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Dream Story: The Nightmare
The Loss of a Member

The Loss of a Member

At the front entrance of the apartment building of where Theodore lives in, Shawn saw with horror an unconscious Theodore being put into an ambulance. Near the entrance, a group of people were keeping watch. They appeared with serious looks to their faces. Shawn washed up some confidence to speak to them.

Shawn: “Hello, my name is Shawn. I am one of Theodore’s friends. What happened to him?”

A lady neighbor started to speak.

Lady: “I was there when it happened. I live next to his apartment room. I was just getting ready to go to work until I heard a yell. I went quickly to his apartment room to see the landlord panicking… When I told him what was wrong, he told me to call 911. So, I quickly did.”

Shawn: “Where are his parents?”

The Landlord started to speak.

Landlord: “I’m the landlord of this apartment… I came into his apartment room to inform him on the bad news that his parents went missing… I saw this on the news where it showed his parents’ faces on the missing people’s list. I knew I had to go to Theodore’s apartment room to share the bad news to him. When I went there, I saw Theodore unconscious on the bed… I tried to call for his name over and over again but I got no response… That’s when I started to worry for his wellbeing. I didn’t understand how he put himself in a coma like that.”

Shawn: “I don’t understand this too… He was perfectly healthy the last time I’ve met him...”

Shawn looked out with worry as the doors of the ambulance closed shut before the ambulance started to take off.

Shawn: “Where is that ambulance taking him?”

Landlord: “They are taking him to the McGeorge Hospital Centre. We will be going there to pay our visit to him.”

Shawn walked off in a state of fear and panic. He summoned out his phone then started to text to his friends.

Shawn: “Hello Dream Club Members. If you get this message, Theodore’s going to the hospital because of suffering a coma… Please respond quickly, it is very important. I will meet him at McGeorge Hospital Centre at 3:30 pm to pray for his recovery.”

At the McGeorge Hospital Centre, in the waiting area, it appeared calm and quiet for the most part. There were magazines on the table and magazines stacked neatly on racks. On both sides of the entrance into the waiting area, there were lovely looking plants.

At the service desk, there were secretaries doing their work. Some were socializing with the patients while others were on the computer doing hospital-related tasks.

There were many people sitting on chairs waiting for the nurse to call their names. Some people had certain health conditions that needed to be check out by a doctor. Among the group of people, Shawn was sitting by himself with a look of worry on his face.

Shawn: “Please Theodore… Please wake up from this… Please…”

He placed his head on his hands crying as his fear for his friend’s life became more intense.

Mally: “Shawn…”

Shawn looked up to see his friends. Looking at their faces, it showed sadness and concern. They each took a seat near him.

Mally: “We came as soon as we could. We are fully informed about what happened to Theodore from your message. Tell us the story, what happened to him…?”

Shawn: He rubbed away his tears. “It happened in the morning… The landlord went into his apartment room because Theodore’s parents went missing… He was trying to give his sympathy to him but found him unconscious in his bed… He was in a coma that they had to call 911… I came over afterwards to see him being placed into an ambulance…”

Mally: “I’m very sorry for Theodore and his parents… I hope he could make a full recovery. The Dream Club won’t and can’t be the same without him…”

Kathleen: She expressed deep sadness. “I want Theodore to make a full recovery. It would break my heart if he dies… I don’t want to lose any of my friends…”

Penelope: “Do you think Theodore had a preexisting health condition that led him to a coma state?”

Mally: “We don’t know. When the nurse comes over, we will learn what happened to him.”

Martin had his eyes closed as if trying to suppress his depression. They reflected on what happened until the nurse started to speak.

Nurse: “Shawn, Kathleen, Penelope, Mally and Martin.”

They looked at each other with a look of nervousness before getting up from their seats. Following the nurse, they went to where Theodore’s room was. Down the hallway, they saw a few doctors and nurses walking pass them appearing busy. The hallway connected themselves to the rooms where patients were kept.

They stopped at a door that would lead them into the patient room of Theodore. The nurse turned to face them.

Nurse: “This is where Theodore is resting.”

Mally: “Please tell us on his condition. Is he going to make a full recovery?”

The nurse looked at her with a saddened look.

Nurse: “Theodore is breathing normally and his body signs are functioning normally. He is perfectly healthy but we can’t help him to wake up. We are doing everything we can for him. I can allow you to meet him in person if you wish.”

Mally: “Yes nurse. That would be appreciated.”

