by T. R. Briar
“Really?” Gabriel remarked. “Do you sell vacuum cleaners? Or appliances or something?”
“No! My firm provides legal counsel to company interests. I’m not a bloody tout!”
“Oh, you’re a lawyer?”
“Yes. Probably should have said that to start with.”
Gabriel ran a shaking hand through his mussed hair, dispelling flakes of dried mud. “Are you sure you can’t tell me where we are? I’ve seen lots of seedy crap back at home, but nothing like this.”
“You’d know better than me. Didn’t you say you’ve been coming round here for months?”
“Like hell I’d know. Every night when I go to sleep, I end up in this crazy place, and I stay here until I wake up and it’s like none of this happened. I’m back in my bed and it’s all just a bad dream. You?”
Rayne brushed aside a groping arm that kept pushing up against him. “This is my second time here. The first time, I met this gargantuan black beast with a flaming purple eye, and it had these massive black tentacles. It grabbed me, but then, well, I suppose I woke up.”
“Well, isn’t that something? A black beast? I’ve seen all kinds of things but nothing like that. But I try to keep away from anything that doesn’t look human.”
“Well, if you do see it, I’d suggest you run. Not because it’s dangerous, which, it probably is, but because—”
“Because?”
“I don’t know. It’s like that eye gets inside your head. It stares straight through your soul, and you start going mad. And that voice. It’s a massive voice for a massive creature. I can’t even describe it. All I know is that thing was truly beyond comprehension. Maybe it’s the lord of this place. Maybe this is that creature’s kingdom.”
Gabriel turned and walked a ways away, staring into the distance. “Like I’d believe some dumb animal could rule this place.”
Rayne blinked as he watched him, having trouble believing his eyes. From the waist down, he saw right through his new companion.
“Baines, you’re transparent!” he exclaimed. Gabriel looked down.
“Well, seems you’re right. I guess it’s time for me to wake up. I’m safe for another day.” Gabriel offered a half-smile as his visage grew fainter and fainter. “You’ll probably wake up soon yourself.”
Rayne looked down at himself but his form remained opaque. “I do hope so. I’d rather not be stuck here.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Gabriel’s voice faded now. “You’ll be back again. So will I. Night after night after night, until we go crazy.” Rayne saw him as a faint outline now, washed against the dim crimson of the horizon, below the shrieking creatures in the sky. “But since you’re just part of my dream, you’ll disappear when I’m gone. That would make you much luckier than me, wouldn’t it?”
“Wait! Please!” Rayne cried. But it was too late; Gabriel was gone.
He felt a hand on his shoulder just then, touching him in an almost reassuring way. He turned around, hoping to see another human being, but he only saw the pillar, mindless limbs reaching towards him. Their cold clammy hands made his skin crawl, hands covered in white flesh with scarred red patches that stretched over the skin like spiderwebs. These people didn’t react to him at all. Their eyes were void of substance, just black holes burned into their faces, and their jaws hung slackened. The waving limbs crackled, like their bones broke with every movement.
“I’m still here,” Rayne muttered. “So that makes him my dream. Not the other way around.”
A low, steady grunt rumbled behind him, and a heated breath brushed against his neck. Rayne turned, and found himself face to face with a mouth full of jagged teeth jutting from a lurking creature’s gut. Its dark, rancid breath smelled like a rat had crawled into its mouth and died. The rest of it didn’t smell so good either. It snapped at him, but he moved his head back, just as a massive chain flew right toward him. It struck him square in the chest, sending him flying into the column, where broken hands clutched at him. Every mouth shrieking, the monster reared up and swung again. Rayne couldn’t free himself from the clawing hands, but managed to duck as the chain smashed into the pillar, where it became caught. The monster screamed and pulled the chain to free it. Struggle as he might, Rayne couldn’t wrench himself loose, unable to run, and could only wait there for his foe to make its next attack.
