Chapter Twenty-One

He left early the next morning – he had not slept the previous night, he was too busy packing up everything he owned into his car, and had been driving for a while before he felt the power of sleep trying to claim him. He found a cheap motel, found his room, and quickly laid down before he passed out on the floor.

It felt like an eternity since he saw the young woman. The last time he saw her she was showing him his true life and what it meant to him. She left him in the hands of Christ himself and he wasn’t sure if he disliked her for this or not. He soon came to the conclusion that he was grateful for this; for it showed him that there was someone looking out for him as he is doing for her.

“I’m sorry I haven’t slept in a while.”

Mykella smiled warmly at him and he could almost see her tears. “I know. Thank you for taking care of my mother.” She sat down next to him on the bed and looked at him. “Now I know why you were chosen for me; you must have been strong to keep loving her.”

“Love,” he said and looked out the window. “I’ve learned eternal love. But, I don’t seem to be getting that other love.” There was a heated feeling creeping into his soul. He knew that he was loved by the eternal Father, but he didn’t know why He had taken Samantha’s love away from him. It didn’t seem fair.

As if she could read his mind, Mykella put her hand on his shoulder. “You’re strong, Vince, but you need to be stronger.” She turned his face to hers. “You must understand that you will always be loved. The love of God outweighs any love people can show one another. I only wish I had that love when I’m alive. It would really suck to have to fight for humankind when I think we’re all a bunch of worthless things meant for death.”

Vince sighed but nodded anyway. He knew what she meant but it didn’t make him feel any better. He really did want to feel Samantha’s love and it hurt him not to be with her. He was beginning to regret not being there at her side as she slept. He began to feel that he had placed a huge burden on Krieger.

He wasn’t all that far away; he could just turn around and go back to her.

“No. You have a mission.”

He looked at her and shook his head. “I shouldn’t’ve left her. She needs me.”

“You did the right thing by placing her in their care – they will watch her. But you know what you are doing. Stay on the path and you will find your way back to Ireland.”

Vince quickly stood up. “Hell no! I don’t know what that damned place and the Forbidden Realms have in common, but there’s no way in hell I’m going back there. There’s some whacked-out nuns living there, you know.”

“Yes, I know. And I’m not sure why you left without letting me ask them some questions first.”

Oh, yeah. That’s why we went there in the first place, wasn’t it? “I’m sorry about that. But they were really starting to freak me out and I got chicken-shit and got the hell out of there as fast as I could.”

She wasn’t satisfied by that reply but she accepted it anyway. Still, she thought, there will be more chances in the future to ask them about my fate. “It’s almost time, isn’t it?” she asked and he gave her a cautionary look.

There were many things she could have meant by this statement. Is the world going to end soon? Are the Dreamkillers going to rise soon? Is the final battle soon? Or even, am I going to die soon? When he thought about all these he only thought that they were all connected and yes, everything will happen soon.

“Your mother said that I’d only be in my mother for seven months or so.”

Vince nodded as he remembered what his mother had told him when they first met.

“She’s got to be at least five months along by now,” she said and he smiled at her.

“Six and a half, Thursday. Want me to throw you a big birthday party?” He grinned and let himself chuckle and he stopped when he saw her worried eyes. “I was only kidding.”

“If my birthday is soon, then that means that Orion will raise his army of Dreamkillers soon.” She paused and then stood up and walked over to the window. “I’m not sure I’m ready; I need more time to,”

Vince stood up and went over to her and put an arm around her shoulder. Together they watched the dream world go past them in silence. There was nothing he could say to comfort her because he knew that, yes, the time is drawing closer. Ready or not, he wasn’t sure if he was prepared for the horde of creatures to take over the world.

His eyes opened and he rolled onto his side. He saw through the drawn curtain that it was night. Vince sighed and closed his eyes again (he really didn’t want to finish his driving during the night – the headlights of passing cars hurt his eyes) and fell asleep just as fast as he had awakened.

But this was not the kind of dream he had been expecting. He was standing in the middle of some stone chamber. He spied two doors, a fireplace, a chair, and a stone slab next to where he stood looking confused. At first he thought he was at the castle/convent in Ireland, only to be proved wrong when a door opened and in walked Orion.

“It’s one thing to be a Dream Crusader. Sure you can travel the dream web and visit different people’s dreams. But it’s a whole different thing when you can pull someone into your own dream.” Orion gestured to the room with his hands. “So, Vincent, what do you think of Daddy’s little playroom?”

“What is this place?” Vince knew that throwing Orion colorful metaphors would be a waste of time and mental effort. If he was to even try to fight Orion, he needed to know all he could about the crazy fuck.

“This is where Daddy – King to you and everyone else – impaled his prisoners. Such a beautiful sight, really.” He walked back to the fireplace. “You know, Vincent, I really don’t need you to show me the way to the Forbidden Realms – there are other ways to get that information.” He was talking to Vince with his back to him and he had reached back into the fireplace. This time he pulled out a large metal spike and he turned around to face the young man.

