Reality Dreamers

by K M Frost

  “I mean . . . Don’t they worry about you, sleeping all the time?”

  He studies me for a moment in the dim moonlight, making me uncomfortable.

  We’ve fallen back a bit from the others, and I think he’s doing it on purpose.

  “They’re gone.” His jaw is tight.

  “Oh.” My voice sounds small. “. . . Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  Rogue chuckles unexpectedly. “Don’t be so scared, pal. I’m not gonna blast you to pieces or anything.”

  I force a smile, but I’m still not sure if what he says is true. After all, he does have that firestick . . .

  Rogue focuses his eyes forward, and I can’t read his expression anymore. “No, they’ve been gone for a while.”

  “Is . . . is that why you came here full-time? Because of your family?”

  “Sort of.”

  I wait for him to say something more, and after several seconds he does.

  “My mom died when I was two. My dad wasn’t exactly a loving parent. I stayed with him until I was ten, but then I decided to take my chances out in the real world. Could it be any worse? Turns out the big bad world isn’t nearly as cruel as my old man. I wandered from town to town for a while—I even spent some time in Capernia.”

  I’m careful not to let my shock show on my face.

  I can’t imagine not having loving parents. Mom and Dad have always taken care of Ellie and me, looked out for us. I can’t imagine anything else. I think maybe that’s a blessing.

  There’s a flash of lightning, followed by a peal of thunder. I jump in surprise, but Rogue seems entirely unaffected, continuing his story without hesitation.

  “Eventually, I found the Dream. It took me another three years to decide this was my real home and to figure out how to stay asleep for extended lengths of time. I’ve been here since I was fifteen, and I’ve never regretted the decision to be a Constant. This is where I belong.”

  I gaze at the dark forest around us and try to imagine living here. I mean, I enjoy spending my nights here with my friends, but I don’t think I would want to live here. What would be the point, anyway?

  I peer at Rogue in curiosity. “Do you have other friends here?”

  “Not really.” He shrugs carelessly. “I have enough to do without having to worry about friends.”

  “But, you have us now.”

  He tosses me a look, his face thoughtful, and then his eyes sweep over Rick, Leah, and Stew, too. “I guess.”

  I wonder if he regrets his decision to hang out with us. Before I can ask, Stewart suddenly lets out a surprised yelp.

  I’m afraid it’s an Entity—or worse, a whole group of Entities—but there’s no one there. The others have stopped walking, and soon Rogue and I catch up to them.

  “What . . .?” The question dies in my mouth when I see what grabbed their attention.

  It’s a town.

  I mean, it’s nothing like Capernia, or any other place I’ve been to before, but I’m sure it’s a town. There’re streets and buildings all over, even though they look strange and are made of some material I’ve never seen before.

  The streets are uneven and broken, weeds and debris covering the stone-like avenue that stretches out between huge rows of buildings. The structures tower higher than anything I’ve ever seen, and their walls are smooth and dark. I wonder what they’re made of, but I don’t dare move closer to find out.

  It’s Rogue who speaks first, casual and disinterested. “Oh, that. There’s a bunch of towns like this all over. No one’s here though. I know. I’ve checked all the buildings, but everyone’s gone.”

  I frown at the town. “People lived here?” I wonder what happened to them. “But . . . why bother to build a town if you’re just here for a few hours a night?”

  Rogue shrugs, still indifferent. “Maybe they were Constants, like me. It’d be nice to have a place to come back to every night, wouldn’t it?”

  There’s another flash of lightning, and this time I can see raindrops falling in the distance, halfway through the sprawling city.

  “Let’s check it out,” Rick says, curiosity glinting in his eyes. “Stay close together and get out of sight if anything moves.”

  Leah and Stewart nod eagerly, ready to follow Rick down.

  Rogue rolls his eyes. “I’ve already told you. There’s nothing here. Let’s keep going. If we’re ever gonna find another shelter, we’d better keep moving.”

