Bad Dreams

Survivor of Unity Fields’ fire who wakes from a thirteen-year coma to a changed world. She experiences vivid, troubling flashbacks and visions of Harris, and must navigate a psychiatric system that both helps and threatens her. Her resilience and struggle to distinguish memory from reality drive the emotional core of the story.

The cult’s burned-out leader who appears to Cynthia as a terrifying vision. He exerts a manipulative influence that fuels her fear and fuels the mystery of who is real and who is a product of her psyche.

A peer and rival to Dr. Karmen, he orchestrates unethical drug-laden trials aimed at inducing suicidality to validate his research. His calculated manipulation places patients at grave risk and drives the central conflict within the hospital.

A compassionate psychiatrist who initially questions Cynthia’s place in the therapy group but ultimately sympathizes with her story. He works to counter Berrisford’s scheme and helps Cynthia confront her fears, guiding her toward a sense of safety and reality.

Cynthia’s roommate in the hospital who is discharged and later succumbs to the dangerous environment around them. Her fate underscores the precariousness of the patients’ world and the high cost of the hospital’s hidden agendas.

A clairvoyant patient who shares a vision with Cynthia and ultimately becomes a victim of Harris’s disturbing influence. Her experiences heighten the sense of the supernatural driving the patients’ fears.

A troubled masochist patient prone to violent outbursts who forms an unsettling fixation with Cynthia. He descends into violence and despair, culminating in a self-destructive act.