Chapter Three

"Welcome to the Academy of Science! You guys have a fun time! Call us if you need anything. Here is your room key. Dinner is at 6 pm, breakfast is at 7 am, and the tour starts at 8 a.m. sharp. Get a good rest tonight! See ya!" said the chipper tour guide.

"Thanks," AJ replied as he grabbed the room key.

"Hey, AJ. What room are you in?" Zoe asked, appearing beside him.

"104. You?" AJ replied.

"203. I’ve got to settle in, but maybe we can have some alone time later. I’m rooming with Kate, but she’ll probably be out at some point," she said.

"Yeah, maybe," AJ responded, though he was more worried about other priorities at the moment.

"Okay. We don’t have to…" Zoe trailed off, questioning his interest.

"NO! I want to, it’s just... I’m really tired and haven’t gotten good sleep the last couple of days. I don’t even know who I’m rooming with," AJ said, trying to explain.

"Is everything okay? You know you can always talk to me. I was actually thinking we could talk tonight," Zoe offered.

"Here? Tonight? I—" Before AJ could finish, he was interrupted.

"Well, well. Don’t worry, everybody, the party’s here! Hey, Zoe. So, where are your hot friends?" Tyrone came walking over.

"Who?" Zoe looked puzzled.

"What rooms do you got? Ha! Looks like you and I are room neighbors. Listen, party at mine tonight. Jack and I are going to throw the biggest party this nerd place has ever seen." Tyrone pulled out his room key card, showing "102." He didn’t wait for a response and walked off toward the elevators.

"Okay everyone, let’s head to our rooms," said the tour guide.

AJ headed toward the elevator and made his way to his room. When he opened the door, he found Everett already inside, unpacking on the bed.

"Hey, Everett. Looks like we’re roommates," said AJ.

"Hey, AJ. Yeah, looks like it," Everett replied.

"I’m glad you came. Are you interested in this science stuff?" AJ asked as he put his things on his bed. He noticed Everett didn’t respond. Instead of unpacking, it seemed more like Everett was hiding away his bags.

"Well, I’m going to shower before dinner. Do you want to go first?"

"No, you go ahead."

In the shower, all AJ could think about was what was going to happen tonight.

"Just act like everything is normal. We don’t want the entity to suspect we know. We have one problem: too much alcohol blocks us from entering the dream," Justin’s voice echoed in AJ’s mind.

"It does?"

"I know what you’re thinking—it won’t work. You can’t get rid of me that way. The only way is to tackle this head-on."

"They’re having a party. How are we going to do this?"

"You’re not going to like this..."

"What?"

"You’re going to have to put him to sleep."

"What the hell? How?"

"Well, a couple of options. I’m sure some of the hotel staff have pills to help with insomnia. Or... you can apply some force to the head."

"Knock him out?! Hell no."

"Well, there is one other option. In ten minutes, there will be a maid on this floor. She’ll have alcohol on her cart she pushes. Hurry up, get dressed, grab a few bottles, and make a cocktail with them. Offer it to Tyrone, and I’ll do the rest. He’ll gladly accept, and then... game on."

"What about the party?"

"It’ll be the perfect timing since everyone will be out. You just have to convince Everett to go too so you have the room alone."

"He’s not the type to go."

"Why? Why do you judge him so much? Do you even know him?"

"No, but... fine, you’re right."

AJ finished his shower and got dressed.

"Hey, Everett. You going to come to the party tonight?"

"Oh no. Definitely not."

"How come?"

"I don’t know. I wasn’t invited."

"No one is personally invited. That’s how parties work—you just show up with friends."

"I don’t have any friends."

That made AJ feel bad. "Whoa, AJ. That’s not true. You just got to open up more. Come on, come to the party."

"You’ll be there? What about Tyrone? He wouldn’t want me there."

"Let me worry about Tyrone. He won’t be there."

"Hm. Okay. I guess I’ll go shower then." Everett actually smiled. A funny thought ran through AJ’s head—this might have been the first time he had seen Everett smile.

Everett headed into the shower. AJ snuck out, and the maid was in the hallway exactly as Justin had said. He waited until she went into one of the rooms and crouched down to her cart. Her purse was underneath and next to it was a bunch of half-filled bottles of alcohol. AJ grabbed several and quickly ran back.

Back in the room, AJ could hear Everett still showering. He grabbed the hotel cups and started pouring soda into one. He cracked a bottle open and mixed it into the drink.

“Now what?” asked AJ

“Now watch,” Justin said. AJ was holding a cup in each hand. He looked over and noticed the shadows of the cups were looking odd. The shadow seemed like black steam was coming off it. He looked back at his hands as black steam seemed to emit from his hands and went into the cups. Worried that it might taste weird, he went over to the mini fridge to look for other mixers. Everett's bag was in the way, so he went to move it. It was unbelievably heavy and didn’t feel like it was full of clothes. What was Everett carrying? AJ thought and went to unzip the luggage, but was stopped.

"Are these for us? Sweet!" Everett said. AJ turned around in panic to see Everett taking a sip from the cup.

"No! Don’t—" It was too late.

“Well, that’s not good,” Justin said.

