by Lucy Adler
“Oh, don’t remind me!” Julia said, covering her face with her hands.
“I think it was, ‘Just shut up and keep walking, you horse-faced --’”
“Don’t finish it!,” the girl interrupted, her face beet red. “Why didn’t you just leave me out there on the side of the hill somewhere?”
“It’s all good. The Walk tires everyone out.”
“The Walk?” Daria asked.
“The last stage of the journey whenever we extract another slee--”
Corey caught himself at the same time that Jake, Julia, and the other strangers all gave him a sharp look. Daria had a forkful of roast and potato halfway to her mouth when she paused, holding it in midair. Then she set it down on the plate and looked across their faces one at a time, ending on Jake’s.
“What’s going on?” she asked him. “Was he about to say what I think he was going to say?”
“Yes.”
“So... are you... are all of you... sleepers?”
The group was quiet as they stared back at Daria. Their faces were easy, though, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable. Confused, yes. Maybe a little nervous. But somehow, she felt settled at the same time.
Julia was the first to nod in reply, followed by the other two whose names she didn’t know yet. Then Corey, who was seated next to her, set his hand on her back and gave it a little rub. Jake, who was seated on the other side of her, at the head of the table, finally added words to what they were all saying.
“Yes, Dash. But ‘sleeper’ doesn’t mean what you think it does. It doesn’t mean what they’ve told you it means.” As he said this last part, he nodded toward the window and the glow of Progress. It was much fainter now but still visible far off to the south.
“Alright, look,” Daria said, resting her elbows on the table and rubbing her face with her hands. “Let’s just get this over with, please. What’s going on? Corey told me stuff about sleep being good and hungry lions --”
“Hungry lions?” Julia asked, looking at Corey. “I already told you, that story makes no sense. It only confuses people.” She shook her head and laughed as she imagined him telling it.
“One day, it’ll click with the right person,” Corey replied. “I’m just operating on such a higher level --”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” one of the other strangers cut in, shaking his head. “There’s no other level, mate.”
“Anyway,” Daria said, returning to her initial question, “I’ve gotten little pieces so far but I really have no clue what’s going on. And, honestly, I’ve seen some pretty crazy crap from these two,” she said, pointing to Corey and Jake at the same time with both hands. “Corey said I’d get answers eventually but can we just do this?”
They looked at one another, then at Jake.
“Ok,” he said. “Let’s start off easy. You’ve met Corey and Julia already. These other two are Max and Aurora.”
“But everyone just calls me Aury.”
“How did you guys meet?” Daria asked.
“This guy named Brett sort of brought us together.”
“Oh, you mentioned him a little bit ago,” Daria said to Julia.
“Yup. He used to lead The Walk before he left Corey in charge of it,” she replied.
“Ah, ok. So where is he now?”
“We’ll get there eventually,” Jake said.
“You can’t explain it now?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, “I mean we’ll go there... eventually.”
“Oh.”
“So anyway, for all of us, Progress was the last city we lived in before we were extracted.”
“Extracted? You mean, like I was?”
“Yeah. That’s just how we refer to it when we get someone out.”
“Were all of you at the Institute?”
“Nah,” Max chimed in, “we’re not that special!”
They all either smiled and nodded, or laughed a little.
“What do you mean?” Daria asked.
“Let’s start out with something more basic, then we’ll answer that,” Jake said.
As he continued, Aury and Max got up and started clearing the table. All except for Daria’s plate. She wanted to keep picking at what was left. Corey got up as well and went into the living room to get a fire started. Julia stayed with them at the table.
“What did they tell you about sleepers?” Jake asked.
“Um, let me think. Well, they said that they’re - I mean, you’re - not interested in the good of society. That all you care about is the Dark and dragging civilisation backwards. Oh, and that it was sleepers who murdered Mayor Astor. And that you’ve killed others, too. Oh, and you abandon children to die from starvation. And --”
“Ok, ok,” Jake said, interrupting her with a wave of his hand. Julia shook her head and looked down at the table.
“So ridiculous,” she said.
“Besides all the horrible things we think and do, did they tell you anything about what we are?” Jake asked.
“Hmm, uh... Oh, right, the brain scans. Miss Croft said --”
“Croft?” Julia interrupted. “Not Angela Croft?”
“Yes, that’s her.”
“Wow,” she whispered, now resting her head in her hands.
“I’m sorry,” Jake said, touching her shoulder.
“Who’s Angela Croft?” Daria asked.
“She’s Julia’s sister.”
Daria’s eyes widened and she suddenly forgot about everything she’d been through. Her heart sank in empathy, even though the bigger picture still wasn’t entirely clear.
“That really sucks,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks,” Julia said. “It’s ok. I mean, I knew she was pretty zealous for the whole agenda down there. I guess I was just hoping she might question things a little more.”
“Keep going, Dash,” Jake said. “What about the brain scans?”
“So, they had this purple glow over them. There was a darker spot near the back, then a sort of cloud extending out from there. They said it was an ‘affliction’ that most sleepers suffered from. Is that true?”
