by L. E. Fred
“You must get to the river!” Viv muttered to us. “I can hold them off for a while. Cross the river and follow it downstream from the other side. You will be safe, but stay hidden so they cannot track you. Make it to Woodinville, and find a man named Elis. Tell him I sent you. Show him the sword. He will help you.” She said this without pausing, wishing to buy us some time.
“When will we see you?” I asked, hoping she didn’t mean to really take on three Nightmares at a time.
“I will meet you in the village,” Viv said. She winced as the shield flickered. “The Nightmares cannot catch me. But first I must…” Her voice cracked. I thought I saw her eyes glisten with tears.
“You must find Sophia—” I was cut off by Salik shouting in triumph. The shield broke.
“Go!” Viv pushed the three of us out of the clearing. We landed too far away for it to have been a normal push. Viv just used more of her magic to help us, which meant she was too weak to fight the Nightmares.
“We have to help her!” Mitch started toward the clearing again, but Kyle held him back.
“And do what? Throw the sword at them?” he asked Mitch angrily. “You heard Baz, you don’t know how to use that thing properly. Sure, it may have worked on Leona’s cronies, but that was with Devon’s magic—” He stopped, as we heard Viv cry out. I turned and saw she had drawn another glowing arrow. She fired it at Salik, who dodged it just in time. The arrow lodged itself into a tree, causing a large explosion.
“Next time I will not miss!” we heard Viv shout.
“I think she’s got this one covered.” I said. I looked to find the way we were originally going. “Come on!” I didn’t want to hang around to see how the rest of the battle panned out.
We pounded down the small trail, running a little faster than normal. I had a feeling this path was used by Dreamers often, so their magic aided its passengers.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Kyle panted, following close behind me. That’s another reason I thought the trail was magic; normally, Kyle couldn’t even run down the block without almost passing out.
“The Nightmares said the river was close, and they didn’t want us to cross it,” I explained, squeezing between two trees. Sure enough, the trees cleared, and we were standing on the bank of a river. The water looked normal enough, but it was also night time. I couldn’t really tell how wide or deep the river really was.
“Viv said to cross,” Mitch said, although he didn’t move. He kept looking back the way we came. I knew he didn’t like leaving Viv to fight those Nightmares. As if on cue, we heard footsteps close behind us.
“Nowhere to run now!” Baz screamed, only yards away.
“Hope you can swim, Mitch!” Kyle said, splashing into the water. I quickly followed, gasping as the cold water hit my body. My shorts and shirt were immediately soaked, but my new grass shoes surprisingly kept my feet warm and dry. I vaguely wondered if I could buy a grass suit somewhere. We waded into the river up to Kyle’s chest — and my shoulders — until Kyle stopped.
“Something’s wrong,” he said, turning around. He was right.
Mitch was still on the river bank. His back was to us, the waves of the river lapping his heels. The two Nightmares had him cornered. I saw Mitch hold his sword aloft, but Baz simply swatted it out of his hand with his club. Reverie gracefully soared from Mitch’s grasp and landed hilt-up in the muddy bank.
“Guess we’re gonna have to go play hero,” Kyle said. He sounded scared, but he also had the shadow of a grin on his face.
Every nerve in my body screamed in sensible protest as I made my way back to the shore to help Mitch. This was a completely stupid idea, and I knew it. Those Nightmares gave Viv a run for her money, and she was more than capable of fending for herself. What made me think that we had a chance?
Those were the thoughts running through my head, but my body took over and propelled me to Mitch’s side. We did a lot of stupid things in this dream world so far, and we were still standing. What was another crazy move going to do?
If it weren’t for sheer luck, I wouldn’t have survived my first real Nightmare attack.
Chapter 13
Kyle Uses a Magic River
“Look, the little one’s coming to the rescue.” Salik jeered as I struggle onto the shore. “Humans are stupid!”
