by Sam Ferguson
I could only guess that this was the alp that Indyrith had spoken of. It went to the first young teenager and licked at the blood running along his upper back. The alp clicked and groaned with satisfaction. It took every ounce of focus I had to keep from turning and running away. There was something about this creature that felt like pure evil, even more so than the harbinger wolf that I had fought.
The other creature bowed to the alp and took several steps back.
The alp licked at the blood again and the young man screamed in pain. “Let me go!”
I couldn’t watch any longer. I had to act. The problem was that there was no way of getting to the hat without one or both of the monsters seeing me. So I devised a different plan. I ran for the bowing servant. It was still holding the whip as it knelt down in the snow and worshipped its master.
I’m a big man, but I’m also fast. I crossed the distance in two seconds and somehow managed to lunge in and wrap the whip around the monster’s neck. I pulled back with my upper body while pressing down into the creature’s spine with my legs. The whip bit into my fingers the way a small cord does when you pull it against something thick and sturdy, but I didn’t dare let go.
The monster tried to fight back, but to my happy surprise I discovered that it was very weak. I heard a crisp snap! The monster’s head lolled off to the right and the body went limp. I slid the whip out from under the lifeless body and turned to see the alp already watching me. It stretched a clawed hand toward me and muttered something that I didn’t understand. It sounded more like angry snarls and clicks than any language I had heard.
“Help us, please!” one of the boys shouted.
I gave a practice swing of the whip. It let out a satisfactory pop. The alp snarled at me as a long cane appeared in its left hand. I had never used a whip before, but I had seen Indiana Jones. I got the general idea. I cracked the whip at the alp, but the creature only laughed as the strike fell horribly short. The alp then lunged through forty feet of air faster than I could prepare for another strike. The cane came down and struck me in the chest. The world spun around me several times, and then I found myself lying face down in the deep snow. A massive weight fell on my back. Claws dug into my skin and I cried out. My mind was a flurry of thoughts. The snow was too close to my face, I couldn’t breathe. The weight on my back pinned me down. Any moment now, the alp was going to club me like a baby seal and that would be the end of my pathetic rescue attempt.
A pain jabbed into my spine. The creature atop me snarled and pressed down harder. All I could do was eat away the snow around my face to try and make room enough to breath without sucking frozen ice crystals down my throat.
The alp grew heavier and heavier. It was like being stuck under a tractor. I knew this because I had once been caught under a tractor that had tipped. It had taken me several minutes to worm my way out of that one. My current predicament was worse.
I tried to flick the whip at my attacker, but it was useless. There was no way for me to get a proper angle. Suddenly the whip was ripped from my hands and the alp started to coil the cord around my neck. The monster was laughing now, enjoying himself fully while I frantically thought of how to escape. I tried to twist and slither out from under him, but the weight continued to grow until I could only manage wheezing breaths.
In the distance, I heard the drums once more.
Hurry! I thought.
Boy, why did you attack? I told you to sneak up on the creature and take his hat. The man’s voice was in my head now.
The pressure grew and my vertebrae began to pop and crack. Sharp pain shot through my ribs as they bent unnaturally under the pressure.
Help! I cried out with my thoughts.
You must help yourself, I am only a guide.
Oh, well that’s a steaming pile of crap! I thought angrily. Give me a sword or something! My mind recalled a beautiful sword I had seen in a shop once. It was fashioned in the style of a katana blade. Long and nimble with a black, lacquered sheath. The actual blade itself had an eastern dragon carved into it, swirling in and out of the clouds. The hand guard was a coiled dragon, and the pommel was the face of a demon. If ever there was a sword fit for slaying a nightmare monster, that would be it.
Something hard appeared in my right hand. I couldn’t see it through the snow, but I knew by its feel exactly what it was. Somehow, I was more like Neo than I thought. I was now armed with a sword. I couldn’t swing it, but I had enough room to angle my wrist back and try to poke the alp. I moved as quickly as I could and stabbed at the creature.
“GEEEARRGH!” the alp shrieked. It leapt off of me and suddenly I could breathe again. I stood up, chest burning and ribs aching. I tried to push the pain out of my mind. It was just a dream, after all. My real body was fine. I just had to persevere through the dream, and everything would be fine.
The alp was bleeding from his right arm. The scarlet liquid coursed through his white fur, matting it and giving it a slick appearance. The monster raised his arm to his mouth and licked at the wound. The blood hissed and sizzled, and then the wound closed itself. The beast came at me fast, swinging the cane like a club. I blocked with my sword and then spun around to chop at the alp’s side. The thing was unearthly fast. I didn’t even see the legs move, but somehow it was now standing four feet beyond the reach of my sword.
The drums became louder in my head, and I heard the man singing once again.
I took confidence from the song and let out a war cry as I charged in. The alp dodged left as I swung my sword. He countered with a massive chop to my left shoulder. I felt the bone pop out of its socket, but I don’t think it broke. I launched a fast snap kick that caught the alp in its furry stomach. It doubled over, granting me a shot at its face. I kicked it in the teeth and also came in with a one-handed chop of my sword. I sliced through the fleshy chest and the alp staggered backward in pain.