Everett took another sip, then stopped, realizing AJ had touched his stuff. His smile vanished.

"What are you doing?" Everett asked.

"Oh, uh, I was just looking for something to mix the drinks with, so I had to move your stuff," AJ explained.

Everett rushed over, still in his towel. "Well, don’t touch my stuff without permission!" He ran over to his bag.

"Everett, what’s in the bag?" AJ asked.

"Nothing." Everett tried to grab his bag, but in doing so, his towel fell, exposing his bare ass.

AJ started laughing. It was such an awkward sight, watching Everett try to hold his bag and towel at the same time.

"Stop laughing!" Everett snapped.

"Chill, Everett. It’s funny."

"It’s not funny!"

Then AJ stopped laughing. He finally really looked at Everett. He had bruises all over.

"Everett... where did you get all those bruises?" AJ asked.

Everett let go of his bag and wrapped himself back in the towel.

"Everett, I’m serious."

"Some are from Tyrone. Some are from..." Everett trailed off.

"Tyrone? Why don’t you tell anyone?!"

"Because no one really cares. I’ve tried before, and it only made things worse."

"Everett, I had no idea."

"I feel funny. What was in those drinks?"

"Uhhhhhh..."

Everett stood up quickly and then immediately collapsed back onto the bed.

"Holy shit, that worked fast," AJ said.

"Yeah, well, we can affect people’s dreams. I know this is a lot, but we don’t have much time. Worry about him later. Focus on Tyrone," Justin said.

"But. Did we need to put alcohol in it then?" AJ started.

“There’s no time,” Justin insisted.

AJ grabbed a soda, poured it into the cups, and headed to Tyrone's room.

Knock, knock, knock. Tyrone opened the door.

"Yo, AJ. Whoa, drinking already? You fucking animal. Love it. Is one of those for me? Hell yeah, come in." Tyrone grabbed one of the cups and let AJ in. AJ walked in and saw that Jack and Tyrone were already drinking.

"Jack around?" asked AJ.

"He went to get more booze. He should be back shortly," said Tyrone.

"We need to get him out of here before he comes back," Justin said.

"I'm looking forward to it. Cheers," AJ said as they clinked cups and started to drink. All he could think about was Everett's bruises and how this guy caused them. Was it the sleep entities making Tyrone do that or had this been happening before? He felt angry.

"You know," AJ said, "I got some booze back in my room. You want to help me grab it?"

"Sure. We could always use more. Lead the way," said Tyrone.

They headed back toward AJ's room. AJ paused at the door, remembering there was a passed-out, naked guy inside.

"Tyrone, my—"

BAM. AJ turned around to see Tyrone face down on the floor. AJ freaked out. He got the door open and tried to hold it while pulling Tyrone by the arm. Tyrone's head kept getting caught on the doorframe, but AJ kept pulling. He finally grabbed him by the body and dragged him inside. He struggled, but eventually got Tyrone onto the bed. He now had two passed-out students on each bed.

"What now?" AJ asked.

"Now it’s your turn," replied Justin.

"Wait, what? I need to drink that black stuff, too?"

"Well, do you think you can fall asleep right now after all that? Just trust me. Have a seat on that sofa. Once you take a sip, you'll go under. This is really important. I’m about to teach you how to enter people’s dreams. Think of someone's dream as their own domain of the mind. It’s infinite in size, yet that person's control over it is limited to the strength of their mind. If you sleep alone, it's just you, but if you sleep close to someone, their domain can overlap with yours. That's why some dreams get weird and don’t make sense—because you're mixing dreams, ideas, and even consciousness. This applies to anything that can dream. So, to enter someone else's dream, I need you to turn off your mind. Don’t dream, in a sense. Let their domain take over and do the work for us."

"I’ve never meditated in my life. How do I turn my mind off?"

"You’re going to have to. That’s not even the hard part. Once we’re in the dream, we have to find the sleep entity attached to them. It can be anything or anyone, and their mind will naturally want to protect them, so each time, we’ll have to find a way to destroy the entity. Kill it in the dream, and it will leave the human host. Then we can send it back."

"How will I know?"

"It’ll be hiding, so it’ll be difficult. But you won’t be alone—I’ll be with you. Now, we don’t have much time. This should be the easy one; the others will have more time to grow stronger. Drink up."

AJ looked down at the red plastic cup. The moment of truth had arrived. He thought about backing out and seeking mental help. Maybe it wasn’t too late. But then he thought, Fuck it.

AJ closed his eyes and waited. Nothing happened. He wasn’t even tired. He opened his eyes. He was still in the room. Maybe he should pour more into the cup. He got up and walked to the counter. He looked back at the beds. Then he took a second look.

Tyrone and Everett were gone.

Knock, knock, knock.

"AJ, open up. It’s the police. We heard you drugged your students."

AJ was confused. Did he fall asleep, and now they’d woken up and told on him?

Bang, bang, bang.

"AJ, tell me it's not true," Zoe’s voice came from the hallway.

AJ didn’t know what to do. "Justin?" AJ asked, but there was no answer. Clear your mind, he thought. He started taking deep breaths. Focus, focus. He concentrated on an image, focusing on it intently. He pictured himself older, on a beach with a family. It was so vivid that he could feel the cool ocean breeze hitting his face. He forgot all about the sleep entities, his parents, and Zoe. He was just in that moment, enjoying the sun.