“You didn’t have to come back,” Mitch muttered, his face flushed after losing his sword. “It was my stupid fault. I thought…”
“Hey, not your fault you’re brave.” I didn’t know how I managed to tell him that without screaming and splashing back into the water. Salik looked much taller in person. Even though he was skinnier than Baz, I could tell he had trained more in combat than our shorter, snack-loving friend. Salik said he and Aille were Elite Scouts, and I believed him. A regular Nightmare looked like he could kill me in an instant.
An Elite one looked like a — well — my worst Nightmare.
“Where’s your other friend?” Baz chimed in, chuckling at our fear. I noticed the crumbs flecked on the corner of his gruesome mouth. So he managed to steal Viv’s cakes after all. I hoped she'd at least managed to escape.
“Oh, he’s out there.” Salik looked out at the currents.
I stole a glance at the water. Sure enough, Kyle was still standing up to his chin in the river. So much for my brave, big brother coming to save me.
“But he’s the useless one,” Salik continued. “He’s no better than the human in charge of our resort. Let him drown for all I care.”
“Why not go after him now?” Mitch prodded. I admired his bravery, but I didn’t think teasing the Nightmares would do us any good. Then, I noticed Mitch’s feet moving slowly toward where Reverie lay. I met his grey eyes, which flickered between the sword and the river. I got the message — distract the Nightmares long enough for Mitch to retrieve the sword, and then we could jump back into the river before they had a chance to attack. Why couldn’t I come up with awesome plans in the face of pure fear?
“W-where’s Viv?” I shouted, taking the Nightmares’ gazes away from Mitch and to me. Up close, I noticed Salik had two different colored eyes, one a vivid red, and the other pure black. It didn’t do anything to improve his looks. I tried not to look away as I caught their attention.
“Your Dreamer ally?” Salik’s mouth split into a wide, shark-toothed grin. “Oh, I’m sure Aille is keeping her company.”
“Yeah, last we saw, Aille was about to rip the little fairy in half—”
“She better not!” Salik snapped and turned on Baz. The shorter Nightmare backed away, but I noticed him finger his club. I bet he was tired of Salik and Aille, the two Elite Nightmares, bossing him around. I kinda knew how that felt so I played on his emotion.
“Well, why not?” I asked making sure Baz looked at me. “I mean, you’re gonna kill us anyway, right? Why didn’t you let Baz club her back in the forest? After all, he was the one who found us!”
Baz stared at me in blank confusion — which didn’t make him any less scary. Don’t ask me how I knew what to say to catch Baz off-guard. I could usually rely on my quick talking to get me out of trouble at school, and I guess it was my last resort before the Nightmares killed me. Baz made it pretty easy, though; I suppose the little guy didn’t have many people sticking up for him. He turned to Salik, almost demanding an answer with his eyes.
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but since you’re about to die I’ll explain it to you.” Salik sounded agitated. Baz looked up at him with anticipation. Even Mitch glanced in their direction. I saw he was almost to his sword. I hoped I swam fast enough to escape the Nightmares.
Salik began his story. “You may think, human, that the one called Leona is the first Lucid dreamer to enslave many of her own kind. That would be, of course, an ignorant assumption, and a consequence of your short life spans. Humans are oftentimes greedier than our Dreamer counterparts. You only create for your benefit, and use our land for your enjoyment, yet you forget who ma
de you thirst for power in the first place.”
I remembered Sophia telling us about how Nightmares were born of humans’ evil intentions.
“The last time a Lucid came into our land and enslaved a large number of humans, it brought us a brief moment of prosperity,” Baz spoke up. “We took over the Lucid’s slaves and drew power from the captured humans. Eventually, we had enough power to wage war on the Dreamers’ city, Miragean! But then the Talismans were formed.”
“That was long ago!” Salik shouted forcefully. “It is true that your stupid sword prevented us from wiping out the Dreamers, but it was due to our own foolishness that we allowed the Dreamers to fight back and restore balance. It will not happen again!”
“Wait.” I was no longer simply stalling for time. “You said there were two talismans. You mean two objects helped the Dreamers fight your people?”
“Why do you think there are two tr—?”