The nurse opened a door allowing the Dream Club Members to walk inside hospital bedroom. The curtains were wide open to bring day time light into the room. There was a plant near the windows that appeared lovely. A television mounted on a wall was located over a shelf full of books.

When they looked at Theodore, he appeared to be in his bed in a coma. He was linked up with life support systems. His friends looked on with a sense of depression on their faces.

Penelope: She appeared serious. “This is very bad… Our friend is not doing well…”

Kathleen: She started crying. “Theodore…”

Martin closed his eyes not wanting to speak. He appeared depressed from what he was witnessing.

Mally: She appeared serious. “This is very serious…”

Shawn looked on with sadness for Theodore. Soon, his face revealed a look of shock.

Shawn: “Wait… Has the dream experience I’ve had was responsible for Theodore being like this… Did the Impure Lord cause Theodore to suffer a coma…?”

Shawn turned to his friends who were all looking at Theodore.

Shawn: “I think I know what happened to Theodore…”

His friends looked at him with concern.

Penelope: “You do?”

Shawn: “Yes… Remember back when we agreed to test to see if we could end up in the same dream?”

Mally: "Yes. In our last Dream Club Meeting.”

Shawn: “When I fell asleep, I was in a dark place called the Impure Fortress… Theodore and I had to deal with the Impure Order and such bad things… It was there where I saw the Impure Lord harm him… I think that’s why Theodore is like this…”

Martin looked on with a look of disturbance on his face.

Mally: “I find it strange that a dream experience could lead one to a coma. It is completely unheard of… Are you absolutely sure Shawn?”

Shawn: “Exactly…”

Martin: “I usually commit to a lot of Out-of-Body Experiences. And in each experience, I always return to my physical body. It is shocking to think that a dream experience could do this to him…”

Penelope: “I don’t get it either… I had countless vivid dreams of fighting against troops… In some of those dreams, I got shot, exploded by bombs and stabbed but still was able to wake up unharmed…”

Shawn: “What you experienced might be your dream world or otherworldly existence you had… What Theodore and I had experienced must be the Dream Existence our books talked about… I can show you what happened to prove why he is like this…”

Mally placed her finger on her chin appearing to think of something for a moment.

Mally: “Let’s form a Dream Club Meeting tomorrow at my place. I will find in my busy schedule for us to socialize on this matter. We need to get to the bottom of this.”

At another part of the city, there was an intersection of two streets. Both were carrying large volumes of traffic. People were crossing the street to different designations. Most of them were heading to a convenience area at the northwest part of the intersection area. It had a medical store, grocery store and a few decent restaurants that were affordable.

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At the northeast part of the intersection area, there was nothing but a small park where people walk in. Presently, there were children playing in the playground and people walking their dogs down a pathway.

At the southwest part of the intersection area, there was housing that appeared old and a bit rundown. The houses were in the city for years as the cracks from the houses’ walls showed their age. The front yard of the houses was at least inviting to a degree. Each were different due to the personal tastes of each owner of their respective house.

At the southeast part of the intersection area, there was an apartment building that just like the houses, was also aged but not as aged as the houses. The apartment building was at least 10 floors high and had a mini convenience store near it.

Inside the apartment building in an apartment room, the five Dream Club Members could be seen sitting together. They were sitting on sofas socializing with each other. Having their Awakening Books out, they were in the process of sharing to each other their experiences.

Looking at the living room, it appeared neat and organized. There were a few impressive things meaning that Mally was on a budget and saving money. What the living room had was a TV, one desk and three sofas. The kitchen was on the other side where everything was orderly. A walkway was in between the kitchen and the living room. One end area led to the apartment room entrance while the other end led to the bedroom area.

In the living room, Shawn shared to his friends what he had experienced in his dream experience. They witnessed through their own books what Shawn had to experience. Every one of the members looked on with a look of disturbance.

Shawn: “That’s how it happened… When I saw Theodore in a coma, I couldn’t think that a dream experience could affect his physical body like that… I thought it was a health condition that did this to him. The reason why I went to his apartment in the morning because of a dream experience that I had with him… When we learned by the nurse that he was perfectly healthy but couldn’t wake up, I slowly realized that what happened in my dream experience made Theodore like this…”

Kathleen: She expressed sadness. “I refuse to believe that Theodore is going to die… It can’t be… He has to overcome this…”

Shawn: “I do believe too… If he were to be dead, his physical body won’t be on life support. This shows that Theodore is still alive in the Dream Existence. It just that he can’t wake up back to physical life…”

