The Oily Sea of Waking

For Elias, dreams were a nightly escape to other worlds. But one dream refuses to end. Trapped on a rickety boat on an endless black ocean, he is ferried by a faceless monster towards a desolate shore he may never leave. Every time he 'wakes up,' he finds more of the dream bleeding into his reality. The oily water stains his skin, the smell of brine haunts his apartment, and the creature's labored breathing echoes in his waking moments. He is no longer dreaming; he is being transported.