by Tom DeLonge
Jonas gasped and sat up in the bus seat. A woman stood in the aisle, her hand on his shoulder right where Jarabec had been touching him. “Sorry,” she said, looking startled by Jonas’s reaction. “I didn’t know if the seat was taken. I’ll…” She quickly moved down the aisle, opting for another seat. Jonas blinked rapidly, getting his bearings on the moving bus.
He’d been daydreaming, a light sleep. An easy sleep. There was power in that. A way to show up undetected, slide in and out of realities. Maybe this was the advantage he needed to defeat REM. Jonas started bouncing his leg, anxious to get to the hotel. He needed to talk to Marshall. He had a plan.
Jonas crossed the busy city street, his sneakers splashing in deep puddles as he approached the door of the Eden Hotel. Hillenbrand was off, so there was a stranger in the usual uniform. Jonas nodded to him, ready to walk past when a car squealed its tires, pulling up to the curb.
He turned and saw Samantha’s father’s car. For a moment, his heart stopped, but then Sam got out, shooting Jonas a concerned, and yet, totally pissed off look.
“What the hell!” she said. She tossed her keys to the valet, but didn’t bother to take the ticket he held out to her. She walked up to Jonas and grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a hug. “You just left,” she said, her breath warm on his neck. “I was worried.”
Jonas closed his eyes at her touch, and murmured an apology. When he pulled back, he watched her, seeing in her face what he already felt in his heart. When he opened his mouth to talk, she put her hand over it.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “So save your breath. Now let’s get inside. There’s something I need to talk to Molly about.”
Jonas peeled Sam’s hand off his face, making her laugh, and then gripped her fingers tightly to pull her inside the lobby of the Eden Hotel.
Marshall stood at the front desk, not seeming at all surprised to see Jonas running up, Samantha next to him. He didn’t bother to greet Sam, the formalities of their carefully constructed waking life pointless now.
Sam tugged on Jonas’s hand. “I see Molly,” she said, pointing to the restaurant where the assistant was discussing something with the boy at the host stand. “I’ll be back.”
She pulled away and jogged off before Jonas could find out what her plan was. When he turned, Marshall crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Hope you filled out the health insurance paperwork,” Marshall said, “because when Alexander finds out about you and his daughter, he’s going to—”
“Yeah, he already knows,” Jonas said, waving his hand. “He told me to stay away from her. I didn’t. But that’s not what I need right now.” Jonas leaned his elbows on the desk, checking around to make sure no one was listening. “REM killed Jarabec. He has my brother. And he’s seen Sam. He knows about her now.”
Marshall’s expression faltered, and his eyes found where Sam was talking to Molly in the restaurant. “How did he—”
“He took over a body at the Sleep Center,” Jonas said. “It was…it was fucking intense, okay. REM saw Sam and said he would kill her.”
Marshall straightened. “He’ll set his Night Stalkers on her when she falls asleep,” he said. “That’s usually how he does it, especially the ones he kills for sport.”
“I have to face him tonight,” Jonas said. “There’s no more time.”
Marshall flinched. “You can’t do that. You’re not prepared for that.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jonas said. “Because if I don’t, he’ll not only kill Sam, he’ll find all of the Dream Walkers and systematically wipe them out. Without them, no dreamers are safe. The Waking World won’t be safe as REM takes each soul and comes out here and creates misery. And when he does, you’re all fucked.”
Marshall glared down at him as if he hated that Jonas was making sense. He lifted his head and looked around the Eden Hotel, taking in its details as he thought. “What do you need from me?” he asked.
“First, you have to find someone to keep Sam awake,” Jonas said, checking back to where she stood with Molly. The two were arguing about something. “She can’t fall asleep,” Jonas told Marshall. “Not while I’m in the dream. They’ll use her against me.”
“I’m sure I can arrange something.”
“Thank you,” Jonas said, pressing hands together.
“Of course,” Marshall added, a deep vibrato in his voice. “You would be sorely underestimating her. And underutilizing her.”
