Notopia

by Michael Vallimont

  Together, Gwen with the keys, Roger with some extension cords, and the boy headed to the attic.

  “Bradley, we need to capture the girl that wants to hurt you, and we need your help to do it. It’s going to be scary, and it is perfectly okay to be frightened, but I promise we won’t let her hurt you. Both Roger and I will be there, and you are going to be okay.”

  “Yes, Miss Gwen. Dreams know some things are scary for people. Sometimes that’s why they think us up. I will just have to be a people for a little while,” Bradley said.

  She gave Bradley a big hug, and they headed up the stairs.

  Rick decided on just what he needed from the supply room to suspend the girl in a perfect spot for the ambush. He gathered some rope and cords, his mop and bucket, soap, and a box cutter. The door behind him slammed shut, and he spun around to see why. Dharma stood between him and the door.

  “I’m going to make this easy for you because I’m in a hurry. I can’t kill you, but I can take you to death’s door, and leave you begging for it to open,” she said.

  “What do you want?” Rick said.

  Another round of hammering on the walls of the dome by Urkabis began. The blows were such that they shook inside the supply room.

  She screamed, “Your keys. Now! He grows impatient!”

  “I don’t have them,” Rick said.

  “LIAR!” she yelled, and shoved Rick against the wall, pinning him there. Her grip was so much more than Rick imagined.

  “I don’t have them, Gwen has them.”

  “WHERE IS SHE?!”

  Rick didn’t answer this time. He tried to look strong and defiant, and he could feel the pain from her grip building in his body.

  “Last chance, Mr. Custodian. Where is she!”

  “She went to the attic.”

  “Admirable effort, but I knew you would crack.” She released her grip and headed for the attic.

  Rick slumped to the floor and thought to himself. I hope they know what she is capable of. Rick then got up and slowly assembled his materials. It was time to get this done.

  In the attic, Roger moved the clay pots to block him from being seen from the stairs. He crouched behind the cylinder and arranged the cords in a lasso fashion. Gwen positioned herself on the other side of the cylinder near the control panel and placed Bradley across the room from her.

  “To get to the boy, she will have to turn her back on you, Roger. That will be your only chance,” Gwen said.

  The door could be heard closing at the bottom of the stairs, and Dharma was coming up fast.

  ***

  Charles picked up a large shard of glass from a window broken out by the pounding on the dome and a broom he brought to the dreams to make the spear. He then went to the remaining people and told them how this was going to work. They agreed and headed out to assist Rick.

  ***

  “Gwen, I know you are up here. That feeble custodian wasted no time in ratting you out. You people are so weak; it is going to be exciting torturing so many of you in the years ahead,” Dharma said as she reached the top of the stairs.

  “I am not as weak as you think Dharma. You will never make me talk,” Gwen said.

  Dharma, not yet seeing the boy, stepped closer to Gwen. “You know how to shut this off. Tell me, or your vision of Hades will rip at every cell in your body.”

  Gwen made brief eye contact with Bradley then back at Dharma.

  “What was that?” Dharma said turning and spying the boy. “HA!” She turned back to Gwen. “This will be easy now. Tell me, or I will torture the boy until you do!”

  Dharma turned to move toward Bradley. Roger sprung from behind the pots, dropped the lasso around Dharma, and yanked it tight, all in one motion. Gwen jumped in as well, and together they wrapped the cord around and around her. Dharma kicked and screamed furiously, but without her arms, she could not swing. In a moment it was over, and she was firmly in Roger’s control.

  “Not so tough this time, are you missy?” Roger said.

  “Take her down to them and remember I need someone at that attic door to signal me,” Gwen said.

  Roger began to wrestle Dharma down the steps. Bradley huddled in fear on the floor. Gwen sat down beside him and held him in her arms, rocking, shushing and cooing him.

  “It’s over for now Bradley. Think about being a dream again,” she said while running her fingers through his hair and wiping his tears.

  “Miss Gwen, I can sure see how fear is a powerful thing. It is so evil.”

