"This is your great idea?" Levi deadpanned, turning to his friend and watching Dean nod as if proud of himself. "Really?" He asked again, as if it was a big joke, which Dean just eye-rolled. "Come on, you said you don't know how to ride, and well…" He threw his hand at the vehicle.
"There you go."
"Okay, I get all that." Levi muttered, turning to look at the bicycle with training wheels as if it had personally wronged him. "Why'd you have to pick pink? And training wheels? Seriously?!"
"Hey, buddy, you gotta learn without hurting yourself, am I right?" When Levi glanced at his friend, the man was struggling to hold back his laugh. "Real funny, now remove it."
After a minute of bickering that sounded like someone had pressed "repeat" on an older argument, Levi found himself straddling the pink bicycle without the training wheels while Dean held the seat. "It's all about balance and pedals. These are the brakes, the right one is for the rear and the left is for the front."
"Okay…" Levi muttered, being unsure of this whole thing. What if the tree popped up in his sight just like his dreams? So far, he has walked or run everywhere, making sure his home was close to everything he would need. A supermarket for clothes and groceries, restaurants, and even a cinema. All 30 minutes of running from his place. And where he couldn't reach on foot, he used metro and trams
"You'll be fine, man." He gestured at the straight road. "I can still see you, okay? You go straight. You come back. That's it." At the end, there was a "Cul-de-sac", a dead-end street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Levi let out a sigh filled with his fears and relief.
"You're right. It's gonna be okay." Levi told himself more than Dean. "So, how do I start?" He asked Dean, and the friend smiled innocently. "Okay, put your feet on the pedals, I'll hold - then push you."
"You sure?" Levi asked, and Dean nodded with a smug look.
A moment later, Levi was chasing Dean around on foot for tricking him. Turns out, it was the opposite of what he had said about the brakes.
In one of the houses, someone peeked through a curtain, a smile on their face. But the smile froze as he squinted at the scene. 'Wait… isn't that the same bike my daughter outgrew last year? Did he… borrow it from her?' "Mandy! Honey, can you come here for a second?"
After a week of wobbling down the street like a newborn deer, Levi was finally riding without Dean holding the seat.
Sort of.
Mostly.
Enough to not die.
Dean and Levi thought of inviting others to join them as well to make it more fun. Hesitant, but Levi agreed, it had been a while since he had seen the boys, and so, the destination was at his friend's place.
"Aww, did you have fun at school?" One of Levi's friends asked as they saw the young adult jogging up to them.
Dean could almost see the vein on Levi's temple almost burst as he took his friend's bike out of his car. Though it was funny, he could see his best friend's paranoia getting worse every time he rode out. He was getting better and learning, but at the expense of his sanity, at least.
Dean had invited the others to join with their own bikes to ride together around the city for a bit and help Levi relax, but it didn't seem like it was working. "Stop before he kills you, Mike." Another friend of theirs commented, a smile on his face, watching Levi stop next to them with a heavy-looking camping backpack.
"What's with the backpack?" Alexey asked, raising a brow. Levi shrugged off his backpack with a laugh that had no humor. "Nothing—just my mace. I'll cave your head in if someone jokes about my height again."
The joke died. Alexey's grin slipped. Mike's face went pale. Someone coughed.
"Whoa. Sorry, man," Mike said, too quickly. Levi let out the breath he'd been holding and dropped his gaze, cheeks hot. The anger was a reflex; the shame came after.
"Sorry, my bad. It's just… been having a hard week." He muttered, only Dean knowing the real reason.
"No worries, so, where are we going?" Alexey turned to Dean, and he exhaled. "Just around the neighborhood. Not too far." With that settled, the group got on their bikes. Single file at first, then side-by-side, then racing each other like kids when the road widened.
But Levi was behind them, still learning the ropes. He kept his head on a swivel. Every shadow behind a house seemed like a person, and it made his heart click like a tripwire. He rode with his hands hovering over the brakes, breath shallow, eyes scanning the horizon like a man expecting lightning to strike.
