Dream Killing

by Magus Tor

  T continued, “I can see that what I am telling you has you totally freaked out. Don’t worry. This new game world is way better than the creepy tunnels.”

  “No more tunnels?”

  “Nope. Now you will have access to all kinds of places. There is an old Zoo, a huge wooded park, department stores and a subway. I personally would stay out of the subway if you can, the people there have the fewest lives left, have been in the game for God knows how long, and they are definitely desperate for some kills. Oh, and there is a huge library. That’s where I met Max.”

  “Max? Is he another ally?”

  “No,” T chuckled at Drew’s question. “Max is a she. I found her down in the children’s section of the library, hiding behind a cardboard playhouse in the corner. She was down to only a few lives and was tired and ready to give up. I couldn’t just leave her there, so I took her with me. I’ve been helping her.”

  Drew cocked his head to one side and asked, “Is she good? At the game, I mean. How long has she been with you?”

  “She’s been with me for about two weeks now and yes, after convincing her that giving up would only mean permanent death, she followed me around and has gotten quite good at the game. She’s pretty tired of it, though. I’m hoping that another ally might change her attitude and put a little more intensity into her game play.”

  “So, what’s she like?” Drew’s curiosity over what type of “girl” would be playing a game like this was getting the best of him.

  “You will get to find out shortly. She should be here any minute,” T answered as he looked at his watch.

  “You know her here? This is so weird. If so many people play this game, or dream this game, or whatever it is we’ve been doing, then why haven’t I heard of it before now?”

  “I couldn’t tell ya’. Honestly, I had never heard of it either, until I wound up in it.” Just as he finished his sentence, T looked up and waved somebody over. Drew looked towards the door and saw what he could only describe as an angel. Max had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her beauty was simple, and that’s what made her so appealing to Drew. She couldn’t have been more than five feet tall and had long, wavy, red hair. As she came closer, Drew was almost startled by the color of her eyes. Most redheads he knew had green or hazel eyes, but Max had the most strikingly blue eyes.

  “Hey, Max. I’d like you to meet Drew. Drew, this is Max.” T’s introduction was quick and to the point.

  “Hi,” Max said softly as she extended her hand for Drew to shake.

  “Hello. It’s nice to meet you,” Drew said, slightly fumbling over his words. He had never held such a soft and warm hand.

  For the next hour or so the three sat, huddled closely and talking softly. T and Max explained as much of the game as they could so that Drew would have an advantage for the next time he played. While most of the conversation was quite intense, there were nice little breaks where Max’s soft laughter seemed to ease Drew’s mind.

  Suddenly, T looked at his watch and stood, “I gotta go. I’m late for something. See ya in the game, guys.” With that, he patted Max on the head and was gone.

  “Does he always just get up and leave like that?” Drew was still surprised by how quickly things went from serious conversation to being done.

  “Yeah, I like to think of him as my Man of Mystery. He keeps to himself, but is a good man.” Max’s eyes met Drew’s and he could see what a tight bond she had forged with T in the short time she has known him.

  “I was planning on taking a walk by the lake, care to join me?” Drew asked Max, pretty sure she’d have better things to do than to spend time with some boring guy who was obviously at least 10 years older than herself.

  “That would be nice. I think I’ll grab a water to go, would you like one?”

  “Sure, that sounds good.”

  They both grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler, Drew paid, and they were on their way. Neither said a word as they walked around the corner and up the few blocks to the lakeside. The sun was shining and there were a few fluffy white clouds dancing across the sky. Both enjoyed the beautiful spring weather as they found a bench to sit on.

  As if reading each other’s minds, they both spoke at the same time, “How long have you lived in the city?”

  Laughing, Drew said, “Ladies first.”

  “I’ve lived here my whole life. You?”

  “I moved here almost a month ago,” Drew paused and then started again, “Wow! Your whole life? You must really love the city.”

  “Well, when I was younger I swore that one day I would move to the suburbs, settle down and start a family. Once I got a little older, I realized how much the city had to offer. I went to college to become a kindergarten teacher so I could work with kids that may not get all I was offered as a child.” As she spoke, Drew could see the passion she had for her job and for her city. He found it quite endearing. “What brought you to Chicago?”

  “Well,” he started, hesitant to tell her the truth, “I decided that I needed a change. So, I packed up and moved here.”

  “Did you live far from here?”

  “Yeah, pretty far. I lived in a small town in Virginia.”

  “Wow, how do you like city life?”

  “So far, so good. I’m a people watcher, and there are definitely plenty of people to watch.” Drew was enjoying this time with Max. She was soft spoken but had an air of confidence about her. They sat for hours, comparing city life to small town life, making up stories about the people that passed them by on their way to who knows where, talking about movies they love and a multitude of other topics, but neither spoke a word about the game. Neither even thought about the game.

  Losing track of time, Drew looks up to the sky and realizes that the sun is now behind them. Surprised by how much time has passed, he says, “Wow, I can’t believe what time it is!”

  Max, too, looked up. “Wow, what time is it?”

  Looking at his watch, Drew replied, “It’s 4:45. You hungry? I could go for an early dinner.”

