The falling sensation ended as abruptly as it began. His feet touched ground. Connor steadied himself before crouching low, fingers skimming the area around his feet. Feels like grass. Standing, he tilted his head upward. As he gazed toward the heavens, the heavy darkness slowly transformed into a translucent gloom and stars began to twinkle in the sky. Pale, puffy clouds materialized and the scarred face of the moon emerged. The sound of chirping crickets filled the air. A few kilometres north, the top of a squat mountain appeared, separated by a grassy field and a deep gorge.
Where am I? He inhaled deeply and the scent of pungent earth filled his nostrils. Maybe in the Valley of Tired?
There was only one way to find out.
I have to climb.
Connor trudged through the grass, thankful for the moonlight illuminating the field before him. Behind, a coniferous forest reached upward, blocking the sight of whatever lay beyond it. Connor hesitated, not recognizing his surroundings. He couldn’t see any sign of the ghost town from his previous dream world adventures. He resumed his forward climb up the stubby mountain, searching for a clue that would lead to Georgia.
The field ended at a sandy, overhanging cliff and the sound of chirping crickets was replaced with the sound of rushing water. Connor approached the edge and knelt slowly, careful not to dislodge the sandy precipice. He peered over and moaned with dismay. Approximately 20 metres directly below was a wide, fast-moving river. He searched anxiously for a way to the opposite side. There was no path, no zip line, no apparent means to get down or bypass the river. Think. The crest of the mountain – his climbing destination – loomed above and beyond the waterway. There has to be a way across.
Connor crawled away from the lip and rolled to one side. He lay still, contemplating his options. There didn’t seem to be many.
“Connor!”
Connor froze. Was that Georgia?
He jumped to his feet with excitement. A lone figure, standing beside a tall, dead tree about 50 metres away, was waving at him. Connor sprinted forward. “Georgia!”
As he got closer, Connor saw that the tree was not a tree at all, but a wooden post held upright with hundreds of fist-sized stones piled at its base. Multiple arrow-shaped signs were hammered to one side of the post. Then he focused on the waving figure. It had a crown of fiery red hair.
“Max!” Disappointment resonated in his voice and Connor completed the final few metres in a slow jog. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Oh really?” asked Max. “I thought you might say, ‘Hey, Max, how’s it going? What have you been up to and, by the way, how great is it that we’re b-b-back in this dreadful dream world.’”
“Yeah, right,” replied Connor. “Okay, so how’s it going, Max, and WHY are you here?”
Max ignored the question. “Who’s Georgia?”
“She’s my little sister.”
“Yeah?” Max replied incredulously. “And why would she be here?”
“It’s going to sound crazy but I know you’ll understand, or at least you’ll believe me.” Connor gestured toward the forest. “Georgia was having dreams about talking bushes and trees, all telling her to do one thing: climb. Based on our previous experiences, you know what that means. So, I think she’s stuck here and... I have to find her.”
Max still didn’t get it. “But when she woke up the next morning, didn’t you tell her about ‘falling’ to sleep over the Town of Sleepmore?” It was how he, Connor and Jayden escaped from the Valley of Tired and from the evil boy, Richard Hatemore.
“That’s the problem,” Connor said slowly. “I can’t tell her. She’s in a comatose state at the hospital.” He swallowed hard, choking with emotion. “She won’t wake up.”
Max was struggling to make the physical connection. “So you think her dream-body is here? Wherever ‘here’ is?”
“Yeah. I think she’s hiding somewhere, terrified of being in a strange land. And terrified of being alone in the dark.” Connor pointed once again to the forest behind them. “I just hope she didn’t encounter any animals. Or that Richard fellow.”
Max’s logical mind processed and analyzed Connor’s theory about his sister’s comatose state. The possibility that Georgia was ‘stuck’ in Richard’s dream world made him sad for the little girl. “I hope you’re wrong.”
“Me too. Because if I’m right, then Georgia is trapped in this nightmare world. And we have to find her and get her out.”
