Sign of the Sandman

by Tom Turner

  The fury nipped at their heels. Its claw caught Remi, ripping a gash in her leg. Gold blood spilled, sending the army of surrounding creatures into a feeding frenzy.

  “Pull up! Pull up!” yelled Charlie.

  “I’m trying!” she said. “You’re too heavy!”

  Remi could not gain altitude, but it was just enough to evade the fray. Then Moloch raised his arms and unleashed a growl that sent a tremor surging across the battlefield. Furies howled and scaled his back, ten at a time, merging with him to create a massive, three-headed, humpbacked beast with six red eyes and spiked forearms the length of totem poles. Even with Charlie and Remi hovering above the desert floor, the beast towered over them, with Moloch’s head the center of three.

  “Remi, get us out of here!” screamed Charlie.

  But the beast reached down and snatched him from Remi’s grasp, lifting him so close he could feel heat from the three fanged mouths that panted over him.

  “With your end begins an age of nightmares,” the beast growled. “Upon your death, I claim my throne!”

  Charlie braced himself, fearing his short life was at its end. He felt the breath being squeezed from his body.

  Then, from the deepest, blackest patch of sky, a bullet of light streaked toward him. Charlie felt something jack him beneath his shoulders and heave him forward. The colossal fury unexpectedly receded from sight, and when Charlie looked up, a familiar face greeted him. It was Rustam!

  “Hold on!” he said.

  Remi fired a barrage of light arrows into the beast before rocketing skyward. She latched onto Charlie’s arm and helped Rustam whisk him across the desert. A rush of air pressed against Charlie’s eyes, blurring the mountainous sand dunes approaching fast along the horizon. The dunes rose so high they threatened to puncture the sky. Sand from their summits curled toward the heavens.

  “The sacred desert of Tana is on the other side of those dunes!” said Rustam, before turning to Remi and adding, “Steady your wings, and don’t hesitate while cresting the peak or the winds will rip us to shreds!”

  Charlie pretended he did not hear that. He gripped tighter around Rustam and Remi’s arms and pulled his feet up into his chest as they climbed higher and higher. It was like running into the fist of a storm. A deafening howl rang through Charlie’s ears. The wind was so intense he feared it would pluck the hair right off his head. Dizziness set in. He had difficulty breathing, and his heart raced out of control.

  Finally, they broke over the peak. The wind subsided, and Charlie inhaled a deep, grateful breath. He wiped the windblown tears from his eyes. As they soared down the opposite face of the dunes, he was greeted by a sparkling desert of gold sand that stretched as far as he could see. Even with darkness overwhelming the Dreamscape, this place was magical. The sand rippled outward in a series of gold and white swirls, forming rolling hills that looked as if they had been painted with light and left untouched for centuries. To Charlie, it looked as if a slice of heaven had dropped from the sky and landed beneath him.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  THE MEMORY POOL

  “How did you survive?” Remi asked Rustam as they carried Charlie across the shimmering Tana desert. “I thought we were the only ones left.”

  Rustam grasped the medallion that hung from his neck.

  “The power of the Sandman is strong,” he said. “But that power is fading. Moloch has taken control of the Dreamscape. He has overrun the Sandman’s castle and infected the Archetypes with his evil.”

  “What are the Archetypes?” asked Charlie.

  “The foundation for every human dream,” answered Rustam. “Without them, dreams could not form. And if we do not soon rid them of Moloch’s evil, human dreams will be forever consumed by nightmares. Eternal darkness here, and complete self-destruction in the waking world.”

  They circled over a chain of exotic rock formations whose irregular shapes rose from the sand like outstretched fingers. The rocks reminded Charlie of twisted old tree trunks he had once seen in Central Park. But something else also felt familiar, as if it were part of some distant memory that lingered in the back of his mind.

  Remi and Rustam pitched their wings and rode an air current down to a gliding stop. They landed just outside the entrance to a series of small caves that were carved into the rock facings. Charlie moved in close to Remi. Even though Rustam had just saved his life, Charlie had not forgotten being locked in the castle against his will.

  “I know you are frightened,” said Rustam. “But you must trust me. There are things you need to know.”

  “Last time you said that I almost got killed.”

  “For that I am sorry,” Rustam replied. “Moloch had possessed the body of Unity — a friend and powerful warrior — someone I believed incapable of succumbing to fear. But my own ignorance blinded me, and we have paid a dear price.”

  Rustam unsheathed his sword. He laid it down in the sand and knelt before Charlie.

  “I will not hurt you. You have my word.”

  He waited for Charlie’s reply, but none came.

  “In the castle,” Rustam continued, “you said you knew me.”

  Charlie had recognized Rustam, but he still could not place how or why. It was horribly frustrating, like an answer without a question. A misplaced thought. Like waking up and trying to remember a…

  That was it!

  Grand Central Station! The dresser mirror!

  He turned toward Rustam and said, “I know you from my dreams.”

  “Yes,” replied Rustam with a smile.

  He placed his hands on Charlie, gripping him as if greeting a friend long lost and now returned.