Screech.

AJ looked up and saw a hawk flying overhead. He looked back down at the sand. The room was gone. He scanned the beach but saw nothing. Suddenly, a horse came running over the dunes and passed him. Behind it was a man dressed in Old Western clothes, like a cowboy.

"Sir! Sir! Little help!" the man shouted.

AJ stood frozen, still confused, as the horse ran farther away.

"Thanks a lot! My wallet was in there!" the man called, chasing after the horse.

AJ made his way to the top of the dunes. As soon as he reached the top, he saw a vast Old Western town hidden just on the other side of the beach. From his vantage point, he could see it was bustling with activity. He looked down at his hands and realized he was wearing a vest, a brown trench coat, and a hat. Where did that come from?

"It’s real," AJ said to himself. He took one last look at the empty beach and then headed toward the town to find Justin.

As AJ walked into town, he looked around and saw it was packed. Everyone was dressed in Old Western style.

The town had a saloon, a barbershop, a sheriff’s station, a hotel, a jail, a general store, a post office, and a church. There were several other buildings, but AJ didn’t see Justin anywhere.

The streets were packed with people, all moving with a sense of urgency. There were many wagons, and the townspeople seemed timid and frightened, unwilling to talk to AJ.

AJ squeezed through the crowd, trying to listen to what they were saying.

"Did you hear the news?"

"What could be next?"

"I told you the devil has taken over. Pray for us, preacher."

"I told you we shouldn’t have come."

"I’m scared, mama."

AJ had seen enough movies to know that if he wanted information, he needed to head to the saloon. He made his way to the building and managed to get inside. It was full, with people sitting at tables, having meals, drinks, playing cards, and a live band performing.

"Can I help you, son?" asked the bartender.

"Yes, I’m new in town. What is everyone so afraid of?"

"What, you’re not from here? Where did you come from?"

"Nowhere in particular. Can you just tell me what’s going on?"

"Have a seat, and I’ll tell you a tale. Many years ago, there was a man, a great man, a sheriff of this town. He was loved and feared. And he did good—until one day, he changed. No one knows what happened. One night, his wife and his own daughter were found dead. He went crazy, killed his deputies, then disappeared. Some say the devil got him; others say he went mad and died somewhere. But since then, strange things have been happening. A bank robbery, a man found with his eyes eaten out of his skull, and another man hanged. There are other incidents we can’t even explain, like lights in the sky that seem impossible, and burn injuries no weapon could make. The people of this town aren’t used to such violence, so now everyone’s afraid."

"Did anyone ever see the killer? asked AJ.

"You can ask around, but I heard, the man who did see his face has gone crazy and lives out in the desert. You can try asking him." said the bartender.

"What was this sheriff's name?" Asked AJ.

"Tyrone," the bartender said.

"Tyrone?" AJ repeated

"Yep, the sheriff was named Tyrone," said the bartender.

"Hey! Bartender, get us some service. You hear me!" said a loud man.

"Yes, Mr. Smith. Sorry." the bartender said then left.

"Hey, mister. You got a smoke?" said a lady sitting at the bar.

"No. I'm sorry," said AJ.

"Well, do you want one? We can go get some. Together," said the lady flirting with AJ.

"Get him one of what, Tiffany. What are you talking about?" said a man approaching.

"Jack! This is a surprise." Said Tiffany.

"Hey, Jack." AJ was confused.

"So, who is this guy?" Jack said, pointing at AJ.

"Oh. He just showed up. I was just offering him a cigarette."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Hey! Hey!" Shouted another man from the other side of the saloon.

AJ and everyone else looked over. The man was holding a newspaper. "Sheriff has been spotted in town. Says he is here to restore order. The town has gone crazy. We have no deputies, and the mayor has not shown up for work. The whole town has been in chaos."

Everyone started whispering amongst themselves.

"I got to get out of here."

"This is the end, I tell you."

"The town is going to hell."

"We have to pray for deliverance."

"We should kill the sheriff before he kills us."

"Who the fuck are you?!" said the bartender.

AJ turned around and was faced with the end of a rifle.

"I think I caught you all at a bad time. I think I'm going to go." AJ stood up.

"Where the hell did you come from? You know him, don't you? The sheriff. Answer me!"

"I'm just passing through." AJ was trying to think of a way out of this situation.

"He's lying," said Tiffany.

"I am not," said AJ.

"He is a liar," said Jack.

"You are a fucking liar," said Tiffany.

"Shut the fuck up. I'm going to ask you again, who are you? I know you are hiding him. I can see it in your eyes."

AJ started thinking, the dream has a lot of similarities to the real world. But it’s a dream, so it could also be different. The sheriff is Tyrone. And this guy wants him. AJ could run. He could fight. Or he could tell the truth.

"You can't hide him forever. If you don't tell us, we will kill you." said the bartender.

AJ took a deep breath. "Okay, okay. I am looking for him too. Why not let me go and I can speak to him for us."

"What are you playing at? You don't want to mess with him."