  “I would love to, but I am having dinner with my sister tonight. She just broke up with her boyfriend and I am blessed with the task of keeping her mind off of it. Not that it’s a hassle or anything, but she is so focused on wanting to get back together with him that she isn’t seeing that she’s better off this way.” She looked at Drew and saw him smiling. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing. It’s just nice seeing someone who takes care of their family. Every Friday night I order a pizza and call my father. He lives in California and isn’t much for traveling, so we’ve been talking every Friday for as long as I can remember.”

  Smiling, Max said, “That’s really cool.” Then, standing she said, “I had a really nice time with you today, Drew. Thank you for the company.”

  “Yeah, it was fun. You enjoy your dinner, and go easy on your sister,” Drew said and they both giggled like school girls. Then the awkward moment came. Do I shake her hand? Do I give her a hug? Do we just turn and walk away? Drew didn’t know quite what to do next. Thankfully, Max did. She took a couple of steps, grabbed Drew’s hand with both of hers, thanked him again for a nice talk and then stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. With that, Drew smiled and said, “I will see you soon,” and she turned to leave.

  As Drew watched her walk away, he smiled as he thought about how nice it was to make such a sweet friend. She was so familiar, even after only knowing her for a handful of hours. They talked as if they had known each other their whole lives. It was just what Drew needed to feel like he finally belonged there. He enjoyed the short walk back home, contentment giving his face a whole new look.

  Drew turned and started walking home. Between the beautiful weather and the new friend he just made, he was feeling like everything was going right. When he reached his Greystone, he realized he was jogging. He jogged up the steps and let himself in, picking his mail up off the floor on the other side of the door as he went inside. Well, what do I do now? It w
as only about 5:15 and it was Saturday night. Just then he heard a knock on the door.

  “Be right there,” he shouted as he moved back towards the stairs. He loved his apartment, but when someone came to the door, that meant a trip all the way back down the stairs to let them in. He took the stairs two at a time and could see his downstairs neighbor through the decorative glass in the center of the door.

  “Hey,” Drew said as he pushed open the door.

  “Hey, Drew,” his neighbor started, “I’m taking the wife and kids up north to visit my parents for a few days. Would you mind keeping an eye on the place for us?”

  “Sure, no problem. Have a great time.”

  “Thanks!”

  By the time Drew made it back up to his apartment he could already hear a car start in the front of the building. He walked over to the huge picture window and watched as his neighbors drove away. Hmm. Drew began thinking to himself, nobody home downstairs. I think it’s time to turn up the music, do a bit of spring cleaning, get some air flowing through this place and maybe watch a movie.

  Drew being the disciplined person that he is meant that there really wasn’t much cleaning to be done. After opening all the windows, he washed all of the hardwood floors, vacuumed the few throw rugs he had and gave his kitchen and bathrooms a good scrubbing. When he was done he realized that it was already 8:30 and he still hadn’t eaten dinner. He made himself a fat turkey sandwich, grabbed some carrot sticks and a diet soda. He set his food down on the coffee table and walked over to the bookshelf that housed all of his movies and began searching for something to watch.

  It had been a while since he had last watched a DVD, and his collection showed its age. Not really interested in anything on the shelf, he decided to put his 280 channels of cable to use. He popped a carrot into his mouth and began flipping through the stations. Realizing that for so many channels there really wasn’t much on TV, Drew settled for a Big Bang Theory marathon and at his dinner.

  At about 11:00 Drew decided to just call it a night and hoped that tomorrow would prove to be just as nice as today. He turned off the TV and closed all of the windows in the house except for his bedroom window. The night had turned brisk and the cool breeze felt nice as he climbed into bed. He looked over at the alarm clock and decided that tomorrow he would sleep in. Flipping the switch to the off position on his alarm clock was something that Drew rarely did, and it felt good.

  Drew lay in his bed, listening to the sounds of the city as he drifted off to sleep.

  *****

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Birds were chirping and the sun was softly shining through the open window. Drew opened his eyes, expecting to be in the game, but instead he was still in his bed. Huh, Drew thought as he sat up and put his feet on the floor. He found it quite weird that he didn’t wind up in the game. He found it even more bizarre that he didn’t remember dreaming at all. He couldn’t remember a dreamless night since before becoming an agent for the CIA.

  He walked into the kitchen, looked at his coffee pot, and then decided that The Bean had way better coffee. He got dressed and headed over to the coffee shop. Maybe I will run into T or Max, Drew thought as he turned the corner.

  When he walked in, he noticed that Adam was finally not working. He was greeted by an older woman who reminded Drew of his old Aunt Dottie. He ordered his coffee, but this time decided to try something new. Walking over to the window area of the shop, he placed his iced coffee on the table and picked the couch that had the best view of the street. He drank his coffee as he watched the people of the city walk by.

  After about an hour, Drew decided to head out. He went to put his hand on the door to push it open, but at the same time somebody else was pulling it open.

  “Drew!” It was Max. A smile spread across Drew’s face.

  “Hey, Max! Long time no see,” Drew joked.

  “I know!”

  “How’s your sister doing?”