The drums were pounding all around me now. The alp’s face twisted in confusion and then fear as it looked around for the source of the drums. It narrowed its black eyes on me and pointed a shaky finger at my face.
“Dream walker?” it said.
I nodded. “That’s right sucker. I’m a dream walker.”
The alp turned over and tried to scurry away. It may not have been the most honorable thing to do, but I knew to take a good shot when presented with one. I jumped forward and brought the tip of my sword down hard into the creature’s back. It howled in pain as I pinned it to the snowy ground. I left my sword quivering in the monster’s back and took the small hat from the alp’s head.
The creature howled horribly and then melted away as a burst of golden fire consumed his body. I jumped back, pulling my sword with me, but found that the flames had not spontaneously exploded out around the alp. They were attached to me. They swirled around me in dazzling purple, gold, and white streaks. Then, after the alp was devoured by the flame, the fire died out and the blizzard stopped.
The drums stopped.
The boys, help the boys. The stranger’s voice said inside my head.
I turned and ran to them.
“Don’t kill us,” One of them said.
I shook my head. “No, it’s all right now. The monsters are dead.” I cut the first down and he collapsed on the ground.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about that now,” I replied as I moved to the second one. How was I supposed to explain that he was stuck in a nightmare that had the power to actually kill him?
The second teenager was only barely conscious when I cut him down. He crumpled to the snowy ground and groaned. I turned him over and was relieved to see that he was still breathing. I had had CPR training a long time ago, but I doubt I remembered everything I would need to in order to bring him back had he not been breathing. Besides, could someone be revived in a dream?
A flash of white light cut through the air a few feet away and I stood at the ready, sword in hand and hoping it wasn’t another portal ripping open.
Indyrith stepped through along with his two daughters. They ignored me entirely and went straight to the young boys. They whispered and waved their hands over them. The wounds in their backs closed and the boys disappeared.
“They are taking them into other dreams,” Indyrith said. “They will be sore when they wake in the morning, but they will think they just slept on rocks. The human mind is fairly easy to give suggestions to,” he said with a nod.
“So they won’t remember any of this?” I asked.
Indyrith shook his head. “It is our way, protecting the innocent from the darkness. We not only stop the monsters physically, but we erase the memory of the pain they inflict.”
“But, if everyone knew, then we could all band together,” I suggested.
Indyrith shook his head. “No. Think of it this way. There are slightly more than seven billion humans on the world today. Do you know how many ants there are?”
I shrugged. “A lot.”
“Over ten trillion,” Indyrith said. “That is one thousand three hundred and eighty-eight ants for each human on this world. Now, instead of insects, imagine there were that many creatures hiding in the shadows. How would you fight such a host?”
I stopped and stared at him. “How many are there?” I asked, wanting a more precise number so I knew exactly what we were up against.
“For each human, there are somewhere between ten and one hundred creatures seeking to bring them down. Some of them are not strong enough, for even an unaware human still has some power to resist the darkness, but there are many who are far more capable than this alp you faced off against.” Indyrith smiled and folded his arms into the sleeves of his robes. “How many dreams do you think you could fight in at one time? How many beds can you look under? Even with Hank and the others, and all of Section Four, how long do you really think the world would survive if it came to total war?”
“So then what, are they just letting us live?” I asked.
Indyrith nodded. “To a certain extent, yes. It is more complicated than that, but there is a degree of safety that is preserved by ensuring the population at large does not know the danger in which they are constantly found. It helps us avoid unnecessary attention. The more powerful demons and monsters have specific regions of power that they maintain with almost absolute control.” Indyrith pointed to the slain alp. “As for good news, I did not expect you to be powerful enough to slay the alp. Where did you get your sword?”
I looked down and saw the sword. I looked at it for the first time since somehow summoning it. It was the exact same as the one I had thought of, carvings and all. “I am not sure,” I said honestly. “It just came to me.”
“Interesting,” Indyrith said. “Normally a dream walker conjures the weapon of his ancestors. I would have expected to see something used by the Cherokee side of your lineage.”
“Did the other dream walkers summon bows or things like that?” I asked.
Indyrith shook his head. “None of the others whom I taught were able to conjure anything. You are the first to forge a weapon in the world of dreams. I believe the balance of power is tipping in our favor, Joshua Mills. There may be more to your destiny than even I had suspected.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Indyrith held up his hand. “Come, our time grows short. We must go.”
I started to walk, but as soon as my left shoulder moved it reminded me how badly it was hurt. “Can you fix my wounds?” I asked. “You know, like your daughters did with the teenagers?”
Indyrith shook his head. “Unfortunately, a dream walker is different. Our magic can heal those who are injured in nightmares, but only those who are in a normal sleep state. As you are awake inside the dream world, and fully aware of everything around you, your injuries are beyond our ability to heal.”
“So every battle I go through, I will have to recuperate on the other side?” I asked.
