I bolt up from my step, gasping for breath.
This is the third time I've had that dream this week. They used to only come around once a year, but they've been getting more frequent lately from once a month, to once a week, to nearly every day now.
That dream consists of a woman screaming over and over again. Her voice is muffled, like there's a barrier between us. I feel pain along with her screams, which is followed by the flickering of the light.
The pain worsens as the dream goes on. Eventually I can hear the woman screaming, "Don't hurt my babies!"
And then there's one last stab of pain and I wake up.
Normally when I wake up, I can't breathe. Sometimes there's tears running down my face and afterwards, there's always a headache that can seem to last for hours.