Max touched the signpost beside him. “Well, I know which way we have to go. Remember the ‘NO SLEEPING’ post near the Valley of Tired? All the signs there were pointed in different directions. Check this one out.”
Multiple signs were tacked on the wooden post: Devil’s Door Rapids; Devil’s Door Waterfall; Twisted Pines; Valley of Tired Volcano Vent, and Town of Sleepmore. Every sign pointed in the same direction. Across the river.
“We must be on the other side of the mountain,” Max explained. “There’s no mention of those other places, like that wolf-filled village. Only the Valley of Tired is listed here and that totally makes sense.” Connor was not convinced and Max continued. “The Valley of Tired is near the base of the mountain, surrounding the mountain. We’re near the base. At the top is where we find the Town of Sleepmore.”
Connor fell to his knees, his face ashen. “But what if Georgia is on the other side, where we were the last time? How will we find her?”
Max placed his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “I know we’re here for a reason. And now I know what that reason is.” He knelt beside him. “I’ll help you.”
Relief washed over Connor’s face. “Thanks, Max. I remember we made a great team the last time we worked together.” Max offered his hand and pulled Connor upright. A blush heated his freckled face and Max stood back, both embarrassed and elated at Connor’s statement. His heel stepped on something hard.
“Wait a minute,” whispered Max. “What’s this?” His foot prodded the sandy soil some two metres from the signpost. The moon was wavering between two stringy, cream-coloured clouds, creating shadows across the field and casting a ghoulish glow to their faces. Max hunkered down to the ground, pushing away the sand and exposing a gray construction-quality PVC pipe. There were small spikes extending upward, spaced about a foot apart. Looking to the left and right beyond the signpost, Max could see short shadows in the sand, defining where the buried pipe stretched out.
“It’s a shield!” Max exclaimed. “The invisible shield!” Realizing what that meant, Max inhaled sharply and then slowly, nervously, surveyed their surroundings.
Sensing Max’s fright, Connor peered into the gloom. “Uh, isn’t that a good thing?”
“It was when I was in control of the ‘Activate Shield’ lever back in the Valley of Tired. But right here, right now… I don’t know.” In their previous dream world adventures, Max had discovered the control levers for two shields, hidden in abandoned wooden shacks. Each time he activated a shield, he saved both Connor and Jayden from being mauled by wolves.
Max squelched the uneasiness growing in the pit of his stomach. “I don’t see the power source anywhere – a shack or some place where you can turn it on and off.” He moved forward hesitantly, crouching low. A crackling sound erupted around them and, without warning, Max was hurled backward. He sprawled on the sandy ground beside Connor, teeth clattering as terror coursed through his body. Connor stepped away and grabbed a rock from the base of the post. He held it in front of them defensively as the air around them hummed with the intensity of a lightning strike.
The hair on Connor’s arms went from flat to upright. “What the…?”
“It’s the shield,” whispered Max. “Someone turned on the shield.”
Chapter 8
The Nightmare Within the Nightmare
“HEY!”
The shout came from the forest and suddenly they could see a girl running toward them, a dark-haired girl wearing neon orange pyjamas.
“I don’t believe this.” It was Connor
’s turn to look incredulous. “Is that who I think it is?”
Max scampered upright. “I think it’s Jayden.” He watched as she sprinted closer. “Yup, it’s her!”
Max held up his hands in a stop motion. “Stop!” he shouted. “Don’t come any closer!”
Jayden slowed and approached them cautiously. “Well, isn’t this a small dream world?” she drawled, crossing one arm over the other. “I guess you guys got the ‘cross over’ invitation, too?”
“Don’t come any closer!” Max repeated. “The shield has been activated.”
“The shield?” queried Jayden. “Like the one outside the Valley of Tired?”
Connor nodded. “Yeah, but Max didn’t turn this one on.” He replicated her stance, folding his arms across his chest. “Why are you on the wrong side of the shield? Didn’t you jump into the light?”
Jayden shook her head. “I, uh, wasn’t sure about that guy in the light so I jumped left, toward the banging sound.”
“You mean the thuds and the chants?” asked Max. He rolled his eyes. “Well, that was dumb.”