"Look. We all have to calm down. If we want this town back. We need to get the old sheriff back. You want your town back right?"

"He's not the old sheriff anymore. He has changed. He is not the same person." .

"We can save him. He has to be in there somewhere."

"What do you mean?"

"I can bring him back."

"How could you possibly do that? No one has been able to do that. Everyone that has tried has failed and been killed."

"I'll take that risk," said AJ.

AJ was led first out of the bar followed by a gun to his back, and the rest of the bar followed. Alone at the end of the town was Tyrone standing there all in black western clothes and still wearing his sheriff badge but it had a blood stain on it.

"Tyrone," AJ began.

"AJ? Are you here to run me out of town too? That didn't go too well for the last guy."

"What are you doing? Why are you terrorizing these people?" asked AJ.

"It's my town. I got tired of doing what I was told, so why not make my life better? Why not just do what I want? This is it for me. I am not going anywhere else so why not make it fun? Make it count."

"But to murder? To burn people?" asked AJ

"That wasn't me. What kind of man do you think I am? I rob because this is my town. Hell, I even enjoy a good violent dual. But those bodies? People only get hurt if they don’t listen. So, in a way, it’s their fault. I am trying to take over the town. Those deaths were something else. Those bodies…" Tyrone said as he got a chill from the thought.

"Have you had extra help recently? Like a sidekick? Or someone new in your life?"

"Fuck you, this isn't an interrogation. You have three seconds to get the fuck out of my town or I could always use people on my side. You still with that woman of yours?" Tyrone said with a disgusting grin.

"Not going to happen," said AJ

"That's unfortunate. Barkeep, hand him your gun," Tyrone says pointing his gun at AJ.

"Not going to happen," said the Bartender.

Bam!

AJ turned as the bartender dropped to the ground. Tyrone pointed his gun now at the next person.

"You. Pick up the gun and hand it to AJ."

Tiffany nodded and picked up the gun to hand to AJ.

AJ was still in shock. That seemed real—nothing like a dream at all. He could feel the blood on his face.

"Okay, I lied. Maybe I’ve killed a few, but it’s for order. I’m still the sheriff of this town. But I wasn’t lying about those other bodies. Do you know how to duel, AJ?" Tyrone asked.

"I’m going to turn around, and you do the same. We each walk ten paces. At ten, we turn around and fire. Fate will decide who this town belongs to."

"I don’t want this town!" AJ protested.

"Look, you can turn around or not, but I recommend going out fighting. Let’s do this."

Tyrone watched as AJ complied and turned around. "Good. Okay. One. Two. Three—"

"Fuck this," AJ muttered. He turned and sprinted toward a building.

"Hey!" Tyrone shouted, turning around as he heard AJ fleeing. He aimed his gun at AJ.

Screech!

A hawk swooped down from the sky, clawing at Tyrone’s gun, causing him to miss.

AJ, lucky enough to get away, kept running until he was a safe distance. The hawk circled above, then swooped down and perched on a barrel.

"There you are," said the hawk. "AJ, it’s me, Justin."

"Justin?! How?" AJ was in shock.

"In this world, I can take any form, but I am limited to what your subconscious wants me to be. The hawk seemed the best way to cover the most ground without alerting Tyrone’s conscience to an outsider. His sleep entity will be looking for me just like we are looking for it. That’s why I didn’t reveal myself to you sooner."

"He was alone," AJ noted.

"I know. Unfortunately, I didn’t sense any entities around him."

"What do we do?" asked AJ.

"Well, if we went back, dueled him, and won, it would just wake him up. Our only option is to find where the entity is hiding. Maybe the sheriff's office?" Justin suggested.

"Wait. The bartender said there was a man hiding in the hills who knows where the entity is. But how do we find him?"

"AJ, it’s time for your next lesson. Human brains do not like the unknown. If someone is missing, it will fill it in on its own. Every path leads to somewhere in a dream. There are always clues that give away the path. Everything else doesn’t exist yet unless someone or something created has found it. For example, what’s inside this building we’re hiding behind? Nothing. It doesn’t exist until we enter. But as soon as we do, the brain will fill it with life. Therefore..." Justin spread his wings and flew up, circling above before returning. "Good news. There’s a path leading out of town."

"Really?" AJ asked.

"Yeah, I think the person is in a cave out there. Let’s go."

They both headed out of town toward the hills. As they followed the path, AJ looked around. The landscape was flat with little grass, and the further he looked, the more barren it became—a vast nothingness. They had to travel far, but as they walked, the distance seemed to shorten, as if the dream wanted them to reach their destination faster.

"We have to hurry. I am not sure how long the entity has been attached. If we take too long, the entity could grow stronger and merge. We have to kill the entity," said Justin.

"How?"

"You will use me. If you get close enough, I can grab hold of the entity. Then you need to kill the person it controls, jolting them awake in the real world. After that, I’ll handle the rest," Justin explained.

"What are you going to do?"

"Don’t worry about that."

As they approached the cave, the surroundings grew darker. The terrain changed, with metal shards scattered across the sand, growing in size the closer they got. Some of the sand had turned to glass, showing signs of extreme heat.

"Careful, some of this metal is sharp," said Justin.

As they got closer, they saw larger shards of metal and rock—and even bones.