Mally: “I agree with this too… I didn’t acknowledge the situation at the time but this proves it. Every morning, I always watch the morning news to be updated to what’s happening in the world. I’ve witnessed something on the news involving people not waking up from their sleep… Some went into comas waking up months later… I found it odd at the time but thought it was some form of physical illness going around people… Given what I’ve learned from the news, Theodore is potentially one of those victims… It would stand to reason that the Impure Order might be behind this too…”

Penelope: “Then it is up to us to save him… Whatever the Impure Order is has done a huge mistake to mess with our friends… To them, they might think that they are doing so to stop the Awakeners, but their actions are causing suffering for everyone else. If our friend had awakened his powers, we should be able to do the same. We just don’t know how to yet but I feel the Lady of the Light could help us.”

Mally: “It’s weird that a book would have a weapon feature in it to begin with… It’s like these books were made for fighting… What concerns me more is that machine… It converts people into corrupted people. We have to find a way to destroy it and rescue the people there…”

Kathleen: “What worries me the most is the people that the Impure Order is capturing… We need to know what they are planning to do with them… I’m worried about the Impure Order but the Awakeners are just as evil.”

Martin: “The Impure Order and the Awakeners are a problem but that’s not all…”

His friends looked directly to him.

Mally: “Is there something more you wish to add?”

Martin: “Yes… Shawn has shown us that he was in the Impure Fortress. At first, I thought it was of a different existence… When I continued to think over my dream experience some more, I feel that my dream experience might be related to this… Two of Theodore’s Visions that he showed to us I think I’ve seen in my dream experience… The first place was a dark forest and the other image takes place in a strange-looking building. I believe my book could show you the details.”

The start of Martin’s flashback. In a dark forest, there were trees that had needles on their barks instead of leaves. The bushes at some areas of the forest looked like barb wire. Skies of dark and grey gave the feel of a gloomy and dangerous environment.

At another part of the forest, Martin could be seen walking around the environment. He made sure to avoid the sharp bushes and needle-looking trees. As he walked on the grass, it was highly resistant to Martin’s feet. They appeared like blades that could cut skin.

Soon, a sound of fighting got his attention. He turned to his left for a moment before running to a boulder to hide. When he peeked to see where the sounds of fighting were coming from, he saw explosions happening a few feet to where he was. As he looked closer, he saw what appeared to be ordinary people fighting against something. They had swords of alien design and appeared to be repelling energy attacks.

When the peoples’ enemies were revealed, they appeared like rocky beings in the form of human bodies. Their human bodies were big and wide while their faces had a pig-like shape to it. They had alien-like weapons that resemble rifles. Martin saw in horror when one person after another was being shot down by the creatures.

Martin: “What is this terrible place…?”

His eyes soon revealed a sense of remembrance.

Martin: “I see… This forest looked a lot like the forest Theodore shown us in the Dream Club Meeting… This must be one of the Impure Operations the Impure Order is doing here… I need to get out of here since I don’t want any trouble…”

Martin quickly ran away from the commotion that was taking place there. Throughout his journey, he soon encountered a wall of bushes that was blocking his path. He turned his sights to the explosions and war going on then turned back to the bushes. By giving out a big breath, he started to move around the barb wire bushes tearing up parts of his clothes in the process. Soon, he was able to make it through the bushes to see a downtown city.

In a downtown city, there were intimidating-looking buildings of random shapes and designs. The sky was calm blue with the sun shining brightly. The daylight sky there was in contrast to the sky that dominated the forest.

Although the city looked more welcoming to that of the forest, his facial expression showed a sense of appearing uncomfortable. He started to journey down a street into the city. As he observed the people that inhabit the city, he learned that they look like ordinary people in the physical world. They functioned and acted like average people in a normal city. Despite that, he felt a deeper evil resonating from within every person he encountered. So far for him, the people didn’t acknowledge him.

He carefully observed everything around him trying to learn from the city. From its stores to its housing to its entertainment, he took note of everything.

As he glanced far down the city, he saw at the end of the path a Dark Fortress. It was similar to looks to a historical medieval building where government people go to. Separating him from the fortress was the Impure Grounds. It was a place that was really a park. The grounds had a fountain showing off a statue of an Impure Troop. There was a small forest area to his left. To his right, there was an open area where troops socialized in. Currently, the Impure Grounds was being patrolled by many Impure Troops.

Martin: “This place must be very important if the creatures are patrolling it… They must be the same creatures I’ve seen in some of the images Theodore shown me… They are strange-looking creatures… It would be insane for me to go in there…”

Martin decided to walk back into the city. As he journeyed further, he saw three Impure Troops walking to him. They appeared to be looking around their environment.

