, laughed, shared stories he barely remembered but still felt deep in his bones.
She was kind. Playful. The kind of person who found joy in the simplest things.
And as the sun dipped below the horizon, she turned to him, eyes full of something deep and unspoken.
"Daniel?"
He swallowed. "Yeah?"
She hesitated, then smiled softly.
"I hope this never ends."
His chest tightened.
Because he knew it would.
He had two days.
And then this world would be gone.
*****
Late that night, Daniel stood at the edge of the dock alone, staring at his reflection in the water.
He had to test it.
He had to take something back.
He crouched down, fingers hovering over the surface.
What would work? Something small. Something easy.
He glanced at the wooden planks of the dock—his eyes landing on a silver coin wedged between the boards.
Perfect.
He reached for it—
And the world glitched.
A flicker. A sharp, twisting sensation in his gut.
For a split second—
The dock wasn't there.
Neither was the ocean.
Neither was Elena.
Just the void.
And the whisper.
"You can't take it with you."
Daniel gasped, yanking his hand back.
The world snapped back into place. The dock. The ocean. The night breeze against his skin.
His heart pounded.
So… the dream was stopping him.
But why?
And more importantly—
Who was speaking to him?
*****
Sunday night came too fast.
Daniel and Elena sat on the beach, watching the sky burn with color as the sun sank toward the horizon.
He had tried to fight it before. Tried to change the ending.
It had only made the world collapse faster.
So this time, he didn't fight.
He just… lived it.
Elena leaned her head on his shoulder. "Do you ever wonder if we've met before?" she asked.
Daniel swallowed. "What do you mean?"
She smiled, gazing at the waves. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel like… we've been here before. Like we've done all of this already."
His fingers curled in the sand.
She wasn't wrong.
She just didn't know what it meant.
The wind shifted.
The waves stopped moving.
The sun froze, half-set, in the sky.
And then—
The voices came.
"̵͖̠̑͆̑̂̚͜͠D̶̙̩̭͈̈̽̍͊ő̵̢̻̦͔̙̇̈́͘n̵͉̪͈̈́̔͋͜'̵͉͆ţ̶̢̤͙͚̱͋͌ ̴͇̟̞̲͊̒͜ͅf̸̝͔̅́̓̀o̴̧̦̫͉͚͌̐͝r̴͖͈̝͆̂g̶̱͓̲̲̺̍e̷̦̼̤͓͆̒̆̾͛͝ţ̸̛̞̫̠̓͘ ̴̡͕͍͎̠̇̓ͅa̶̝̪̓b̶͎̺̗̘͐̿͂̈́̿͝ö̶͎̂̈́̽̒ū̵̻͙̫̀̀t̷͍̪̤̣̞͒̂̑̇ ̸̨̓̋u̴̡̟̣͖̱̳̿̆̈͂͠s̷̱̋́͂̀ ̵͔͖͖̽̆w̷̨̮̼̟̐̈͒͠͝ͅĥ̴͈̫͉̲̽̓͒͘͝ȩ̸̱̜͓̽̏͂͋̓͝n̸̰̍̀̒̆̔͘ ̶̢̠̰̘̠̏̏̀͒͊ͅỳ̵̨̰̄̏̕o̷̤̤͓͔̓͂́̚͜ù̴͎ ̴͔͊̋̈́͋̏͝ẅ̸̤͖̝̱͕́̋̇͌̄̐a̵̮̘͗͗͛k̸̰̖͔͔̮̦̉̑̓͐͝ȩ̸͑̇ ̷̫͍̻͚̠̜̾̑̈́̇͗͝ǔ̴̖͓̮̫̞͆̉̾p̶̪̗̖͑̐̍.̴̡̗͐̀̒̃̎̚"̵̼͕͓͍̿̅͝
Elena turned to him, confusion in her eyes.
Then—
She began to fade.
"Wait—no!" Daniel grabbed for her hand.
His fingers passed through hers.
"Daniel?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Tears stung his eyes. "I won't forget you!"
The world collapsed.
Monday Morning.
Daniel shot up in bed, chest heaving.
His hands clenched around something—
Something cold.
His breath caught.
He looked down.
Resting in his palm, gleaming in the morning light—
A silver coin.
His heart nearly stopped.
I did it.
For the first time, something from the dream had stayed.
This was real.
This was proof.
And whatever was happening to him—
It wasn't just dreams anymore.