Vince tried not to concentrate on the dried blood on the tip of the spike as Orion slowly approached him. There had to be a way out of this nightmare. He looked around and saw that a door stood just a few paces from him. He turned and looked at Orion again. “I’m not your enemy,” he said and Orion laughed.

“Well, we ain’t exactly friends, either.” He still had not raised the spike for the purpose of attack.

He was close enough and Vince brought up his leg and planted his foot in Orion’s stomach, sending him several feet back and he fell to the stone floor. That done, he sprinted over to the door, pried it open, and bolted out and up a narrow set of stones that had at one time been steps.

Orion did not pursue Vince and he laughed to himself at the thought that Vincent had been relieved that he thought he had gotten away from him. He stood up and rubbed his stomach where he had been kicked with a satisfied smile. There will come a day when he would find it a pleasure to open this room once again and Vincent Hopman would be his first impaled.

And then it occurred to him as he made his way back to the fireplace (to replace the spike) that his castle was no longer standing. A battle had been fought between two evil forces and the devil had taken one of them to hell with him. Before he had done that, the devil made sure to destroy the only place he had ever called home.

When he was seventeen years of age he had fallen in love with a servant; he had kept their affair from his father and her family. He couldn’t even remember her name; just that she had blonde hair which she had kept back in a braid. He would take her to the sacred impalement room at night and they would use the shackles unsparingly. They were animals of raw desire, these two, and nothing was taboo for them. Bloodshed had been spilled in some erotic sexual macabre.

Tears fell from his eyes at the thought of when the king finally did catch them. It wasn’t the fact that Orion had kept the affair a secret, but she had been punished simply because she was a servant girl and had wooed a prince. For this crime, she had been executed; and for his crimes of passion, he was the one to execute his love.

He didn’t even say that he loved her just before plunging the spike through her heart.

Orion wiped the tears from his memory and put the unused spike back in its hiding place and turned back around to look at the familiar room. No, this was not his realistic home, but he could make it so. As soon as he storms Eden, he will have the power to make things happen, he would have thought impossible eons ago when he had killed his loving father.

* * *

Vince forced his eyes to open and when they did he turned and saw that light was shining through the curtain and he sighed in relief as he wiped his eyes. He sat up and tried to get the image of the evil garden out of his mind but there was nothing he could do; it was forever branded into his mind.

He suddenly realized that he was neither afraid nor intimidated by Orion. There was nothing that creature could do to him that knowing the future hasn’t. The horror of knowing what was going to happen in the future was far more intense than meeting the master Dreamkiller himself. Actually, he rather looked forward to his next encounter with Orion; then he would have more clues on how to stop the bastard.

He was back on the road after he had gotten a shower and a shave and had ordered breakfast from a drive thru and ate his sausage and egg biscuit on the way down south. What he had trouble with was reminding himself that he was not in any hurry; this was a journey and not the Indy 500. There was time for everything including sightseeing.

Another four hours and he was pulling off the interstate and followed the signs to Pigeon Forge.

He drove through the main strip of the tourist area. There were gargantuan hotels lined on either side of the road just after every other business. He smiled to himself as he took in the sights (he couldn’t wait to walk down the walkways to see everything up close) and shook his head as he recalled that almost nothing had changed through time.

He drove past the miniature golf course that still promoted live rabbits hopping freely around the courses. He saw the mining place where you would use a wooden sifter to look for valuable minerals and gems; you never found anything worth a lot – especially since it costs more to have the stones cut. And then he spied the tall hotel he and his father had stayed in for a week.

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Vince pulled into the large parking lot and walked into the main lobby. Scanning the area, he walked up to the receptionist and explained that he needed a room. He told her that he wasn’t sure how long he would be staying.

She gave him a wink and a smile. “I don’t think that’d be a problem. You might have to pay a slightly higher price.”

“That’s all right,” he said and signed his name on a registration card.

“Oh, our swimming pool is under construction. The Averly across the street is one of our hotels so feel free to use theirs whenever you want to.”

He nodded and grabbed the key card with a ‘thanks’ and made his leave to find his room.

When he opened the door, he was not at all disappointed. He first noticed the large bed which matched the orange and red flowered curtains. He turned and saw a small dining table which looked to seat four at the other end of the room next to the (here he almost laughed out loud) small kitchen.

He went over to it and saw a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and even a dishwasher. Vince propped his elbows up on the ledge of the counter and sighed. This was not the way his life was supposed to be. He was destined to train the Dream Crusader; not be living it up at a fancy hotel while her mother is pretty much brain dead back home.

That was when he had decided that he would find a way to make this trip – and all the other’s that he takes – work. He would find ways to train his mind not to fear the future. He would use whatever knowledge he gains of Orion to train himself to become a better fighter.