He stood still, wishing, hoping for something to save him. He did his best to try to calm down, and sucked in a deep breath of cold, stagnant air, breathing it back out as a white smoke. He noticed more smoke all around him, like a heavy fog rolling in. It grew thicker and thicker until Rayne could barely see his own nose. He could hear the monster grunting, and the rattling chain it was still trying to pry loose, but he could no longer see it, and assumed it could no longer see him. Sure enough, the creature’s shrieking faded, as did the clanking metal. The moaning and cracking of the pillar behind him also quieted, and Rayne felt their grips on him loosen. He realized then, it wasn’t because they were letting go of him, but because he was fading, and their hands could no longer grasp him. A sense of relief rushed through him, and he felt a sick joy swelling in his chest, as laughter escaped his throat, a slight chuckle at first, and then a full rolling cackle, almost maniacal in tone, so overjoyed to be free of this world.
“Oi, you there, what’s so funny?”
Rayne opened his eyes to see Miranda standing over his hospital bed, a syringe in hand.
“Ah,” he stammered. “Sorry?”
“You’ve been having some dream there. Started rolling over giggling while I was about to draw blood. Gave me quite a start.”
“Yes, well, I suppose I was happy about something.”
“Nice to see you’re in good spirits for once. Now hold still so I can finish up here.”
She jammed the needle into Rayne’s arm, and he watched it fill with dark red liquid, wincing in pain.
“Care to tell me what you were dreaming about?” she asked.
“Sorry,” Rayne said with a sheepish shrug. “I’m afraid I’ve forgotten.”
Chapter 3
School bells rang through the streets late on a Thursday afternoon. Levi, book bag slung over his shoulder, walked down the cobblestone pathway to the front gates. David stood there, leaning against the stone column of the gate, wearing an un-tucked shirt and slacks under a brown coat. Levi ran to him, smiling.
“All ready to go home then?” David asked him.
Levi nodded without a word, and the older man took him by the hand. Unlike Rayne, David owned a car, negating the need for a bus. It was a beat up, old, green thing, but still reliable, as David took good care of it. Levi tossed his bag into the back seat and climbed into the passenger side while David started the car up. It was still cold out, but the snow on the streets had melted enough for a safe drive.
After they’d driven a few blocks, David took a sudden right turn, and Levi looked concerned.
“Aren’t we going to see Daddy?”
“Not going to the hospital right now. I’m to bring you straight home.”
“But-but I’ve been looking forward to it all day! You promised me that we’d see Daddy every day until he got better!”
“I know I did. And I assure you, a promise is a promise. But today, we’re going home first. You’ll see your father soon, all right? I promise.”
“You’re lying! I want to see Daddy!”
“I’m not lying, really! God’s honest truth, you are going to see your father today.”
Levi kicked the dashboard in front of him, a scowl on his small face.
They pulled up to the building, where David parked the car right in front. Levi hopped out of his side and walked around the front to the sidewalk, and stormed inside without waiting. David locked up and dashed after him.
“Levi, wait!” he yelled, running up the stairs after the hastened footsteps. He reached to top to find Levi with arms crossed outside the flat, glaring at him.
“It’s locked,” he grumbled.
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“Levi, I can explain why we had to come home first,” David stammered, fumbling for his keys.
“I don’t care. You’re just going to lie again!”
The key was already in the lock before Levi even finished speaking, and David pushed the door open to let the child run inside, not willing to argue.
“If you’re hungry, I bought a few candy bars at the shop,” he said. “They’re in the cupboard.”
“David, what have I told you about feeding him junk food?”
Levi turned when he heard his father’s voice, and Rayne appeared from around the corner. He was wheelchair-bound, his left arm cradled by a sling, chest still wrapped in bandages, and he looked tired, but otherwise cheerful.
“I see David brought you right home from school. Good thing too; if you’d stopped by the hospital, I wouldn’t have been there.”
“Daddy!” Levi exclaimed, running up and hugging his father.
