Jim Bernier woke in a cold sweat, his heart racing rapidly. He felt the dampness of saturated sheets pressing against his slightly overweight body as he slowly worked his way back to consciousness. He was disorientated. He could hear the sounds of the city streets below his hotel room springing to life in the early morning dawn. He clumsily fumbled for his water bottle resting on the bed stand. It crashed to the floor rolling under the bed. He reached down, groping for it to the point where he almost lost his balance. Somehow he managed to keep himself on the bed. When he finally recovered it, he took a long swallow, attempting to wash the fog from his brain.

The cold penetrating dark eyes he had seen so many times before in his dreams lingered in his mind, haunting him, as he struggled to make sense of his unfamiliar surroundings. The distant sounds below became louder and louder as he tried to slow his racing heart. His next instinct was to reach for the zapper. The television came to life and the sound of the morning news filled the room. Jim lay back watching, still only half conscious. The announcer moved into the next segment. Suddenly an emotion too tense to comprehend pierced the very core of Jim’s soul. He was looking into The Eyes!

“Holly Shit!” he swore out loud to the empty room. What he saw caused him to sit bolt upright.

There in the semi-darkness he watched in silence, paralyzed by a wave of terror like nothing he had ever felt before. The cold sweat returned, flowing from his pours, little rivulets trickling down his forehead, blurring his already foggy eyes. His mind raced back through memories that had haunted him from as early as he could remember of the battles he had had in his dreams with those eyes.

Jim could distantly hear the news announcer’s voice as he continued to talk about the subject of the news story. “Prince Samir is visiting this country for the first time since being declared next-in-line for the king’s throne. This afternoon he will make a special appearance at the U.N. He is being hailed as the best hope for peace yet in the Middle East. Educated in this country, he brings a definite western perspective, which, coupled with his eastern up-bringing, gives hope that peace in that volatile region of the world can finally be obtained. He is being hailed as the ‘rock star’ of the political world.”

The hair on the back of Jim’s neck bristled as the announcer continued to describe The Eyes with glowing accolades. He was not describing the eyes that confronted Jim in his dreams, far from it. He was always locked in a life and death duel with The Eyes. The terrain and places may have been different, but not the theme. It was always the same, and, more often than not, Jim would wake covered with a heart pounding cold sweat.

“While in this country Prince Samir will also be making several charitable appearances to help raise money for the Children’s Fund, long one of his personal favorites. His lovely American wife, the former Amy Wilson whom the prince met and later married while attending college in this country, will accompany him.”

The news story ended and the show moved on to a commercial. Jim sat on the bed in a dazed silence. It was as if the dream had continued on into his semi-awakened state. He replayed the newscast over and over again in his mind.

“Am I going crazy?” he asked himself. “Is this really real?” He had always been troubled by his nightmares, but had never set out to find a resolution for them. Jim was raised in a conservative Midwestern town, population 4000. His family was comprised of a sister a couple of years younger and his parents whose lives centered on their community, the local school and the church. Most of the topics discussed, both in public and private, related to the weather, sports, and the economy. Nothing abnormal ever entered the conversations. Those topics, especially relating to people’s personal lives, were best left behind closed doors.

* * * * * * * *

This dream had been different. Yes, The Eyes were the same, but the time frame didn’t seem to be placed in the past, as had all the other dreams about Those Eyes. This one seemed to be happening in the present or perhaps a short ways into the future. Jim lay back on the bed and began to replay the dream experience in his mind. The surroundings were unfamiliar to him. It was set in a city at twilight. He saw a black limousine escorted by several police cars. There was a massive explosion, and the limousine blew up. He knew that The Eyes were responsible. Jim watched the movie in his mind play out as it had done in his dream, just as a spectator from the sidelines. It was surreal.

“What does this dream mean?” Jim asked himself over and over as he pushed the replay button in his brain. All he knew was that he felt a deep sense of pending doom, and it continued to build like the soundtrack in the movie “Jaws”. Is this some kind of premonition?” The minutes ticked by. “Damn!” Jim muttered. He suddenly realized that he needed to change his focus onto his sales presentation scheduled later in the morning. He took a long hot shower, hoping to erase the cobwebs and the images of his dream from his mind. That didn’t happen.