Pressure Chamber, page 28
Rotem sits down at the computer and the screen lights up. Her fingers race over the touchscreen. There’s a soft hissing noise and warm air begins to flow into the room. While Daphne gets undressed and sits down on the bed, Rotem explains the process. “Soon you’ll hear a low and resonant bass sound that will continue for as long as we are here. They’re alpha waves. They’ll help you fall into a trance. Don’t worry. You’ll get used to the sound in a minute and won’t even notice it.” Rotem’s fingers continue to move across the screen and the bright white light is replaced by a dull orange glow, like a sunset. The bass sound resonates around them, as if emanating from all the walls at once.
Daphne gets under the black comforter and lies down on her back, her arms tight against the sides of her body and her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Rotem starts laughing. “Take it easy, Daph. You look like a condemned woman.” Daphne forces a smile. Rotem reaches into the desk drawer for a wireless microphone and headphone set and puts it on. “Testing. Testing.” Her voice echoes in the room. She turns towards Daphne. “Listen, I’ll be right here next to you, in the other bed. The light in the room will fade almost completely soon, my voice will be a little deeper and my intonation a little different. That’s intentional. It’ll take about fifteen minutes to take you in, and we’ll go from there.” She touches the computer screen and it goes black. The lights in the room dim even further. Rotem removes her shoes and lies down on the adjacent bed.
“Ready?”
Daphne says, “You’re going to look after me, right? You’re sure nothing will happen to me?”
“I’m good at this.”
“Okay.”
Daphne closes her eyes.
Breathe in slowly and deeply…
And release the air slowly…
And while you’re doing it, relax…
Rotem’s voice turns slow, deep and soothing, until it sounds as if it’s flowing from the walls with the bass sound.
Let all the tension in your body dissipate as you breathe in slowly again…
And release the air…
A deep breath in…
And release…
You’re relaxing more and more…
Deep breath in…
And slowly, slowly releasing the air…
When you breathe in, open your eyes…
And when you release the air at the very end, close your eyes…
In with your eyes open…
Out with your eyes closed…
You’ll notice that when you breathe in, your shoulders rise a little…
And when you release the air, at the very end of your exhale, they drop back down…
Perhaps you barely notice the way your shoulders rise and fall…
With your breathing…
And you know you shouldn’t think about it…
You continue to relax…
Every breath makes you feel more and more relaxed…
Every breath helps your body to unwind more and more…
Every slight movement of your shoulders takes you deeper and deeper…
And makes you feel better and better…
Let it happen with each breath…
Allow your shoulders and upper body to unwind and relax…
You’re more and more relaxed…
You continue to breathe in and out deeply…
In and out…
Allowing the pleasant sense of relaxation to wash through your body…
With every breath…
You feel so good…
Tranquil…
So at ease…
Warm and cozy…
You feel a wonderful sensation rising from your shoulders to your head…
Soothing you…
And you realize now that every time you take a breath, your eyes become heavy…
You feel so relaxed…
As you breathe in and out…
You feel wonderful…
Tranquil and relaxed…
Safe and protected…
Still breathing in and out…
So peaceful…
As you sink deeper and deeper…
As you breathe deeply in and out…
Allowing your eyes to become heavier and heavier with every breath…
In with your eyes open…
And out with your eyes closed…
And you can tell that your eyes are heavy…
So much so that you could simply fall asleep… Close your eyes now.
Relax…
You’re sinking deeper and deeper…
You’re safe and protected…
The deeper you sink the better you feel…
And the better you feel the deeper you sink…
Let yourself go all the way down now…
Deeper than before…
Let everything go and relax…
And no matter how relaxed you become, you’ll continue to hear my voice…
And you’ll be able to respond to my words…
To ignore everything else…
Now, I’m going to count down from ten to one… And when I get to one, you’ll find yourself in a deep hypnotic state, a trance…
With every number I count out…
Ten…
Nine…
Eight…
Seven…
Six…
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One…
You’re in a deep hypnotic state now…
The feeling is peaceful…
You’re focused only on my words…
You can move your body into a more comfortable position at any moment if you want to…
And of course, if you want to talk to me, you can do so easily…
Now I want you to focus carefully on my words…
Every time I snap my fingers and say “Sleep”, you’ll go back to that wonderful feeling of a deep hypnotic state and feel at ease…
Every time I snap my fingers, it’ll feel good to relax and fall even deeper into the trance…
You’ll feel peaceful…
Safe and protected…
Now I’m going to count to five…
When I get to five, you’ll wake up and open your eyes…
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Five…
Wake up and open your eyes
– Snap –
Rotem snaps her fingers
Sleep
Close your eyes now…
Go deep…
Rotem goes through several rounds of putting Daphne into a trance and bringing her out again, taking her deeper each time. Then she gets off the bed and moves to the armchair. She leans towards Daphne and studies her eye movements under her closed lids, then leans back again.