"Is that a person?" AJ asked.

"It’s a victim. He was tortured. Look—it’s one of the sheriff’s deputies. It looks like Tyrone tried to come here."

There was a skull melted to the ground, teeth gone, and the bones cracked and broken. The sand had now completely turned to metal. It was no longer the old Western desert, but something out of science fiction. Red eyes glared at them from the cave.

Grrrrr

The red eyes emerged from the shadows, revealing a robotic wolf with piercing sharp claws, a tail that looked even sharper, and steam leaking from its mouth.

"AJ, don’t move. We’re in someone else’s domain," Justin warned, flying down to perch on AJ’s shoulder.

"Moro, heel," a voice called from the cave.

Behind the wolf, Everett stepped out.

"AJ? What are you doing here?"

"Everett? I should be asking you that.”

"Hiding. I just want to be left alone. Wait—you weren’t followed, were you? Did Tyrone send you?" Everett exclaimed.

Grrrr

The wolf began to bare its teeth.

"What? No! We’re actually looking for Tyrone's hiding spot. He has something there we need. Where does he hide, specifically when he fled town?" AJ asked.

"I can’t help you. You’ll ruin everything. Just please, leave," said Everett.

The wolf took a step closer, steam foaming sparks from its mouth.

AJ looked at the dead body. "Everett, did you do that?" AJ asked, pointing to the body.

"It’s not my fault. They just wouldn’t leave me alone. Every day I was picked on in that town. Tyrone went out of his way to make sure I wasn’t happy. I thought if I kept my mouth shut, he’d leave me alone. What did I do to deserve this? Does anyone help? No. They see it. That town is just as guilty as Tyrone. So, I ran away. But he chased me. I ran until I found this cave... and Moro here."

The wolf looked back at Everett and started to circle him affectionately, showing a sign of loyalty.

"Moro protected me. They were going to hurt me again, so Moro hurt them. But that wasn't enough. I had to send a message to Tyrone to stay away, and he got the message. You want to find him? Go to his house. He’s probably there. At the edge of town, there’s a big house with a grass lawn. Of course, while the town suffers from drought, he has a huge home with green grass. You’ll find him there. Now leave."

"Everett, I—" AJ began.

Grrrr

"Don’t. You were never mean to me, which is why Moro hasn’t attacked. But you’re not innocent in all this. You try to be friends with everyone, and in doing so, you’re complicit in the evils going on."

"I didn’t know!" AJ exclaimed.

"I’m not going to say it again. You and your dumb bird, get the FUCK AWAY," Everett said, his eyes looking at AJ the same way they had back in school that one day. Moro's eyes were now glowing red, and its body was ready to attack.

Justin flew off AJ’s shoulder and away. AJ got the hint—it was time to go. As he walked away, he looked back and saw Everett heading back into the cave with the wolf standing guard.

"Justin?" AJ called out. "You know what’s happening. We can’t just let this go on."

"This is not a fairy tale, AJ. It’s a dream. In the real world, the same thing could happen. You could do nothing. People are just born bad, and the good are just there to suffer. The real world is cruel."

"Well, this isn’t real," AJ argued.

"Isn’t it? Think about it."

AJ didn’t look back. He knew the dream was real, and so was the monster. He headed back to town, and by the time he arrived, the sun was beginning to set. There were fewer people on the street, and a chill filled the air. He made his way to the house at the edge of town. It was large and fancy, and the lawn was much nicer than the rest of the town. He could hear music and laughter coming from inside.

AJ approached the door and knocked. Justin flew down and perched on AJ’s shoulder.

BAM BAM

The door slid slightly open from the knock. It was unlocked. AJ glanced at Justin.

"AJ, arm yourself," Justin said.

"I dropped the gun. I don’t have anything," AJ replied.

"It’s a dream. You can have whatever you want," Justin reminded him.

"Oh." AJ closed his eyes, envisioning a weapon, and then looked down.

"A knife? AJ, this is a Western. What the fuck are you going to do with that?"

"You said anything! Fine," AJ muttered. He closed his eyes again and envisioned a revolver, just like the ones he had seen in the movies he used to watch with his dad.

Justin nodded in approval, then spread his wings and flew into the house, knocking the door wide open. AJ followed inside. The house was in disarray. Chairs and tables were broken, lights were flickering, if they worked at all, and the wallpaper was peeling off the walls. Music was playing, but no people were around. Laughter echoed from what sounded like a TV upstairs. Justin was circling the first floor, going room by room. AJ decided to head upstairs.

AJ made his way toward the noise, gun drawn. He tried to cock the gun with one hand but was so nervous he had to use his other hand to steady it. There was a slight crack in the door to the primary bedroom. He peeked inside and saw Tyrone sitting in a chair, watching TV. He was watching a Western movie in a Western dream.

"Don’t shoot him until we find the entity," Justin whispered from behind AJ, perched on a guardrail. "Just hold him at gunpoint."

AJ opened the door, pointing the gun. Tyrone turned around, but he didn’t have the face he’d shown in town. He looked sad.

