The tiniest lifeboat (Juliette)

Daggerfall, High Rock. 1:26 AM

My phone vibrates and beeps, shaking the desk. I pick my head off the desk slightly and force my eyes half open. Picking it up I clear my throat and answer.

“Hello?” I ask sleepily pushing a wayward strand of hair out of my face. “Juliette? It's Landon.” I look over at my alarm clock and my face contorts when I read the time. What's someone like Landon doing up at this hour? If it were Xavier that'd be understandable but Landon? That's just weird. “Yes. What did you need?” His breathing seems rather heavy and pant like from what I hear. “Are you alright?” I ask after getting no response for a few moments. He starts “Oh, uh yeah. Sorry. Nightmare.” I purse my lips and think of how to continue, I never was the best at calming nightmares, ask Johanna, my younger sister. She'd walk into my room when she was little crying and not knowing what to do Id pat her on the head and send her back to bed, only for it to happen again, and again, and again. It happened continuously until eventually she stopped looking to me for help. “What was the nightmare about?” I open a notebook and grab a pencil to take notes. “Havencraft, the school I attended...The one I shot up years ago.” Landon begins with a sigh. “I don't know how I even started dreaming about it. I was thinking about a musical of all things and then I started seeing some of their faces, the ones I killed and it all spiraled down from there until I woke up screaming. I didn't know what to do and you were the first one who answered. I scrolled through most of your friend groups contacts. Anna didn't answer, neither did Everan, or Carmen, or Isabelle.” Musical? I didn't know Landon liked musicals, though that makes sense I must say. As for the responses I know why at least a few of them didn't answer. “Ok so I don't know why you had the nightmare but as for the phone calls I can explain that. 1. If you ever need help with anything please give any of us a call or a text or email or something, we’re glad to help. And 2. Anna didn't answe because she had a seizure cluster and can't use technology for the moment, Ev's off on business in Cyrodiil with Lani, some special ops mission or something. Carmen is probably sleeping because it's around 2:00 in the morning here. And Issy probably has a contract so she's got her phone off.” Landon says he's sorry to hear about the seizures but appreciates the help. “Now you mentioned a musical, which musical? And by any chance do you know the song you were listening to?” I ask while writing down some notes I'll probably send to Yuuri for psych examination. “Heathers, the musical. I was listening to a song called Lifeboat.” Pulling out my laptop I quickly search up the musical and the song in particular, reading through the synopsis and song lyrics. “Were there any lyrics in particular that may have triggered the nightmare?” I ask Landon, and get no response for a number of minutes. “Cold, clammy, and crowded, The people smell desperate. We'll sink any minute. So someone must go. The tiniest lifeboat, With the people I know. Was the part that kept running over in my head.” Landon says rather calmly but I can hear the tenseness in his voice, like his jaw is clenching. I write that down on a separate piece of paper. “Now I've never seen the musical or heard the song but I'll assume the songs about a tiny lifeboat?” I mean it is called “Lifeboat” so and that's why the lyrics seem to be about but hey, you never know. “Yes, it's about a lifeboat.” Landon confirms “and uh I'm not sure if you want to go to sleep but I think I'm not going to sleep for the rest of the night.” He explains, I put my phone away from my face and lay my head on the desk when he says I can go to sleep. “Landon you just made my week right there I'm sooooo tireddddd.” That seems to make him a bit happy as he laughs slightly. “And if you want to talk to someone else Farkas is probably up, Vilkas might be but I'm not sure. Those two have no idea what a sleep schedule is. Though Anxiety™ might be exactly that because Anna, but the book nerd is probably up reading under his covers.” I explain leaning my head on my hand. “Ummm...how do you know that? Also why do you call them that?” Landon asks. “I know them, and Anna tells me, and Aela too. As for the little name thingys, Aela made them up when they were kids. The three of them grew up together. Well I'm going to go to sleep now, goodnight!” Landon bids me goodnight and hangs up. I finish my notes and send a picture copy of them to Yuuri via email, which he likely won't check until morning. Rifling through dresser drawers I find an old pair of shorts and a tee shirt to change into, turn off the light and fall into bed. “Oh bed, how I've missed you.” I mumble with my face in the covers. Much better than falling asleep in that uncomfortable chair with my head on the desk. Now if only I could get that lifeboat song out of my head! I don't like boats, never have after that shipwreck I was in more than a century ago. There was a massive storm off the coast of Hammerfell and I was on my way back from an international trip to Valenwood, and Summerset Isle. I got tossed over the side near Daggerfall and luckily floated to shore, I never heard from the others on the ship, but I'm pretty sure they died after the ship sunk. Since then I've stayed away from boats, even something as small as the tiniest lifeboat.



An Email to Yuuri Seki Ph.D 

To: Yuuri
From: Juliette
Subject: Nightmare

Hi Yuuri, I took some notes you might want to look over. I got a call from Landon last night at around 1:00. He had a bad nightmare, details are below. 
-J.K

Person having nightmare: Landon LaCoste

Reason: Likely PTSD and remorse from school shooting as a teenager. 

Description of nightmare: Images of Havencraft school and its former students. 

Others notes: Landon was listening to music from a musical before the nightmare occurred, it must have triggered something that caused the nightmare. When I first answered the phone call his breathing was irregular and heavy, but quieted in time. Landon says he woke up screaming.