Music Banter - Dreams

I'm in a church.

I've not been to church since high school, and I'm 25 now, so this was immediately alarming. I looked around at the congregation, and I recognized a few faces, but most were unfamiliar. I immediately sensed something was off.

In lieu of taking my place in the pews, I made my way to the front of the church. This church was bizarre; instead of the congregation being able to view the sermon, there was an ornate wooden door at the front. I watched as several people tried (and failed) to open it, making their way back to the pews without so much as a bemused expression. They were stoic as all get-out.

I get to the door, expecting the same, but before I could even touch the door, it opened for me. I looked around, bewildered, but no one seemed to notice, and I made my way through.

This room was dark and filled me with immense dread. I saw figures, and as I tried to process what they were, I heard the door open behind me and spun around.

There was a man I'd never seen, eyes wild, looking as though he was fighting with all the force in his body not to be in this room, but his legs kept propelling him forward. He let forth a series of grunts, his head jerking this way and that, and pled with something or someone to spare him.

I was horrified, and moved to the side to let him pass, but he tried to reach for me, although he was unable to stop moving forward. He made his way to an altar, and I saw the figures more clearly.

There were 13 of them, nun-like, but clad in white robes. Their faces were shadows which twisted and distorted, making dozens of almost faces at every second. I was frozen. They were making bizarre twittering noises that brought pigeons to mind, but they were more high-pitched and seemed to be excited.

The man said, "I can't be sacrificed to the 13 virgins; I have a family! I have a life!"

But he kept moving to the altar. Once he was at the front of the room, he stood there, weeping, and I made a move to go to him. Suddenly, there was a dark shadow, and he exploded (for want of a better term) splattering the 13 virgins and me in his blood.

The virgins began making horrible, horrible sounds of excitement, still pigeon-like, but terrifying. I fled from the room.

At this point I had a "flashback" and knew I was the preacher and this was my congregation. I had to smear them with blood to spare them, but I didn't have much time.

I sprinted around the church, trying to smear blood on every forehead I saw, but there was a countdown clock which gave me only 60 seconds.

As I smeared the blood, a girl on my team at work entered my field of vision, and she was at the back of the church. I sprinted to her, and smeared the blood on her forehead right as time ran out. Right as I was walking away, I heard her say, "I'm not a LESBIAN. I have a ****ing BOYFRIEND and this is ridiculous."

I was wounded, because I knew I'd just saved her life, and I felt that her statement was a deliberate attempt to hurt me. I knew that I'd save her every single time, but I could never tell her this, and never would.

The next person came up for sacrifice, and I smeared the girl I worked with first, and she rolled her eyes.

I kept going.

Eventually, I wanted to become one of the thirteen virgins, because I didn't like having to be the one who decided who lived and who died.

I spoke with God directly, and he made it seem like I was important and the rest of the congregation was inconsequential. I proceeded to dodge out of the way during the next sacrifice so that no blood touched me.

The next victim came through the doors, but I pushed him to the ground and took my place at the altar. There were unimaginably bright lights, then I woke up.