  “In the wrong hands, yes, it is Bradley, but we have just used it to our advantage. Dharma was so pleased to feel the fear in you she let down her guard for us to capture her. You faced your fear and used it to defeat an even bigger evil. Many people could learn to be stronger from you.”

  Outside, Urkabis continued to beat mercilessly upon the building. Several areas had now crumbled in, but any holes were now filled with the purple light.

  “Your time grows short in there,” Urkabis yelled.

  With Dharma securely tied and gagged, they placed a noose around her neck as a second rope. They then hoisted her into the air next to the smaller inner dome. Rick spread heavily soaped water onto the marble floor on the far side of the dome. He then instructed one of the people to do the same up by the front entryway.

  “Make it very wet and very slippery. We want Urkabis to see it,” Rick said.

  Charles helped drag out some furniture and gathered some rubble into a pile next to the inner dome. He and Roger arranged it so that Roger could not be seen and could easily strike Urkabis when he reached up to free the girl.

  “I will fetch the spear. Rick, get those people in position up front and be sure they realize Urkabis will not go easy on them. Then, get back to the attic door and watch for my signal,” Charles said.

  Three people, armed with makeshift clubs, moved up by the entrance. Dharma hung ten feet in the air kicking and grunting. Rick stood by the attic door, Gwen stood at the control panel, Roger crouched in position, and Charles stood ready to spring the trap.

  As a new round of poundings on the building began, Roger waived his arms in a signal to Rick. They all took a deep breath as Gwen manipulated the control panel, shutting off the protective purple barrier for the main entrance. Urkabis noticed immediately; chucking aside the battering ram, he moved directly to the center of the opening. There, he stood, peering inside the museum. He was assessing the situation before coming inside.

  “We want to make a deal with you,” Charles yelled to Urkabis and then raised his arm to gesture toward the suspended Dharma.

  Urkabis screamed and bolted through the opening. Not three steps in, the soapy floor proved impossible for its bony feet to negotiate on the marble. Urkabis crashed hard onto the floor, and three people quickly pounced on him, wielding their clubs and hammers. They pummeled Urkabis as fiercely as they could, but it didn’t take long for Urkabis to become oriented again. At that point, he grabbed the smallest of his attackers and hurled him into one of the others. They slid across the floor and into the wall. A sidekick made short work of the third, and Urkabis stepped away from the shiny soaped marble floor area and now stood a mere thirty feet from Charles.

  Something was very different about Urkabis. The eyes had changed drastically. Gone were the piercing deep dark orbs. Now, they protruded from the head and were wider set. They also moved independently like a chameleon. He now most likely had both binocular and independent vision, allowing him to see 360 degrees around himself without moving his head.

  Charles spoke loudly. “We know the girl is your dream, and as you can see, we are prepared to snap her neck, but we look at it this way. We each have something we desire. We want you to leave Notopia, and you want your dream. We are willing to let her go in exchange for your promise to leave. I am holding the rope that supports her body. If I let go, she will hang, your dream will be gone, and then you will leave like the others. We are giving
you one chance to leave with her peacefully.”

  “You people are full of surprises. I will give you that,” Urkabis said. “I find myself constantly changing to keep up.”

  “I will not offer again,” Charles said. “Give us your word, I will release the girl, and you will be on your way.”

  “You obviously do not comprehend what I said,” Urkabis replied. “I used to change in response to your actions, your annoying attacks. Now, I evolve in anticipation of your futile attempts to stop me.”

  Urkabis lowered his head and jutting it forward opened his mouth. With lizard-like quickness, his tongue exploded at Charles and secured the hand holding the rope. Charles could not free his hand, and Urkabis moved in closer.

  Charles tugged and scrambled all he could but to no avail. As soon as Urkabis was close enough to take the rope in his hand, he did so. He then released Charles, and with a sharp backhand slap sent him sliding across the floor like the others.