“Well, we do have that purple glow, as you call it. But it’s not an affliction. It’s a gift.”
“So is that how you did that magic thing back at the Institute? And what should I call it, because ‘magic thing’ sounds kind of dumb.”
“We call that Translocation. It’s one of the more extreme abilities you can tap into in the dream-state. You can’t do it often without requiring a lot of rest. And food!” he laughed.
“Dream-state?” Daria asked. “Wait, Corey said something like that. He called that shadowy monster thing a ‘dream-figure’.”
“Yup,” Julia said, “that’s another ability of the dream-state. But there are lots more!”
“Miss Cr--” Daria started to say, then stopped herself.
“It’s ok, you don’t have to tip-toe around it,” Julia replied. “Miss Croft what?”
“Oh, well, she said that sleepers only care about their dreams. That sounds like it must be true, then?”
Max and Aury were washing dishes in the kitchen now. Max called out over the sound of clanging pots and running water.
“That’s like getting angry at a police officer for only caring about protecting people!”
“The dream-state is our calling,” Jake said, “but it’s for humanity, not against it. When they say that we’re trying to drag civilisation backwards, that implies it’s headed in the right direction to begin with!”
Everyone who could hear his comment made some kind of sound to signal their agreement.
“There’s more than one perspective, Dash.”
“Perspective,” she repeated. “Dr. Reston liked that word.”
“That purple glow you saw on the scans,” he continued, “it’s a small part of something much bigger. Something more important than Translocation and dream figures. And the Dark wants to block it out for good by keeping the world active an
d ignorant.”
Julia picked up the thread and continued, “Because in the dream-state, the Dark is revealed for what it truly is. Its greatest strength is making people think they’re doing what they want, while all along they’re just its instruments, doing its will.”
“So,” Jake added, “if it stomps out the dream-state, there’s no end to its control.”
“You mean, if it eliminates the sleepers?” Daria concluded.
“That’s the first step, yes,” Jake nodded.
“But how is this purple glowy stuff for humanity? What does that even mean? And what does the Dark want? Isn’t productivity a good thing? I’m so confused...”
“Don’t worry about being confused. We’re only getting started. I know you’ve still got a ton of questions, and there’s still a lot left to tell you. But I think maybe we should leave it there for now and let you get some answers a different way.”
“How?”
“Dash, I think it might be time for you to go to sleep. For real.”
13
Month: 4 | Day: 1-2 | Year: 60
SLEEP
Julia led her upstairs and down the hall to the last bedroom on the left. It was simple, like most rooms she was used to. No decorations or extraneous furniture. But instead of whites and greys, the walls were dark blue and the sheets and blanket were jet black. The window in the dormer had been covered with another black sheet, so there was no light in the room except what little made it down the hall from the fixture over the staircase.
“We’ve been saving this one for you,” Julia said as they stood just inside the doorway.
Daria was a little hesitant. She was excited and nervous at the same time. In some ways, this was all she had been wanting to do for the last two years, since she first started getting tired. Just to lie down and be left alone. But as much as she trusted Jake, and was starting to trust the rest of them, it was still a little hard to give up literally everything you’ve ever been told about something. Especially something that’s supposed to be so dangerous.
What was waiting for her on the other side?
Sensing her hesitation, Julia patted her on the back.
“It’s alright, Daria. Take your time. No pressure, ok? This isn’t a test.”
“Thanks,” Daria replied with a smile.
“You just sleep as long as you want. We’ll be here when you wake up.”
Julia left the room and closed the door behind her.
As her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, Daria could make out only the slightest outline of the bed. She stepped over to it slowly, trying not to smack her shin against the frame. When she felt the mattress with her hand, she was able to orient herself. She sat down and kicked off her shoes, then she rolled the blanket down and climbed under the covers, pulling them back up to her chin.
As she lay there, staring up into the blackness that concealed the space around her, she tried to settle her mind and body. She breathed slowly. She let her body go as limp as she could. Her joints started to relax and loosen, even though she hadn’t thought they were all that tense to begin with. She tried to let every part of her that was in contact with the mattress sink as deeply into it as possible.
She felt more comfortable and peaceful than she ever had before at bedtime. Oddly enough, though, she wasn’t falling asleep.
Ok... any second now...
She kept her eyes closed as she waited to drift off.
But nothing was happening.
You’ve got to be kidding me. The first time in my life that I’m actually supposed to be tired... and I can’t fall asleep?!
Daria never had trouble falling asleep normally. She would hit the pillow and be out within a few minutes, unless she was purposefully thinking about something. But her mind was blank. Well, except for the growing frustration about not being able to sleep.
Don’t think about it. Just let it happen.
She rolled over onto her left side and pulled her knees up, trying to get cosier. She stared into the darkness where the window should be.
If I’m a sleeper, and the Dark wants to eliminate sleepers, why didn’t they kill me at the facility? Why were they trying so hard to make me better?
And why was I actually getting better?
Shouldn’t I be unfixable?