  “From the moment you were conceived, a moment so powerful it punched a hole between our two worlds, I have been your guardian, the sworn protector of your dreams.” Rustam touched his scarred eyes. “And in that moment, these eyes did not die, but were given greater life, a greater power: the ability to see into your dreams, on constant watch for anything that could bring you harm.”

  Charlie’s head was spinning. He had seen Rustam in his dreams, many dreams the more he thought back. But how could he be certain Rustam was telling the truth about everything else? And if so, what did it all mean? Why him? Why now? Charlie tried to slow his racing mind.

  “I know you have questions,” said Rustam. He pointed to the openings in the rock wall behind Charlie. “I pray those caves hold the answers you seek.”

  Charlie studied the cave entrances. Each seemed wondrous and treasure-filled, but the smallest one called to him, like the North Star guiding a lost and weary traveler. It was simple, a child among the others. Charlie entered, followed by Remi and Rustam.

  The cavern was narrow, and the enclosure hugged Charlie, tapering inward. Hundreds of baby stalactites dangled like icicles above him. They glowed as he passed beneath them, warming the cave in shades of ruby red and gold, leading him to a small pool of water just a few steps from the entrance. Charlie peered into the pool and then back out over the magnificent desert landscape. The view was the same he had witnessed from his bedroom window the night he first encountered Moloch.

  “I’ve seen this place before,” he said. “In my dreams!” His heart almost beat through his chest with excitement. “My mom always told me that when the people we love died, we could visit them in our dreams.” He paused for a moment, thinking of his father. “I thought this was heaven.”

  He knelt down and reached into the pool, cupping some water. The instant his hands came into contact with the still liquid, tiny waves moved outward, forming a symbol — the sign of the Sandman.

  Something’s happening!

  Charlie could feel a tugging sensation from the pit of his stomach. Energy from the water washed over him in a gold mist. His eyes glazed, and as he looked around the cave, the scenery shifted ever so slightly. Cracks and fissures in the wal
ls crept backward at a snail’s pace. Shadows stirred in a slow spin, and wrinkles in the sand rippled in reverse. It was like a hiccup in time, as if the years rewound, and as the present receded, the past emerged, revealed to him.

  He was still in the same cave, but the pool of water was gone. In its place was a patch of dry sand. Rustam was still there, too, but he was younger, and his eyes were not scarred or white, but alive and golden. And in Remi’s place there was another dream guardian. One Charlie recognized immediately.

  The school crossing guard!

  He was dressed in battle attire and stood side by side with Rustam, watching over a dream portal that had appeared within the confines of the cave. The portal was a dazzling red, with rays that reached out and tickled the rock walls.

  One of Moloch’s furies erupted from the sand and attacked the portal. Rustam and the crossing guard drew their weapons and cut the creature down with brutal precision, but not before it injected the dream with Moloch’s evil venom.

  The crossing guard trumpeted his horn, calling for aid. The sound filled the air and echoed in Charlie’s ears. Then time seemed to fast-forward, just a beat, and Charlie found himself on a dark road in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing to his left or right, just blackness. But when he turned and looked behind him, he saw a woman crying. Even though the woman’s face was hidden in shadow, Charlie was sure it was his mom.

  “Please, God,” she sobbed, “I want a baby. I want to be a mother.”

  She sat down and wept. Her tears plucked the asphalt like raindrops, but when she looked up, a pair of golden eyes comforted her from across the road. They belonged to a man whose features were as magnetic as they were mysterious. His jaw seemed chiseled from a sculptor’s stone. His nose sloped to a perfect tip above smiling lips that were both kind and strong. He wore gold-plated chest armor, and his clothing, black like the night sky, was laced with a metallic sheen that matched his penetrating eyes.

  The man approached her. With each step, he left behind a golden footprint.

  I can’t believe it! thought Charlie. The man with the golden footprints! It’s him!

  Charlie’s mom ran to the man. She leapt into his arms, and he held her tight.

  “I knew you would come,” she said, laying her head against his chest.

  It was obvious to Charlie that this was not their first encounter. Their greeting was warm. And the way they looked at each other, Charlie knew…

  They’re in love.

  Charlie’s mom and the man with the golden footprints swayed in the middle of the road. He smiled and brushed a tear from her cheek.

  “Close your eyes. Don’t be afraid,” he told her.

  She did.

  He kissed her. And as she leaned into the kiss, a bright, vibrant, red halo surrounded her. It traced the outline of her body and swept away the darkness.

  When she opened her eyes, she was standing on the white sand of a deserted beach. A gentle sea breeze parted the hair from her face, revealing a luminous smile. The man with the golden footprints was still by her side.

  “Am I dreaming?” she asked as the ocean waves lapped at her feet.

  The man nodded. “The most beautiful dreams I have ever seen.”

  “Stay with me,” she said, taking his hand.

  “I wish I could. I wish you could wake once, knowing the truth of me… of my love for you. That I could remain more than a figment or a memory that fades with the rising sun of your world.” He released her hand. “But I must leave.”

  “No… Please.” She held his gaze. “I love you.”

  She touched his face. Her eyes melted into his, and she said it again:

  “I love you.”