  Dharma could see the plot unfolding and began kicking and screaming, but the gag was successful at making her words indiscernible. She kept turning her head from one side to the other trying to get Urkabis to notice Roger.

  “You have done well, Dharma. I will release you,” Urkabis said, and he began to step forward, then stopped abruptly. One eye remained on Dharma, and the other eye spotted the same soapy floor that he fell on previously just in front of him.

  “Ah, I wondered why you thrashed about so.” Urkabis moved to the side of the soapy floor, and right into position for Roger.

  Urkabis supported Dharma with one arm, extended the other arm above her, and popped out the bony blade to cut her down. Now was Roger’s chance. With Urkabis’s arms both raised, the belly was exposed, and he was not expecting his attack. Roger lunged out in one precise motion, and while in flight, placed the razor-sharp glass against Urkabis’s belly.

  In the next instant, everything went wrong. The ever-moving eyes of Urkabis had detected Roger as he took off. Urkabis simultaneously latched onto the girl with his tongue, released the rope, and with the newly freed hand, grasped the spear as it started to penetrate his spiny flesh.

  Roger lost his grip on the spear and tumbled to the floor. Urkabis looked at the makeshift weapon, then cast it aside. He then cut Dharma down and lowered her to the floor, cutting her free from her bonds.

  Urkabis turned toward Roger. “You would kill that which you created? I am what you wished for, or don’t you remember?”

  “I remember all right, but you are not what I desired. You hijacked my dream and somehow perverted it into the hellish thing you are now. We won’t let you end this here. Just as I have found my way here, others will follow. The perseverance of the human collective will reclaim this place, no matter what you do.”

  Dharma, now free from her bindings, rushed to hug Urkabis. “I was trying to warn you!”

  “Yes, I could see that, my pet. Now we are together, and once we finish killing the dreams here, we can combine, and enter the real world on Earth.” Urkabis looked around and asked Dharma, “Where are those dreams now?”

  Charles and Rick helped Roger to his feet, and they made their way to the main entrance. The last of the dreams had just exited the building, and Gwen stood just inside the purple barrier that she had reactivated.

  Gwen answered him. “They are outside, and they are safe. It is you that is now trapped inside the museum!”

  “YOU!” Urkabis screamed so loud it shook the building, and he began to approach Gwen.

  “Your only way out is to accept your dream, free those dreams that churn inside you, and move on to another world.” Gwen knew that meant into oblivion as the only world Urkabis planned on going to was one free of dreams, and now that was not to be.

  Gwen calmly backed up through the purple barrier, and beyond his reach. Even the vicious tongue was stopped by the barrier. “I know exactly what you are, Urkabis. You are no dream, you are a simple pestilence released thousands of years ago to lay in wait for humans to prey upon, but you failed, and now your choice is simple. Accept your dream or exist in eternal confinement. We will soon be relocating the museum, piece by piece, making the space you have now smaller and smaller. You will make a nice display and serve as a terrific educational tool.”

  In a half bargaining, half matter of fact tone, Urkabis said, “You would let the dreams inside me die?”

  “Yes, eventually those dreams inside you will be lost; however, Notopia lives on, and new ones will begin to arrive any day now.”

  Urkabis beat on the barrier with his fist and slashed at it with his blade, kicking and screaming much like a child throwing a tantrum. Gwen walked away and joined the others at the top of the steps.

  “It will still be best if we remain separated until a rainbow arrives with a new batch of dreams,” Gwen said. “I think a new museum will be forming, and it won’t be long before we are back to normal around here, if there is such a thing as normality.”

  “What will become of Urkabis and Dharma?” one dream asked.

  “Well, that is up to Urkabis. If he accepts Dharma as his dream, he will vanish from here and arrive someplace I know not. If he kills Dharma, he will live within that barrier forever. If he never claims Dharma, eventually she will fade away, and Urkabis will remain inside his space.”

  Roger asked, “Can’t they access the cylinder control panel and figure out how to turn the beam off?”

  “No, I moved all the papers outside the museum and without instructions the control panel is not operable.”