Now you may notice a tickling sensation in your fingers…
Or your toes…
If this happens, you’ll know it’s the feeling of relaxation you experience when going under hypnosis…
Let your body continue to relax…
With each breath…
Let go of all worries and fears…
Relax more…
It feels so good to let go and relax…
You’ll feel a few tickles in your body now… They’re of no significance…
Ignore them…
Rotem leans over Daphne and observes her calm face from up close. She makes sure there are no hand movements under the comforter and that the only movement is the rise and fall of her chest. She opens the desk drawer and takes out five wireless electrodes, carefully lifting the blanket and fixing them gently to Daphne’s body. One on each hand, one on each temple, and one above her heart.
Your body is so relaxed now…
Your legs are relaxed…
Your arms are relaxed…
Even if you try to move them now, you won’t be able to…
Because you are so relaxed and tranquil…
Safe and protected…
Allow yourself to sink deeper and deeper…
With every word you hear…
Now focus only on my voice…
And ignore everything in the background…
Let my voice fill your head…
As you allow your brain to empty…
As you relax and focus only on my words…
Feeling so relaxed and allowing my voice to take you deeper and deeper…
Every time I snap my fingers, you’ll return to the exact point at which you are now, peaceful and unwound, safe and protected…
Daphne’s eyes are closed and her breathing is slow and calm.
“Now I want you to take yourself into the nightmare. I want you to be in the cabin before the man who kills you gets to it.”
“The predator. I call him the predator,” Daphne says. Her voice is calm and steady.
“Let’s see how we can crack this thing. You’re able by now to be lucid in your dreams. Look around you. Tell me what you see.”
“I’m in the bed under the comforter.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m in a secluded house in a forest. It’s dark outside and there are no other houses nearby.”
“How can you tell that you’re inside the nightmare?”
“I can sense it.” She gasps. “I’m scared. I don’t feel well, I’m nauseous, I want it to end.”
“Just a little longer,” Rotem coaxes her gently. “What do you see around you? Peek out from under the comforter.”
“It’s a living room with an antique wooden floor. I’m in a big double bed. Candles are burning. White sheets, a white comforter. I can see three windows in the wall in front of me. I see him at one of them now! Enough! Enough! Get me out of here!” Daphne’s breathing quickens.
“What else is there outside?”
“He’s not at the window now. He’s coming in! Get me out of here!”
“What more can you see through the windows?”
“There’s always a mist outside and then his face appears suddenly at a window, or sometimes he passes by all three windows and looks inside through the last one before he starts banging on the door. He’s approaching the door now. I can hear his footsteps.”
“Have you managed to see his face?”
“Yes.”
Her breathing turns shallow and urgent. Her body shakes.
“What does he look like? Who does he resemble?”
“I don’t know. He’s blurry. His face is distorted. It’s like I’m looking at him through the bottom of a bottle. Like he has a layer of ice on his face. I remember a bad smell and yellow teeth. He doesn’t look like anyone I know. I’m getting up.”
“Just a moment. Do you always peek out from under the comforter?”
“Yes.”
“Are you standing on the floor now? Any sensation?”
“Yes, I’m on the floor. It’s cold. No! No! He’s kicking the door. He’s in! He’s coming towards me!”
–Snap –
Sleep
The shaking stops at once. Daphne’s breathing turns relaxed again. “You’re back in a deep trance. In a calm and pleasant place.
You’re safe and protected.” Rotem wipes the sweat off Daphne’s face with a small black towel. A red heart that’s flashing rapidly on the computer screen turns yellow, then green a few seconds later.
“Okay, it repeats itself but not sufficiently. It could throw you off during reality checks.”
“What do you mean?”
“How do you usually get out of bed? Not in the dream, in the waking world.”
“Quickly. I’m a snappy riser.”
“And in the nightmare?”
“It’s slower in the nightmare.”
“So it won’t do any good in the meantime. You can’t practice those reality tests because you aren’t in bed or barefoot during the course of the day. Let’s go on. I’m taking you back into the nightmare from the start. You can wander around the cabin. You’re inside now. Get out of the bed.”
“I’m inside.”
“Can you open the windows in the living room? Or just one of them?”
“No, they don’t open. Sometimes, I smash one of the windows with the clothing rod that I take from the closet in the other room. Sometimes, I kick one of them out and cut my leg, and sometimes he grabs me and breaks the window with my head before throwing me onto the bed and sitting on top of me.”
“Okay. Let’s go on. You get out of bed. What would happen if he were to get there soon?”
“He kicks the door and I know he’s going to break it down with his heavy shoes. It’s a wooden door and it isn’t very strong. He always manages to open it.”
