by D. H. Quinn
I look behind me and see a few straggling dream walkers from our group staring at me, mouths agape. “Go!” I command of them and turn back around. I have an idea and I hope it works. I create a large net in front of me and hold it up and I probably look ridiculous and everyone is wondering if I have lost my mind but this isn’t an ordinary net.
The creature knocks into me but it does not hurt. The net does its job, gripping the ungraspable creature. It senses Mares and does unto them what they do onto others. The net satisfactorily grips the creature and tears it apart. It falls to the ground into a pile of black slime and dust. The warrior rushes over to me, his eyes amazed, his smile back on his face. “Take that,” I tell him, handing him the net. I rapidly create more nets and point to the other soldiers. He nods.
Arden and I run to catch up with our group. “You were right and I am sorry it took me so long to realize. These warriors deserve more.” We are stuck behind our group who is currently bottle necking into the alleyway.
“But there’s nothing you can do to change that now, they have to fight, we all do,” Arden shrugs.
“But after this, I want them to have a life, I want them to keep on living.”
“Good, then let’s make it happen,” Arden says with enthusiasm. I nod in agreement. We walk through the alley for a solid five minutes. Screams of terror erupt from all around us, echoing throughout the city and I cannot tell if they are victims of the Mares or the Mares themselves. The group picks up pace until we file out to another main street.
Jada calls me up to the front once again, looking somewhat irritable. I have the urge to apologize but hold back, knowing I did the right thing. “Jacqueline is most important right now.”
“To you maybe,” Arden speaks up. “But the people of the city and the warriors are just as important to us.” Jada looks over at me for confirmation.
“He’s right. Jack is waiting for us but if I see an opportunity to help my warriors and the people of this city then I am taking it.” Jada rolls her eyes at me and I understand that getting back at Jack is most important to her out of everything, out of everyone’s lives.
“Let’s move forward,” she announces to our group.
We march down the empty street. It looks like the buildings have been recently ravaged and although the Mares attacks are vicious, I don’t believe this is the result of them but rather a recent void. Mares were much more interested in destroying dream walkers and humans.
We walk forward onto an eerily calm street. Something is wrong here. The sky has grown dark in the broad daylight. The dream world can shift drastically though, I reassure myself.
Loud thunder suddenly booms followed by a quick flash of lightning. A dark cloud rapidly approaches our group even though we are quickly moving forward. Another roar of thunder and flash of lightning hits right behind us.
Suddenly, rain pours and the cloud swells in size. I watch in horror of the first victim, The rain falls upon him and then falls right through him, dissolving skin, muscle and bones. I watch the horrified look on his face as he looks at the newly formed holes in his body. He collapses to the ground.
“Run!” Jada commands and the group obeys. I continually look back as the cloud takes multiple victims now, 8 times its original size. Multiple sets of thunder and lightning are now occurring. The thunder is deafening. They shouldn't have come out here, I want to scream as the dream walkers dissolve behind us.
I try to rapidly create some umbrellas in their hands but those dissolve just as quickly. I can’t think. I can’t think of how to stop this. I could create anything and yet I could think of nothing. This was what Jack was referencing when she said I knew nothing of what was to come, how could I be so stupid.
If this was a Mare then there was only one thing I could do, I had to let it feed on me, to attract it long enough for everyone else to escape. I push back through our group who clear the way for me. The rain nips a dream walker girl on her back and she screams as she curls to the ground. I heal her and give her extra speed and she darts off.
My hair stands up with electrical charge from the lightning. An acid rain like storm, of course this had to be a type of Mare, I try to encourage myself. I create a suit over my body and head that is indestructible. Then I wildly create. The storm slows down and then pauses in front of me. It assesses me and then moves forward and stops above me. Someone screams my name.
My hair flies back from a gust of wind and then the rain begins. It pelts my suit and it feels like a giant boulder hits me in the shoulder. The rain dissolves the items in front of me. It continually pelts me with rain and I fall to my knees. My name is called again and I turn to see Arden standing just outside of the downpour.
The shift happens then as the cloud moves forward once again. It wasn’t enough. It knows I am protected and that it is wasting its time on me. “Arden!” I make a rash decision. I take off my head gear and throw it aside. “I’m here, take me!” It stops moving once again.
I prepare myself for the worst and receive it. I am dissolving, my face melting off, I scream until I can’t feel anything anymore. I pass out.
I awake to a steady bobbing up and down. I am tossed over someone’s shoulder, and they are running incredible fast. I hit my face against his hard steel armor and I scream from the pain. Heal, I command myself with weak focus and just a bit of the pain fades away. Heal, I cry urgently and my body fully restores. Blood runs down this person’s gear.
“Put me down,” I try to lift myself off of him.
The warrior obeys and I come face to face with the Roman soldier from before. He looks miserable and I can tell the battle has worn him down. Arden comes to a stop behind us and looks back cautiously.
“Where is everyone?”
“They escaped but we got cut off and had to go separate ways. Kamari, what were you thinking?” Arden looks exasperated.
“I had to save them and I am fine as you can see.”
“In our world you are but when you wake up that may be a different story.”
