I look over in the dead of night. The room was kissed from the streetlamp outside. There is a hand reaching up the side of my crib. I cannot move. It does not look familiar. It is black and inhuman, and as it reaches the top, I muster up enough energy to let out a scream so loud it awakens my grandfather. He rushes in. The creature vanishes. And this is where our story begins…

The little boy lay still on top of the hospital bed. He has been in a coma for some time now. His mother walks into the room with a handbag full of his personal belongings.

“I brought them like you asked so you can use them in the dream”, she says as she sets the bag down at the foot of her son’s bed.

“Thank you; they should help me get to the bottom of what’s happening. Are you sure you don’t remember much of what happened? Any different behaviors before this coma happened?” The doctor questions quickly, trying to squeeze in any last-minute clues.

“I’m sure,” she replied.

She walked over to her son, held his hand, and whispered, “It’s going to be okay. You’ll be home soon.” And then the doctor started turning on the machines and laid down. His colleagues got him ready for the “Ashling Tairseach”.

The Ashling Tairseach was the name for the dream suit they used to safely move around and record their dreams with. It had an injection spot for entering and exiting the dream and an easy IV hookup. It was able to regulate body temperatures and blood pressure remotely. It even could help circulation because half the patients the doctor helped were in comas and unable to move around. He had a dedicated team of scientists working on the advancements of its technology.

Multiple vitals are being measured on the monitor next to the patient and the doctor. The suit has an EEG and an EKG built in. And at any time, anyone can press a button, and the doctor can be woken up from the dream if no one has taken over from the other side.

They prepare him. His eyes begin to become sleepy…