“The second Talisman was destroyed.” Salik, once again, cut Baz off. He sounded a little too abrupt for me to fully believe him. Perhaps the talisman, whatever it could’ve been, was destroyed, but then that meant the Nightmares came in contact with the other fabled tribe beyond the mountains.
“And now, you only have your precious sword — which if you come any closer to, I will kill you where you stand!” Salik spoke the last words with malice as he turned to Mitch. In a flash, the Nightmare produced a crossbow. The arrow lodged inside had a long and deadly looking point. Mitch froze, holding up his hands. He looked at me, silently urging me to jump into the water.
“Oh, I wouldn’t.” Salik saw the gesture. “Just because we cannot cross the river doesn’t mean my aim becomes less deadly.”
“You did a good job distracting us.” Baz stepped toward me, drawing his club. “But this is where your journey ends.”
“I don’t think so!”
I turned around at the sound of Kyle’s voice. Somehow, he’d gotten his power back!
What’s the first thing my brother makes with his powers? A pirate ship.
It was a pretty wicked ship, I must admit. The entire body was royal blue with red trimmings, Kyle’s favorite color combination. Cannons lined the sides above and below deck. The sails were black, a flag with the “Rock On” hand signals as crossbones and a band logo skull flapped in the breeze. At night, the ship looked especially insane.
“I’d move if I were you, guys,” Kyle shouted to Mitch and me. Forgetting that we had two Nightmares ready to attack us, I ran after Mitch, grabbed his arm, and pulled him toward the water. Mitch started protesting about leaving his sword until—
BOOM!
Kyle fired his first cannonball. I watched as the Nightmares scattered. The ball exploded on impact, blowing mud everywhere and throwing Mitch and me in to the river. I tumbled beneath the cold water for a moment before clawing my way to the surface. A few feet from me, Mitch’s blond head also emerged.
“Quick!” Kyle threw down a rope ladder. It took me a moment to wrap my icy hands around the rope. Even though my muscles screamed in protest, I forced my way up the ladder. After what felt like hours I emerged onto the deck. Mitch followed a minute later. We lay gasping on the deck of Kyle’s ship, unable to move.
“Good, I’d stay down if I were you.” Kyle nodded in approval, creating some towels to throw over us.
“How’d you…” I panted, looking up at him.
“This river gave me the power.” Kyle ducked as one of Salik’s arrows soared over his head. “Wait, cover your ears!”
I slapped my hands to my head as he fired the second cannon. I felt my teeth bounce around my head, and my vision blurred for a few moments. Slowly, the smoky air of the aftermath died away to cooler winds. I could no longer hear the Nightmare’s shouts, and I didn’t see any more arrows flying overhead. I struggled to my feet and wrapped my towel around me a little tighter. Mitch had already gotten up. He was leaning against the railing, looking out at the river.
“My sword,” he croaked, shaking his head slowly. “It’s still in the sand. The Nightmares have it.”
“I don’t think so.” I pointed to Mitch’s belt. Sure enough, his side began to glow until the sword returned to his hip.
“Cool trick.” Mitch stumbled back with relief. “But how?”
“Probably because you were destined to wield it.” Kyle came down from steering the ship.
“How’d you—”
“Oh, don’t worry; I made a dummy to control the ship” Kyle assured us, pointing at the steering wheel. Sure enough, one of those crash-test dummies you see in car commercials was manning the wheel. His blank, yellow face even scanned the horizon for rocks and other obstacles.
“No, I meant how did you get your powers back?” I repeated my question.
“Oh.” Kyle looked around. “I felt my powers come back as soon as I got into the river. It’s hard to explain, but I think — no, I know — that this river belongs to humans.”
“How do you know that?” Mitch asked.
“I don’t know.” Kyle shrugged, creating a fireplace on the top of the boat. He started a cozy fire for us to gather around. I was thankful for the chance to dry my clothes. Walking around in soggy gym shorts was not comfortable.
“But I think as long as I create things to help Dreamers, it’s okay.” Kyle continued, plopping down next to me. “We’re in the Fantasms’ realm, right? They set out to help the Lucids, and I think maybe this river helped bring the Lucids to the Dreamers at one point.”