“Oh really, oh-wise-one,” countered Jayden with a sneer. “And why is that?”
“Because the thuds and the chants are probably coming from Dick – Richard Hatemore. Remember him?”
Jayden dropped to her knees. “That’s why it was familiar… oh no!” she cried out, realizing what she had done. “This is Dick’s side. The wrong side.”
Connor moved closer to the shield. It shimmered with energy, softening the contours of Jayden’s striking features. Her black hair shone in the moonlight and her green eyes displayed a level of fear Connor had not seen before.
“We’ll find the source of the shield and turn it off,” he said softly. “It can’t be too far.” His concerned smile provoked an unusual response from Jayden: she smiled back.
Max cleared his throat. “No time for kisses, folks,” he admonished. “Let’s decide which way to travel – east or west?”
Before anyone could respond, a wolf howled. Any hair that hadn’t prickled from the activated shield was now at full attention. Jayden looked over her shoulder and yelped with fright. Loping out of the woods some 500 metres behind her, was a pack of wolves. Their bodies moved as one, heading directly toward Jayden.
“Aaagh!” screamed Jayden. “What can I do?”
Connor looked at the stone in his hand. It was useless against the force of the shield.
“I know!” Max shouted. “Dig!”
Jayden was confused. “What?”
“Dig underneath the pipe – under the force of the shield,” Max explained. “We’ll dig a tunnel so you can squeeze through!”
The simplicity of the plan was clear. “You are still a genius,” Connor said respectfully. Falling to his knees, Connor took the lead. “Quickly now, dig!” he urged. Using their hands as shovels, they tossed sand from under the PVC pipe, clearing a tunnel for Jayden to squirm through. The static of the electric impulses caused their hair to stand on end and the fillings in their teeth to hum. Like dogs burying a bone, the three dug furiously into the sand, Jayden from her side and Connor and Max on the other. They pushed the sand away, clearing a small tunnel until they met in the middle. The shield and pipe remained poised in place, like a bridge leading to nowhere.
“I think I can get through now,” Jayden panted. “Pull me through. And make sure I don’t touch that thing!”
Connor grabbed her hands and began to pull. “Keep your body flat!” he shouted. “Don’t lift your butt!” Jayden relaxed her body and stayed face down while Connor pulled her dead weight underneath the shield. Perspiration glistened on his forehead as he clutched Jayden’s hands, yanking her unceremoniously through the narrow tunnel. Max glanced up and saw the wolves were almost upon them. Then he realized that if Jayden could get through the newly-dug tunnel, so could the wolves.
“The rocks!” he shouted. “Throw the rocks into the tunnel!”
He picked up two stones from the base of the signpost and lobbed them into the newly-dug tunnel.
“Fill the tunnel!”
There was no time for argument. The three threw rocks until the tunnel was filled and they continued to throw more until the signpost leaned precariously to one side, its rock foundation gone. They were out of time.
The lead wolf sprang toward them, its open jaws exposing razor-sharp teeth. Jayden closed her eyes as the animal hit the protective shield. With a high-pitched scream, it bounced off and cowered in front of them. The smell of burnt fur filled the air. The wolf turned toward the incoming pack and lowered its head, growling in a defensive posture. The pack came to a halt in front of its leader. The scorched wolf then turned back and glared at Jayden, Connor and Max. Snarling ferociously, the animal sniffed the rocks filling the tunnel, avoiding the electrified shield. It paused and then, lifting one leg, urinated before them.
When it finished its business, the wolf bared its teeth in a silent snarl. Pointy fangs gleamed in the moonlight and the other wolves growled in agreement. One by one, they slunk back toward the forest.
Jayden was still lying on the ground, covered in sand. She was trembling and Max patted her shoulder.
“Oh Max,” Jayden responded, giving him a wry grin. “I’m so glad we’re on the same side.”
“Friends – not foes,” Max whispered. With a surge of guilt, Jayden nodded. During their first adventure in the Valley of Tired, she had mocked him for making a similar statement. Her moment of guilty reverie was suddenly interrupted.