“And what do you do in the meantime? What are you doing now?”
“Something different every time. Sometimes, I hide under the bed until he grabs my legs and pulls me out. Sometimes, I bury myself under the comforter and he throws it off me. Sometimes, I try to block the door with the bed but I’m never able to because it’s too heavy and I can barely drag it a few inches. Sometimes, I break one of the windows and jump out and that’s the worst because I think I’ve managed to escape and then he appears suddenly in front of me and takes me back to the house after he beats me. It always ends on the bed with him strangling me and then I wake up. He’s here next to me now!” All at once, Daphne’s voice breaks, and she shouts: “He’s back inside again! How did that happen? I didn’t hear him at all! He’s taking me to the bed! No! No!”
– Snap –
Sleep
Daphne’s body relaxes. Rotem studies the computer screen; the array of graphs settles down. Indicators that had turned red return to yellow and then to green. She waits, and Daphne’s heart rate drops from one-seventy to one-thirty, to ninety-two, to seventy-six, to sixty-four.
“You’re in the cabin again. You said you smash the window sometimes with a rod you get from the adjacent room. Where’s the rod?”
“Yes, I always look around the room next door before I try to escape. It’s part of the dream but different every time.”
“So there are two rooms in the house?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” She pauses for a moment before continuing: “Is there a door between the rooms? Because then you can practice doing reality checks in the real world every time you open a door. That could be good.”
“No, there’s no door. Just an opening. I’m stepping through it now.”
“And what’s in the next room?”
“A closet. I’m opening it now. It’s empty. There’s a clothing rod, but there aren’t any shelves or drawers. There’s always something written on the back of the closet, on the inside. In chalk. In blood. In coal. Engraved with a knife once. It’s not consistent apart from the fact that it’s terrifying. And the writing says: ‘Tonight, you will die’, or ‘There’s no escape’, or ‘I’m going to strangle you tonight’, or something to that effect. Now it says, ‘He’s behind you.’ No! No! Oh my God! Get me out of here! He’s here in the room, get me out of here now! He’s coming closer! He’s touching me!”
– Snap –
Sleep
Rotem waits again for the indicators to stabilize and sips from a bottle of water she retrieves from her bag.
“You’re inside again. You’re standing in front of the closet in the other room. Does the closet have doors? Do you open doors before you look to see what’s written inside?”
“Yes. I’m opening them now.”
“Are there always doors?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent. We’ve found the way in.”
“Oh my God! He’s behind me again! He—”
– Snap –
Sleep
Rotem wipes Daphne’s face and neck again, giving the indicators on the computer screen time to return to normal.
Now I’m going to count to five…
And when I get to five, you’ll wake up, feeling alert and energized…
You’ll be able to remember everything that happened when you were in the trance…
You’ll remember how wonderful it felt to sink so deeply…
You’re safe and protected…
One…
You’re moving slowly towards being awake…
Two…
More and more so…
Three…
Starting to become aware of your surroundings…
Four…
Almost awake…
Five…
Wake up and open your eyes…
Move your hands…
You feel so alert, fresh and ready to go, full of energy.
“I’m cold.”
“I’ll turn up the heat. Lie there for a little longer. Don’t try to get up.”
Rotem comes over to her. “I attached some sensors to you, and I’m removing them now.” She leans over and removes them one by one, from her temples, her hands and her chest. It feels odd. Daphne hadn’t felt her attach them.
Rotem returns the electrodes to the drawer and runs her hand over the computer screen, and the orange light grows gradually brighter. The low sound of the alpha waves stops abruptly, reminding them of its existence. It had become part of the room by then. Part of them.
“That was incredible,” Daphne says.
“You were great.” Rotem sits down next to her and caresses her head. “Sorry I threw you back in there again and again. I needed to figure out the key you use to enter that dream lucid.”
“And did you?”
“Yes. Can you sit up?”
Daphne slowly pulls herself up into a sitting position, still wrapped in the comforter. Rotem hands her a bottle of water, and she drinks cautiously. Her hands are shaking even though the room is very hot. She takes two sips and hands the bottle back to Rotem. “That was very quick. Just a few minutes.”
“Two and a half hours.”
“What?”
Rotem smiles. “Don’t worry. We still have another half an hour before they kick us out of here.” She moves away from Daphne and lies down on the other bed. “You have a way of entering that dream lucid. The closet doors. This is what you need to do when you’re awake: You need to open closet doors once every hour and follow that immediately with a reality check. At home, you can do it with the doors of your closet, whatever one most resembles the one in your dream. When you’re at work, you can open cabinets in your office, in the lab, firehose cupboards in the hallways, whatever you find. At least once an hour. I think that will be the most effective.”