  “She’s fine, for now anyway. She decided to give him another chance, so we’ll see what happens.”

  “I was just heading out, but I thought maybe I would have myself a little cook out tonight. You free?” Drew wasn’t sure where that came from, but, hey, sounded pretty good.

  “Sure, that would be nice. You want me to bring anything?”

  “Nah, well, if you want to bring some wine, that would be great.”

  “Oh, I don’t drink wine. You okay with beer?” Max surprised Drew with the offer to bring beer. Most women he came in contact with preferred wine.

  “Beer works great for me.” Drew looked at his watch and said, “My place, 6:00?”

  “Sounds great to me.”

  “Good. I live right around the corner from here.” Drew wrote down the address on a napkin that was lying on the counter by the cash register and handed it to her. He put his phone number on it, too, just in case she wanted to cancel.

  “Alright, Drew, I will see you at 6:00.” She took the napkin and put it in the pocket of her jeans.

  “See you tonight,” Drew said and walked out of the coffee shop. A cook out? Where did that come from? Now I guess I need to go to the store and get some steaks.

  Glad that he cleaned the house yesterday, Drew walked the 6 blocks to the little grocery store he loved and picked up a couple of steaks. He also grabbed some chips and a couple bags of ice.

  When Drew got home, he threw the ice in the freezer and the steaks in the fridge. He had plenty of time, so he decided to take a shower and check his email. As it got closer to 6:00, Drew started to wonder if this was a good idea. It had been quite some time since he had anyone over to his house. He wasn’t sure if he would be a good host.

  As Drew was logging off of his laptop, the doorbell rang. Well, here goes! Drew was nervous as he walked down the stairs to let Max in. Why are you so nervous, you are just having a friend over for a cook out? Drew thought he was being silly, so he confidently opened the door and invited Max inside.

  “This is a beautiful building, Drew! I’ve always wanted to live in one of these old Greystones.”

  “Thanks. I love it here. We’re going to go up top to cook. Wanna help me carry some stuff up?”

  “Up top?” Max looked confused.

  “Yeah. Since the folks downstairs have kids, they use the yard more, so I use the roof as my deck. It has a great view of the lake.”

  “Wow! Sure, what would you like me to carry?”

  “If you can grab the beer you brought…good choice, by the way…and the chips, I can grab the ice and the cooler.”

  As they climbed the stairs to the roof, Drew realized that he was actually quite comfortable with Max; not nervous at all. They reached the roof and Max took a long look around. “Wow, Drew, this is awesome.”

  They set everything up, Max sat down with a beer and Drew started the grill. The sun was low in the sky making the light of the day quite dim. Drew walked over to the pole that stood alongside the stairs and flipped a switch. Strings of white lights lit up and he looked over at Max. She was now standing, turning in slow circles enjoying the view and the lights.

  “Drew, this is so great!”

  “The trellises were here from the people who lived here before me, so I decided that some lighting and comfortable patio furniture would make this a great place to hang out.”

  “It is amazing! I bet you are up here all the time!

  “Nah, it’s no fun being up here alone.” Drew hoped that last statement didn’t sound too pathetic or needy.

  “Speaking of alone,” Max started, “where were you last night? I looked everywhere for you.”

  “Last night? I was here. I thought you had to go eat dinner with your sister.”

  “No, in the game. I couldn’t find you anywhere. I figured that since it was your first time in the big game I would find you and show you around, but I couldn’t find you.”

  “Oh, I didn’t play last night. I woke up and realized that I had no dreams and didn’t play the game.”

  �
�I wish! I am so tired of the game, Drew.”

  It was then that Max told Drew about her time in the game. She told him about how low she had gotten in lives, how she found her place in the library, how T found her and how he saved her. They continued to talk about not just her role in the game, but T’s role and his own role. Dinner flew by and darkness settled in all around them.

  After about three hours the decided that they had talked about the game long enough and the subject was changed. Soon the two were laughing about favorite movies and childhood stories. It seemed as though they could talk forever, but as it hit midnight the church bells rang down the street and signaled that it was time for Max to leave.

  “Wow, I can’t believe it’s midnight already! I have class in the morning. I really need to get home,” Max said, a slight hint of disappointment in her voice.

  “I understand. This was nice. We’ll have to do it again soon. Maybe we can get T to join us.” Drew threw in the part about T hoping not to sound too eager.

  “That would be fun.”

  Max helped Drew clean up and then they walked down the front steps to the street. As Max climbed into her car, Drew leaned in and thanked her again for coming.

  “Thanks for having me! See you tomorrow.” Max slowly pulled away, leaving Drew smiling slightly and content with how the night went.

  Making his way back to the roof to turn off the lights and make sure the grill and furniture get covered, Drew felt good. He was happy to be making friends. He knew it was late, so he didn’t linger up top. Drew put everything away, locked up the house washed the few dishes from dinner and then made his way to bed. He set his alarm for a little earlier so he had time to shower and stop in at The Bean.

  As Drew settled back against his pillows, the cool breeze blowing in through the bedroom window, he hoped that if he wound up back in the game he could find Max and T.

  *****