Baylor's Guide to Dreadful Dreams

by Robert Imfeld

  Archie’s delirious expression slowly shifted, and his eyes suddenly looked sharp and alert. “What are you?”

  “I’m a medium, Archie, and somehow I can talk to you and Helena. Normally I can only talk to dead people, but somehow I can communicate with you two. Unless . . .” I thought of Kristina talking about the Lost Souls and I gulped. “Unless you are dead? In which case, maybe I could help you?”

  “They’re not dead,” came a voice from behind me. I jumped in surprise and wound up sliding off the boat, splashing awkwardly into the water. When I resurfaced, I saw Kristina floating above me, her form emanating blue energy. For a second, before I could wipe the water from my eyes, her blurry image looked powerful and majestic, like an angel had materialized before us.

  “Kristina!” I said. “What are you doing here?”

  “I needed to come assess the situation for myself,” she said, her voice stoic.

  “Is that an angel?” Helena croaked.

  “Must be,” Archie said. “She’s too pretty to be human.”

  Kristina looked at Archie, her expression a mixture of sweet and sad.

  “Gross,” I said. “That’s my sister.” I pulled myself back onto the boat while Archie shrugged.

  “Guess we know who got the looks in the family,” he said.

  “I’m trying to help you, you know,” I said.

  He looked left and right and frowned. “Well, we’re still in the middle of the ocean, but I’m sure you’re trying your hardest.”

  Kristina snickered, and Archie looked at her affectionately. “You really are an angel, aren’t you? I feel safe looking at you.”

  Kristina didn’t respond like I thought she would. I thought she’d be gross and flirty with Archie, but instead she just sort of looked sadly at him.

  “We’ll do our best to help you, Archie,” she said. “And you too, Helena.”

  “Can you check on our families too?” Helena asked. She sounded choked up and her eyes were sad, but she was too dehydrated to make tears. “I’m so worried about my parents. My mom must be losing her mind.”

  “I got in touch with them after I talked to Archie last time,” I said. “I’m . . . uh, I’m not sure they believed me.”

  “It was my mom’s birthday a couple days ago. At least I think it was a couple days ago. I feel like we’ve been here for weeks.”

  “It’s Thursday night, and you’ve been missing since last Friday.”

  “Oh,” she said, dazed. “Wow. Her birthday was Sunday. She loves elephants, you know. I got her an elephant statue made out of sea glass as a present.” Her lip quivered. “I hope I get to give it to her.” She swallowed hard.

  My eyebrows shot up. “Where’s the present, Helena? Where’d you put it?”

  “It’s in the bottom drawer of my nightstand, underneath some tank tops.”

  “That’s it,” I said, shooting a fervent glance at Kristina. “That’s how I can get them to believe me!”

  She nodded. “Maybe get something from Archie, too?”

  “Archie, what’s something I can use as proof that you’re alive? Something no one would really know, especially not some random kid from New Hampshire?”

  “Hmm,” he thought, stroking his chin. “What’s something good?” A large wave hit the boat then, rocking us back and forth. His hands grasped the edge of the boat and he clenched his face. “If I slip off, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get back on,” he said, suddenly serious for the first time.

  “Don’t say that, Archie,” Helena said, terrified. “Don’t even joke about that.”

  “Sorry,” he said quietly. “I won’t slip off. I’m too scared our shark friend will return.”

  “I’m learning Sharkese as fast as I can, Archie,” Helena said. “I’ll tell him you don’t taste very good, that he’d be wasting his time on you.”

  “That’s very considerate of you,” Archie said with mock sincerity. “It’s an obvious lie if you ask me, but I appreciate it nonetheless.”

  “Back to business,” I said, worried another wave would come crashing over the boat and knock me back to Loved Ones’ Lane with nothing to show for Archie. “Give me anything, Archie.”

  “I’m wearing my favorite board shorts,” he said, pointing to his bathing suit. They were dark red with large graphic Hawaiian flowers on the sides. “My mom got them for me on a cruise ship.”