“What are we going to do now?”
“I need to move on,” the warrior says, looking determined.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” He shakes his head and runs back the way we came from.
“We need to catch up to them.”
“Impossible, they could be taking any route there, we should just go ahead and meet them at Jack’s carnival.”.
“You could track them,” I say as I indicate his device.
“Do you really want that?” Arden asks, “especially if you don’t want to do what they want you to do. Besides, I can get us there quickly and safely.”
“What about the others with them, they are in danger.” I hesitate.
“They are in less danger now that you aren’t around, it should be that they attract less Mares.”
“The Mares are all over the city, attacking everyone.”
“Just trust me,” Arden pleads. “You know how much I want to help the dream walkers of this city. This is the right choice. Jada can protect them, she just wasn’t using her power as much as she could. She’s trying to hide it from your view.”
I have felt something off with Jada since I met her and have felt that she is hiding something from me. “I do trust you so lead the way.” I tell him.
Arden uses his device and leads us through a clear path for the most part. We come across a few Mares who we decidedly run from. Luckily, they aren’t fast. I do however stop to assist some warriors who have some major injuries. I heal them quickly and we move on. Arden gets us to our destination a few minutes later.
We are staring down at the amphitheater with the stage on bottom. “Hey, remember when you pushed me down here.” I grin.
Arden shakes his head, “it still is the fastest way down and,” a roar disrupts our reflection.
“That’s not,” I say in shock as a large black creature circles above us.
“It’s a dragon.” It swoops down on us. Its onyx colored cl
aws reach for my body until Arden tackles me to the ground at the last second. He rolls off of me and jumps up, readying his sword. The dragon flies around, blowing black fire from its mouth and onto the amphitheater. The amphitheater surprisingly starts to burn.
The Mares are emerging out of the city behind us. I see some familiar faces, the girl who drowned me and the tall plastered on grin man. “Arden, it's an ambush.” Arden looks around, evaluating our situation, his mouth agape.
“I am sorry,” he says, “stop her!” He extends his arm and pushes me down the steps once again. Heat singes me as I roll down the steps. I scream all the way down both at Arden and at the pain of falling. I am at the stage, once again, this time I tuck my head in and protect it from hitting the stage. “Arden!” I scream angrily once again but cannot see anything through the rising smoke and flames, I also find that I cannot breathe.
“You promised you wouldn’t push me again!” I pull myself up onto the stage, attempting to see over the roaring fire but it is hopeless. “Make it out of there and you get a village by the water!” I yell but doubt he can hear me. The fire pulses towards me and surrounds me and I have no other choice. I tap the spot I believe Garrett had before, five times just as he had, I am almost doubtful of my memories until the floor opens up. I attempt to glance back at Arden but cannot see anything through the overwhelming smoke. I step into the hole.
I am increasingly frightened as I head into the pitch blackness of what I now know is a partial void. Jack is waiting for me. She has Rob. Aleksander must be with her as well and I will finally see his true colors. Whose side will he choose once he is face to face with both of us?
The descent feels like forever. I am finally at the door and I quickly rip it open, ready to face whatever is ahead of me. My eyes adjust to the horrific scene that the carnival has become. Bodies lay on every part of the ground, in all different types of shapes. Destroyed and bloody, burnt, pulverized, and torn apart. The horrendous stench nauseated me.
Some of the clothes they are wearing are recognizable, many are my warriors and some are dream walkers from Jada and Kade’s group. I push forward, covering my nose and mouth with my hand. “Jack!” I call out angrily. No reply comes. I push forward, avoiding stepping on various limbs and body parts.
I follow the same path that Garrett had led me through before. I wonder where Garrett is in all this mess. The piles of bodies continue but are not as drastic as they were when I entered. She wanted to make a clear statement, that nothing I did or tried to do mattered, that they are all dead because of me. My eyes water.
I head towards the psychic tent. “Kamari,” Jack calls from a farther direction. “I am not in there,” she says with a playful tone as if we are playing hide and seek.
I follow the sound of her voice even though I want to run far far away. The carnival is silent, except for some music coming from that direction, the same direction as Jack’s voice. I pass by the carnival game booths and see bodies that are posted up against the walls. I stop at the one that is all lit up and see Arden, Kade and Jada pinned against the wall.
Arden’s face is burned slightly and so is part of his hair. A sizable chunk of his arm is missing and his body is bloated with water and is blue spotted. Jada still looks rather pristine except that all of her fat is gone and she looks like a skeleton wearing a skin suit. Kade is blue as well with both of his eyes missing. “No!” I scream, feeling a sob in my throat.
A dart hits Kade square in the forehead. I turn to see Jack with an amused smile on her lips. She quickly releases five other darts, creating a perfect circle around Kade’s face. “I win,” she says with a wicked grin.
I emit an uncontrollable scream. I charge forward at her in an attempt to tackle her but when I look up, she is a few feet ahead of me. She laughs. “Really, I expected better of you Kamari. But you are human after all,” she says mockingly.
I charge her again with all my strength and speed. She disappears just as quickly.
“Where’s my brother?” I demand. She just shakes her head in response.
