Notopia

  Gwen and Charles exchanged looks, and Gwen whispered. “Remember, we get him down first, then we can do whatever we need to.” Charles nodded in agreement.

  Gwen moved in closer and knelt beside the man. “You can’t be comfortable here? Let’s go downstairs and get something to eat and see what we can do to help you.”

  “G… Gwen. I know you. You must read.” He pointed at the clay pots.

  Now that she was close to him, she could see he looked very powerful. Whatever happened to him must have been extremely traumatic and violent, but he seemed calm now. “You know about the scrolls? But, how could you? And I have already read them. That is how I got the cylinders to activate the beacon. What is your name?”

  “You don’t recognize me?” He ran his hand through his fiery red hair. He stammered horribly and gurgled like he was drowning when he talked. “It’s me, Roger.”

  Chapter 20

  The older lady sat in the chair across from Shelly. “This museum is quite nice. I am anxious to look around and find my seeker,” she said.

  “Do you know your seeker?” Shelly asked.

  “Heavens no. I haven’t met her, but I think I’ll recognize her very quickly.”

  “Her?”

  “Oh yes. I know it is a female because her dream is to rediscover the mental link that mothers have with their unborn children. It’s a link forgotten over time that is still present in other mammals.”

  “You are talking about the education a baby gets before it is born. The one that teaches the sucking response for eating and the wiggling of fingers and establishes the bond to keep the mother informed about the infant’s health both emotionally and physically.”

  “Why, that is exactly right… Shelly.”

  Shelly realized they had not exchanged names and then realized much more. She went to the door and whispered to the firemen. “Please tell Gwen and Charles that I can’t stay. She will know why.”

  The fireman answered. “I understand. Good fortune to you.”

  Shelly closed the door and said. “May I ask your name?”

  ***

  “My name is Mariah,” the hospice nurse answered.

  “I’m so glad I finally found you, Mariah!”

  “Me too, Shelly. We have much to do and time is not on our side.”

  Mariah laid out a voice recorder and started asking questions. They both knew Shelly would not live to see her dream’s total result, but it would get published, and it would make a difference to countless mothers and babies. They also knew it would make Shelly’s passing more peaceful.

  Chapter 21

  “It is me, Gwen. I am not a dream, and I am not a person any longer.”

  Gwen looked hard at his face. There in his eyes, she could see him. “Roger it is you! But how did you… and why are you… and what is wrong with you?”

  “As I died, I found a brief instant that allowed me a chance to come here. I can’t explain it. I was pulled from that rope and didn’t know where I was. There was a group of people, I think, I could not see them due to the lighting. They called themselves a ‘Collective’ or some such thing. They told me to focus on why I was on that bridge. They told me that my plan wouldn’t help anything, and they would make me stronger. I believe I am here to destroy that thing I created. To do that I needed to be stronger, and thus I am changed.”

  “You can’t possibly fight that thing in your condition. You are much too weak,” Charles said.

  “Yes,” Roger said. “The collective prepared me before I got into the rainbow. While I waited my turn for the rainbow to bring me, I was attacked. It likely would have killed me, but somehow in our struggle, it got caught up in the rainbow that was just before mine.”

  “Attacked?” Gwen said. “By what or by who?”

  “Of all things… a small woman young woman. Or so I thought she was just a young woman. It turns out she is somehow an extension of Urkabis himself. She beat me about the head and neck and was strangling me from behind when we tumbled right in front of the rainbow entrance, and I pushed her in. Things are pretty broken up inside. I can feel it. If the rainbow hadn’t been there, I am sure I would not have survived. Apparently, when I died in real life, Urkabis became able to dream.”

  “Yes, we figured that out, Roger. Shelly is talking to all the new dreams trying to find that dream now. She will find her”

  Roger shrugged his shoulders a bit. Shelly is gone from here.”

  Charles said. “No Roger, she is interviewing a dream right now.”