  “So random,” I said. “Perfect.”

  “Those are so old and ugly,” Helena said. “You really need a new pair.”

  “I’ll just head to the mall now,” Archie said. “Want to come with?”

  “Sure,” Helena said. “I could really use some toothpaste. And a burger.”

  “Great, we’ll stop at the Toothpaste and Burger Store after I get my swimsuit.”

  “My favorite store,” Helena said, giggling. “So many kinds of toothpastes and burgers.”

  “They go hand in hand,” Archie said, laughing. “Who’d have thought it?”

  I truly couldn’t believe it. They’d been stranded for nearly a week, but they were still able to laugh with each other. If I were stranded on a boat with Aiden for a week, I’m not sure I would have been so friendly with him. In fact, I’m pretty sure I would have already turned into a cannibal by that point.

  “You two really are best friends, aren’t you?” Kristina asked, still floating above us like some kind of massive blue firefly.

  Helena smiled up at the moon and nodded. “The best.”

  “Friends till the oceans dry up,” Archie said.

  “Till the sun turns cold.”

  “Till Greek food stops being so delicious.”

  “Oh, you know the way straight to my heart, Archie Perceval.”

  He shrugged. “What can I say? It’s true.”

  I smiled at them, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Kristina’s expression shift. I had never seen her look more concerned.

  “Time to go,” I said, looking at her pointedly. “Archie, Helena, I’ll be back soon. Stay safe, okay?”

  “We’ll be here,” Archie said dryly.

  I reached up for Kristina’s hand, and she took hold, lifting me up out of the ocean and back to Loved Ones’ Lane.

  “Now that’s cool,” Archie shouted from a hundred feet below.

  Once we were back on the lane, I asked her why she’d looked so serious back there.

  “I looked as serious as you did,” she said.

  “No,” I said, “because I was so confused the entire time by how they were acting. I would be panicking in their situation, but they seem to be in such good spirits. You, however, looked like you could see a tsunami a mile away heading straight for them.”

  She shook her head. “I’m just worried about the two kids stranded miles and miles away from shore. That’s all.”

  “Well, maybe now we’ll be able to help them!”

  She shook her head again. “You got information about a birthday present and a swimsuit. That’ll comfort the parents, sure, but Baylor, that’s not going to help anyone find them.”

  I shook my head. “Yes, it will. It’ll help encourage them to ramp up the search efforts.”

  She smiled weakly. “I hope you’re right.”

  TIP

  16

  Don’t be afraid to rip up your soul.

  I WOKE UP, TIPTOED OVER Jack and Oli, and snuck into the bathroom to leave another message on the hotline.

  “Hi, this is Baylor Bosco again. I have new information. If someone could please call me back, I’d appreciate it.” I left my number again and hung up.

  “Smooth,” Kristina said. “I like the air of mystery around the message.”

  “I don’t want to give the news or Carla Clunders any ammunition.”

  “That . . . or you don’t want the Baylievers to have any new fodder to comment on.”

  I blushed. “That didn’t cross my mind at all.”

  “Sure it didn’t,” she said.

  “Anyway,” I said, “I do
n’t know what to do. How can I help them?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure you can.”

  “Then why am I seeing them? There’s got to be something I can do.”

  She didn’t say anything, and I got the feeling again that she knew something she wasn’t telling me. I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes. “What is it?”

  “Nothing,” she said quickly.

  “Can’t you go ask your spirit guides or something?”

  She smiled meekly. “Do you really think I haven’t discussed this thoroughly with them?”

  “Well? What did they say?”

  “They wouldn’t tell me anything useful,” she said. “I’m just as in the dark as you are.”

  “You’re my connection to the other side, Kristina,” I said, feeling irritated. “If you can’t tell me anything useful, then . . .”

  “Then what?” she said sharply. “What’s the point of my entire existence? Thanks a lot, Baylor.”

  “That’s not what I was going to say.”

  “Then what were you going to say? Finish that sentence.”