Whatever it takes, he would not let Samantha, Mykella, and all of humanity down. Everything was dependent on the survival of Mykella and it was his prophecy to protect the child.

Vince went over to the window and pulled open the curtains using the handle and he looked out at the world. To his right he saw the mists of the Smoky Mountains. To his left he saw nothing but shops and tourist attractions.

When he was here so many years ago, he and his father went out after midnight and walked to an all-night arcade where they played air hockey until three in the morning. That was the only summer Vince didn’t give a shit about anything. He was in love with life because he felt the bond between father and son.

But now? What was there to feel? He spotted the location of the same all-night arcade. Other than his professor, Vince was the only live person who knows what will befall humanity and it sickened him that he couldn’t run out there and warn everyone. They’d just look at him like he was insane.

What will it be like when Orion has control? Really feel like? He envisioned everyone walking around like zombies with nothing in their eyes except the whites. Skin gray and discolored. We will become slaves, no matter how grotesque we look.

Then he looked down at the parking lot and pinpointed the unmistakable outline of Orion leaning against a car, obviously stolen, looking up at the building. No, he was looking up at Vince’s window.

Orion was smiling when he saw Vincent open the curtain and take notice of him. If there was one thing he loved the most, it was the hunt, other people call it the old cat and mouse game, and Vincent knew that he was being hunted which made this game even that much more exciting.

Besides, such a lovely little city we have here. There are lots of people with lots of dreams. These innocent and naïve people will soon learn what it feels like to have their nightmares come true. The evolved Dreamkiller needs to wait until he reaches Eden, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t make a few Dreamkillers in this nice little city ripe with thousands of nightmares.

He knew Orion would not kill him, not yet anyway, and so Vince decided to leave his room to go in search of food. He briefly debated if he should eat in the hotel dining room or go out to eat. He chose to leave the hotel; it would give him the chance to walk around and take in the sights.

He found a restaurant almost as soon as he left the parking lot on foot. Everywhere you look, there’s a food place almost as frequently as there are tourist attractions. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Orion had followed him into the restaurant and had taken a table at the other end of the place. Funny that he knows he’s being followed but he still chooses to remain seemingly out of sight, yet close enough to remind Vince that he’s still close by.

More than once Vince thought about joining his nemesis for a drink, only to decide against it. He didn’t want to seem too buddy-buddy with the creature. He was still his enemy after all. So he sat alone eating his flame broiled double cheeseburger while keeping an eye on Orion who was looking out the window. He would turn and look at Vince every now and again, but for the most part he kept his eyes on the outside world.

When he finished his drink Vince looked out the window and saw that the sun was setting – he will never forget the sight of the sun setting over the mountains, such an awesome sight to see. He stood up and walked over to the cashier and handed the check over to her. She took his money and he then gave her more money. “This is for that guy over there in the green shirt,” he said and she leaned over and saw Orion.

She nodded and gave him his change with a “thank you” and “come again.”

He had to admit, this young lady had the sweetest bit of southern charm about her. Blonde hair. Deep accent. Large brown doe eyes. What wasn’t there to like about her? She could make any man fall in love with this tiny place. He nodded with a smile and then left the restaurant.

He walked about a block and then looked over his shoulder. To his surprise he did not see Orion anywhere. He stopped and took a sharper look around him and saw that Orion was not following him this evening. Interesting.

* * *

He had different plans tonight. He walked around reading people’s minds. He first read the cute cashier at the restaurant as she informed him that a man had already paid his bill.

She may have been beautiful, but oh what fears she had! As she spoke to Orion, he smiled at the young woman thinking that she would indeed make a perfect Dreamkiller. What would she think when she next looks in a mirror? He would not miss the opportunity. When she said “come again,” he almost laughed and told her that he would indeed come again.

He found another potential subject twenty minutes later when he watched a young man air paint several tee shirts. He didn’t watch him work; he watched the man himself. The man had long stringy brown hair which hung over his eyes at times and had a rather muscular build.

Orion glanced over and saw the painter’s van. He walked over to it and viewed the artist’s work which had been made all over the side of the van. There were red and black dragons breathing fire. Naked women in poses so seductive women in his time would have been slaughtered if they exposed themselves these ways. He looked more closely at the collage and found hidden pictures between the larger ones. These were the horrifying images that played with the mind. These images had to be painted with or without the painter knowing he was doing it.

One memory came back to him as he walked away from the painted van; converting a human into something the likes of a Dreamkiller takes quite a while. In his prime, he had gotten pretty fast at the conversion process, but he was way out of practice. He would stop at two tonight and play with them just to see if he still had the knack.

At this point he didn’t care where Vincent was or what he was doing. He was on Cloud Nine, so to speak, and nothing could bring him down. He would catch up to the little trouble maker soon enough. Right now there was fun to be had and Dreamkillers to be made.