  “A nicely dressed lady? Who came in on the last rainbow with me?”

  “Are you telling us that lady is Shelly’s dream?” Gwen asked, and Roger nodded yes.

  “Charles, we need to separate the people from the dreams. If we don’t do that right away, then everyone will match up, and there will be no dreams left in Notopia. That is what Urkabis needs!”

  “Ok, Gwen. I understand. Hurry down though. I am going to need help,” Charles said and headed down the stairs.

  “Gwen, I came up here to keep that girl from mucking up the beacon,” Roger said.

  “That was good thinking, Roger. I have learned quite a bit about this contraption; let me show you.” Gwen and Roger continued to discuss the hieroglyphs, and she showed him how things lined up to activate the cylinder. He was happy that she had figured it out. Roger pressed the buttons, and a panel slid open to reveal a viewing screen that displayed the museum and some of the area around it. It was a simple line schematic and was laid out on a grid that showed the location of the barrier in each segment.

  “I believe these buttons here on the right-hand side are for manipulating the barrier Gwen.”

  “Yes, I see that. Very clever, show me what else you know.”

  In the museum below, Charles had gathered all the dreams into one room and all the people into another, but the numbers didn’t match. Only 27 dreams and 12 people were present. That was understandable as people come and go.

  Charles addressed the dreams. “Please hear me out without comment; you will understand why in just a moment. You all know why Urkabis is out there, and if we let him inside or let you outside, he will kill you. Once all the dreams are gone, Notopia will shut down. What we need is time to find a way to stop this thing. For us to do that, we need to keep dreams separated from people. We cannot let you talk to any people for fear of you finding your seeker, and you will leave from here as well. I know it sounds crazy to keep you from your seeker, but it is the only way to keep Notopia intact for now.”

  A gentleman in the back raised his hand. “Charles, I want to tell you that the dreams in this room agree with you for now. However, if that thing gets in here, we would rather find our seeker and leave than be killed.”

  “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen, and I totally agree with you.”

  “One more thing,” the man said. “I don’t see the little boy or that young lady who was here earlier.”

  Another dream spoke up. “That young lady is an odd dream, and that little boy is out running all through the halls. He is so cute. I saw him with a makeshift fishing pole in his hand a few minutes ago.” The dreams laughed a bit at the idea of fishing inside the museum.

  “Okay, thank you all,” Charles said. “We will do everything we can, and we will try to keep you informed.”

  Gwen and Roger made it down the stairwell and met up with Charles in the middle of the large dome. The gigantic picture spawned by Urkabis was starting to show some detail, but it was still indiscernible.

  “That ghastly painting is beginning to smell just like Urkabis,” Charles said. “It is almost as if the museum does not want his picture to form at all.”

  “Did you get all the dreams rounded up?” Gwen asked.

  “All but two; that little barefoot kid and the young woman, Dharma, are still at large. I also explained to both the people and the dreams what we are facing and why we must keep separate for now.”

&
nbsp; “Any problems with that?” Gwen asked.

  “None. They all agreed for now.”

  Gwen said. “Take Roger to the other dreams. I am going to try and find those two.” Gwen said.

  “We shouldn’t leave the beacon unguarded, Gwen,” Roger said.

  “That is true, Roger, but you are in no condition to do that. Charles, can you send a couple people to watch the entryway to the beacon? If that girl comes around, tell them to pull the fire alarm, and we will come running to help,” Gwen said.

  In the outer annex, no paintings, dreams or people could be found. Gwen marched through the main dome and remembered the smaller inner dome. She saw that her painting had relocated, just as Charles had told her. She could see the back of it through the room walls, which continued to glow with a green hew. She didn’t see anyone but was curious as to what her painting had now become. She walked around to the entrance and there found Bradley. He was up on a stool, which was why she did not see his legs from the other side, and he was facing her painting.

  “Bradley? What are you doing here?”

