“Where were you? I thought you got off at four today?” My little sister, Kiana, sat on the couch in her pajamas. The late-night news blared on the TV, emitting a static glow that radiated through our dark living room.
“I thought I asked you to stop watching that. You’re too young to be looking at that kinda stuff.”
“I’m nine now, Day. Stop treating me like I’m a baby.”
“You ARE a baby,” I said as I threw my jacket onto the coat rack. “Sorry I was late, I had to finish my assessments back at the office.”
She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and began to flip through the channels. “I don’t care. If you’re gonna take that long you should have at least brought food.”
“I don’t have ‘dinner’ food because that’s in the fridge. But I did bring you your favorite chocolates.”
As I reached in my satchel and pulled out the box of chocolates, her head flipped around so fast you’d think she would've gotten whiplash. “You mean the dark chocolates from Swishes’ Candies?”
“Yup,” I tossed the box sloppily onto the couch.
Her eyes lit up. “Thanks!” she snatched away the box of chocolates as if I were going to take it away. As she tore into the box like it was an early christmas present, I took a moment to glance around our old but practical apartment. The place had two bedrooms and one bathroom. The beige wallpaper decorated with brown floral patterns was peeling in spots, the dark pine floors had patches of discoloration from being worn down over the years, and the sink in the kitchen had a habit of not working—that one bothered me the most. I had been pestering the landlord for the past five months trying to get him to send someone to fix it. Our apartment wasn't in the best condition, or the best neighborhood, but it was what I could afford, and it worked well enough. Close to the bus stop too.
“Is Clayton here?” I asked.
“No,” she mumbled, her mouth already stuffed full of chocolates. “Since I got home from school, he hasn’t been home all day.”
“Of course…” I murmured. He was still leaving his little sister home all day by herself. I felt a wave of disappointment rush over me, but I wasn’t surprised. He was doing it routinely the last few weeks.
My eyes darted over to the clock, it was already past 8 PM. Not being home after school was one thing, but staying out past dark without him letting me know first never failed to stress me out.
Before I could pull out my phone and start dialing his number like a madman, Kiana flipped around on the couch to face me. “I called him a little bit ago,” she continued, “he said he was out with his friends and would be home soon.”
I swallowed and let out a deep sigh of relief, “Alright then. I’ll be in my room. Make sure you’re ready for bed by nine.” I rubbed the top of her head gingerly, “And don’t eat that whole box of chocolates.”
…
Laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, I found myself reminiscing on times when I was younger and had less responsibilities. Times when I was around Kiana’s age, with Mom and Dad. Life was much more simple back then, far less stressful too.
Back then, all I had to worry about was what my parents were getting me for my birthday. But more recently, I felt like I was becoming more and more like my father. He was strict, maybe even overbearing, but it was only because he cared about his kids. I remember feeling like he was superman. He was my hero.
For a moment, I wondered if Clayton and Kiana harbored a similar feeling towards me. An ambitious thought, I know—but the idea both soothed and terrified me. Both of them had to go through so much at such a young age. Being looked after by their big brother with no parents wasn’t ideal, but I hoped that I was able to give them some sense of respite and security—they deserved at least that much. And I loved them, they were the only people I did love in this world.
I swiped through the feed on my phone to clear my head as I waited patiently for 3 AM to roll around. In order to enter Tyler’s dream, he first would have to be asleep. I figured 3 AM was the best time to enter in order to ensure his dream would be fully formed. When the time finally came, I turned off my bedside lamp and shut my eyes.
After a while of laying around, I felt myself becoming more relaxed, and eventually drifting off.
When my eyes reopened, I was no longer in my room—but in a dark cavernous void. Not yet in a dream, but within the space of the in-between—a place where dreams were born, and where they returned to dust upon collapse.
My feet stood on nothing but the solid dark of an expansive abyss. Waves of energy flowed around me and through me in a symphony of colors that resembled the northern lights—firing as if they were neurons within a colossal brain. I stepped forward through the emptiness and felt myself becoming lighter—nearly weightless.
Before manifesting a gateway to Tyler's dream, I figured I should warm up with another manifestation of my own. Just something to soothe the nerves a little.
I imagined a crackling fireplace, then right after, a cozy cabin made of thick logs of cedar. The warmth of the cabin blanketed me against the light winter snow outside. I watched quietly atop an old-fashioned throw rug as the fluffy flakes of snow fluttered against the cabin window.