Justin circled the room and landed on the bed. "AJ…"

AJ’s eyes were drawn to the bed. He saw a bloody foot hanging off the edge. He walked closer to get a better view. Zoe lay dead on the floor with a young girl beside her, both brutally torn apart. This felt too real to AJ. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest—no, he could feel it pounding all the way to his veins.

AJ raised the gun and pointed it directly at Tyrone.

"What is this?! Explain!" AJ exclaimed.

"My wife. My daughter. I never thought anything would happen to them. I know I have my faults, but I never took it this far," said Tyrone as he got up to face AJ. He pulled out a gun and pointed it right back at him.

"You came here to finish the job? To take my town from me?!" Tyrone shouted.

"You monster. How could you do this?" AJ said, barely holding himself back from pulling the trigger.

Tyrone started laughing, but his laughter quickly turned to rage and sorrow. "Me? The monster?" Tyrone asked. "I didn’t do this. He wanted to send a message. If I didn’t leave town, he said he would... But I couldn’t. This town is all I have. I didn’t think he was capable of..." Tyrone glanced over at the bodies.

"AJ, I think we fucked up. There’s no sleep entity here," said Justin.

"Holy shit, did that hawk just talk?" said Tyrone.

"Everett. That wolf. That’s his sleep entity," AJ realized.

"That thing... I thought he’d stop with just me. But he kept me alive," said Tyrone.

"Why?" asked AJ.

"He’s gone mad. He doesn’t just want me to pay. He wants the whole town. But he was scared I had... I don’t know, a wolf too, or something. So, he didn’t act. He’s been hunting people in town, looking for someone or something. Asking the same kind of questions you were asking."

"Justin, it was searching for you! You don’t think it knew?" AJ asked.

"I don’t think so. It can sense that I’m in the dream too, but I’ve been hiding my presence," said Justin.

Screams echoed from outside.

"It’s back," said Tyrone.

AJ and Justin looked at each other and then ran outside. As AJ ran, he saw fire and smoke rising from the center of town, near the saloon. People were running in the opposite direction, their faces cut and bloodied, some burnt beyond recognition. A few were lying motionless. One of the bodies AJ passed was Jack from the bar.

As he turned toward the square, gunfire rang out. People were collapsing as though their legs had given out, but AJ knew it was much worse. In the middle of it all, Everett stood, holding two automatic guns, far too advanced for a Western.

Blam. An explosion erupted. Flames consumed one of the houses as it collapsed, and the wolf loomed even larger than before, its metal body red-hot from the flames.

They weren’t leaving any survivors. It was a massacre.

"Moro, kill!" Everett yelled, firing more rounds into the crowd.

"We have to help them," said AJ.

"It’s too late. If you’re going to help, you have to stop that thing," said Justin.

"How the fuck am I going to stop that thing?" AJ shouted.

"I have my ways. But it will cost us," said Justin.

"What?"

"Just stop that fucking thing!"

"Wait...Please stop this. I don’t think I can take much more."

AJ looked around at the scene. Everyone was either dead or dying. The wolf was moving fast, tearing people apart.

Rip.

Crack.

Break.

The wolf was killing indiscriminately.

"Stop!" AJ yelled at the wolf.

"Moro, kill!" Everett repeated as he continued shooting into the crowd.

The wolf turned its gaze toward AJ and charged. AJ froze in fear, thinking back to all the signs that Everett had been bullied in school.

"Moro, kill!" Everett shouted again.

"No. Stop!" AJ pleaded.

The wolf charged closer.

"Stop."

Grrrr.

"AJ, don’t forget it’s just a dream! Use your domain! This is your mind too!" shouted Justin.

"NO!" Everett screamed as he shot at Justin. One of the bullets hit, and Justin tumbled from the sky.

The wolf leaped at AJ, creating a smoke screen of sand, and he lost sight of everything. The flames, the gunfire—it all stopped. The world around them began to fade and shift from Tyrone’s western domain to Everett’s domain. AJ looked down and realized he was no longer in Western attire. He was now wearing body armor.

"What are you doing?!" shouted a very angry Everett at Moro.

"I'm not going to let you do this," AJ said. AJ’s arm got caught in Moro's jaws but was somehow perfectly protected by the armor. AJ cocked back his other hand and delivered a solid uppercut to the wolf only knocking it back a little.

Bam! Justin came flying in, knocking the wolf further aside. Justin closed his eyes and concentrated. The hawk was now larger than usual, big enough to fight the wolf on equal terms.

"You can't let this entity consume you!" AJ shouted as he rushed toward Everett.

Slash!

"He’s the only one who helped me!" Everett yelled, unleashing a hail of bullets at AJ.

Everett dropped his regular guns and pulled out a heavy, modern-looking one. Everett started to spray bullets in all directions. AJ ducked behind the debris of a destroyed building; the bullets were too many. Meanwhile, Justin and Moro were entangled in a fierce fight. Justin's eyes glowed red, just like Moro’s. His beak had transformed into something more monstrous, pecking at the wolf's weak spots: the legs, the ankles. Justin wasn't fighting cleanly.

"You need to get to him now," howled Justin.

AJ didn’t know how. He was stuck behind the debris, and there was too much chaos for him to focus.

"Stop, Everett," a voice called out.