  I kind of agree with Rogue. Something about this city unnerves me.

  But everyone else looks so eager to explore, so I push my fears aside and remind myself that the Reality Dreamers are explorers. Besides, I am curious about the strange city.

  Rick leads the way. Not wanting to get left behind, I hurry to follow after Leah and Stew.

  A couple seconds later I hear Rogue sigh, and then he’s walking beside me again.

  By the time we reach the edge of the city, we’re already surrounded by the rain. I can feel it in my hair, and though it’s not coming down especially hard, I worry that we’ll all be soaked through before we can find shelter.

  We walk down the middle of the huge street, and I have to wonder why the people built it so wide. I finally decide it must have been to accommodate all the people who lived here. There’re enough buildings here to house thousands of families.

  I wonder again what happened to them all.

  There are odd structures strewn all across the road, made out of the same sleek material as the huge buildings. I have no idea what they are, but I can only figure they must have been a failed attempt at a carriage. I can’t see anything to attach a horse to, and they’re ridiculously bulky. The Conceptors who’d created them must have been very dense.

  Rick suggests we separate and search the buildings, and I reluctantly peel away from the group.

  The building in front of me reaches so high I can’t see the top of it, and the countless windows covering its smooth walls are like dark eyes watching me. Fighting to ignore the way the door reminds me of a hungry, gaping mouth, I step out of the rain and into the darkness.

  I stand in the doorway and wait for my eyes to adjust to the dimness inside.

  I’m astounded by the sheer size of the room I’m standing in. It’s almost as big as my whole house, but there’s hardly anything inside it. A slim table here, a bulky statue there, a huge painting on the wall, a plush rug clogged with dirt and grime. I try to wrap my mind around the fact that all this space is just for decoration—it has no other purpose.

  Sidestepping the dirty rug, I move across the room and find an ornate door against the far wall. After a short hesitation, I turn the glass knob and the door creaks open, horribly loud in the stillness.

  I look around quickly, half expecting something to come flying at me from the darkness, but the room is silent and unchanged.

  I take a deep breath to calm down before stepping into the adjoining room, brimming with curiosity.

  This room is even bigger than the last, but there seems to be a bit more purpose to this one. There’s a plush, very dirty couch in the center of the room, and on the wall it faces there hangs a huge dark frame. There’s no picture, and I wonder why it seems like the main attraction in the decaying room. I don’t see the appeal.

  This room is decorated like the last, with thick rugs and huge paintings on the walls. There’s a short tree in the corner, though it died a long time ago, and the bare stems of dried bouquets are displayed around the room.

  For a moment, I let my imagination run away, and for just a few brief seconds I see this room as it must have looked when it was bright and alive.

  I imagine a family, happy like mine, sitting together on the inviting couch, smiling in their huge, tasteful home. But then the image fades and all that’s left is darkness and decay.

  Suddenly, all I want to do is leave. I want to get far away from this dead house, so far away from this dark ghost town that I can’t hear the oppressive silence, and can’t remember these brok
en, abandoned buildings.

  Without wasting another second, I turn and nearly run from the house. Before I reach the street, I hear Leah scream.

  Running full speed now, I race toward the sound of her scream.

  Someone splashes across the wet street, running beside me. Rick. He looks as worried as I feel, and every bit as afraid.

  I’m not sure which building Leah’s in, but I follow Rick when he ducks inside one of the duplicate structures. I realize distantly the entry hall in this house is the same as the one I came from, though a different painting hangs on the wall.

  We run through the sitting room, which is also eerily similar to the last, and then we’re in the next room.

  We almost trample Leah, who’s backed up right into the doorway.

  “Leah!” Rick braces his hands on the door frame. “What are you screaming about?”

  Rather than making a sassy comment, Leah shakes her pale face and points a trembling finger toward the back corner of the room.

  Rick and I follow her finger and I feel my stomach drop.

  Propped against the smooth wall in the back of the room is a dead man.