It was almost three weeks that Levi, Dean, and the rest rode out together for fun to relax in the evenings, pretend they were still dumb teenagers, and every time, once it was over, they would go to their favorite pizza place to talk, relax, and have fun.
It wasn't something complicated or special. But it was normal.
For everyone but Levi.
He was getting good at riding. Better, actually—he could keep up with Dean, cut corners, even win a race once in a while.
But he was never actually relaxing.
Dean could see that Levi was more stressed out than anyone else. He was more tired than usual. Said that nightmares were getting worse every day, and it led to him not sleeping well.
It showed. Levi was quieter than usual, less snappy, but only because the repetition over three weeks had blunted the fear. It did nothing to curb it but only gave him more time to think, for his imagination to get worse.
Every time they hit a straight road, he stared so hard at the horizon his eyes burned.
Every time a car passed, his shoulders jerked.
Every time a tree leaned over the road due to the wind, his knuckles went white on the handlebars.
He stopped cracking jokes.
He stopped reacting to the teasing.
He stopped arguing.
That was what bothered Dean the most. Because Levi being silent wasn't peace. It was pressure. Even when nothing happened.
If it was anyone else, Dean would have called a mental hospital and would have ratted out his friend, but getting the same nightmare, over years and years. It wasn't normal. Even now, Dean wasn't sure if his friend had some sickness.
After the rides, the pizza place became their cool-down spot. Same table. Same orders. Same noise.
Levi sat with them, smiling sometimes, talking here and there… but Dean noticed the pattern. Levi always picked the seat facing the door. Levi always scanned every person who walked in. Levi always finished his food fast, like he needed his hands free. Levi always left last, after checking the windows.
Three weeks in, Dean knew that Levi was bracing for something.
That night, after pizza, the others split off laughing, bikes rattling against the sidewalk as they went their separate ways. Only Levi and Dean stayed behind, walking slowly toward Dean's house under the streetlights.
"Seriously," Levi said after a long silence. "I do enjoy it. Spending time with you guys." His voice was quiet. Too honest. "But like you said… It's stressful."
"I know," Dean admitted. He kicked a pebble on the pavement. "That's why I think… maybe we should stop forcing you to ride then." Levi stopped walking. Dean didn't look at him, but he felt the shift in the air. For a second, he thought Levi would argue. Or joke. Or shrug it off. Just for the sake of it. But he didn't.
"…Yeah," he said. No fight in his voice. "You're right. Let's stop." Dean looked at him. The streetlight hit Levi's face in a way that made the shadows under his eyes look permanent. He was exhausted and sleepless. But there was something else there, too.
Anger and frustration.
"If it's not a bother," Levi said, staring ahead at nothing, "we can still hang out. At my place. I've got, like… two extra rooms I don't even use. If you guys get too tired to go home after, you can just crash there."
Dean blinked. "Really?" Levi shrugged, pretending it was nothing. "Why not?"
Dean smirked. "Aww, are you inviting us to a sleepov-"
"Shut up." Levi shoved him lightly. "Stop talking like I'm a kid."
"If not a kid, why kid-sized?"
"You do know I could snap you in half, right?"
"Oh, I know," Dean snorted. "That's the only part of you not kid-size-"
"I'll kick your ass." Levi growled as Dean hopped onto his bike and took off down the street, laughing. Levi chased him—but slower. Less energy. Less spark. Even his threats sounded tired.
By the time they got to Dean's parking, they settled into a comforting silence. Until Levi went to put his pink bicycle where he got it from. "You can keep it."
"You sure?" Levi asked hesitantly, and his friend shrugged. "I wouldn't mind, plus I don't think my kid could use it right now."
Levi froze before snapping to his friend.
"What?"
"What?" Dean mirrored, a smug grin on his face.
…
"Tess is pregnant?!"