As Daria questioned herself and everything else, her thoughts slowly came apart. Sentences were left unfinished in her mind. Ideas left unformed. Her eyes blinked more slowly until, finally, they stopped altogether.
And she fell sound asleep.
_______________________
Darkness in motion. Swirling, churning. Slowly but steadily.
She could feel it again. Or, rather, she could sense it. It was deeper than touch, deeper than her natural senses.
She perceived it, and she knew that it perceived her, too.
Wait... where’s the light this time?
She glanced side to side, up and down, behind her.
Only darkness.
Living darkness.
She started to feel warm. She started to panic.
The darkness made the space around her feel tight. The swirling and churning seemed almost near enough to pass through her hair or over her skin.
She looked around again, frantically this time.
Where is the light?
It felt hard to breath, hard to think.
It felt as though the darkness was moving closer and closer. Like it was wrapping itself around her, preparing to crush her until she became a part of it.
It was almost unbearable now.
Daria braced herself, eyes closed, arms at her side.
How can it keep getting closer... and why don’t I feel it touching me?
She gasped. But she knew it wasn’t constricting her.
She tried to move and couldn’t. But she knew it wasn’t holding her.
She winced in pain. But she knew it wasn’t hurting her.
All around her, she perceived violence and malice. An insatiable hunger growing in the darkness.
It chilled her to the bone. But she knew it couldn’t have her.
She drew one more difficult breath before her lungs felt like they were about to collapse.
_______________________
The sun was high in the sky and the view was stunning. Daria reached the bottom of the stairs and went straight out the front door and onto the porch. Despite the fact that the hilltop was bathed in natural light, the air was still cool. She folded her arms to keep the heat inside her body as long as possible.
Over the treetops and rocky outcroppings, Daria could see the valley stretching out to the horizon. Without the glow of its lights against the night sky, Progress was almost invisible. Only a couple of outlying neighbourhoods appeared in a distant haze.
She looked up at the sky. A few fluffy clouds were passing overhead but otherwise it was a crystal clear day. She watched one of the clouds until it disappeared behind her, over the roof of the house. Then someone opened the door and called to her.
“Daria, come grab some breakfast, eh?”
She turned to see Max smiling and waving her inside.
She followed him into the dining room where two bowls full of scrambled eggs sat proudly in the centre of the table, flanked by a large plate of bacon on one end and an even larger plate of fried potatoes on the other.
“Oh, wow,” Daria said, “this looks great.”
“We eat well when we can!” Max replied.
The six of them sat down together but before they started digging in, they all paused and looked at Corey.
“A moment for our friends,” he said quietly, explaining the scene for Daria. “For those we’ve lost, and those we haven’t found yet.”
The group each paid their respects in their own way. Max seemed to clench his teeth, staring steadily at some spot on the table in front of him while tapping his fingers silently on the side of his plate. Aury looked out the window, at the sky and the trees, her eyes filled with sorrow and
longing. Both Julia and Corey folded their hands and nodded slightly as they each seemed deep in thought. Jake sat perfectly still, eyes closed.
Before Daria could figure out what she should do with herself, they finished their moment of silence and smiled again.
“Eggs, eggs, eggs,” Jake said, plowing into the bowl closest to him with a big metal spoon. “Max makes unbelievable scrambled eggs, Daria. Eat as much as you can!”
“Because I taught him how!” Aury said.
“You wish you could make eggs this fluffy,” Max teased her.
“Ok, so you might have improved on my recipe.”
“There’s a recipe for scrambled eggs?” Daria asked. “Don’t you just, you know, beat the crap out of them and pour them into a pan?”
“Oh no,” Aury said, shaking her head, “you have no idea what you’ve just started.”
“Poor kid,” Max said, “they really messed you up badly, didn’t they? Doesn’t even understand the complexities of a perfectly scrambled egg. I can tell I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.”
Daria thought it was funny but then another, more pressing question came to mind.
“So how long was I asleep?”
“Almost ten hours,” Julia replied.
“Shut up! No... I mean, what the heck?! How?”
“You were tired,” Jake said, as though it were both obvious and shocking at the same time.
“But ten hours??? What time is it?”
“Noon.”
“Noon?!”
“Well, since these guys waited up for the three of us to get here safely, everyone needed a good sleep.”
As she picked at her eggs and potatoes, Daria was still trying to get her head around it all.
“It’s great that you were able to sleep so long the first time!” Aury said. Her light blue eyes were brimming with encouragement. She was shorter than Daria, probably about five foot five. Her chestnut hair hung just below her shoulders and seemed to shimmer with natural highlights that made Daria a little jealous.
“Really?” she replied.
“Absolutely,” Julia confirmed. She had raven black hair that was cropped in a shaggy bob, with hazel eyes that were less expressive than Aury’s. But Daria didn’t doubt her feelings. She seemed like she probably never got quite as excited, or as down, as Aury probably did. She was maybe only a year or two older than Daria but she appeared to have the stabilising influence of a mother for the group.