Martin: “Just great… They don’t just patrol that fortress but this city too…”

Martin stopped with a sense of nerviness as the troops continued approaching him further. What surprised him was when the troops moved pass him. He turned around to see the troops continuing their walk getting further away from him.

Martin: “Wait… They can’t see me? This means that I can explore that fortress without detection.”

Martin started to change direction to head back to the fortress. He took an alternative path that would get him to the fortress quicker. During his walk, he encountered a building that caught his attention. It had four antennas on it. As he looked carefully at the front entrance, he saw two Impure Troops walking out of the building. They had 20 ordinary people following them. The people looked on with fear and depression on their faces. The troops were escorting the people to the Impure Fortress.

Martin: “This building must be another one of the Impure Order’s Operations. I suppose I can check this place out first.”

Martin entered into the building. Inside the building, he saw a reception area. The area appeared like a professional place suited for people working in the office. At the reception desk, there were a few Impure Troops. Some were on computers while others were standing by watch for visitors. He saw many Impure Troops walking to and from a hallway. Like the troops Martin encountered before, the troops in the building also couldn’t see him.

With curiosity, he went into the hallway. In the hallway, he saw many doors on both sides of the path. The hallway went on for some time. Martin went to one of the doors to open it. On the other side, he saw a creepy skeleton face that was approaching him. He quickly closed the door before moving to the other side in surprise. With his back against a door on the other side of the hallway, he reflected on what he saw.

Martin: “That was scary… It’s best that I go to the fortress. I might learn a lot of what’s there…”

Martin ran out of the hallway and out of the building to begin his journey back to the fortress. Once there, he looked at the fortress grounds where the Impure Troops were patrolling. Then he observed the palace that appeared to be in the center of the fortress. With a confident smile, he started to walk forward.

As he gotten closer to the fortress, his surroundings started to gradually blur. When he got near to the steps that would have led him into the fortress, he opened his eyes to find himself in a different environment.

He rubbed his eyes to notice that he woke up in a fast food restaurant. There were only a few people around. The first person was reading a book while the other was enjoying a late meal. Martin then turned his sights to the counter of the restaurant to see a few workers there. They were mainly standing around socializing with each other. Martin then turned his sights to the windows to see the night time sky. There was little to no cars in the parking lot.

On his tabletop that he was sleeping on, it had a beverage cup that was empty. He rubbed his eyes some more before reflecting.

Martin: “That’s just disappointing… I’m back in this world again… If only I had more time, I would have known what laid in that fortress…”

The end of Martin’s flashback.

Martin: “That is the full story… I feel that the forest, the city and that strange building are connected to the Impure Order’s Operations. I just don’t know how. Thanks to Shawn’s dream, I was at least able to learn a bit of what’s in the fortress.”

Mally: “These places Martin explored we have to investigate... I wonder if our books can help us with this. The books did say that we could communicate with our books by speaking to them or writing something into them.”

Mally: “Awakening Book, I wonder if you can assist us with solving what Martin revealed to us.”

Awakening Book: “What do you need help with?”

Mally: “We wonder if you know these locations that Martin went into.”

Awakening Book: “Not at this time unfortunately. You need to awaken your powers before I could be of greater use to you.”

Mally: “So until we awaken our powers, our books can’t help us that much…”

Kathleen: “How about we speak with the Lady of the Light again? She might be able to help us with our situation. She might even help us to save Theodore.”

Penelope: “That’s a great idea. Let’s do it.”

Mally: “Alright then. Awakening Book, how do we contact the Lady of the Light?”

Awakening Book: “Have your books together and close your eyes. I’ll do the rest.”

The Dream Club Members started to place their books together on the table before closing their eyes. Their Awakening Books started to glow white causing a sphere of light to consume them. When the Dream Club Members opened their eyes, they discovered that they were on a world they had been to before. They were located near the deserts where the skies were calm and the winds were soothing. It was the place where Theodore once was in where he got his powers unlocked.

Grass and forms of plant-life surrounded them. Sitting in a circle on white fluffy mats, they embraced the beauty of the world. They looked on with happiness and relief. Martin saw the light that was concealing the village. He thought over it for some time.

Soon, a light emerged to their sights. Out from that light, a female being appeared to a group that appeared amazed by her presence.

Lady of Light: She gave off a smile. “Welcome back on the World of Transcendence.”