  “Hi, Miss Gwen. I sure do like your painting.”

  The painting was a very serene lake with a shoreline extending out of view to the bottom right side of the frame. Four clouds graced the sky, and you could see small waves lapping on the banks. Even a shadow from the cloud swept through the painting.

  “Bradley, are you … fishing? In my painting?”

  “I hope it’s okay? I’m not keeping any of the fish. I’m not even using bait.”

  “Yes, it’s okay, but I don’t understand how?”

  Bradley stood on the stool facing the painting holding his makeshift fishing pole. The line went from his pole into the painting, and one could see small ripples in the water where the line disappeared.

  “Besides, they are not biting much today.”

  “Then, what is it you are doing?”

  “You have to promise not to laugh at me, Miss Gwen.”

  “Believe me, Bradley. I would never do that, especially not here.”

  “Well, I am talking to the fish mostly, although I think I talked to a crawfish once too. You know they aren’t really fish, they are more like lobsters, and I sure don’t know who or how they came up with that name.”

  “You don’t say. You know a lot about fishing?”

  “Well, I suppose I do for a kid, but only because they tell me things.”

  Bradley offered the fishing pole to Gwen. “They want to talk to you.” Gwen stood silent, and Bradley kept pushing the pole closer to her. “Just talk right into the line, right there, where it is all tied up, then listen close.”

  Gwen took the pole and brought it close to her lips. “Um … hello, fishy fishes. Nice lake you got here.”

  Bradley giggled and watched Gwen’s face grow in astonishment as the fish answered her. She gave the pole quickly back to Bradley.

  “I don’t believe what I heard!” She was talking to Bradley as much as herself. “That talked to me. It’s a pole.”

  Bradley laughing said, “No silly, it was fish talking to the hook. The fishing line brings the sound up here, nothing magical about it. Boy, didn’t you ever tie a string between two cans and use it as an old-fashioned telephone?”

  “Yes, but we talked to people. Not animals, and certainly never to fish!”

  “You mean you never talked to animals either? Then, I suppose you are not a very good fisher lady, are you?”

  “No,” she laughed, but marveled at the simplicity and accuracy of his logic. “I am not.”

  “What did the fish say to you?” Bradley asked.

  “Well, they thanked me for making this very lovely lake for them to live in.”

  “See? I knew they would be polite. They are very nice fish. Sometimes the crawfish snaps at the hook, but he just thinks it’s neat because it’s shiny.”

  Unbeknownst to both Bradley and Gwen, Dharma had moved into the entryway.

  “That child is not going to save you,” Dharma uttered.

  Gwen was startled and turned toward Dharma. She was not the sweet looking young woman Charles had brought in earlier. Her hair was a mess, her attire disheveled and there was a nasty red stripe that went diagonally across her face.

  Bradley jumped off the stool and huddled behind Gwen. “She tried to hurt me! I hit her with my fishing pole and ran away.”

  “LIAR!” Dharma answered. “I tried to kill you, and I will too.”

  Gwen picked up the stool to use as a weapon. “You stay away from us!”

  Dharma stalked about the room. “Oh, he is safe for now. You see, I can’t hurt you. So long as you protect him, he is safe, but I am curious about a few things. Why is it all the other paintings have relocated to the main dome except yours? And what is so damn special about that lake in your painting? “

  Gwen said nothing, mostly because she wondered the same, but even if she knew she would not have shared the information.

  They shifted positions around the room in a small game of cat and mouse, but Gwen never gave Dharma a chance to touch the boy.

  “One more question,” Dharma said. “Who will protect these dreams when you leave Gwen? Hmm?”

  With that, Dharma left the room and was quickly out of sight.

  “Come on, Bradley, let’s get back with the others.”

  As Bradley and Gwen ran across the floor of the large dome area, they could be seen from the main entrance. Urkabis stood in the doorway just beyond the purple-shielded area, stalking his prey. From a small window above, Dharma stuck her head out and yelled down. “They are all inside a couple of rooms. They have separated the people from the dreams, so the dreams are waiting for you to slaughter them, and I even made sure the boy would be there too.”