“Careful now,” David cautioned him. “Can’t have you breaking him now, can we?”
Rayne pushed the wheels of his chair forward. He hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it, but he was better than this morning, when he’d only been able to roll around in circles. David had installed a one-arm drive onto the chair, so he could propel it with a single hand while his other one remained in a cast.
“That looks fun,” Levi said “Can I ride in your chair some time?”
“Not while I’m using it, you can’t.”
“What about while you’re sleeping?”
Levi’s question was innocent, but Rayne stopped short in his tracks.
“If it’s night time,” he murmured, “then you should be in bed as well.”
“Are you all right, Rayne?” David looked up from the pile of mail he’d picked up. “Levi, take care not to tire out your father. Don’t you have some reading exercises to do?”
Levi picked up his book bag and carried it to his bedroom. “But we can talk later, right?”
“Yes, Levi, as much as you want,” Rayne said.
Levi smiled and closed his door.
“He was very upset when he thought he wasn’t going to see you today, you know,” David remarked.
“I gathered as much,” Rayne said. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the affection, but—”
“I know. You’re tired and you need as little stress as possible. I’ll try to keep him from asking too many questions, until you’re better.”
“Wonderful. I’ll be in the study then.”
“Study? You’re supposed to take it easy. I won’t have you overdoing it drafting contracts or whatever it is you do.”
“No worries. I just need to look something up; it has nothing to do with work. Shouldn’t take me more than twenty minutes.”
He wheeled his way over the threshold of the unused room they’d made into a study. Rayne used it for office work, but David used it as well, and the bookshelves that lined the walls contained a mix of both legal journals and medical textbooks, along with some non-work related tomes. A pair of worn out armchairs sat off to one side around a small coffee table, another folding chair leaned against the wall, and a single desk and office chair were stuffed into a corner of the room, supporting a computer, printer, phone, and fax machine. Rayne rolled into the room and flipped the computer on. He moved the desk chair out of the way, moved in front of the monitor, and started typing with his good hand as the browser loaded up.
David poked his head into the room. “Rayne, I’ve put the tea on, do you want any?”
“In a moment. I’ll be right out.”
Once David had left, Rayne finished typing out the word “Gabriel Baines, New York,” and hit enter, watching the screen load with search results. Deep down, he almost hoped to get back nothing. It would be the proof he needed that he’d been experiencing nothing more than a recurring nightmare.
But the results made his heart freeze, and for a moment it almost stopped beating. Right there, on the screen in front of him, was a directory of state government in New York, and there was Gabriel Baines, both in name and face. Rayne fumbled for the mouse to search further, but his shaking hand knocked the device off the desk, leaving it hanging by its cord above the floor. Unable to move his eyes from the screen, from the face of that man, he fumbled towards where it fell, pulling it up by the cord and setting it on the desk.
Gabriel didn’t look exactly the same. Unlike the man Rayne had met in the dark muddy plain, here he looked very clean, with his hair combed back, wearing a pressed suit free of tears and mud. He also looked much less tired in the photo, leading Rayne to wonder if it had been taken more than four months ago.
He combed over some of the other results, and was surprised by what he saw. News reports, and articles, detailing the man’s dubious political career. Investment fraud, accepting bribes, deregulating business practices that favored corporate connections, legislation that clearly helped line his own pockets, and accusations of assault. Standard stuff for someone in politics, really.
David popped back into the room. “Tea’s ready. Are you almost finished?”
“Yeah, won’t be more than a moment.”
David’s curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he entered the room and stood beside Rayne, looking at the monitor. “What are you up to anyways? A politician? What’s so interesting about him?”
“Nothing!” Rayne yelped. “I, that is—it’s nothing. I heard someone at the hospital mention his name, and I thought I’d look him up.”