  Chapter 16

  We don’t speak. All we can do is stare at the dead man’s face. At least, I think it’s a man. It’s hard to tell—he’s been dead for a while.

  Finally, Rick moves forward and I follow, though I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be any closer. The smell is worse than anything I could have imagined, and the sight is just as bad.

  The man’s skin is gray and sagging. There’s whole chunks missing from his face and body, almost like an animal attacked him. His clothes are strange—similar to what the other Reality Dreamers wear—and horribly soiled.

  I’m glad his eyes are closed, but even so, I can see that his gray lids are sunken like his cheeks. His fair hair is surprisingly tidy, the only composed part of him.

  Rick crouches down for a closer look, his wet shirt held tightly against his nose in an attempt to block out the smell.

  I’ve seen enough, though.

  Fighting against the nausea roiling inside me, I tear from the room and don’t take a breath again until I’m outside, back in the open air.

  I choke on the breath I manage to pull in, and I feel my stomach lurch unpleasantly, but I’m able to get a handle on myself after several long moments.

  The rain seems to help, washing the smell from my skin and clothes, and soothing me with its rhythmic patter.

  I close my eyes and fall back against the smooth wall behind me. I can feel sweat all over my body, mixing with the cold rain and making my skin tingle.

  I’ve never seen a dead body before. I mean, I know about the decay process and all that, but it’s entirely different to learn about something while sitting in a familiar desk and to encounter the real thing in a dark, cold room.

  I understand why Leah screamed. A part of me wants to scream right now, but I can’t get any sound through my tight throat.

  “Jonas?”

  I open my eyes.

  Leah’s pale face hovers before me, her long blonde hair matted to her skin with rainwater. She looks a little unsteady on her feet, and she joins me, slumping against the wall next to me.

  She stares blankly across the wide street at the huge buildings opposite us, but I don’t think she’s seeing them. In fact, I know exactly what she’s seeing—it’s the same gray face that’s flashing in front of my eyes. I wonder distantly if I’ll ever stop seeing the dead man’s face.

  “What do you think happened?” Leah’s voice is very small, barely heard above the muted drumming of the rain.

  I glance over and see her eyes are closed tightly, like she’s trying to squeeze the image out of existence.

  “I don’t know.” The words are barely more than a croak. My fingers are tingling, and a rushing sound fills my ears.

  “Do you think everyone here . . .?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Suddenly she’s glaring at me, green eyes flashing with anger and terror. “Would you just say something? Anything? I need to think about something else. Just talk about anything!”

  I fold my arms against my chest, finally registering the cold. My clothes are soaked and the cold rain is dripping from my hair, rolling down my face. “I don’t know what happened here. I’m not sure I want to. Whatever could do that . . .” I shiver. “I just don’t want to think about it.”

  Leah’s quiet for a moment, and when I look over, she’s staring into space again. I understand how she feels, and I reach out to offer whatever comfort I can.

  She jumps when I touch her hand.

  I force myself to grip her hand tighter, rather than pull away into myself. It’s a strange thing, comforting her, but I guess it’s part of being a friend.

  “It’ll be okay. You’ll see. We’ll be alright.”

  She still looks terrified, so I continue. My voice gets stronger, more confident with each word.

  “Whatever did that is long gone. It happened a long time ago. It’s probably miles away by now—maybe more.”

  I’m not sure what I said that helped, but the terror in Leah’s eyes calms a little and she nods unsteadily. She keeps my fingers wrapped in a strangle hold, but I feel her relax a bit.

  Normally, I’d be mortified to be holding a girl’s hand, but right then, it’s exactly what I need—what we both need.

  We stand in the rain for a few minutes until Rick emerges from the house, his face grim and dark. I realize Rogue and Stewart are outside, too. I hadn’t even noticed them before.

  Everyone turns to face Rick in anticipation and dread. He quickly tells Rogue and Stew that we found a body.

  Stewart whimpers, but Rogue just presses his lips together grimly, almost like he was expecting that.