“It’s over Kamari, everyone’s dead. I purged the city as Jada and I had before,” she looks at me with a smirk.
“Jada and you had?” My mind whirls. I stand still knowing I should not waste any more energy to attack her. I have to be smart, I have to think. The game she wants to play with me is mental for now and when she wants that to change, I will be surrounded by Mares.
“Yes, the thing about dream walkers is that they are replaceable. Jada and I did this before and the city was born new with a council and everything, imagine our surprise when that happened, but we kept going and for some idiotic reason Jada didn’t want the power anymore, thousands of years of ruling this city to just throw it in the trash,” Jack says with clear rage.
“Jacqueline, it was our opportunity to get out, to live a life,” I turn to see Jada pulling herself free from her restraints. Her body fully restored. She looks mildly irritated. “I wanted a different life,” Jada says, stepping forward.
“That’s so disgustingly human of you!” Jack’s face contorts with rage, her beautiful features now overly sharp and hideous.
“Yes, the side you constantly like to ignore, but it's still a part of you.”
I look back and forth between them and feel utterly sick. They are human, these monsters are human. They just interfere with these dream walkers lives as if they mean nothing. I glance back at Arden and Kade who are still firmly in place. I feel disgusted.
“Kamari, let me explain,” Jada begins. She looks at me with pleading eyes.
“What? That you used me, you used everyone in this city to get what you want?”
“This isn’t what I wanted,” Jada says, shaking her head disapprovingly.
“But you knew it would happen.”
“I hoped it wouldn’t. I hoped Jacqueline would find her human side again,” Jada attempts to make meaningful eye contact with Jack.
“That’s not what you said, you wanted her dead.” I know I am antagonizing the situation but I can’t help myself. All of the truth needed to be said here, now. All the lies exposed.
“I said you couldn’t change her, and that is true, but technically she could still change herself into what she once was.”
“Why would I ever want to be human again?”
“Because it was my fault you changed in the first place. I got us trapped here and you wouldn’t be like this, you loved being human, you just can’t remember it,” Jada says pleadingly.
“Please, it really does not matter to me anymore. It hasn’t for many years,” Jack says dismissively. Jada and Jack just stare at each other unsurely. They clearly do not want to fight each other but then what comes next?
“What happened with you two,” I ask, feeling sadness and sympathy momentarily until I remember what these women have done.
Jada steps towards Jack, looking apologetic. “We were friends in the real world, many years ago. I created the city in my dreams, constantly adding onto it. I created so much that Mares constantly attacked me and that’s normal for a human but I was aware during these attacks, I became broken in real life. I confided in Jacqueline about everything and somehow, impossibly she found my city in her dreams and she protected me, which included so much self-sacrifice and that broke her. She ended up like Aleksander, in a permanent sleep but in those days, they didn’t fight to keep her alive, so she had no chance of returning. I made it my mission to end up like her, to be here with her because it was all my fault,” Jada shakes her head sadly.
Jack still looks irritated. “Wait,” I say processing everything she had said, “you said there’s a chance to bring people back as long as their body is alive?” I turn to Jada. She nods.
I turn to Jack and see her face is a furious red. “You’ll never have him!” She yells and brings her hand down in a fist. The ground shakes.
“It’s not about having him Jack, it’s about doing what’s right, he misses his sister, she needs him.”
“But he doesn’t need anyone but me.”
“See, you claim you aren’t human and yet a very real human part of you is showing, your jealousy and clinginess,” Jada says. I think she is attempting to reason with Jack but really, she sounds condescending.
“Shut up!” Jack says, swinging her arm down angrily. She runs off and I almost start to chase her until a row of Mares show up. They stare at me hungrily.
Jada rolls her eyes. “I’ll handle this,” she says and closes her eyes. Some of the Mares in the middle disappear, creating an opening. I don’t hesitate to run through it, giving myself extra speed.
I turn just in time to see Jacqueline enter her psychic tent. She does not seem to notice my pursuit. I enter the tent shortly after, trying to stay quiet. Voices in the back are arguing so I stand still.
“But I don’t want to lose you.”
“You already have,” I hear Aleksander.
“That whore, she stole you!” Jack’s voice is childish.
“It wasn’t like that, you lost me long ago,” Aleksander replies. “And this, what you did, these dream walkers were my friends. I will never look at you the same,” he says with clear disgust.
A loud clapping noise erupts and Aleksander exits from the backroom holding his face that is turning a deep shade of pink. Aleksander looks at me triumphantly. “I know where your brother is and I got him out.”
“Where? Can I see him?”
“He’s safe for now, not in the city and not,” he begins but Jack strolls out looking impatient and angry.
“So, you can leave now too, nothing is tying you to this place, leave the city,” she commands of me.
“I’ll leave, once we finish what we started,” I tell her, lifting my arms defensively.
“I already told you, I don’t fight,.”
“But you do in your own way, and for some reason you think that is okay to fight like that, so maybe I should do the same,” I say, a plan quickly forming in my head. I close my eyes, feeling darkness come to me. I open them to see the plastered grin Mare in front of me. He smiles at me, titling his head curiously to the left. A bubble of fear rises in my gut.