The Garbage Chute

I was in a kid’s bedroom.  The kid I had been babysitting was missing.  There was a garbage chute next to the bed.  I thought maybe he had crawled into it which put me into a panic because the garbage chute led to a furnace where the trash was burned. I ran into another room for help.  There was a man sitting there, watching television.  He was unconcerned that the kid was missing.  When I saw that he would be no help, I went back to the bedroom, hoping that maybe I could get the kid out before he fell too far.  Also I hoped that maybe the furnace wasn’t on that day.  I felt the metal of the garbage chute, but it was warm so I knew the kid was in very real danger.  Then I saw a bulge in the chute.  The kid had not fallen to the bottom.  I could still rescue him.  I pulled him out of the chute, but now he wasn’t a young kid.  He was a teenager, and he looked a lot like the unconcerned man in the other room.  The teenager had trash in his hair and his legs and arms were burned.  I knew he had to get to the ER so I put my arm around him to help him to my car.  We were in the parking lot headed for my car when I heard a woman shouting.  She was cursing the teenager.  I don’t remember what she said.  I knew in my dream that she was his mom.  I also knew I had to protect him from her which scared the crap out of me.  She was coming toward us, and I told him to get in my car.  She stopped coming toward us when he got in the car.  So I ran for the car because I was still scared of her.  I got in the car and he was shivering so I put my arm around him to comfort him.  Then I felt a pinch on my leg which woke me up. ~*Lydia