Dawn of the Dreamer (Dreamer Trilogy Book 1)

by L. J. Higgins

  ‘Yeah, I did. He said he has a few ideas he wants to talk to you ... well, all of us about. But it’s up to all of you what you want.’ My meeting with Cameron had made me less angry with Joe.

  Noticing the ease in my voice, Joe replied calmer than before, ‘We’ll all talk about it at breakfast in the morning. Night, Amelia.’

  ‘Night, Joe.’ In that moment, I missed him, missed being able to talk to him and simply be with him. That only confused me more about Cameron. I reminded myself that Joe had been right about one thing: I couldn’t lead two guys along. It was up to me to make a choice on what I wanted, but I was unsure what that was. My head aching from both the vodka and the thought of deciding, I crawled into bed next to a sleeping Rose.

  ***

  At breakfast, Joe beat me to asking everyone about letting Cameron come visit.

  ‘He’s a guy we can trust. He’s working as a nurse at the MMC facility, which means he has more access to things than I have. He could really help us bring them down.’

  Joe had put his feelings aside for the greater good, which was the Joe I’d known before he found out about my kiss with Cameron.

  ‘Can we trust him? Isn’t he the reason Amelia ended up there in the first place?’ Andrew’s expression was full of concern.

  Defensive, I chimed in, ‘He didn’t put me in there. My stupid mouth did. He played a big part in getting me out. He’s a smart guy, and he knows things about them we don’t. He could help us out. Would it hurt to hear what he has to say?’

  As I finished, I felt uncomfortable defending him so fiercely in front of Joe.

  ‘It would hurt if he brought half of the MMC with him.’ Andrew stood his ground, letting go of his usual easygoing attitude.

  I could understand that he’d never met him, but he had done so much for me.

  ‘I trust him,’ retorted Joe, ‘but Andrew is right to be worried. We don’t know who we are dealing with, Cameron does. We need him.’

  It hurt Joe to say it, but the cause was more important to him. We couldn’t live out here, knowing the whole world was being deceived. ‘Everyone who says Cameron can come out here, raise your hand.’

  Everyone lifted their hands in the air except for Andrew and Yvette. Yvette waited to see what Andrew would decide.

  Hesitantly, he raised it in the air, followed by Yvette. ‘I hope you all know what you are doing.’

  Joe gave me the go-ahead to call Cameron, so I went to the caravan and dialled the only number saved onto the phone under ‘Cam’.

  ***

  With everyone off doing their own thing, the day drifted by slowly and quietly. The dry heat drained me of all my energy and motivation. Yvette and Andrew went in to town, and Sarah had to work the afternoon at the Veterinary Clinic. Cameron would come out for dinner, and as he was my guest, I decided the least I could do was help Dawn prepare the food. After some convincing, Rose joined me at the farmhouse. A lifetime had passed since I’d been inside, and it was nice to experience the cosy welcomeness of it again.

  Turning on the kettle, I insisted Dawn rest while I looked after her for a change, which she appreciated. We sat around her little timber dining table, which had a fresh cream tablecloth laid out over it.

  ‘Are you okay, my dear?’ Rose still had no colour in her face, and Dawn’s features reflected the concern I had for her.

  ‘I don’t know.’ She stared blankly at the plate of biscuits I had just placed on the tablecloth.

  ‘Amelia and I are here if you need to talk. That’s the best part of being a part of this little Dreamer family. There’s always someone here for you.’

  Rose shifted in the seat as her thoughts fought to come out. ‘I miss Ethan, my son. It’s his seventh birthday soon, and I haven’t seen him for three months. He means everything to me, and I would do anything to be with him again.’

  Tears streamed over her cheeks, and Dawn pulled her to her chest for one of her motherly hugs. Even mothers needed them sometimes.

  ‘Of course, you miss him, dear, and I promise we will do everything to get him back to you.’

  She pulled away from Dawn’s arms. ‘No! That’s not what I want. I don’t want him to be a fugitive with me. I can’t provide for him because I’m a wanted person. How could I be a good mother under these circumstances? I will do whatever I can to get him back, but I have to be a free woman.’