  “I sense the one called Gwen and yet another entity,” Urkabis said.

  “Yes, the man thing you call Roger is not dead. I was unable to finish killing him when the rainbow took me. He is very weak. I waited to tell you as you slept in the forest, but the human came and wanted to bring me inside here I knew I would be no help on the outside.”

  “Very well. I am disappointed in your failure to kill the man, but you made a wise choice to get inside. Can you disable this light that blocks my entry?”

  “No, but if you can distract the people I have a way to get you inside.”

  “Alright, I will cause a distraction when you are ready. Success for us is not far off.”

  “Fifteen minutes is all I need.”

  Gwen delivered the boy to the room full of dreams. She counted 21. “Where is Charles?” she asked. “And where are the other dreams?”

  “He and that Roger guy went back to examine those papers,” a dream said.

  Gwen realized Charles hadn’t divulged Roger’s identity, and that was probably for the best, but he did introduce him to everyone with the name Roger.

  “Gwen, we tried to stop them, but several dreams went ahead and found their seekers,” one dream said. “We don’t blame them. You don’t know how difficult it is for us to sit here knowing our destiny is only a few rooms away.”

  “I suppose not, but please stay here, so much more is at stake. You must trust me. I know things are going to work out and you will be with your seeker,” Gwen pleaded.

  All they could say was that they would try, and Gwen knew that was the best she could hope for.

  She left them to join Roger, Rick, and Charles in the smaller room.

  “Gwen, we think we have a way to destroy Urkabis,” Charles said.

  “I am all ears,” Gwen said.

  “Well, we know the beacon is active, and we know the beacon can’t destroy him with the way things currently are. The problem is that the mass inside of him is all the dreams that he has consumed, and the beacon cannot destroy those dreams. If we can release that mass, separate the dreams from Urkabis, then the beacon can do its job,” Charles said.

  “Ok, but how do you int
end to do that?” Gwen asked.

  “We have to set a trap. We will capture his dream, the girl Dharma, and suspend her above the floor of the museum as though we are threatening to hang her. We then let Urkabis inside and tell him we want to make a deal. He keeps his dream in exchange for leaving Notopia. By us letting him inside, he will believe we are serious. He will laugh at our seemingly feeble attempt to barter with him. He will fight his way past Rick, Charles, and any other people we have, but when he gets to the girl and extends his arms to pull her down, Roger will be waiting there to slice him open with a spear that we’ll make. Then, the dreams should fall out, and the beacon will be able to remove him.”

  The men sat quietly, waiting for Gwen’s blessing. “Some mighty big assumptions in that plan gentlemen. Like are you sure the dreams will come out of him? If we let him in here and it fails, we don’t get a second chance.”

  A loud crashing thud shook the room and the entire building for that matter.

  “What the hell is that?” Charles yelled.

  Outside, Urkabis had ripped a light pole from over the steps and was battering the building. Again, and again, he slammed the pole against the concrete. Inside small pieces fell from the ceiling and cracks began to appear in the dome. The group ran from the room and stood to watch Urkabis, who had become immensely stronger during his last respite. He continued to batter away relentlessly.

  “You want to let that in here?” Gwen said.

  “I don’t see that we have a choice, Gwen,” Rick said.

  “Okay, Charles, have the dreams, make the spear, and tell them what you need. Rick, you prepare the area where the girl will be suspended. Roger, you and the boy, are with me,” Gwen said. “Rick, I’m going to need your keys. And if that girl, Dharma, comes to take them from you, you can tell her I have them and where I am.”

  The pounding on the dome stopped momentarily, and then it began again.

  “Are you sure about this?” Rick said and handed her his keys.

  “No, I am not sure about anything at this point, but it’s the best we got,” Gwen said.