Dean's grin widened. He shoved his hands in his pockets like he was trying, and failing, to look casual. "Three weeks now."
Levi just stared. Not blinking. Not breathing.
"Say something," Dean laughed nervously. "You look like I hit you with the bike."
Levi opened his mouth. Closed it. Tried again.
Levi swallowed, throat tight. "You're… gonna be a dad."
Dean exhaled, and this time the smile that formed was real. Soft. Warm. A little scared. "Yeah."
Something in Levi's chest pulled.
Hard. At first, he thought it was envy, jealousy that he had someone and Levi had no one. But it wasn't that.
He didn't even know what to do with it. The feeling was too big. Bigger than fear, bigger than exhaustion. Something like pride. But also something like pain.
He took a step forward, then another—and wrapped his arms around Dean in a quick, awkward hug that startled them both.
"Hey-" Dean laughed, patting his back. "Did you just-"
"Shut up," Levi muttered into his shoulder, or well, his chest. "I'm happy for you."
And he was.
Oh, he was.
But when he pulled back, something in his eyes had changed.
Because now he knew something else, too. He realized that he didn't have anyone else in his life who mattered as much as Dean. His dad had kicked him out as soon as he hit 18 and cut all contact. Mom was dead. Step-mother, the less spoken, the better. Step-siblings were pretentious and acted like they were better than him.
The only reason he had other friends was due to Dean. Cut that out, and he had no one.
The realization that if the nightmare took him…
If he disappears… Dean was going to be a father. He won't stop his life to look. And frankly, Levi didn't want him to. He can't. He shouldn't.
They didn't say much after that. They didn't need to. Dean talked about baby names for both genders and nursery colors, smiling like an idiot but also terrified in that "happy kind of terrified" way. And Levi just listened. Quiet. Present. Heavy with thoughts, he didn't speak.
Eventually, they reached Dean's house.
"See you tomorrow?" Dean asked casually, too casually.
Levi forced a small smile. "Yeah."
He meant it. He wanted to.
They split paths.
Dean went inside his warm, bright home.
Levi got on his stupid pink bicycle that he wanted to throw at his best friend and started pedaling toward the long road back to his place.
For a while… it was peaceful.
The sun was sinking, painting the sky in orange and purple. The neighborhood thinned out. Houses spread apart. A stretch of empty asphalt curved ahead, forest lining the right side like a dark wall, somehow familiar.
Normally, he avoided this path. Too quiet. Too exposed. Too much like the nightmare he was having.
But tonight… it didn't matter. Or it did.
Levi chose to go through this path because he was tired of it all. Tired of the nightmare invading his dreams, and as if that wasn't enough, it had festered into his waking life. For years, he adapted to the nightmares. Afraid that he would be one of the unfortunate to get stuck in that unknown town.
He still had that fear, but now…
Now, it was time for the nightmare to adapt to him.
He took a deep breath and pedaled harder.
His bike wobbled, then steadied. Wind rushed past his ears. For a moment, just one moment, he felt like he was flying. So, he laughed. For the first time in a while, he realized what he had missed.
On the horizon, he saw a sign and a speedometer. With a grin, he pedaled harder, his breath finally getting ragged just a little. He was getting faster, and as he got into its range, it showed a number. 34 km per hour.
A savage smile broke on Levi's face and went even harder.
He went further beyond.
The number increased on the speedometer, and as he whooshed past it, its final number was an even 60 km per hour. Even with his heavy camping backpack filled with weapons.
A laugh, small, genuine, escaped him. He couldn't hear anything due to the wind, and he took a deep breath.
He actually felt… proud and free. When he looked back up at the horizon, he saw it.
The tree.
Right in the middle of the road.
The exact tree.
The shape.
The bend of the trunk.
The way the branches clawed over the asphalt like fingers.
