When you fall asleep at night, your soul journeys into your subconscious mind. For most people, that’s where the explanation begins and ends. But beneath the surface, there is so much more waiting to be uncovered.

The subconscious mind is connected to another plane of existence, a place I like to call the Dreamscape. Within the Dreamscape, the human soul exists in its purest form, separate from the physical body—which is merely a fragile shell prone to disease and failure. The physical embodiment of the soul, the Dreamer, is much stronger. It’s able to persist even after the body has perished.

I had recently discovered that every soul had a Dreamer which ruled over their dream world. If one Dreamer were to be eliminated by another, the dream would vanish, taking the dreamer’s soul along with it. This meant the human soul would fail to return to the human body—in medical terms, it would render the person completely brain dead instantly.

It was a sure-fire way to get rid of somebody for good. What happened in the dream stayed there. Nobody was able to actually witness the kill take place. Anything else I did outside of the dream was completely circumstantial at best—and most importantly, unprovable. No fingerprints, nothing solid. The perfect execution.

This was all still new to me, but from what I understood, in order to enter Tyler’s dream within the Dreamscape, he had to be aware of my existence, and I had to be aware of his. Otherwise, it would be impossible for me to manifest myself within his dream. I also would need his full name, which I already had, and he would have to know mine. The only thing left was to see him and make a physical connection.

Once my last client had left my office, I decided to begin my preparation.

I peeked around the building to ensure nobody was around, and then promptly shut my office door.

Kate had said that he worked as an insurance agent. I opened up my laptop and pulled up a list for every single insurance agency we had in town, then rolled my chair over to my office phone. Yanking off the receiver, I dialed the first number on the list.

“Hello!” said a woman, her voice tinged with cheerful undertones “This is Ottoman Insurance, how can I help yo—”

“I was on the phone with your agent Tyler Baskins for over an hour, then the call suddenly dropped. Can you please just transfer me to him again.”

The woman paused for a moment, then began clacking away on her keyboard. “Certainly sir! I’m so sorry about that! Just give me one moment…”

The holding music played as I waited patiently. I swiveled in my chair to glance outside my window—a beautiful orange sunset was creeping through my pine wood blinds. As the warm light striped across my eyes, I silently hoped this process wouldn’t take too long. I wanted to make it home before dark to avoid worrying my little sister.

A few minutes passed by until the holding music stopped abruptly. The same woman from before answered.

“Yes, hello sir. Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

The woman hummed nervously, “Umm… I checked with management, and we actually don’t have anyone here named Tyler Baskins. Could you have—”

Click.

I ended the call.

So much for that. All I could do was try the next on the list…

After several more failed attempts, I finally found the company he worked for. Axion Insurance. It was only seven miles away from my house.

When I called, the receptionist informed me that he would be at work the following day.

So when the time came, I was on their front doorstep with a box of assorted dark chocolates tucked against my side. I wanted to bring him a gift—just a flimsy excuse to see him, really.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Walking into the receptionist area, a lady at the front desk wearing a blue-collared shirt and pink lipstick welcomed me warmly.

The building itself was impressively clean and polished, featuring bright neutral colors, marble countertops, and a spacious seating area filled with multiple comfortable armchairs—and even an extra long light gray couch.

“Hello, sir. Are you here for an appointment?”

I scanned the room quickly and then walked towards the desk, setting down my box of chocolates. “Uhh, no… I’m actually here to speak with Tyler Baskins. He’s really been a big help to me over the phone, so I figured I would stop by and give him something to show how grateful I am.”

“Aww that’s so kind of you!” The woman lifted from her seat slightly and focused her attention on the box’s label. “I’m sure he will really appreciate that!” her smile quickly faded as she tucked her hair back behind her ear. “But, unfortunately I believe Tyler is on phone duty right now, so we can’t pull him away. I can deliver the chocolates for you if you would like.”

I smiled awkwardly, shaking my head.

“Well… to tell you the truth, I did also have a quick question for him. He’s been working on a claim I filed for a while now, it's about my totaled sedan. I think he may have been having trouble processing it. Unless, if you’re free, maybe you could refile the claim for me?”

The lady quickly swiveled in her chair and stood up.

“Actually, it would probably be better if you spoke with him. I’ll go get him for you right now.”

“Thanks.”

She flashed another quick smile and strutted down the hallway, the walls echoing with the sharp clacking of her heels.

After snatching my chocolates back from the front desk, I started back toward the waiting room to have a seat in one of the comfortable padded chairs—and found myself staring down at my reflection in the glossy floor.

It didn’t take long before a pale, scrawny, brown-haired man appeared from the hallway.

“This must be him…”

His face was tattered with brown freckles and his frame was nothing but skin and bones. He was tall, but the white collared shirt he wore looked like it was in the smallest size it could possibly be—but it still managed to fit him loosely.

I jumped out of my seat and walked briskly towards him, offering my outstretched hand.

“Hey there! I’m Daymond Miller. Nice to meet you.”

He greeted me with a limp handshake. His expression tinged with mild confusion.

“I’m Tyler… You’re here about a broken sedan?”

His voice whistled and wheezed with nasal. I had already accomplished what I came to do. I got to see him and made a physical connection, it was time for me to get out of there.

When I leaned in closer to him, the smell of cheap body spray seared my nostrils.

“I actually lied about that,” I whispered, “I just made an excuse to get you out of that call center for a minute. I bet it’s hell in there.” I brandished the chocolates that I was carrying. “This is for you. I wanted to thank you personally for the times that you’ve helped me out.”

I knew he didn’t recognize me at all. And he probably questioned whether or not we had ever spoken before. But, in the slim chance that we had and he simply forgot, he would prefer to avoid an awkward situation. He would rather choose to take the chocolates, and pretend to know exactly who I was.

He fumbled around the box of chocolates in his hands, “Thanks…”

I playfully slapped him on his back, his feeble body jolted from the impact. “That’s the high-quality type too, straight from Swishes’ Candies,” I said. As I slid my hand over his shoulder and pulled him closer, his ear near my mouth, I added, “Consider this an offering. From this point forward, I need you to leave Kate alone and move the fuck on.”

He whipped his head away from me and slapped my hand off of his shoulder. His face washed with rage. “Who are you?”

I put my hand into the air to help ease the tension. “Let’s say I’m a family friend. I came here to ask you a favor, but based on how you’re acting, consider it a demand.” I closed the distance between us again. “Leave that girl alone. Or else I promise, you’re gonna hate what comes next…”

He shoved the box of chocolates into my chest, causing me to stumble backwards. “Get out of here!” he screamed. “Leave now, before I call the cops!”

I ducked my head and smiled, holding out my palms in a placating gesture, “Gladly. No need to make a scene, I’ll be on my way.”

I backed away slowly, as if trying to slip past a wild animal, and once I was close enough, slid out of the front exit door—tucking my chocolate box securely against my side.

Tyler… People like him couldn’t reach salvation if you dangled it right in front of them.

Someone like him didn’t even deserve a second chance, but offering him an opportunity to stop his actions was somewhat poetic to me in a way. Out of greed and ego, he deliberately chose to reject peace and insisted on continuing to harm those who have done nothing to deserve it. Don’t get me wrong, It’s not like I felt I was the embodiment of justice—I didn’t think I was serving a higher purpose or anything as noble as that. I simply wanted him gone.

And I knew that tonight would be the last day of his life. Come tomorrow morning, he would become my fourth successful kill.