Dreamscapes

by D. H. Quinn

  Once in bed, however, I find that I cannot sleep. There is too much pressure on me, too much I need to do. I remind myself that I have power in the dream world, that I can do things there that I cannot do here but the other thought that runs through my mind is the fact that others have powers too, that a sadistic woman controls creatures much worse than anything imaginable in the real world, if she could even be called a woman.

  I stay up entirely too late and when feel tired to the point of delusion, I find my purse and grab the bottle of pills Sierrah had given me. I cautiously take one and hope for the best. I get heavy shortly after and I fall asleep.

  I awake right next to Kade’s camp. It is rather sunny out. Kade sits on a tree stump. He looks up at me. “I have never seen that up close,” he says with clear fascination.

  “Yeah we need to go,” I say bluntly. “I just found out that Jack has my brother.” Kade nods and packs up quickly. I follow his lead to the side of the city’s wall.

  “I should have warned you that she fights dirty.” He says.

  “I should have known but what I don’t know is why. Do you think she already knows about our plan or could it be,” I pause feeling embarrassed. Maybe she had found out about Aleksander and I’s kiss. “Maybe it’s personal.” My voice trembles.

  Kade looks at me knowingly. “Well, the good thing is that we know for sure you will be getting into the city, she won’t oppose it. Seems she has a plan.” I stay silent.

  Kade leads us through the sewers that we accessed through a gate at the bottom of the wall. Screams and moans mix with the sound of dripping water. The smell is atrocious. Mares are most likely down here with us. With such easy access through the gate, they could enter whenever they pleased. Jack must be controlling this, keeping them out when it benefited her, the threat of these monsters always looming.

  We navigate through the sewers for a solid 20 minutes. It seems to be even more twisted than the city itself. Kade however strides through with high confidence and I follow him closely.

  We pop out in an unfamiliar neighborhood. The street is dimly lit although the sky is bright. Overarching steel pathways stand above us. The buildings are rather tall and placed closely together. Much like the sewers, it feels like a perfect place for the creatures of nightmares.

  Kade stops me and leans forward listening. I am highly reminded of Arden’s tactics of navigating in that moment. Kade waves me forward and we walk down the cracked street. The place is lowly populated but I sense that someone is watching us.

  Kade is taking me to somewhere he believes others will help us and I am not surprised when I find myself standing in front of the large red building Aleksander had taken me to before. Kade strides up to the door and knocks like Aleksander did. The building is quiet when the door opens. The same man who let us in previously glares suspiciously at us. He looks at me and then at Kade.

  “What are you doing here?” He asks Kade.

  “Can we come in?” Kade glances back from where we came from. I have a sneaking suspicion that he knows someone is trailing us as well.

  “Sure.”

  We enter the building and I am surprised to find it empty, I guess they have to rest from the party sometimes. The door closes abruptly behind the man and before any pleasantries are exchanged the man blurts, “what do you want Kade?”

  “John, I know it's been a long time but I think we need to start up the revolution again,” Kade replies. I knew Kade had been against Jack but a revolution? He was part of a revolution?!

  John laughs hollowly, “you have got to be kidding me, with all we lost.” He shakes his head sadly.

  “You still have this place and I still, I still have enough,” Kade says somewhat unconvincingly.

  “What difference would it make, we can’t achieve much against her?”

  “We have a human on our side now.”

  “She feeds on humans!!”

  Kade looks over at me apologetically. “Can you give us a moment?” Kade asks me gently. I nod and walk deeper into the building. I head towards the creation room, feeling an itching curiosity for it. Aleksander had told me it was where dream walkers could create things, I thought it was like a projection but he said it was real. Maybe it was real, because he was in fact human and could create.

  In fact, he managed to do things that other dream walkers couldn’t. He always found me easily in the city. He saved me the first time we met, he wrapped me up with bandages that I am sure were not there before. I could not heal him when he had injured his arm. I also suspect he was the lighted up figure who saved me from the pit of Mahrts.

  I step into the room as I hear the two men’s hushed voices echo throughout the empty space. The emotion in their tones is evident, so much pain and history. I close the door solidly behind me. The darkness makes me panic briefly. For some reason, I do not feel alone. I picture a beautiful sunset over a beach with large and wondrously loud waves.

  I see the room clearly now. I take off my shoes to feel the sand in between my toes. I gaze out at the waves, feeling a deep moment of astonishment. The view is more so painting like than realistic. I take a few steps forward to let the waves hit my feet. After a few minutes of just standing, I turn around and head for the door after I put back on my shoes.

  The room goes dark as I let my dream beach go. I reach for the door and suddenly a strong arm jerks me back. Another hand reaches up and covers my mouth as I try to scream. I flicker back into the beach, attempting to get some light around me.

  “Kamari, shhh!” Arden whispers urgently in my ear. He lets me go and I turn to face him. I slug him in the shoulder out of anger and he winces.

  “What the hell Arden?!” My heart still pounds uncontrollably.

  “We need to get out of here,” Arden tells me as he grips my arm and attempts to pull me forward.

  “I can’t just leave, I have some people out there who could really help me. Jack has my brother!”