“Or helped the Dreamers get to them.” Mitch nodded. “Still, why didn’t the Nightmares want to cross the river? Viv said that we’d be safe on the other side.”
“Probably because that’s where the main town, Woodinville, is.” Kyle explained matter-of-factly.
“Wait.” I shook my head. “Since when did you become all knowledgeable about this world?”
“I just sense a great power source over there.” Kyle shrugged again. It was weird seeing him be so modest about his powers. “It’s hard to explain, but I know they’re over there. It’s still pretty far away, but we’re heading in that direction. The power acts as a sort of territory marker. I don’t think our Nightmare pals would stand a chance against all that Dreamer magic.”
“I wish Viv was here to tell us you were right.” I said glumly, remembering how our friend was trapped somewhere with Aille. I was sure Salik and Baz were on their way back to help transport Viv and Sophia somewhere else.
“She’ll be here soon,” Mitch said with certainty. Kyle and I stared at him. “I mean… we’re going to save her right? Her and Sophia.”
“Mitch—”
“Viv told us to get to Woodinville.” Kyle said what I didn’t have to. “Plus, I’m only powerful in the river. How do you expect to sneak past three Nightmares, one with a nose of steel, to rescue Viv?”
“We can’t just give them up!” Mitch said angrily. “Without those two, Leona would’ve captured us back in her coliseum, or we’d be wandering around these woods running from Nightmares! Viv helped us fight Serpentine and Gruff, and she got us to Sophia’s cabin safely. Sophia risked his life to let us escape into the forests, and Viv did the same when the Nightmares cornered us. Both were captured because of us, and we’re going to repay them by simply following some orders?” He glowered at Kyle and me.
I looked at my brother and saw he started tending to his fire. I had to admit that Mitch had a point, but it was still too dangerous. Our best bet would be to find this guy Elis in Woodinville.
“We don’t know which way the Nightmares went.” I voiced one of my justifications for going to the town.
“That’s not entirely true,” Kyle said softly. I turned to my brother and saw he wasn’t tending to the fire. He created a small device that looked like a calculator.
“It’s a primitive GPS,” Kyle explained. “I made it one time in a dream where I saw… this singer I like.”
“You mean Dolly Parton?” I chimed in, grinning a little. Kyle el
bowed my ribs while Mitch chuckled.
“She is a beautiful and talented woman!” Kyle snapped. “Anyway, for some reason, Ms. Parton kept running away, and I really wanted to meet her, so I made this device. It’ll track down anyone I like.” He muttered Viv’s name into the device. For a while the screen blinked soft light. Then, a map of our surroundings popped up. A little dot appeared somewhere downstream and west.
“Looks like they figured out we’re also going downstream,” Mitch commented.
“Duh,” Kyle said, rolling his eyes. I studied my brother’s face. He wore the same expression he had when solving a basic math problem, like he was making a tough decision.
“Why the sudden change of heart?” I asked. Kyle looked at the fire again.
“I just can’t imagine someone like Viv being captured,” he said, refusing to look at either of us. “So we should rescue her.” He stood up. “And Sophia, too, if we can. The old man did a lot for us.”
“Thanks, Kyle.” Mitch looked at my brother gratefully. Kyle looked as if he wanted to smile. Instead he smirked.
“Hmph, you ain’t the only hero on this ship,” he said, climbing to where the dummy was steering. “But I guess we’ll find out who’s the bigger hero in an hour or so when we catch up to the Nightmares. They’re moving fast.”
****
During our Nightmare chase I managed to fall asleep. I’m not sure how I did it, so don’t ask me. My muscles were sore from running, hiding, and climbing, and my little swim in the river left me feeling like a bedraggled, drowned kitten. Kyle’s fire warmed me up nicely, and it wasn’t long until I was dozing off.
I know what you’re probably thinking; what happens when you fall asleep in a dream world? No, it doesn’t transport you into another layer of dreams, like the movies insist. If your consciousness slips from one world, you simply wander off to the only other remaining world.
In short, I ended up going back to my neighborhood.