The gunfire stopped. AJ peeked over the debris and saw Tyrone emerge from hiding, facing Everett. "That’s enough."

"Enough? Enough? How dare you say that! What was enough for you, huh? As you tortured me day after day?" Everett snapped.

Bam! Everett shot Tyrone in the leg and rushed toward him.

AJ sprang up from hiding and ran toward Everett.

"Not so fast, or I’ll blow his brains out," Everett threatened.

"Stop, please," AJ pleaded. Everett did not like the way Aj looked at him.

"No. No. No. No. Why are you acting like I’m the villain? This man right here, he’s the real monster!" Everett shouted, his voice trembling.

"That’s not what it looks like from where I’m standing," AJ replied calmly.

"Ha. Haha. Hahahaha. I guess you're right," Everett said, glancing around.

AJ could see the bodies, the destruction. "You did this. This was all you."

"I caused all this?" Everett muttered. "Moro, come to me." The wolf shimmied away from Justin and retreated to Everett.

"This thing is making you act this way. This would never happen in real life," Justin said as he flew back to AJ.

"That’s not how I see it. I see a guy who was picked on every single day—by his parents, his classmates, and this piece of shit!" Everett pointed at Tyrone. "I just became what you all made me into. Why else?" Everett’s voice cracked, tears forming in his eyes. "Why, huh?" Moro grew angrier, opening its jaws and grabbing Tyrone by the neck, just enough to immobilize him.

"No, please," Tyrone squealed as blood ran down his neck. AJ and Justin couldn’t get closer without risking Tyrone’s life.

"I didn’t ask to be born, so why do they hate me? I hate it at home, and you... you made me hate it here, where it’s supposed to be safe. So why? Why do you hate me?" Everett demanded.

"I don’t hate you," whispered Tyrone, struggling to breathe.

"Then why? What did I ever do to you?" Everett asked, his voice breaking.

"You were just... easy," Tyrone admitted weakly.

"Easy? EASY? You just started picking on me one day because I was an easy target?!" Everett couldn’t comprehend it.

Squish. Moro’s jaws closed. Blood gushed from Tyrone’s neck. He was dead.

The Western world completely faded away. Now, they were back on the beach, but a lot of sand was warped from extreme heat. Their dreams were clashing. Just the four of them were left.

"This... this just confirms that there’s evil in this world. I need to change it," Everett said, pain evident in his eyes.

AJ could see the torment in Everett’s expression.

"But why did you kill Zoe, then?" AJ asked.

"What? I didn’t," Everett replied, confused. Moro growled at AJ while Justin spread his wings defensively.

"No, Justin. I got this,” said AJ.

“Everett, I saw the bodies. This is what blind rage does to you."

Everett began hitting his head in frustration. "NO, I wouldn’t. She... she sided with him. They’re all fake!"

"Everett, what was in your school bag? The one you brought to the Academy of Science?" AJ asked calmly.

"The bag?" Everett looked puzzled, then suddenly remembered. "Oh, right. I was going to blow up the building and everyone in it. Or was it this town? Wait, what was I going to do?"

"But you’ll die too," AJ said in disbelief.

"Heh. You act like you actually care about my life. What a joke. No one cares about me. And here’s the kicker: no one cares about you either, or this town. They only care about themselves. They’ll do anything to save their own lives."

AJ thought about Everett at school. Why didn’t he notice it before? The way Everett kept his head down, how he was always trying to please people, and how he never talked about his home life. In many ways, AJ and Everett were the same.

"You're right," said AJ.

"What?" asked Justin, confused.

"Everett's right. I think deep down, I feel that way too. I would look at him, and I thought he had such hatred in his eyes. So, I used that as an excuse to stay away from him. But it’s not hatred—it’s sadness, isn’t it? I know because I see the same eyes when I look in the mirror. And I think I didn’t want to believe it because that would mean admitting it to myself. I’m unhappy. But starting now, I’m going to change that."

"So that's your speech? That we’re both losers? All that changes is that you should be over here with me," said Everett.

"No. We can change. Everett, I’m not going to abandon you."

"You're just trying to save your own life, like everyone else!" screamed Everett.

"I'm not."

"Okay. Prove it. If you let Moro tear you to shreds, that would only be 1% of the pain I’ve been through. But... it will be enough to stop me. Can you do that? Oh, and your bird there must be caged by my side." Everett closed his eyes and created a tiny bird cage next to his side.

"AJ, you can't! Our whole plan will be ruined," Justin said.

"Shhh. Justin, enough. Everett, I’ll do it. Justin, get in the cage," AJ said. He was now back in his normal clothes, just regular AJ. Justin didn’t argue anymore. He closed his eyes and shrunk in size. Then Justin flew into the cage.

"Moro. Kill," commanded Everett.

Moro charged at AJ, biting him in the shoulder and shaking him like a ragdoll.

"Ahhh! This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real!" AJ screamed, trying to remind himself that it was just a dream. Moro threw AJ to the ground and stomped on his left arm, crushing it. The pain was so intense AJ couldn’t even scream—the air was sucked from his lungs.

"AJ!" Justin was going wild in the cage. Everett just watched.