Jonas furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“Her father is a Dream Walker,” he said. “Did you really think she wouldn’t have his same talents?”
Jonas turned to look at Sam again, remembering how brave she’d been in the dream. How there was a glow around her at one point. “She’s not a Dream Walker,” Jonas said. “She could never be that cruel.”
Marshall sniffed a laugh. “Perhaps. Alexander has certainly done his best to keep her from that world. But I’d think you’d be surprised how clever our young Birnam-Wood is. Could be you’re the one who’s in the dark.”
Jonas turned back to Marshall, confused. He ran his hand through his damp hair, sorting through memories until he realized he was running out of time. In the end, it didn’t matter. Even if Sam was the baddest of all badass Dream Walkers, he still wouldn’t want her in danger. Not because she was a girl, but because he loved her too much and refused to prove Jarabec right. Loving her would be the surest way to get her killed. Jonas wouldn’t let that happen.
“No,” Jonas said, shaking his head. “Marshall, I can’t have her there. If nothing else, it’ll distract me. You have to keep her awake.”
Marshall nodded, even though it was clear he didn’t agree with the decision.
“And once that’s dealt with,” Jonas said, leaning over the counter. “I’ll need all of them. All of the Dream Walkers.”
To this, Marshall scoffed. “They’re not your personal army,” he said. “Flint and the others are already concerned that Jarabec had not been guiding you properly. They wanted proof of your abilities before they commit to protecting you. And as far as they’ve seen, you’ve proved disappointing.”
The comment stung, but Jonas held Marshall’s gaze, determined to convince the Dream Walkers that he could do this. Marshall was his only chance to get through to them.
“You took too long to find your power,” Marshall continued. “And Jarabec paid the price. The Dream Walkers will not forgive that. They’d just as soon kill you to keep REM from getting his hands on you.” Marshall pursed his lips, studying Jonas before speaking again. “Luckily for you, I don’t agree. Jarabec believed in you. You’re not like the other Poets. They were careless and unruly, at times. But you, my boy, are just like your mother. You think with your heart. I’m not sure REM knows how to deal with a Poet like that.”
“So you’ll talk to the Dream Walkers?” Jonas asked. “You’ll change their minds? Because I can’t fight REM, the Night Stalkers, and…my brother all by myself. I need help.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Marshall agreed. “But the minute you arrive in the Dream World, REM and his guard will be waiting. Draw them away from the city. There’s an area in the woods. A cathedral of trees that’s been used to host battles before.”
“The Grecian Woods,” Jonas said. “Jarabec told me about it.”
“You know the place,” Marshall said after a moment. “Good. I’ll talk to the others and explain. But Jonas…” His coldness slipped away slightly as he put his hand on Jonas’s shoulder. “We’ll only be there to fight off the Night Stalkers. It’s nearly impossible for us to get close enough to REM. But he’ll be waiting for you.”
Jonas felt queasiness at the idea of being alone to fight REM. “Yeah, I understand,” he said.
“You’ll also have to deal with Alan,” Marshall added. “REM would be stupid to not use him to rile you up. To distract you. You�
��ll have to kill your brother.”
Never, Jonas thought, knowing it was true. He would never kill his brother. “I’ll handle it,” Jonas said, brushing off Marshall’s hand. The manager looked doubtful, but then tilted his head as if he understood.
“Then I’ll see to the arrangements, Mr. Anderson,” he said. “Now get out of my face.” Marshall spun away and picked up the desk phone, ignoring Jonas’s existence.
Jonas stared at his back for a moment, and then left to get Sam. Although he knew that Marshall didn’t agree with everything he was planning, he at least agreed to help. When Jonas entered the dining room, both Sam and Molly looked over at him before exchanging an awkward glance with each other. Jonas stopped in front of them, trying to read their expressions.
“I’m sorry about Jarabec,” Molly said quietly, and Jonas’s heart sank. Of course that was what they’d been talking about. Jonas worried that maybe Molly blamed him, too. “And I’m also sorry about Alan,” she added.