  “What is to stop that thing from evolving an adaptation to help him escape?” Charles asked.

  “He must have new input to adapt. So, if no dreams go inside, he will never get that input, and since this experience has become part of Notopia itself, all dreams will arrive with that knowledge,” Gwen answered. “Everybody, I suggest we all go home for tonight and meet back here in the morning. I think by then we will see what direction Notopia itself is moving in and can adjust ourselves accordingly.”

  “Well, well,” Charles said. “I thought you were the one with all the questions and now you have all the answers.”

  Gwen chuckled, “That is quite a turnaround, I admit.”

  While the people dispersed to their homes, Urkabis continued to pound away at the barrier. He didn’t stop until no one could be seen; then, he backed away from view and sat down on the floor next to Dharma.

  “I would have never guessed you had a flair for the dramatic,” she said.

  “It was only logical. Gwen is smart and reads body language. It was necessary to convince her that we believe we are trapped,” Urkabis replied.

  “When do we make our next move?”

  “While they sleep. We will prepare our trap for them, and when they convene in the morning, we will capture them all at one time.”

  ***

  Gwen rested comfortably in the canopied bed thinking, I could get so used to this. It seemed like days and days had passed since she had been in the real world, and she began to wonder just how long a person could experience Notopia without having an impact on real life. Then, she thought, Charles was right, will I ever just stop asking questions? She wondered if it was over. Is Urkabis forever confined to the museum? Will the rainbows begin again? And what will become of Roger as he is no longer alive in the real world, and is not a dream? She also thought that perhaps she should document what has happened and add it to the scrolls and stone tablets. They could all be placed in the new museum for someone to find in the future.

  ***

  She found herself back in her car near Roger’s apartment. Apparently, lunchtime was about over, and although she needed to get back to the office, she also knew they were not aware of his demise. She decided to call in and take some personal time and headed home for a bath.

  Along the way, she now saw the real world from a completely different perspective. It now amazed her that everything around her had been nearly dest
royed by actions taken in a reality that was foreign to the real world. But maybe it wasn’t as foreign as all that. The museum did have a Universalistic Wing and a Spiritual Wing, and she had paintings in both. Perhaps Notopia was a conduit of sorts for one to be in touch with the other. She also wondered, how many other alternate universes were out there that had the potential to impact this one, and which universes this one impacted?

  She drew the bath, lit the candles, slipped out of her clothes, and slid into the tub. The water felt like home, and the tub itself felt contoured to her body. She closed her eyes and let the candle scent fill her inside. She realized she was not as traumatized by Roger’s death because of his intentions, and because she knew his energy lived on in Notopia. She refused to try and link Notopia to heaven or hell, or any other religious domain, mostly because it would be too much for her brain right now.

  She began to focus on the Notopian meeting in the morning at the museum. She wondered what changes were in store for them? Where would the museum move to? She recalled that Roger used to live across the street from the museum and his place was now a vacant lot, and … she stopped mid-thought. His place was a vacant lot, and it was still vacant when she left Notopia, yet Roger was there. So, where would Roger be spending the night?

  ***

  Roger sat quietly leaning against a tree on the edge of the wooded area where his house once sat. He hadn’t contemplated sleeping outside in Notopia and figured he might be the first one to build his own home. He thought about going to Gwen’s, but for tonight at least, it was best they both be alone. Besides, fashioning an outdoor structure to sleep in was second nature for Roger, and he was anxious to see a rainbow to know everything was okay. He could see the purple glow around the museum and began to feel like a night watchman on graveyard duty at a jail.

  In the next instant, Roger awoke to a rather nice sunrise. He recalled watching it before when he would sit at the desk in his study in front of the large windows, the ones Urkabis eventually crashed in. He remembered how twisted his thinking was then. He used to sit for hours, on that stool in the cellar. He thought about that creature and all of the details he had lined up, such as moving his painting into the tunnel area to facilitate an escape to the museum and hiding out in the attic where he presumed no one would find him.