  “If you can’t tell me anything useful, then . . . I don’t know . . . then we’re not going to be able to help Archie and Helena.”

  She shook her head. “Well, in that case, maybe you should focus more on your side of things.”

  Maybe she was right. I had some resources on my side; perhaps it was time to use them.

  Since I was up so early, I texted my friends to figure out plans for the day. To my surprise, they were up too. We decided to meet downtown at two o’clock (after scarfing down leftover turkey sandwiches at home, of course).

  * * *

  The morning passed by slowly. The adults weren’t functioning at 100 percent, a consequence of last night’s champagne and wine. Everyone grazed on leftovers and camped out in front of the TV for most of the morning.

  Once it was nearly one o’clock, I announced that I was meeting up with friends downtown in case anyone wanted to join.

  “Well, that sounds fun,” Uncle Glenn said. “We should all go.” To my astonishment, everyone nodded in agreement, and they got up to get ready. Gillie was the lone holdout, and she sat on the couch, staring gloomily at the TV.

  “Not coming?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Whatever.”

  “All righty then,” I said, getting up just to move away from her.

  “You ruined my life, you know,” she said.

  I turned slowly to face her. “Excuse me?”

  “It’s all your fault. If you weren’t such a freak, I wouldn’t be grounded in the first place.”

  I had felt sorry for her up until five seconds ago. Now I was just furious.

  “You’ve got a lot of nerve trying to blame any of this on me,” I said. “You’re the one who recorded me in the first place.”

  She glared at me. “Grandpa Horty was right about you. You should never have been born.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but before I could think of anything, Kristina tuned me in to show me her aura. Auras are the outward reflections of people’s souls, and Gillie’s was a deep blood red. She was furious.

  “Just walk away, Baylor,” Kristina said. “It’s her anger talking. Nothing positive will come of this.”

  I glared back at Gillie for another second, but walked away. Kristina was right—it wasn’t worth engaging her. I was still mad, though. How dare she use Horty’s words as a weapon against me? Maybe Uncle Glenn was right—maybe she did need a good exorcism.

  We loaded into the cars and headed downtown. Aiden and J were already in the square; Bobby was late because he had eaten too much turkey and was moving slow. I waved to them as we circled around to find a spot on one of the side streets.

  “What’s up, guys?” I said as my family swarmed around them a few minutes later. I introduced them to my uncle and cousins, and everyone said hello except Gillie, who sneered unpleasantly the entire time.

  “Where shall we go first?” Uncle Glenn asked.

  “I need to do some, uh, research for a bit, but I’ll meet up with you guys later.”

  “Research?” Mom asked. I couldn’t see her eyes behind her dark sunglasses, but I knew she’d be looking at me suspiciously. “Lead the way, Baylor. You’re not going anywhere without us.”

  My mouth dropped open while Kristina laughed loudly. “This should be fun.”

  “You guys will think it’s boring,” I said. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “Baylor, sometimes I think you forget you’re only thirteen,” Mom said. “We’re sticking together. Lead the way.”

  I sighed. “Fine.” I spun around and marched in the direction of Madame Nadirah’s Mystic Shoppe.

  The bell rang when I opened the door, and Madame Nadirah appeared from the back room and said, in her faux breathy voice, “Welcome to Madame Nadirah’s Mystic Shoppe!” Then she noticed it was me and chuckled. “Baylor Bosco, my favorite customer.” She swept me into a hug as my mom lifted her sunglasses and surveyed the scene in surprise.

  “You two know each other?”

  “Of course!” Madame Nadirah said, laughing. “I helped Baylor cross into another dimension a few weeks ago to find his missing sister.” My eyebrows shot up nearly as fast as my mom’s.

  “Anyway,” I said sharply, glaring at Madame Nadirah, “no need to bring up the past, it’s all behind us, right? Onward!”

  “Onward, indeed,” she said, glancing at the crowd that had followed in behind me. “Is this your family?”

  “And two friends,” I said, motioning to J and Aiden, who were off admiring the huge display of candles, crystals, dream catchers, and essential oils.