Jonas didn’t want to accept her sympathies. In fact, he didn’t want to talk anymore at all. He nodded to her, and then motioned for Sam to leave with him. She murmured something to Molly he didn’t quite catch, and then Jonas led the way to the elevator.
His head hurt, whether from stress or the drug he’d been given earlier, he wasn’t sure. He rubbed his forehead as they waited.
“You okay?” Sam asked.
“Yeah,” he lied. “What were you and Molly talking about?” he asked, looking sideways at her. She seemed confused by the question, and Jonas had an attack of guilt. He wasn’t going to let her into the dreamscape, but he couldn’t tell her that. She had no idea how much he cared about her.
“Nothing,” Sam said. “I mean, I told her about the Sleep Center. But that’s it. Why?”
The elevator doors slid open and Jonas and Sam got inside. “Just curious,” Jonas said, and pressed the button for the basement.
“What was up with Marshall?” she asked. Jonas turned to her and smiled.
“Nothing,” he said. Sam narrowed her eyes and then stepped closer to him, slipping her arms behind his neck and gazing up at him. “Okay,” Jonas relented, unable to tear his eyes away from hers. “I told him to gather the Dream Walkers. I’m going back in, Sam. I have to end this tonight.”
He watched as the color drained from her cheeks. Sam lowered her arms and stepped back just as the elevator doors opened. Silently, they walked to Jonas’s room and went inside. Jonas flipped on the bulb that set the room in harsh light. Looking dazed, Sam moved to sit on the edge of Jonas’s bed, staring straight ahead.
“What did you think I was going to do?” he asked her. “I don’t have another choice.”
Sam lifted her eyes to his, hurt. “Of course you do,” she said. “You can’t go back to the Dream World. REM will kill you.”
“He might not kill me,” Jonas said. “There’s also that possibility, Sam.”
“Shut up,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t accept this. There has to be another way. Another person. Why does it have to be you?”
“Because REM ruined my life,” Jonas said. “Because REM will destroy everything I love, including you. Don’t you get it? If I don’t stop him, he’ll kill you, Alan, and all of the Dream Walkers. I’m the only one who can get close to him because it’s my soul he wants. It’s the only way.” Jonas walked over to take Samantha’s arm, pulling her gently to her feet. “I want to live. I do. But, Sam, I know I can beat him. I feel it.”
Sam put her palms over her face, and Jonas wrapped himself around her. He wished he could make her forget all of this. Wished he’d never met her so she could have continued her life before he screwed it up. But he did meet her, and now she was everything.
Sam sniffled and pulled back, looking up at Jonas. He brushed her hair behind her ears before leaning his forehead against hers. “I fucking love you like crazy,” Jonas whispered.
Samantha got up on her tiptoes and slid her fingers into his hair. She studied his face like she was looking at him for the first time. The last time. “I fucking love you like crazy, too,” she said.
Jonas felt a sway in his chest and his fingers dug into her hips. Sam leaned in and kissed him, her tongue grazing his upper lip. He was lost, then. Ready to forget everything else. Even if just for a moment.
Jonas deepened the kiss and Sam knotted her fingers painfully in his hair, but he liked it. He wanted it all. They broke apart only to undress and then they were on his bed, pushing away the covers as they devoured each other. Loved each other. And as he felt the fast beat of her heart against his, Jonas knew he would do everything he could to come back to her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jonas brushed his fingers up and down Sam’s arm as she rested against him, careful not to fall asleep. They were in his small, basement room, and both knew there wasn’t time for this. But this might be the last chance they had to see each other. Sam snuggled against him, and Jonas turned absently to kiss the top of her head. He was fighting his guilt.
“I have to tell you something,” he started. “About what I said to Marshall.”
“Okay,” Sam replied suspiciously.
“I told him to make sure you stay away while I deal with REM. I told him not to let you fall asleep.”
She propped herself up on her elbow to stare down at him. “How? Like toothpicks to keep my eyes open? A bottle of uppers?”
Jonas smiled. “I think it was maybe coffee,” he said. “But if you want to get dramatic, I wouldn’t have rejected those extremes.”