  Again the memory of her tearing into Sleep Room Four came to my mind, but this time, it reminded me what she was fighting for. Rose’s passion brought a tear to my eye. I saw how much she loved her son, and it made me think of my own mother. Even when we argued through my teenage years, I never once doubted how much my mum loved me. But I’d never been forced to spend so much time away from her without so much as a phone call. Poor Ethan must have missed her so much. In times like these, I knew my mother’s kind words and caring hug would make Rose’s problems evaporate into thin air. I’d never had my mother’s gift. So I sat silently, my hands fumbling in my lap.

  As we prepared the roast beef for dinner, Dawn urged Rose to tell us more about Ethan. She glowed as she described his smile that created a cute dimple in the middle of his left cheek and how she ruffled his scruffy chestnut brown hair. They had a close bond, and after stories of fishing and riding his bike, a tear rolled over her soft pale cheek.

  ‘I miss him so much. I just want you to understand that I would give anything to get him back. But only if we aren’t being chased and I could support him.’

  ‘Where is he now?’ Tears danced in Dawn’s eyes.

  Rose took a deep breath and pulled herself together. ‘He’s with my mum. I’m still upset she would betray my trust, but to be fair, in her mind, she was doing what was best for Ethan. How can I argue with that?’

  That was what I loved about Rose. No matter what the predicament, she always tried to see things from everyone’s perspective and find the positive in even the most terrible situation. Maybe that was why she’d been drawn to Joe; he approached life with the same attitude. Why didn’t I see things like they did? Was I too selfish or too busy trying to make everyone else happy? I still resented Joe, but he’d already let our fight go and moved on. It was about time I did the same.

  The succulent smell of beef filled the kitchen as I opened the oven. Heat and steam bellowed out towards me, and I slid in the tray of vegetables. Cameron was a city boy at heart, but I was sure he would enjoy the delicious home-cooked meal.

  Rose was quiet again when we returned to the caravan to grab our things to shower and change. Assuming she was still in deep thought about Ethan, I left her alone and headed back without her. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to not be able to see your child. It made me guilty for how long it’d been since I’d seen or even spoken to my own mother. She must have been worried sick about me, especially if the MMC had phoned her to tell her I’d escaped. Had mum spoken to Sarah? Surely Sarah would have mentioned it, but life had been so chaotic since my rescue and then Rose’s. I would call her the next day to let her know I was okay.

  Showered, I dressed in a pair of denim shorts and the nicest top I could find, loose and a pale pink. Then Rose had her turn in the bathroom. Dawn and I carried plates, cutlery, glasses, and a tablecloth up to the table under the gazebo, setting them all out neatly.

  ‘That poor girl, she’s finding it hard adjusting without her son. I wish there was something we could do to help her.’

  ‘Me too. I don’t even know what to say when she talks about him. I’m scared I’ll say the wrong thing.’ Dawn had a way of bringing out the truth.

  ‘All you can do is listen, honey. That’s all any of us can do at the moment.’

  The sun had sunk behind the hills in the distance, turning the sky a watercolour of pinks, oranges, and yellows. I stopped for a moment, admiring its beauty, when I noticed Rose returning from the farmhouse dressed in a long yellow dress I had lent her. Her heavy wet hair hung curling around her face. She was beautiful inside and out.

 
The sun disappeared behind the hills and gum trees until the dull glow gave way for the clear night to put on a show of its own. Small pinholes of glowing light and the brilliant moon lit the sky.

  Dust kicked up in clouds behind a black sedan as it raced up the driveway. It approached our little caravan town, and I pointed towards the shed. It pulled up on the dirt just in front of it. A smile forced its way across my face, despite my brain telling me to stay calm and play it cool, and I walked up to greet Cameron.

  ‘You made it.’ I hoped I didn’t sound as excited as I felt.

  ‘Sure did.’ Cameron’s smile made mine grow wider.

  With a soft kiss on the cheek, he embraced me as he had at the Tavern. The thought of Joe crept into my mind, and I knew it wasn’t fair to flaunt any feelings I had for Cameron in front of him.

  ‘Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.’ Walking ahead of him, I pushed the urge to hold his hand out of my mind and led him to the freshly set table.