“Until you learn to heal yourself,” Indyrith clarified. “You are the only one who can heal your wounds from the dream world. I can help ease your pain once you wake, but it is your mind that will decide how injured you truly are.”
“Great,” I said. “So, save the world, but don’t tell anyone, and get hurt in dreams that would normally just scare others, but are going to leave me with some serious pain. How much am I getting paid again?”
CHAPTER 9
I awoke with a terrible pain in my shoulder. I rolled off the table and struggled to stand up.
“What happened to you?” Flint asked.
“He slew an alp in melee combat,” Indyrith said. “He needs rest.”
I expected another flip comment out of the ex-special forces operator, but instead he whistled through his teeth and moved toward me, holding out a hand. “Well, that’s one way to cut your teeth I suppose,” Flint said as he helped me stand straight. “To your room?”
I nodded. As I moved around the table I saw the three Vikings stand and each give a solemn nod. It seemed that I had earned a lot of respect that day. Flint helped me into my room and then shut off the light and closed the door. I had no trouble falling asleep. My body was tired, and racked with pain. More than that, my mind was tired. I could barely think straight at all. With the darkness of the room, sleep overtook me within seconds, something that had only happened maybe twice in my life up to that point.
I slept peacefully at first. No dreams at all. Then, I relived a dream I had had when I was a child. I saw the harbinger wolf come to my childhood window. He was as big and nasty as I could remember. Thick black fur. Mean, yellow eyes. Teeth that seemed to grow as the beast snarled at me. The window exploded into the room and the wolf roared as if it were a mighty lion.
I tried to sit up, but I was paralyzed.
The wolf stood on its hind legs and stepped through the shattered glass. From its belt it drew a long, red-bladed sword. It pointed the tip at me and growled ferociously. “You must never enter the dream world again,” it snarled.
Finally, I broke the spell and sat up. “You know I won’t stop,” I said with a swell of courage that helped me ignore the pain in my shoulder. “I will never stop.”
“Then your son will die,” the harbinger wolf said. “I will slay and eat your child, and I will consume his mother also.” My heart flitted with fear and my stomach churned into a thick, sour knot. Three additional harbinger wolves came into the room through the broken window. Each of them had their eyes fixed on me. “We are not as strong as you are yet, but we will be when we enter your world again. We will be able to fight you in your world, and in the dream world. But, even if you defeat us, we will kill your son.”
“I will drink his blood,” another said.
“And I shall subdue your wife before I rip out her heart,” said a third.
The fear left my heart, replaced by anger. I jumped up and ran toward them, shouting and fists ready for a fight. The ground stretched out before me. No matter how fast I ran, I could not reach the harbinger wolves. They were forever out of my reach.
“Go to the elf, wipe your memories of this, and we will spare your child,” the first harbinger wolf said. “Do this now, or we will destroy everything you hold dear in this world!”
Lightning streaked in through the window and blasted me in the chest. I flew backward several hundred yards, for I had sprinted a long way in the dream world trying to reach them, and crashed into the wall above my bed. I slid down slowly and slumped onto the mattress. I looked down, heaving and gasping for air. I could see that the quilt on my bed was the same yellow quilt with circus animals in trains that I had had as a small child. Whoever these harbinger wolves were, they had picked the earliest location of my encounters with nightmares to try and scare me.
I tried to struggle to my feet. I slid off the bed and stood up. I was not about to let them go without a fight. The ground shrank back to its normal size. The wolves were only ten feet away now. From around their hulking bodies, I noticed something new. It was another alp. Unlike the one I ha
d just slain, this one had brown fur and three horns.
It pointed at me and clicked in its guttural language. “You murdered my mate,” it hissed. “Go to the elf, or I will destroy your blood. You have one hour from now to comply, or we will kill them all.” It stamped its feet and a great earthquake shook the room. I fell to the ground as the house crumbled around me.
I woke just before a massive slab fell onto my dream self. I was panting and sweating. The red numbers on the clock on the far side of the room red six o’clock on the button. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and went to the door. My left shoulder was still sore, but I shook it off. I had much more to worry about now. I threw my door open and went down the hallway and to the main chamber.
I saw Nick sitting on the table playing with a collection of rocks.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
The furry creature looked up and smiled and snorted. “I paint rocks like me,” he said as he held one up. “I then put in forest for professor to find.”
“Professor who?” I asked.
“He’s toying with a lecturer at one of the local colleges,” Mack said from the far side of the room.
“Where’s Indyrith?” I asked. “I need to see him.”
Mack shrugged. “I dunno. Only Rolf or Hank can summon the elf.”
“Then where’s Hank?” I asked.
Mack set down his laptop and rubbed his face. Then he stood up and motioned for me to follow him. We wandered down a long corridor and into a library. Hank was sitting at a table with a pile of books on his right and an open book in front of him.
“Dang it, Mack, I thought I said I didn’t want to be disturbed,” Hank said as he set down his reading glasses.
“Newbie is looking for you,” Mack said. “Seemed important.”
I walked past Mack and pulled up a chair before Hank could mouth his protest. “I had a dream, and I need to speak with Indyrith. Now.”