  Rick maintains his calm. “Whatever killed the guy in there passed by a long time ago. It’s probably not coming back.”

  Rogue snorts. “‘Whatever killed the guy’? It was an Entity.”

  The word sends a shock through our group, and a shiver slips down my spine.

  “How do you know?” Stewart asks, his eyes wide.

  “I know because I’ve seen it before.” Rogue pushes his wet hair from his face. “Like I said, I’ve seen lots of towns like this, and they’ve all got bodies, but no survivors.”

  Rick scowls. “It doesn’t matter. That guy’s been dead a while. The thing that killed him is long gone.” His tone firmly ends the discussion. “Now, there’s no way we can get back to the shelter before we wake up, so we’re gonna stay here for the day.”

  Leah tenses and I feel a rush of fear. Is he crazy?

  Rick raises his voice a little, like he’s expecting our arguments, and he doesn’t want to hear them. “Just for one day. Tomorrow night we’re out of here. But we can’t just stay in the street. The house I was exploring had plenty of beds, and a door that locks. I think we should stay there. Unless anyone else found a better place?”

  No one answers him, though I think that anywhere would be better than this place.

  Without waiting to hear our objections, Rick leads the way across the street to a house just like all the others. Each room has the same layout, though the furniture and decorations vary slightly. There’s something really creepy about all this uniformity.

  Rick locks the door behind us and I try not to think about what could be lurking inside the house.

  Once each of us is satisfied the door is locked, Rick herds us through the house and up a dusty flight of stairs to an assortment of bedrooms.

  We file into the first one. It’s ridiculously spacious with a huge bed. Rogue immediately claims it for himself. He moves confidently to another door on the wall opposite us and pulls it open, revealing a huge closet filled with all kinds of strange, colorful clothes.

  Rick surges forward to catch Rogue’s arm before he can touch even a thread of fabric. “What are you doing?”

  “I think I’m getting out of these clothes.” The Entity hunter grabs t
he hem of his dark shirt and squeezes, creating a puddle of rainwater at his feet. He’s made his point.

  Rogue shrugs Rick’s hand away and returns to perusing the clothing.

  He has a valid point. I’m shivering, drenched in cold rainwater. But it just doesn’t seem right. I mean, this was someone’s house—it might still be. What if they come back and find they’ve been robbed? But then, is it really wise to stay in these clothes, soaked to the bone?

  It’s Stewart who first joins Rogue, trembling as he searches for something his size.

  Rick mutters something under his breath and leaves the room.

  I’m not sure where he’s going, but I know if I stay in these clothes much longer, I’ll freeze to death.

  So, though everything in me says it’s wrong, I join Rogue and Stewart at the closet and begin searching for something to fit me.

  These clothes are so strange. Bold colors, weird fabrics, unusual styles. I note distractedly that these clothes are very similar to the ones the other Reality Dreamers wear. I wonder if this isn’t the first time they’ve robbed a home.

  Finally, I find some that should fit me. There’s a pair of dark blue trousers made of a stiff material. They seem durable, and the fabric is surprisingly soft, despite the stiffness. I also pull out a dark shirt that’s much softer than anything I’ve worn before. Last of all, I grab a thick jacket and a pair of durable shoes.

  As soon as I’ve made my selections, I close myself inside the room next door to change. I peel off the stained, drenched white suit and happily toss it aside.

  The new clothes feel strange against my skin, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. At least they’re dry.

  Once I’m dressed, I pull the door open and step out into the hall, not wanting to be so isolated from the others.

  Stewart’s standing by Rogue’s closed door, dressed in his new, dry clothes and looking very small.

  He looks up when I step into the hall and shifts his weight restlessly from one foot to the other. “I don’t want to stay here.”

  I crouch to his eye level and put my hands on his shoulders. “It’s just for one night, Stew.” I force some confidence into my voice, and when that doesn’t seem to help, I force a smile instead. “Besides, it’ll be nice to sleep in a real bed for a change, won’t it?”