  Everyone had come out when they’d heard the car, even Andrew despite looking sceptical. After introducing him to everyone, we arrived at Joe.

  ‘Hey, Joe,’ said Cameron.

  Joe held out his hand in gesture of a handshake, and Cameron took it firmly. ‘Good to see you again, mate.’

  The friendly greeting reminded me they must have spent lots of time together when they orchestrated my rescue. They’d also had the revealing conversation the day we saved Rose.

  Dawn noticed my awkwardness and invited everyone to sit at the table while Rose, she, and I fetched dinner from the farmhouse.

  Breathe, Amelia, just breathe!

  This was my mantra as we returned with the steaming roast beef and vegetables. My mouth was watering by the time we settled in and ate. There was general chit-chat as everyone enjoyed the dinner; the more serious part of the night was yet to come. Sarah winked at me across the table, and I glanced at Rose noticing that she was still in her own world. This was despite Joe, who was sitting to her right, making every effort to engage her in conversation. He looked up towards me a number of times. I pretended not to notice.

  Once finished, I lounged back in my chair, hand on belly, taking deep breaths, willing the food to fit in.

  ‘That was delicious.’ Cameron laid his knife and fork beside each other on his empty plate. Everybody chimed in to agree; some of them so full it was more of a mumble. We cleared the table, and Joe began the serious discussion we’d all been anticipating.

  ‘Thanks, ladies, for an awesome but ridiculously filling dinner.’ Joe stood at the head of the table leading us into the discussion. ‘I am personally happy to have Cameron join us in this, what would you call it? Rebellion ... Fight maybe, against the MultiMind Corporation, but some of you weren’t as willing because you don’t really know him. Hopefully, tonight he can change your minds, and we can make progress on deciding what to do next. No pressure, Cam.’

  Joe took a seat. Though he didn’t stand, it was Cameron’s turn. Instead he looked at me, searching for courage. My feeble attempt at a smile wouldn’t have been the support he was looking for.

  He explained his role at the MMC facility. As a Nurse, he was charged with monitoring Dreamers during their sleep periods. Through his time there, almost two years, he’d become aware that being a Dreamer wasn’t as terrible as he had been led to believe. He began to research why the MMC would want people to stop having their own dreams. It wasn’t long until he uncovered the truth. The MMC was formed by five of the biggest corporations in the world who were worried about the drop in their businesses’ sales. They were scared that with people ‘waking up’ to the fact that they only needed the simple things in life to be happy, their growing fortunes would disappear. Spiritualism and New Age thinking fuelled the fire, and their team of scientists came up with the Wristochip to implant and then the Wristcuff to manipulate. The Wristcuff altered dreams and planted not only thoughts but also desires in minds so in their waking lives, a Non-Dreamer would feel the need to purchase more products. Spirituality and other religions were pushed aside as if they were merely a fleeting thought, and it became abnormal to have dreams of your own. This was orchestrated by the MMC through the media and social sites. They created campaigns that turned Dreamers into outcasts and told them they needed to be fixed. The MMC would weed out the Dreamers and mend them until they had control of every human mind in the developed world.

  Everyone had fallen silent. We’d heard it before, but Cameron was a reliable source who knew what he was talking about. To have it confirmed made it more frightening and real. Looking down, I realised Sarah was holding my hand that rested on my right thigh.

  ‘Not to be rude, but we knew most of that. What I want to know is what we do about it. I think I speak for everyone when I say we can’t just sit here and let it happen.’ Although he tried to hide it, fear was evident in Andrew’s wide eyes. He sat back in his seat and tied his dreadlocks into a messy ponytail.

  ‘You have to understand who you’re dealing with.’ Cameron’s tone was eerie as he stressed the dangers of what Andrew was suggesting. ‘These people have endless resources at their disposal and will do anything to protect their secret. If they hear so much as a whisper of defiance, they’ll stop at nothing to make sure they stop you. They’ll put you in a ward until you return to believing the Wristochip is “the next step in human evolution”. If they were to find out about your group, I don’t know what would happen.’

  Rose sat up straight, listening more intently than before. None of us had thought of how dangerous our quest would be. Rose had more at stake than the rest of us.