  “It isn’t safe, Jack knows exactly where you are and who you are with, if we don’t move now we will get,” Arden starts but a wild scream interrupts in the main room. I pull my arm out of Arden’s and open the door. I walk out and see a large snake wrapping itself around Kade. A wolf like creature bares its teeth and snaps at John.

  “Kamari.” Arden pleads.

  “It’s time Arden.” I look back at him. I change him quickly, making him strong and brave and more importantly able to kill any creature of nightmare with the sword I give him. For myself, I create a machete with similar powers and increase my strength. A swarm of spiders appears. The swarm comes together forming a large spider. I swing at it. “Go save them!” I tell Arden and he runs forward towards the two men and their attacking creatures.

  The spider screeches at me and I lunge forward, aiming for its eye. I miss and scrape the side of what I think is its body. Instead, as I pull my machete back, hundreds of spiders crawl up towards my hand. I shake the machete and land a hard blow on the large spider’s head before I decidedly release it. The body falls to the ground but thousands of spiders emerge from the large spider’s body. The first bite occurs on my leg through my jeans, the pain is searing, the others crawl on me as I ferociously swat at them.

  I run away, feeling panic set in. I need to think of something and quickly or else I could be in a lot more trouble. I hope Arden is faring better than I am. The idea comes suddenly through all my pain, the burning, the burning. Blow torch. There was too many and they were too small but with fire I could hardly miss them.

  The contraption is in my hands within seconds but it doesn’t feel like enough. A burning pain erupts on my throat and I have difficulty breathing. I heave and scream simultaneously. I turn on the blow torch and start spraying. I aim for the ones near my feet and accidentally hit my left foot almost immediately. The pain of it is enormous and I fall to a knee on the ground but I still keep spraying this swarm until I am certain none are left.

  I still feel some bites over my body and I swat at those
as well. My entire body throbs and my vision blurs. Heal, I tell my body weakly but feel myself fading away. I lean forward on to my forearms as I attempt to stop the dizziness. These little spiders have more to them of course, these types of creatures always did. They must have injected me with some potent venom. Instead of demanding my body to heal, I think of antivenom. The vial appears in my hand but I can’t move to inject it.

  I lift my arm slightly but quickly pass out. I am in darkness. I am floating around as nothing, not a human, not a body. Then there is a pull, a call to something, my name. All of my pain returns to me. “Kamari,” Arden begs as he gently touches my face and then slaps me. My vision becomes clear and sharp.

  I lay flat on my back and I sit up quickly. The vial I created is empty and discarded on the floor. Arden must have used it to clear the venom from my system. Kade and John stand behind Arden who is sharped eyed and kneeling. Kade and John look relatively frightened. Kade clutches at his arm, clearly uncomfortable and injured.

  I notice all the welts on my arms, red and bursting with pus. I close my eyes and focus on my own healing. “We need to move,” Arden informs me. A large swollen scar sits across his cheek. I heal him quickly. He reaches out his hand and pulls me up to my feet.

  I heal Kade and John and then we leave the building.

  “How did you find us?” John asks Arden, his voice trembling.

  “I have a device, it tracks her anywhere in the city.” Kade and John look over at me with wide eyes.

  I let a laugh escape my lips. “It sounds intense but I created it to make his job much easier and more efficient.” John and Kade nod in understanding. Arden leads the way through the streets and we cautiously follow.

  “So, you all were in a rebellion before? Did you fight those monsters often?” I ask John and Kade.

  “No, before she only had dream walkers on her side. And now she must resort to using those things.” John quivers.

  “What happened to the dream walkers that were on her side?” I ask.

  “Been gone for a long time, no one really knows,” Kade says ominously.

  “Oh, we know, she got rid of them once they realized how deep into nightmares she was. How much manipulation was going on,” John’s face grows cloudy.

  “The Council she told me about before, did they really exist?”

  “Of course they did, but she came into power quickly once she eliminated the rest of the members and before we knew it she was the only one left. We tried to rebel but that ended quickly. Then she started using her other powers that she had hidden so well and it was too late for all of us.”

  Arden leads us to a dark alley way. He no longer seems worried at the possibility of danger, his head held high, his shoulders pushed back. “Well if I give you all the tools you need, this war will hopefully be easier to fight, still a bit more terrifying.” Arden is clear proof of this. Arden looks at his device, tapping away.

  “We’d appreciate that,” John says eagerly.

  “But do you have the numbers to do so?” I am ready to offer my services for creating an entire army. Frustrated sighs come from Arden’s direction and I think he may be thinking a war is ridiculous and too risky but he just keeps his eyes focused on his device and says nothing.

  John either does not notice Arden’s attitude or chooses to ignore it. “We do, give me time,” John says with a nod to Kade. “It would be good if you joined me, they would like to see you,” John addresses Kade. Kade simply nods.

  They start to head off. “Wait.” I create weapons for each of them. John a small sharp scimitar and Kade an axe. They thank me and inform me that they will find me after they have things sorted.

  Once they leave, I look back at Arden. “He should have been here by now,” Arden says, “it says he is.” Arden stops talking and looks around.

  “Who?”