* * *

There wasn’t all that much to do when you’re in Pigeon Forge by yourself. In fact, only a couple of hours and Vince was already feeling lonesome. He could only be a spectator in the things he and his father had done together. He really couldn’t play miniature golf and enjoy it without someone there with him.

But still, there were other things to do like going to nightclubs (things he never would have dreamed of when he was younger) and,

“Vincent!”

He dropped to his knees and covered his ears. The voice literally knocked him down. He felt the hands of others trying to help him up but he shrugged them off without acknowledging the help. He didn’t want to get up; he had to calm himself if he were to recognize the voice.

“Vincent.” It was the voice of his mother calling out to him. She didn’t wait for him to respond. “It’s beginning again.”

“What? What’s beginning?”

“The end is at hand. Tonight, the Dreamkillers will arise.”

Now he stood up, feeling nauseated as he did so. “No. That’s not possible.” He paused and then thought of Mykella. “She’s not even alive yet. It’s not supposed to happen until then.”

“You dear boy. You have misread everything.”

He didn’t know if she was mocking him or being sincere; he had not known her long enough to know her voice and how she used it.

“You know that the Dreamkillers will take control and that Mykella is to be born to defend mankind.” He gave her a mental nod and she continued. “No one ever told you when the Dreamkillers will rise. All you know is that the child will be born. In fact, we don’t even know if she will prevail – only God knows that.”

“How…how do you know the Dreamkillers are coming tonight?”

“Orion learned that he didn’t need access into Eden just to do what he has done so much in the past.”

“But,” he was beginning to lose his mental capacity to think straight. “What do I do? She’s not here to fight.”

He could sense his mother sigh. “Your mission is to protect the child. As much as it pains me to say this, but you’re doing the right thing. Let them and they will follow you. Lead them away from her so that the child is in no danger.”

He found a bench and almost fell onto it. “So instead of just Orion, now I’m being hunted by these creatures, too.” Somehow he knew this day would come, but he didn’t want to admit to it. He really did think Mykella would be alive before the Dreamkillers came into the scene. He desperately wanted the girl to have a normal life for a while.

“Is there anything I can do to stop him tonight?” If he could only stop the bastard tonight, he might have a chance to postpone the inevitable.

“I’m afraid there isn’t any way, Vincent. You cannot stop the prophecy no more than you can stop people from dying. I’m sorry but Orion will have his way tonight. We must learn from this so that we can fight the evolved Dreamkillers – they will be more deadly than the ones he is creating tonight.”

“I wish,” he began and shook his head and lowered it in shame.

“That I was there to fight beside you?”

With a grin he nodded. It wasn’t until just now that he realized how much he missed his mother. He wanted to feel her wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything will be alright.

“I am very sorry, Vincent. But me choosing this life was the only way for me to be near you. Otherwise I would have died.”

“I know. I guess I never thought that I’d have to go through this alone.”

“Stand up.”

Reluctantly he did as she ordered and he raised his head. He ignored the passerby who occasionally glanced in his direction. She told him to walk back to his room and lay down to rest his head because it is that which he will need to fight the Dreamkillers.

He really couldn’t wait to get back to his room; he needed to warn Mykella.

“No; you will not worry that child to death. She has more to deal with than having the knowledge that her enemy is strong again.”

Vince shook his head and wished that there were certain things that his mother wouldn’t do – like read his mind.

He heard her chuckle and said, “Fine. I shall leave your mind to you alone.” He smiled when she said this. “But I strongly hold to what I said about warning Mykella. She doesn’t need to know.”

“All right. But how do I not tell my best friend that evil is already here?”

“Easily. You just don’t talk about it. You go about your normal dreams like always.”

“Yeah, and then these damned creatures come popping into my dreams. Then what?”

Tracy had not thought of this point. Her son was right; the child should be warned. “You can warn her, but also tell her that everything is under control.”

He almost laughed. “Is it?”

There was a pause during the time when he arrived back at the hotel and when he arrived in the elevator. “I will try to get some other help – it didn’t do too good when my predecessor raised his guardians against the Dreamkillers though. I’ll see what I can do.”

He felt a little better knowing that his mother is going to help him. But, as she said, help from guardians does very little. He opened his door, went inside, and walked over to the kitchen after closing the door. He opened the refrigerator and found an inviting bottle of beer and he grabbed it.

When he closed the door, he saw a sign explaining that all alcoholic beverages were five dollars each. He looked down at the beer for a moment. “What the hell,” he said and twisted off the cap. “The devil’s on his way so what does it matter that I spend a shit load of money?”

He made his way over to the bed and laid down on it and turned on the television by way of remote control. He didn’t find anything too interesting and so he finished off his beer and tossed the empty bottle into the wastebasket next to the bed and laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.