  ‘My first suggestion is that you work out an evacuation route. Where you would go, what you would do if they found out you were here? Your best bet would be to form into small groups, and if it came to it, each of you evacuate to different locations. Each group with a phone that only had the other groups’ numbers in it, like I did for Amelia.’ He looked at my shocked expression and took my other hand realising how much it was to take in.

  ‘That we can do.’ Joe tried to sound confident, but his voice wobbled.

  Had we been so naive as to think this would be a walk in the park?

  ‘That will make you all feel safer while we plan this. If you thought it took time getting Amelia out of the ward, it will feel like a lifetime by the time we are ready to do this. It won’t be easy to expose them, but with me on the inside knowing some of the people who are uncomfortable with what they are doing, we can do this. I know we can!’ His conviction was reassuring.

  I exhaled a deep breath. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been holding it.

  ‘Here’s what I’ve got so far.’ Cameron had spoken to an IT guy he’d known at university who could tap into the programs the MMC used to infiltrate people’s dreams. It wasn’t a simple hack, and it could take a few months or longer. But if he could create a program to replace theirs that revealed the MMC’s lies and manipulation, it would wake up the world to what was happening, almost overnight. There was no way they could deny it with so many people fighting against them. The government would be forced to recall the Wristochips, and their reign over the population would be over.

  ‘Won’t that make us as manipulative as the MMC?’ Andrew argued. ‘We would be doing exactly what we are angry at them for doing!’

  ‘Well, you come up with something better then, Andrew,’ Sarah bit back, annoyed at his self-righteousness, ‘better to wake them up than not at all!’

  ‘It’s okay for you. You aren’t a Dreamer.’ It was bizarre to hear being a Non-Dreamer used as an insult. ‘I don’t know a better way, but I’m not agreeing to do it that way.’

  Yvette stood up next to him. ‘We aren’t agreeing.’ Off she stormed towards her caravan, followed by Andrew who shook loose the bunch of dreadlocks that trailed behind him.

  ‘That went well.’ Cameron was a little shaken from Andrew’s reaction.

  ‘Sarah was steaming. ‘He would be perfectly happy letting the rest of
the world go down as long as he could strum his stupid guitar and sit in that stupid caravan with Yvette. Argh, stupid hippies!’

  They probably heard her rant, but no rebuttal came from their caravan.

  ‘Settle down. I think everyone is just shocked at hearing all of this, hearing the truth.’ Joe, always the voice of reason.

  ‘I am.’ Finally, I found my voice even if it was a little shaky. ‘We really hadn’t thought this through. How dangerous it would be? How much trouble we could get into? I was so busy thinking about doing the right thing I didn’t think about the danger that might come with it. Andrew has every right to be worried. Maybe he isn’t willing to risk so much when he is still free to live in the world as he wishes. It’s different for Rose and me. We’re runaways, and although I don’t have much to lose, Rose does. She wants to be reunited with her son. Why should she risk it all?’

  Rose smiled appreciatively across the table. ‘Amelia is right. We all have to think about this long and hard, to decide if it’s a road we’re willing to take and look at our options.’ She sank her gaze into her lap as she finished.

  ‘The girls are right. Thanks heaps, Cameron, but we need time let this all sink in.’ Joe rose from his chair.

  ‘I agree. Just wanted everyone to have a realistic view of what would be involved. I appreciate you having me out here, and I hope I haven’t upset anyone.’ Cameron was disappointed.

  I placed my hand back on his thigh to ensure him he had my support.

  I’d forgotten Dawn was sitting with us when she spoke. ‘Yes, yes, I think it would be best for us to spend time thinking on this. Thank you so much for coming out, dear. It was wonderful to meet you, but it’s past my bedtime.’ She looked sombre as she rose from the table. ‘Sweet dreams, everyone.’

  ‘Thank you for dinner and for letting me visit your farm, Dawn.’ Cameron stood giving her an appreciative hug and kiss on the cheek. She disappeared down the yard towards her small house.

  Sarah was still frustrated with Andrew. She’d never been good at letting go of her anger, but instead of continuing her rant, she said goodnight and headed towards her caravan to cool off overnight.