When I woke up I was in my room; laying on my bed as if nothing had happened.

Was it all a dream? I thought as I shot up in bed. If so then that was the most terrifyingly vivid dre-no, nightmare is more accurate. That was definitely a nightmare.

Let’s recap shall we: I had finally worked up the courage to tell Heather how I felt about her only to have her turn into a shadow monster and try to kill me. On top of that Matias crashed my car and on top of that Lisa really laid into me. Seriously, what was her deal?

And then there was that weird part where I led a storm to destroy everything, met talking animals and Tree and made some masks.

If all that had actually happened; I don’t know if my ego would ever fully recover. Luckily, it had all been just a dream, no a nightmare; it was definitely still a nightmare.

Whether it was a dream or nightmare, this all had to be a warning from the universe telling me to keep my feelings about Heather to myself and all I have to say back was - message 100% received. I will bury my crush deeeeeep down so it’ll never see the light of day. Heather will stay the princess and I’ll remain the clown; thus the status quo will be maintained. Thanks for the note universe – good looking out bro!

I got out of bed and checked my mirror to see if the mask was there. Thankfully, all that stared back was my own face. “Thank God,” I breathed out relieved.

I made my way to the kitchen for a glass of water. My throat felt dry and my entire body ached. It felt like I had just run 6 miles in record time or something.

When I opened the door I swear if my jaw could literally hit the floor I‘m sure it would have. I rubbed my eyes to make sure that I wasn’t still sleeping. Sprawled out before me was an enormous open atrium almost as big as two football fields.

“What the hell,” I said as I took in the scene. In one corner of the massive space was a makeshift hanger that housed a fleet of vehicles; cars, trucks, helicopters, and even what looked like a stealth jet. I watched as the ceiling opened up and a helicopter descended from the sky. When it touched down, out swarmed a group of people decked out in paramilitary gear with the symbol of a golden lion. By the sluggish way they moved and the amount of injured they had with them, they looked like they had just returned from a grueling battle. A team of paramedics took the worst of the injured and disappeared into a sectioned-off area opposite the hanger which I guessed was the infirmary.

In the area adjacent to the infirmary was a full gym complete with a weight room, one of those multipurpose courts high schools have and a full Olympic-sized pool. There was also a small indoor field, and what looked like a dojo with an armory packed to the brim with weapons of all shapes and sizes. On the field, another group of people were locked in pitched combat. I wasn’t sure if that was just a drill or if they were seriously trying to kill each other but their attacks seemed deadly enough to me. The fact that no one was intervening in their battle made me think the former.

A couple of feet away was a set of stairs, one of four placed at each side of the room. The stairs led to a second-floor balcony which wrapped around the atrium. See-through glass rooms, most of which were empty lined the walls of the balcony. A web of walkways connected all the rooms to a circular stage that looked a little like a landing pad. It hummed with an oddly comforting buzz that reverberated throughout the atrium. A colossal holographic globe hovered above the platform spinning in place. Lights blinked at random spots on the globe, disappearing as quickly as they appeared. Five areas on the globe were marked with animal symbols. North America had a golden Lion, South America had a green Bull, Asia had a blue Dragon, Europe had a silver Wolf while the Middle East had a purple Owl.

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A feeling of dread settled over me as I realized they all looked familiar. Except for the dragon, and bull those were the same five animals I saw in my dream with the talking Tree and the storm. No way it had all been real? Right? Right?

“Unless...yeah, ok I get it,” I said laughing. “Looks like the universe is still not done teaching me a lesson. This was all still a part of my nightmare.” I sat down on the ground and closed my eyes. “Nightmare part two; electric boogaloo.”

Never doubt my ability to deny reality.

Just then I heard footsteps approach me.

“I told you the first thing out of his mouth would be something stupid,” a familiar voice said from behind me. “Pay up Big Idiot.”

I turned to see Lisa and Matias watching me.

“Merda,” Matias cursed as he reached for his wallet and pulled out a $20 bill.

Smiling, Lisa plucked it out of his hand. “Thank you.”

“Well technically, the first thing I said after waking up was ‘what the hell,’” I corrected weakly.

“Your point?” Lisa said.

“I think that is a perfectly reasonable reaction to all of this,” I said.

“Huh, yeah, you’re right. It is.” Matias said. He snatched back his money from Lisa who rolled her eyes.

“Whatever; the commander sent us to come get you once you woke up. Follow us.” She said as she turned and led the way. She took one of the walkways and marched toward the platform with the holographic globe. Matias followed. I didn’t budge, and after a few moments, Lisa turned around. “Hey Little Idiot, you coming?” she asked.

“Nope,” I said, rising to my feet. “I’m going back to bed. Hopefully, when I actually wake up all of this will be over. Good Night!” I opened the door and walked back into “my room.” I crawled into bed, pulled up my covers, and closed my eyes. After a ten count I opened my eyes, got out of bed, and checked to see if Lisa and Matias were still there. And of course, they still were.

“No, no, no, this cannot be happening,” I said as I closed the door. I was about to try again when the door slammed open. Matias reached in, grabbed me, and with surprising ease he slung me over his shoulder like a sack of lumpy potatoes.

“The Director knows you’re awake too. And trust me it's not a good idea to keep her waiting,” he said quietly as he carried me out. I thought I heard a hint of fear in his voice. Lisa, who usually had an air of smugness, nodded solemnly before continuing on to the room with the globe.

If the girl who had lightning running through her veins and the battle-hungry Bessie wielding Matias were this terrified, then I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet this Director.

As we approached the room, I saw Pseudo Davos engaged in conversation. It looked like he was talking to himself because I didn’t see anyone else in the room. I faintly recalled that Lisa had called him Commander Douglas when he had turned into the sun to save us. I also distinctly remember thinking ‘dang, my boy Davos got demoted from captain to commander. What a shame.’ I was about to make that very joke when I saw who he was talking to.

In the room, Pseudo Davos or Commander Douglas was engaged in conversation with a holographic projection of an elderly African American woman. She looked like she was in her 50’s with curly grey hair which fell past her shoulders. She wore a white blouse and had a black and gold pinstripe blazer draped over her shoulders. Around her neck was a wooden pendant of a roaring lion.

Even as a hologram, flickering in and out of focus, the intensity of her presence was evident. It was very obvious that she was in charge. If this was the person Matias and Lisa were so scared of, I honestly couldn’t blame them.

The ferocity of her gaze stopped me in my tracks as I entered the room. She turned to us with a bright smile. “It's nice of you to join us Mr. Dale. Please take a seat we have much to discuss.”