  Charlie recognized the look in his mother’s eyes. It was the same expression of longing she had whenever he mentioned his father around her. His heart raced with excitement.

  Could it be? Is it possible?

  Time felt like it slowed for Charlie, as if the answer to the greatest question in his life lingered in the few seconds that just passed between his mom and this mysterious stranger. Charlie almost forgot to breathe as he watched the man with the golden footprints sit his mother down and ease her head back until it rested in the sand. He lifted a single grain from the beach and laid it upon her belly, placing his hand over her womb. It produced a warm and brilliant glow.

  Charlie’s mom’s eyes welled with tears. One ran down her cheek, and the man caught it in the palm of his hand. He blew into it, magically transforming the tear into a beautiful diamond. He clutched it, holding it close to his chest. When he did, a tiny heart began to beat — an infant’s heart. Charlie heard it plain as day. It was beating faster and in sync with his own. He could hardly believe it.

  It’s me… That’s… my heart.

  Suddenly, Charlie was pulled through a tunnel of wind and light, back to the cave with Rustam and the crossing guard. A powerful light exploded from his mom’s portal. The light enveloped Rustam. It scorched his eyes, erasing the gold from them. Then from out of the portal stepped the man with the golden footprints. He collapsed onto the cave floor. Gold tears floated from his eyes and drifted back down, forming a pool of water by his feet. Charlie’s mom’s face rippled in the water and smiled back at him.

  “I will always love you,” the man whispered. “Goodbye.”

  The water released Charlie from the memory, but its images were fresh in his mind. He rose from the pool and turned toward the cave opening where Remi and Rustam waited.

  “My mother couldn’t have children,” he said. “And he gave her a child.” Charlie was overcome with emotion and truth. “I was born of a dream… her dream.”

  “A moment so powerful it punched a hole between our worlds,” said Remi, echoing Rustam’s words.

  Yes, thought Charlie. A hole between worlds and, “through my mother’s dream,” he said aloud. “That must be how I got here. Could her dreams actually be the gateway?” He turned toward Rustam, who smiled. “And the man with the golden footprints?”

  “The Sandman,” said Rustam, confirming what Charlie already suspected.

  “He was with my mother,” said Charlie. “They were in love. And he…”

  Charlie hesitated. The veil of mystery was lifting for him, yet it was still hard to grasp.

  “Rustam?” he asked, “Am I the Sandman’s son?”

  “Yes,” replied Rustam. “Born of a dream, hidden among humans, and here now before me. You are heir to his kingdom.”

  Never in his wildest dreams had Charlie ever imagined anything like this was possible. His entire life he had believed his father was dead, nothing more than a foggy imprint that lived in the mind of a young boy. But here he was, learning he was not only wrong, but that his father was quite possibly one of the greatest warriors mankind had ever known — a powerful, magical, superhuman figure.

  “I’m sorry the truth has been kept from you for so long,” continued Rustam.

  “I’m not sure what the truth is anymore,” said Charlie.

  Rustam gripped him by the shoulders.

  “The truth is that your father loved you, so much that he kept you hidden from this world, to protect and shelter you from the burden it bears.” He paused before continuing, and then his voice took on a troubled tone. “But when he crossed over to the other side of dreams, to the waking world, it came at a great price. He became human. And I fear that vulnerability has caused him great injury in battle.”

  “The battle at Dorian,” said Charlie.

  Rustam nodded.

  “Moloch felt your power and sought you out. He discovered your dream portal, and I… I fought, but could not stop him. Your father entered your dream to protect you, but he never returned.”

  Charlie thought back to his dream.

  “Because I woke up,” he said. “My dad told me to wake up! And that’s when I started
to notice things. The next day.” His eyes hardened. “It was like the world went nuts. People tried to kill me. Crazy people!”

  “People whose dreams were taken over by Moloch,” said Rustam. “Slaves to their nightmares. Controlled by his evil.”

  “And there were people with gold eyes, too. Pigeon man, the crossing guard, our school janitor.”

  “Dream guardians.”

  “You mean like you?”

  “Yes,” said Rustam. “Chosen by the Sandman and sent to protect you from the day of your birth. When your powers awoke, you saw them for who they truly were. With nightmares corrupting so many human minds, they must have known that you were in great danger — that they had no choice but to—”

  “Push me through!” said Charlie.

  Rustam nodded again.

  “Your father had hoped you could go your entire life without ever knowing this place. But not even he could curtail the power of fate.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Charlie.

  Rustam took a deep breath and said, “I fear your powers waking can only mean his are dying.”

  With those few words, Charlie’s hopes and dreams were dashed. The father he never knew was given and then suddenly taken away. But he refused to let go that easily.

  “What if my dad is alive? You said he never returned.”

  “He could be anywhere,” said Rustam.

  “Or still trapped in my dream!” exclaimed Charlie.

  “I have searched the Dreamscape far and wide and can only hope that to be true. But until we know, there is only you.”

  Rustam took Charlie’s hands and gripped them tight. “Charlie, there is unimaginable power locked within you. Greater even than your father’s, I believe. But you must set it free.”