“Oh. All right then, no need to get worked up.” David walked back out the door. Rayne felt quite stupid. It wasn’t like this was something to hide. Nobody would believe the truth anyways, and looking up a random name, there was nothing wrong with that. Still, knowing this man was real made him feel a little sick. He tried to convince himself it was still a coincidence, that he’d just seen his face in the paper, or heard his name around the office. There was no evidence he’d actually met this man in his dreams.
“Rayne, you coming?”
Rayne pushed his wheelchair out from behind the desk and rolled into the kitchen, picking up the teacup David had poured out for him.
“Find everything you were looking for then?” David asked.
“Yeah. Nothing worthwhile. Wasn’t much point in looking that man up after all.”
“I see. And how are you feeling now?”
“Very tired.”
“Really? With all that sleeping you did at the hospital?”
“Between the drugs and the pain—no, I haven’t been sleeping well at all.”
“I’m sure once you’re back in your own bed, you’ll sleep more soundly.”
“Maybe,” Rayne set his cup down. “But I’d rather not sleep anytime soon.”
“You have to. Your body won’t heal if you don’t rest.”
“I can’t. I just—You don’t know how hard this is for me.”
“Try to think of something pleasant before you nod off. You know, happy memories. Don’t let any bad thoughts enter your mind, and you’ll sleep better.”
Rayne tried to think, but his foggy memory made that difficult. Even before the accident, his younger days seemed like such a blur. The harder he tried to think, the more it made his head hurt, a throbbing pain that started above his eyes and spread through the rest of his skull.
David leaned over and guided Rayne’s arm to put down the teacup before he made a mess on the table. “Don’t try to force it. The doctors did say to give your brain its space, after all.”
“No, I almost had it. Something—” a flicker went off behind Rayne’s eyes as a faint thought arose. “Oh yeah. My dog.”
“A dog? When did you have a dog? You never mentioned that before.”
“It was a long time ago. Before we met. But I remember it clearly—yes. He was my best friend. Loyal to a fault, a bit loud-mouthed. We were inseparable, him and me. He hated leaving my side.” In his mind, Rayne recalled spending time with this dog, cheerful, happy, playing with hi
m out in the yard, back in his home. His old home. He hadn’t remembered that in some time, and he couldn’t recall what it looked like. The same went for the dog. He remembered the emotions, the feelings of joy. The sharp smells of the world around him, the touch of a beloved pet as he played with it, enjoying his company.
A teacup clicking against a saucer snapped him out of his reverie. David chuckled. “Brilliant. You haven’t smiled like that in years.”
The smile vanished, and Rayne’s face went back to somber.
“Stop that,” David said. “There’s no shame in being happy. Nobody’s going to think less of you—I certainly won’t. Tonight, I want you to hold onto those memories. I promise, you will have a nice, sound sleep.”
Rayne leaned back in his wheelchair. “Fine.” He decided to change the subject. “Are you working tonight?”
“Actually, I’ve got a date.”
“A date? Really?”
“Been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve been so busy working, and playing nanny to Levi, I haven’t had a chance to meet a nice girl.”
“Oh, God, I’m so sor—”
“Don’t apologize. I’m happy to help however I can,” David cut him off. “Levi may not be my son, but I’ve known him almost his entire life. Don’t you dare sit there and act like you’re burdening me.”
“So who is she?”
“Her name’s Lara; I met her last week when I stopped by the pub for a quick pint.”
“Ah—”
“Don’t worry, I had Mrs. Robins keep an eye on Levi. I wouldn’t leave him alone without supervision. But I really needed a break after everything that’s happened.”
“No, that’s fine. Wonderful, really.”
“Glad you approve. I agreed to go to dinner with her after you came home.”
“Really? Going back to her place after for a bit of fun?”
“Maybe. We’ll see how it goes.”
“Nothing wrong with taking it slow. Wouldn’t want something to go wrong.” Rayne glanced to the side, avoiding eye contact.
“There’s nothing wrong with a bit of fun,” David said. “As long as you’re careful. You were too reckless back then. And it bit you in the arse.”