Every nightmare he's ever had slammed into him all at once. His blood froze. His breath vanished. His body acted before his brain did
He hit the brakes so hard that the back tire screeched and fishtailed, and before he knew it, Levi lost control of his ride, falling off of it. He rolled once, twice, before stopping, his pants with patches of holes and even smelling a little burnt. His legs, where they slide off the road, were now bloody and stinging. The backpack fell somewhere to his left, his mace out now and next to it.
His bike hit the tree.
The impact rang out in the empty road like a gunshot, then everything went silent.
Too silent.
Levi lay there on the asphalt, face pressed to the cooling ground, lungs burning. His legs screamed, skin shredded and stinging, something in his shoulder throbbed with every breath. He could smell rubber, dirt, and the sharp metallic hint of blood.
He didn't move.
He didn't have to.
Because he knew.
…
This wasn't a dream.
It finally found him.
Slowly, mechanically, he pushed himself up onto his knees. Gravel dug into his palms. His bike lay crumpled against the tree's trunk like a dead animal.
The tree didn't move an inch from his crash. It just existed, exactly as it had in every nightmare. His heart started pounding. Not normal fast. Violent fast. Like his body was desperately trying to warn him:
RUN
Instead, he scrambled for his phone with shaking hands, surviving the fall very well, and hit Dean's contact.
One ring.Two rings.Three- No signal. The screen flashed it in the top corner.
Levi froze.
No cars passed. No wind blew. The forest beside him felt like it was holding its breath.
CRAW CRAW
A murder of ravens woke up the forest, happening exactly as in the nightmares. Levi jumped at the birds' call.
Panic flared, hot, instinctive, primal, then faded just as fast. As if someone cut it in half.
He'd been running from this for years. And now that it was here…
He went calm. Terrifyingly calm. His hands stopped shaking. His mind went sharp. His fear… settled.
"…So it's like that," he muttered to no one.
He stared at the tree. Then at the darkening sky. Then, at the road ahead, beyond the fallen tree… where the asphalt dipped slightly out of sight. 'If I walk out there, would I escape this place?' He thought to himself.
He opened his voicemail. Hit record.
His voice was quiet. Steady. Almost gentle.
"Dean… if you're hearing this, my nightmares became real. And before you start blaming yourself for some stupid reason, please… don't. This wasn't your fault. It was never your fault. I need you to believe that."
He sucked in a shaky breath, wincing at the pain in his ribs. He didn't know he had hurt his ribs in the fall. Well, now he knew.
"There's a notebook on my nightstand. Everything I've seen in the nightmare… It's in there. How it starts. What the town looks like. The people. All of it. If I don't come back… read it. And… well… write a book."
Silence.
His throat tightened.
"Take care of Tess. Be a good dad. I know you will."
His eyes burned. He blinked it away. He wasn't crying. Instead, he slowly walked up to his backpack, closing it shut and putting it on his back. He took the mace in his hand and exhaled.
He could feel eyes on the back of his neck.
DANGER.
But Levi didn't panic. Panic wouldn't help in this situation. He slowly turned and walked up to the tree, intent on climbing it and going straight. Just to find out if he would escape this place.
However, he stopped. There was a figure coming out of the forest with a giant, unnatural smile on his face beyond the tree, as if waiting for him.
'So be it. The town it is.' He thought, clenching the handle of his weapon hard. He wouldn't go down without a fight. He knew people in his position who didn't know anything. They fell into the trap that these monsters were humans, but not him. He had information.
"You can borrow my place until I come back. No rent required, unlike your place. Save your money for your kid." He kept talking into the phone, hoping that, at least, his best friend would get his message when he called him again.
"Just… keep my smithing room clean, please."
He went to end the voicemail,
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The shriek tore through the air, raw and inhuman, rattling through the trees like metal scraping bone.
Levi flinched.
His blood went cold.
The sound echoed… closer than it should have been.
His phone screen flickered. Then died.
The road ahead darkened.
And from somewhere beyond the tree to his left…
…something moved.