Being able to control my own dreams definitely came with its perks, and views like these were one of them. For once, it made me feel like I had control over the world around me. No boss to nag me, no bills, no worries. Everything felt steady... calm. Even if it was just an illusion, many would kill to be able to live in a world like that. I couldn't blame them either.
Ever since I was young, I practiced controlling my own manifestations—a skill often referred to as "lucid dreaming". I was great at it, and over time, I became exceptional. I realized by mastering my own manifestations and gaining more control over my consciousness while dreaming—I was also expanding the power of my soul.
It was only recently that I obtained the ability to infiltrate the dreams of others. I could walk around and explore them as if they were real worlds. After the necessary preparation, all I had to do was manifest a pathway. Just like I manifested the cabin.
I stayed for a few minutes longer before dispersing the cabin. The particles floated away and dissolved like vanishing fireflies, fading back to the shadows.
After steeling myself, I extended my arm. The lights which streamed across the pitch black darkness began to merge as one before my palm.
"Tyler... Tyler Baskins..." The name echoed in my mind as the luminous currents swirled around me.
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I felt a strong gust of wind blow against my body as the brilliance of the swirling energy intensified. I pressed my hand to my chest, my fingers curling into a fist. The force of the wind grew stronger and stronger, causing my balance to become unstable—forcing me to place my feet firmly to keep myself upright against the current. The flurry of colors and wind gathered into a dazzling culmination of light that swallowed me, and then dispersed into a loose spiral of vanishing ribbons—revealing a sky tinted in crimson and a collection of distant tall buildings.
As I lowered my eyes, I saw that I was now standing on top of a road, situated right next to a vacant intersection in a town that was unfamiliar to me. The road led to a small bustling marketplace, packed full with vendors and customers.
I reached down to adjust my shirt, and analyzed my surroundings.
I knew Tyler’s Dreamer had to be somewhere within my proximity. The hard part was trying to figure out where it was hiding. Under the cover of the blood red sky, I felt an unnerving concoction of nervousness and anticipation flow over me. I didn’t doubt my abilities of being able to handle this situation, I knew that as long as I stuck to my goal and didn’t stand out too much that everything would be fine. It was the fear of the unknown and the fear that something would go wrong that kept me on edge.
I had to concentrate and be careful. Tyler would have control over how his Dreamer and the environment around him manifested, which could put me in danger.
If my Dreamer were to die within Tyler’s dream, I would be the one losing my life. I wasn’t there to play around, I had to find Tyler, sneak up on him and take him down quickly.
I eyed the marketplace across the street from me. Groups of people stood around conversing with one another while others bargained with shopkeepers. Everywhere else I could see was completely devoid of human life. A line of empty buildings next to deserted interstates and highways. I decided to cross the street, and head towards where the crowd and vendors were.
Weaving my way through the clusters of people, I scanned the area adamantly looking for any clue about Tyler’s whereabouts. Nothing of interest caught my eye. The only thing I could see were dozens of booths selling various types of useless junk.
One booth was selling sparkling bracelets, another advertised decorative switchblades, and the one beside that one was selling rocks which they claimed contained “healing minerals”. Out of all the shops in the market, not a single one of them stood out very much. I pushed through the sea of people until I eventually got to the other end of the lot, right past all the shops—in an area where no other people were.
I figured that I must have missed something and considered turning back, that was until I began to hear the distant thumping of bass coming from down the street—leading into a nearby alleyway. Following the noise, I soon found myself standing in front of a high-class gentlemen's club, glowing with pulsating hot pink neon lights. The pretentiousness of the establishment was starkly contrasted by the generic buildings and shop tents that surrounded the area.
“Figures…” I thought.
Seemed like someone had put a lot of thought into this one. The building was painted black, covered with neon lights for trim. There were pulsating letters in the windows that read “Girls Girls Girls” and silhouettes of naked women in various poses.
A large man wearing a full suit with blacked out sunglasses accompanied the front door. Next to him was a standing sign reading “Members Only”. I figured that to mean that the club was a restricted area, and he wasn’t going to let me in easy without a reason. If I were to enter the door by force, Tyler’s consciousness could recognize me as a threat, then who knows what would happen.
“Hey!” the bouncer called out to me as I stepped forward to the purple carpet. “You need to be on the list in order to enter, kid.” He pointed at a piece of paper attached to his clipboard.
“I’m a friend of Tyler’s. My name isn’t on the list. He invited me here at the last minute.”