“No!”
It was Connor, pointing to the leaning signpost and the uncovered hole at its base. “NO!”
Max yelped in horror and Jayden stifled her own scream. The nightmare within her nightmare had just gotten worse.
Black hairy spiders, each the size of a man’s hand, were scuttling out of the hole. Their hulking, pulsing bodies were grotesquely disproportionate to their black, spiny legs. Multi-faceted eyes reflected dozens of moons, like a disco ball over a lake. The onslaught of freakish spiders continued as they swarmed across the sand and into the night air, scrabbling over each other as they sought to protect their uncovered nest. There were hundreds of them and, like a legion of eight-legged beasts, they just kept coming.
“The cliff!” Connor shouted. “Head for the cliff!”
The three raced toward the precipice, churning sand in their wake. Connor glanced back and saw the army of arachnids surging toward them. He grabbed hold of Jayden’s hand and, still running, grabbed Max’s hand too.
“JUMP!”
* * *
Jayden awoke with a start, arms outstretched. One hand was still searching for something to grab hold of and the other was locked in an iron-clad clutch with dream-Connor. We were falling…
She brought her hands together and held them in a prayer-like gesture, sensing the velvety darkness of her bedroom. This is crazy. Maybe I should wake up Dad. She glanced at the clock radio on her night stand: 4:37. Nah. She remembered what he said earlier. You’re at the crossing point of independence.
Jayden wiped her sweaty forehead with the sleeve of her bright orange pyjamas and shuddered in remembrance of the wolves. And don’t forget those king-sized spiders. Sitting up, she turned on the bedside light and grabbed a pen and paper from the night stand. Leaning against the headboard, she wrote down the images as they replayed in the merry-go-round of her mind.
A voice told me to cross over to the light on the right.
But I jumped toward the banging sounds on the left. Into Dick’s world. The world of wolves.
Then Max used his genius brain to save me at the electrified shield and Connor pulled me through. I guess he saved me too.
Spiders. SPIDERS!
Jayden scratched her head with the end of the pen.
What is going on? The ‘cross over’ is for what? Why?
Her questions had no answers. Jayden closed her eyes and willed herself into a reluctant sleep.
Chapter 9
An
ywhere But Here
Noon. Connor gently chewed the inside of his cheek, waiting for the stop light to switch from red to green. After many frustrating hours in front of the computer, he acknowledged his inability to concentrate on anything and, instead, headed back to the hospital. Checking up on Georgia far outweighed any research into medieval English. College classes would have to wait.
But that dream…
The hair prickled over his scalp as Connor recalled the hand-sized hairy spiders. He rubbed the back of his neck, calming the fine hairs and then glanced at his reflection in the rear-view mirror. A sombre, tired face stared back. There were dark shadows under his blue eyes, giving him a zombie-like appearance. He hadn’t slept much after the dream.
Who is that guy in the light, the one who invites me to cross over? And how did Jayden and Max get involved? And where is Georgia?
He thought about his ‘friends’ in the dream world. They had accepted the invitation to ‘cross over.’ So, he concluded, that could only mean one thing: Jayden and Max were real people, like Richard. Therefore, they must be alive in the real world too.
The parking lot was packed with visitors’ cars. Sliding into a spot in the farthest corner, Connor turned off the car and reached beside him. Foleydota, Georgia’s small, stuffed, baby pangolin, lay on the front seat. It had fallen out of Georgia’s embrace yesterday when the paramedics lifted her onto the ambulance gurney. Connor had tossed it into his car but forgotten to leave it with her. She never slept without it. He picked up the creature and held it curiously. Georgia had taught him a couple of things about pangolins – that they were the only scale-covered mammal in the world, and that black-market trade was leading to their extinction. The little pangolin, resembling both an anteater and a hedgehog, was her favourite stuffie. Tucking the little beast under his arm, Connor trudged toward the hospital, stopping first at the gift shop to buy a brightly coloured, heart-shaped balloon with the words, “We love you!” embossed on each side.
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