  “I am here,” Aleksander walks out of the shadows. A mix of emotions roll through me and I don’t know if I want to punch him or hug him. I suddenly remember how we left it the last time we spoke. His eyes avidly avoid mine and he may be having similar thoughts. I decidedly look down at the ground.

  “I thought you said he is too close to Jack,” I direct my anger at Arden.

  “I thought it would deter you from making everything worse. Look it doesn’t matter now, everything is life and death, and we need his help. He can help us.”

  I cross my arms across my chest and let some of my anger diffuse but still keep my sternness. “So, you know he is human then?” Arden looks dazed. I risk a glance at Aleksander whose jaw drops.

  “What since when?” Arden asks.

  “Don’t lie, I know so much more now, I know all of Jack’s lies and yours,” I look at Aleksander pointedly and continue, “I know everything and you guys can’t keep hiding things from me if you genuinely want to work together.”

  Aleksander sighs and Arden stares at me still looking confused, “he doesn’t know I am human, not many do,” Aleksander tells me. “Jack kept it that way for a reason.”

  “Why? She flaunted me around the whole city and they all knew who I was within a day.”

  “We met outside of the city. She wanted to keep our relationship but she was ashamed to be with a human, she felt like she was betraying her kind. I agreed with her and came to the city and then I no longer had a choice.”

  “You protected your sister,” I say and Aleksander raises his eyebrows at me, “it is how I found out about you in the waking world, she sought me out and then I asked for her help.”

  “Yes, is she okay?” Aleksander knits his eyebrows together.

  “She’s lonely, she misses you, your dad is out of state, she spends most of her days by your bedside,” I say with as much emotion as I can muster.

  “Well, it’s what’s best for her,” Aleksander replies stonily.

  “It doesn’t have to be if we take care of Jack together.”

  Aleksander shakes his head, “you don’t understand what I have at risk.”

  “I do, because she has my brother now, not just torturing him with Mares and whatever else, she has him somewhere in the city. She’s in some sleazy little bedroom with him, kissing him,” I say angrily.

  Aleksander shakes his head in disbelief. “Are you sure it was her?”

  “I am, she made sure of it.” Tears well in my eyes.

  “She didn’t tell me,” his voice gives a hint of betrayal. This comes as a shock to me. I had thought he told her about my brother after our fight, I thought maybe he helped her, but the look on his face tells me this is not true. Arden steps away from us, fiddling with his device again.

  “You didn’t tell her about my brother?” I ask in disbelief.

  “Of course not, after what I have been through with my sister, I would never wish that on anyone.” The distance between us has been shortened. “Especially you,” he reaches his hand up and gently touches my fingers. I see the sincerity in his eyes.

  “You saved me in that pit from the Mahrts.” He nods. “And I couldn’t change you or heal you because you are human,” he nods again. His fingers intertwine with mine.

  “Would you try to return, for me?” I ask hopefully. Aleksander drops his hand from mine and looks down at the ground. “What’s keeping you from saying yes? It can’t be just fear, tell me it isn’t?” Aleksander shakes his head.

  “Then you love her, you love Jack?” My voice sounds small.

  “No,” Aleksander says and his expression hardens. “No, it’s logic. You don’t understand, I know what she can do and we won’t win and how would I even come back. It isn’t possible.”

  “I already told her that,” Arden interjects from a few feet away. “It’s not going to stop her.”

  “It’s not just me, It’s Kade and John and so many other dream walkers who want and deserve their freedom. They want a city that’s better, that treats them fairly.”

  “It’s not yours to fight for!” Arden suddenly yells at me. I have never seen him angry but maybe
the bravery I gave to him has finally allowed him to say what he has held back on to for so long. “What if some of us like the way the city is now?”

  “Yes, being afraid every day, afraid to walk around your city is completely normal,” I say, throwing my hands up in defeat.

  “It is if you live in this world.”

  “It doesn’t have to be, I met others who were content and comfortable outside the city who weren’t fearful, the city feels almost worse than out there because Jack created this environment.”

  “He’s right though,” Aleksander says without looking me in the eyes. “Jack told me about the times before with the council, there was a great misuse of power, and the dream walkers were almost like slaves to them and to the humans. Jack has been able to loosen that a bit,” Aleksander looks at me guiltily for saying something positive about Jack once again.

  I understand what this is about now, why Arden is lashing out at me. The potential for new leadership meant many changes, it meant the potential for new rules on visiting humans. It meant the potential for Arden having to head back into the human’s world, it meant danger and maybe now that he has no fear, his anger for what happened out there is fueling him.

  “I’m sorry, you guys are right that I don’t understand but I don’t think that should stop us from exploring options. We can find the right leader for you all and if that doesn’t work then I will create them and they will be fair to everyone and understand everyone’s needs.” Arden looks at the ground, his jaw clenched tightly.

  “Arden would you rather I let you go, return you to your old self so you don’t have to be by my side, tell me the truth,” I command and I use my powers to ensure that he does in fact tell me the truth. “Or you can keep your new strength and I will break you free from your loyalty, your choice.”

  “I’d like to stay with you if that’s alright,” he says in a low tone. “We can figure this out together,” his eyes finally connect to mine.