  “Oh my,” she said hoarsely, seized by Gillie’s presence. “Girl, you are hurtin’!” She grabbed a small bottle of sage essential oil from the counter, rubbed some into her palms, and then placed her hands over Gillie’s temples.

  Gillie stood there in shock and said, “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Breathe deeply, my girl,” she said, inhaling and exhaling dramatically. “Breathe deeply. Let that anger out.”

  Gillie, to my surprise, listened to her instructions, and her shoulders slumped.

  “Feel better?” Madame Nadirah asked.

  “A little,” Gillie said faintly.

  “Mmhmm, yep, you do,” she said. Then she turned to me. “You have a question for me.”

  It wasn’t a question; she could sense I was there for a reason. Madame Nadirah wasn’t a medium like me, but she was connected to the other side as an empath—her intuitive energy was as keen as a search dog’s nose. And that’s why I was here. I needed her help to figure out how I could save Archie and Helena.

  I rushed forward, grabbed her arm, and led her away from where my mom could hear us. “I only have a minute before my mom is going to try to eavesdrop, and honestly, it might be less than a minute, so listen carefully. You know those two Florida kids who’ve gone missing? They’ve been all over the news? I somehow can talk to them while I’m dreaming. I have no idea how.”

  “Does that mean they’re dead?” asked Madame Nadirah.

  “I don’t think so. It’s weird. I think it has something to do with being lost in the ocean.”

  “What does that have anything to do with it?”

  “It’s too long to explain now. I’m trying to figure out a way to help them, but I don’t know how. There’s no way for me to pinpoint their exact location; all I can do is talk to them.”

  “So you’re looking for a way to track them?”

  “I guess.”

  “Some kind of metaphysical beacon,” she said quietly, looking around her shop.

  “A what?”

  “If you’re meeting them through dreams, the object needs to exist in multiple realms so that you can access it in both the conscious and unconscious states.”

  “Right,” I said. She may as well have been speaking Chinese. “So whaddaya got?”

  She shut her eyes and tap
ped her foot for a few seconds. “I have an idea, but I’m not sure whether it’ll work.”

  “That’s still better than the nothing I’m working with right now.”

  She nodded. “Well, it’s not going to be easy for you, Baylor.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll need to leave a piece of your soul with them.”

  “I knew it,” Kristina said sotto voce.

  Kristina seemed far too calm. I wasn’t expecting Madame Nadirah to say that, and a horrible sense of panic spread through me.

  “What? My soul ? I’m not messing with my soul! Besides, wouldn’t I have to kill someone else to break a piece of it off?”

  “This isn’t some He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named black magic, Baylor,” she said, raising her hand fast. I thought for a second she was going to slap me upside the head, but instead she imitated holding a wand and casting a spell. “What, you believe everything you read?”

  “Well, I don’t know! It’s not like I’m in the habit of breaking off little pieces of my soul to use as some kind of otherworldly bread crumb trail.”

  “There’s a first time for everything,” she said, her smile glinting with mischief.

  “So what’s the proper way to do it?”

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds, Baylor,” Kristina said calmly.

  “Is your sister there?” Madame Nadirah said sharply, looking right at Kristina. Kristina looked startled.

  “Can . . . can you see me?” Kristina asked, a note of excitement in her voice.

  “Because I can feel her,” Madame Nadirah said. She lifted her left arm and sliced through Kristina. “I’ve had the chills for the last few seconds, but only on the left side of my body. And you keep looking right there.” She flourished her hand dramatically at Kristina.

  “Yeah, Kristina’s there,” I said. “She just said breaking my soul up isn’t as bad as it sounds, though I’m going to have to disagree with that one.”

  “People leave pieces of their soul lying around all the time,” Madame Nadirah said. “Almost always by accident too. They don’t know they’re doing it, but they can feel it.” She must have noticed how confused I looked because she sighed and shook her head fast, as if she were trying to shake the perfect example into place. “Ever love a place so much that you feel like you’re one with it?”