Moro continued clawing at AJ’s chest. One big slash and AJ’s insides were exposed. "Oh God, why hasn’t this woken me up?" AJ thought as he saw his heart still beating. Moro looked up, let out a roar of fire, and then focused on AJ's heart. AJ could only glance at Everett, silent tears streaming down his face.

"Okay, that’s enough. Moro, stop," said Everett, but Moro didn’t listen. Its eyes glared at AJ as it bit into his leg, savoring the pain it caused.

Moro then focused back on AJ’s exposed heart, taking a long sniff. Moro went in for the bite, but with the last bit of willpower AJ could muster, he stopped the wolf's jaws with his only functioning arm. He was losing his grip.

"Moro, I said stop!" Everett screamed. Everett didn’t know what to do. He looked over at Justin, who was still fighting to get out of the cage. In a moment of decision, Everett freed Justin.

Justin shot out of the cage like a jet, but it was too late. AJ lost his strength, and Moro's teeth sank into his heart. It wasn’t pain—it was the same crushing feeling he’d had when he first encountered the sleep entities. The last thing AJ saw was Justin clashing with Moro, sinking his claws into Moro’s head.

AJ woke up back in the hotel. He was still paralyzed but could make out a shadowy figure with its arm inside his chest. The figure’s arm seemed to be turning more solid, like darkness was dripping away to reveal flesh. The transformation crawled up the arm, forming a body, until a mouth began to emerge. The mouth grinned.

AJ was horrified but still unable to move. He felt weaker and weaker, and then—

Gush.

Another shadowy arm pierced through the first figure. The grin faded; the second figure never fully formed. It pulled its arm out of AJ’s chest, letting out a horrifying screech as its body faded back into a shadow. AJ saw another shadowy figure standing behind it. Though it had no eyes, it seemed to be looking at its body. The hole in its form grew larger.

It happened too fast—the shadowy figure disintegrated. The second figure stood still for a moment, then vanished. AJ tried to scan the room but his eyes grew heavy. He fell back asleep.

AJ awoke and could move again. He sat up, hands clasped together as he sat in a thinking position. "Was that real?" he wondered.

"Justin?" AJ asked, but there was no answer. The sound of AJ’s voice woke Everett.

"Ugh. What happened? Where am I?" asked Everett.

"Uhh..." AJ was at a loss for words. Everett looked over at Tyrone, still asleep, then at AJ.

"My dream... you were both in it. What’s going on?" asked Everett.

"I can explain everything, but first, can you help me move Tyrone back to his room?" AJ asked.

Everett, still dazed, just nodded. They lifted Tyrone, wrapping his arms around their shoulders, and carried him out the door. An elevator dinged, and voices could be heard down the hall.

"Oh, shit," Everett said as he bailed, letting go of Tyrone. AJ couldn't handle the full weight and dropped Tyrone in the hallway.

"Everett!" AJ whispered loudly, but Everett was already halfway back to their room. AJ glanced down the hallway, muttered "fuck it," and ran back to his room too.

When AJ got back to his room, he saw Everett on the bed, avoiding eye contact.

"Everett, that was rude," said AJ, slightly laughing at the awkward silence.

Everett stayed silent. AJ sat on his own bed and sighed. He could feel the coldness from the other side of the room. He was afraid to look at Everett, afraid of what might happen if he met his gaze.

"AJ," Everett said. AJ turned and looked at him. Everett’s eyes were still the same—those eyes that made AJ feel both scared and convinced this was the same person from his dream.

"Why did you save me?" asked Everett.

AJ didn’t know the answer himself. Part of Aj wanted to believe it was all just a dream. But he could see a glimmer of light in Everett’s eyes. "Because from now on, we’re friends," said AJ.

Everett turned around and pulled the covers over himself. AJ thought that was the end of it, but as he was lying down, Everett spoke up. "You know, I was bullied at home and at school. When I got to the academy, it was like a breath of fresh air. But... it didn’t last long. I thought you were one of them. So, I wanted to get revenge. On everyone. In this World. But...I was wrong. I'm sorry."

AJ was surprised. Everett didn’t have to apologize, but it felt nice.

"Don’t worry about it. You know, why don’t we skip dinner tonight and just hang out in the room?" said AJ.

"Thanks. But... I think I need help. Like, professionally. You should go. I’m just going to rest, and then I think I’m going to turn myself in tomorrow to the authorities," said Everett.

There was a moment of silence in the room before Everett heard the TV turn on. He rolled over.

"What are you doing?" asked Everett.

"Eh, I didn’t feel like going to dinner anyway. We don’t have to talk, but feel free to watch some TV with me," said AJ.

Everett sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed. "What do you like to watch?"

After the Academy of Science incident, people didn’t see Everett at school anymore. The last time AJ saw him, Everett was being escorted out by the principal and the police. He had a smile on his face as he looked at AJ. AJ continued with his school tour. He hadn’t noticed it yet, but both he and Tyrone had changed a little. They had grown more empathetic toward their classmates. He heard Tyrone wake up in the hallway, screaming about his head. Back at school AJ also changed. Normally, AJ would stick to his usual group, but now he could be found sitting at different tables during lunch, mingling with all kinds of students. While his school life changed for the better, his home life was far from normal.