Where haunted snapshots translate into dreams, Paige trekked across a rocky terrain. Clusters of waterfalls cascaded down from the high cliff and emptied off into a vast blue ocean. A tall neon sign towered in the open water flashing the words, wake up, on a hypnotizing loop. Collapsing waves crashed against the rocks and sprayed white foam into the air, mingling with the birds and the bees that darkened the clear blue sky. Dolphins laughed and soared across the sea as Paige stood transfixed, admiring the beauty of a renewed earth. She held out her arms and let the waterfalls cleanse her body until a soft voice inhaled the humid air. Smiling, she turned around and gazed into Gabriel’s bright green eyes.

“Do you believe dreams can come true?” he asked. Running his fingers through his dark hair, Gabriel turned and began tracing the rim of the cliff. The sun prepared to settle behind a wall of mist and limestone, but he chased the light, stopping only when his toes dangled off the edge. She called out after him and followed behind as Gabriel stretched out his arms and threw his head back.

“Take my hand!” he shouted.

“No,” she answered. “This is my dream, you don’t get to jump.”

“Take my hand,” he said again, “we’ll jump together.”

Paige grabbed him by the waist and asked, “What’s at the bottom?”

“The future.”

She closed her eyes as they jumped off the cliff and plunged through the dense clouds. Weightless and eternal, she embraced Gabriel until the coolness of the soft white sand enveloped her bare feet. She opened her eyes to see the wind tousle his hair and reveal his broken face. Covered in bruises and deep scrapes, Gabriel shivered and pulled his green army coat tighter around his slender frame. Paige gently ran her hand across his cheek as he scowled at their surroundings–cryptic and unsettling. The once sparkling ocean sat muted, the roaring waves silenced and replaced with stagnant, blood-stained water. Beached whales and dolphins lined the shore for miles on end and the clear blue sky turned black, shrouded with vultures circling closer to the dead. Towering from the red sea, the neon sign doubled its speed, flashing the same urgent message, Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Before Paige could obey the command, Gabriel braved the nauseating air.

“Everything’s dead,” he said. ‘They won this round.”

Paige shook her head, “No, no I just came from the future. It’s not this bad yet, we still have time.”

A shadow fell across Gabriel’s face and his eyes filled with tears, “What time is it?” he asked. “How many second chances do we get in a lifetime?” The vultures swooped down and devoured the dead while the birds and the bees rained down from the day-glow sky. Fluorescent green, orange and red, the painted sky reminded Paige of something–she recognized the unnatural tint. A stampede sounded behind them and they whipped around to see hundreds of look-alike men charging down the beach, their blue jumpsuits torn and stained, and their mouths covered with white medical masks. They swept past and disappeared into the ocean as Paige clung to Gabriel and focused on the neon sign.

“I need to wake up,” she said. “I’m supposed to be saving your life.”

“You never showed.”

“But it hasn’t happened yet!” she exclaimed. “Why am I even asleep?” Paige reached into her pocket and pulled out the small vile. “I’m supposed to give you this. I need to wake up!”

The red tide continued dumping its victims onto the shore and Gabriel knelt down beside a small beached whale. Gently rubbing its head, he sat down on the sand and dipped his feet into the stagnant water. Sickened by the putrid air, Paige covered her nose and mouth.

“Get up!” she yelled through her hands.

Gabriel removed his jacket and laid it across the young whale.

“Get up!” she yelled again. “You don’t belong here!”

Blood trickled down Gabriel’s head and dripped into his ashen face. He shivered and wrapped his bare arms across his chest. “They’re moving fast,” he said, “but I never saw it coming. I guess that’s the best way to go.” His feet sank deeper into the watery sand as Paige tugged on his arm and pleaded with him.

“I need to wake up!” she yelled. “Please, do something! Stand up!”

His voice soft and distant, Gabriel answered, “I thought the fall would do it.”

Paige dropped his arm and cupped her hands to her face. Turning her back, she inhaled the putrid air and gazed upon the world around her, a wasteland unable to sustain life where scavengers survived off the dead. She whipped around, rolled up her sleeve and held out her arm.

“Pinch me!” she yelled.

Gabriel smiled and squeezed her arm, twisting her skin until she shrieked and pulled away. Rubbing her arm, she paused and then held out the other one.

“Do it again.”

Gabriel shook his head. “You have to let me go, Paige.”

“No!” she yelled. “Get up!” She kicked at the sand and glared at the flashing neon sign until something cold appeared in her hand. Frowning, she held up the gold pocket watch and examined the face.

“It’s blank,” she said. “No numbers or anything, just… blank.”

Gabriel’s feet sank deeper into the sand as a faint smile passed over his lips. “Time has no relevance here,” he said. “Please, just leave me be.”

Paige knelt down beside him and gently brushed back his hair, wiping the blood from his face and kissing his scraped forehead. The faint sound of a piano played an upbeat, jazzy tune as Paige looked down to see a checkerboard pattern overlaying the sand. When she looked up, the tapered eye with its long curly tail appeared in the day-glow sky. A large, oversized owl shot out from the ocean and flew towards the eye, letting out a screech as its elongated wingspan regenerated the ocean’s waves. She gasped and looked away. A blue tint coated Gabriel’s tender face as the checkerboard pattern revealed a large white square beneath Paige’s feet. Gabriel closed his eyes, crossed his arms and surrendered to the sand.