The man frowned, “...You know Tyler?” He eyed the list of names on his clipboard as if they were written in a foreign language. “H–He told me not to allow anyone in who's not on the list.”
I huffed, “Then instead of wasting my time, how about you go interrupt him and ask him yourself then?”
The man nearly shuddered at the idea. He paused for a moment and glanced down at his clipboard again before grunting and stepping away from the door. His hand gestured to the entrance, “My apologies. Right this way, sir.”
Walking through the doorway, electronic dance music immediately blasted my eardrums. Strippers and half-drunk men scattered the base room floor meandering through the strobe lights and white smoke which filled the room’s atmosphere.
I had never liked strip joints, I found them overstimulating and particularly uncomfortable. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes alone was enough to make me throw up.
The purple velvet decor and colorful flashing lights filled my field of vision while I tried to mostly breathe in through my mouth.
So… this was Tyler’s manifestation—I had overestimated him by thinking that he would have at least a little bit of tact. I couldn’t help but shake my head.
“Hey there baby,” one of the ladies from the floor began walking up to me, and placed her arm sweetly around mine. “You’re a cute one aren’t you? You lookin’ for a good time tonight?”
“Get the hell off me!” I said pushing her away.
“Damn it, Tyler!” I thought. “At least show yourself so I can get this over quickly.”
Just before I walked down the stairs to the main stage seats, I noticed a door tucked away in the back corner of the club, partially concealed by a thick red curtain—similar to the ones you would see at a stage play or theater. A warm yellow light seeped its way through the crack in the curtain’s fabric.
As I drew closer to the room and pulled back the opening, I heard muffled voices. I couldn’t hear much, but I could tell that the conversation being held wasn’t very friendly. The tones of the voices were hostile and aggressive. I slowly pushed the curtain to the side and crept through, attempting to remain as quiet as possible. Peeking around the corner revealed a line of sectioned off rooms meant for private dances, all of which were empty, except for one.
Within the occupied room stood two bodyguards, sharply dressed in black tuxedos. Behind them was a muscular young man sitting on a leather couch—a litter of beautiful women surrounded him on both sides, his arms were clutched around as many of them as his wingspan would allow. He wore a cashmere robe and tight skinny jeans with bell bottom boots. His shirt was removed, revealing an immaculate physique coupled with a six pack so defined that it could be used to seamlessly grate cheese.
In front of him, a small brunette girl was coddled over on the ground, groveling and crying uncontrollably.
“Please Tyler!” She pleaded, “I’m so sorry. Please, I need you.”
Tyler grinned with enraging hubris. The woman beside him abruptly chimed in, “And why exactly would he ever want an ungrateful snotty-nosed bitch like you, again?” She flipped her hair back behind her shoulder and glared at the crying girl in disgust.
“You missed your chance, dumbass,” another girl added. “He’s got a real woman now. One who treats him the way that he deserves.”
Kate’s tears streamed down her face and soaked the floor beneath her, “I–I’ll do anything! I promise I’ll be good to you!”
Tyler leaned forward and grabbed Kate by her hair, lifting up her head to eye level. His face shifted into a twisted grimace. “I told you that you’re nothing without me, and look at you now. You’re worthless.” As he let go of her head, Kate slumped back to the ground like a flimsy blanket. “What do you have to offer me that I don’t already have?” Kate bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. Tyler scoffed as he plopped himself back against the couch, “You’re gonna have to do better than that.” He motioned to the bouncers standing beside him, “Get her the fuck out of here.”
The two men stepped forward and reached for Kate, but before they could make contact, Kate rose to her feet—she shielded her face with her hands and quickly bolted out of the room. She even ran past me for a moment, but was too occupied to notice. Her sobs faded away into the distance, gradually being drowned out by the thumps of the raging club music.
I rolled my eyes. What I had just witnessed was honestly some of the stupidest shit I had ever seen in my life. But what was even worse was the fact that he was being guarded by those two goliaths.
The last people I killed had dreams that were very straightforward. They were either alone or with their family or friends. Even if I were to try to rush Tyler now and end this quickly, his bodyguards would surely be able to stop me before I could even touch him. There was no way I could strike up a friendly conversation with him either—he definitely wouldn’t be thrilled to see me.
“How annoying…” I whispered.
There was nothing more I could do within the club. For the time being, I decided to head back outside to see if there was anything I could use to my advantage.