Sam swatted his shoulder and then tucked the sheet under her arms and sat up. She folded her legs and faced him, her hair knotted near her neck. Jonas couldn’t help but think she was the most beautiful creature on the entire planet.
“I should tell you something too, then,” she said. “I’ve been meeting with Molly.”
Jonas’s worry ratcheted up, a worry that started when Marshall mentioned the possibility of Sam becoming a Dream Walker. “Oh,” Jonas said, looking down at the sheet covering his legs. “What about?” he asked.
“Molly’s been teaching me how to control my dreams and face my fears,” Sam said. “Not so I can become a Dream Walker, but so I can protect myself. Protect the people I love.” Sam smiled sadly. “And that’s you,” she said. “I need you.”
“You have me,” Jonas whispered.
“Do I?”
“All of me, yes,” he said. “I love you so much it hurts, but that love is exactly how REM can destroy me. You know that’s true. Molly must have told you that.”
Sam stared at him, and then nodded. “She told me to stay out of the dreamscape,” Sam said. “She made me promise.” Her eyes grew glassy with tears. “I’m not going to sleep tonight,” she said, “but not because you asked me to. I’m doing it to save your life.”
Jonas licked his lips, feeling his own emotions well up. He leaned in and kissed her, softly, sadly. They knew their time was up. Both got up and dressed, silent, but unable to keep from touching—brush of a hand here, kiss there—whenever they could.
“Let’s see if Marshall made any progress with the Dream Walkers,” Jonas said. “And we’ll get you some coffee.” Sam nodded, and Jonas took her hand. When they got to the door, Jonas paused a second to look back at the rumpled sheets, the small, cramped room that he’d called home, and he said goodbye. He flicked off the light and shut the door.
As Jonas and Sam got off the elevator, Marshall came hurrying around the desk, his face stern. There was no one milling about the lobby; in fact, the place looked deserted.
“Where have you been, boy?” Marshall asked, grabbing Jonas’s arm and pulling him back into the elevators. Sam followed, keeping her head down as if trying not to be noticed. Her cheeks had gone pink.
“Uh, I was…” Jonas looked at Sam, fumbling for an answer. Marshall spun to look at her,
and then back at Jonas.
“Christ,” he muttered, and repeatedly pressed the elevator button for the thirty-second floor until the doors closed. Jonas tried to smile, but Marshall’s expression was not having any of it.
“I’m guessing you have news,” Jonas said. It had only been an hour, and Jonas doubted Marshall could have put a team together by them, so he figured the news was grim.
“The others are waiting,” Marshall said.
Jonas had an explosion of panic—this was really going to happen. He’d have to face REM tonight. Now. He swallowed hard, realizing he was facing his own possible death. “How many?” he asked.
“We have six Dream Walkers in the building,” Marshall said. “They’ve agreed to go in with you. To lead you to the Grecian Woods. After that, we have a call out for other Dream Walkers to join.” The elevator stopped, and Marshall turned to look at him, deadly serious. “Only twelve in total would commit.”
“Twelve?” Jonas asked. It was more than he expected, but judging by Marshall’s expression, it wasn’t enough. “How many Night Stalkers will show, you think?”
Marshall paused a painfully long moment, and Jonas darted a look at Sam, who was equally concerned.
“Hundreds,” Marshall said quietly, and then walked out into the hallway. Samantha gasped and Jonas couldn’t look at her again.
Jonas came to pause next to where Marshall stood at the end of the hall. The door to a suite was closed, a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the handle. Jonas felt Sam come up behind him, the smell of flowers clinging to her skin.
Marshall looked Jonas over. “You ready for this?” he asked in his deep voice. Jonas closed his eyes and when he did, he hardened himself against the reality of his situation.
“Yeah,” he responded.
Marshall put his key in the door and then pushed it open. Jonas walked into the room, and then stood frozen. There was no furniture. Not in the traditional sense. Instead, several twin cots were placed throughout the room with people laying on them in regular clothes. IV tubes were attached to their arms. They were all asleep.
