Lucid

SIX

'Oh god no' Theo thought 'Not here, not again.'
Dream. Six.
He felt an immediate headache coming on. Why did Maddie return here after he had worked so hard to deliberately ruin the life she made here? Then it dawned on him. He rubbed his forehead stressfully. There would only be one reason, if she was indeed controlling the narratives; then She came back for him. If there was any moment in this journey to lose hope, it was now. After being literally stuck and trapped in this dream for three dream weeks, day after day waking up and realizing maybe he wasn't getting out and then narrowly escaping only to end back up here again, AND DID SHE CHOOSE THIS??? He suddenly remembered shocking phone call and current threat but more importantly the man said Maddie chose this? That had to have been a lie. The Maddie he knew, loved life, real life, she was a very successful editor. A job which she absolutely loved because was so good at it and she worked hard to earn her position and it took her all over the world and She loved to travel and experience different cultures, she loved collecting art, dancing, she definitely wanted a family (she spoke about it often enough) all things pointing toward a full life in the real world! Why would she give up on all her goals to be stuck and probably very drugged, to live in a dream, a world that could literally kill her at any time, unconscious to the fact that she was dreaming and embracing even the possibility of death due to her own mind. Never. Maddie would never.
He had to believe this, he had to. If he was to try and get her out of this toxic dream again; he had to believe she wanted to be saved.
And yes this dream was toxic, because her beau in dream six was a narcissistic sexist who only wanted Maddie as his trophy and nothing more, and yet she submitted to him, in her own mind. This world was hers and yet she was still under his control. It made no sense to him.
But he knew what he would have to do this time; he would have to kill Steven and she would have to witness it. It was an extremely risky move he had always tried to avoid turning any of the dreams into mares himself, because she needed to be calm at all times, but this was a risk he had to take. Time was closing in and there were real life threats at play. He could not waste a second being trapped in this dream, not again.
Theo would have to play the bad guy. Anything he needed to do to get them out of here.
He got up and looked around, he recognized the house he was in, it was the same one but something felt different, usually in all her dreams Maddie would place him in a house or a building that was always in very close to proximity to her. All of them... But as he got up he knew something was different, he felt a new chill in the air, he rushed to the window, miles and miles of water, he was at the edge of a very high cliff with nothing else in sight. He hurriedly ran downstairs and opened the back door. 'Maddie nooo Maddie noo what are you doing???" Nothing but a vast field again with absolutely nothing in sight. He was put there deliberately. Intentionally. Was it her? Was she resisting being rescued? Did she really choose this?
No car, no phone, the air was very cold. No sense of direction. Finding her would usually take one or two 'dream days' if so much but now, now he had no idea as to how long it would take.
He went back inside in a frantic panic and started to search through the house for any sign of hope, there must be something he could use to find his way out of there, she wouldn't leave him absolutely stranded. Even in this world some part of her always felt attached to him, They were friends, real friends.
From the very first day he moved into her apartment building, she befriended him and they were kind of inseparable ever since, four years of friendship, and he had fallen deeply in love with her. Maddie on the other hand was always sending mixed signals to him. He believed there was something there and he was ready to act on it. They had seen enough of each others failed relationships to know they each had yet to find their soulmate and they always got through those losses together with lots of dinner dates, alcohol and comfort food but mostly each others company. Theo knew she was the one. Everything about her, what he had come to know, he loved.
In the last few months though, she became a bit distant, a little quieter and always busy. They were out of touch a bit but still found little ways to show each other that they still cared. One time he got her her favorite bottle of wine and left it with a note on the elevator at the exact moment he knew she would get on. The very last thing they did together before the feeling of being untethered became apparent was a LucidMingle dinner date in his dream. It was nothing complicated; just a simple dinner on a cloud overlooking a beautiful city. Dinner with the stars beneath their feet. Then they flew down for some late night city dancing. She loved to fly in dreams it was her favorite thing to do! It was a great time they spent together, Just two good friends having a good time.
'Wait... FLY! That's it! She would've never taken that away not in her dreams" she put him further yes but she still gave him the opportunity to find her. He quickly ran outside, stopped and took a deep breath. Flying in dreams sounded pretty straightforward but it was not so easy it took a lot of concentration and a lot of focus. In the beginning you could barely go even a short distance, but eventually with more practice you could focus enough to cover a fair distance without falling. Theo would always be careful to stay as close to the ground as possible, especially if he was flying solo, when he and Maddie flew he felt more comfortable and at ease to go higher and further, out here, though, he felt less so.
He looked over the vastness of the sea, well that was out of the question, he had to take his chances over the miles of empty field. He closed his eyes and concentrated, moments later he was airborne.
He had no idea where he was going so he just flew in the opposite direction to the house, eventually something would appear, besides he had no room for doubt if he wanted to find Madison quickly. The wind was very chilly at first. Making it hard for him to focus but the further he flew the warmer if got, Perfect! He must be getting closer inland to where Maddie was. He kept his eyes closed mostly opening them only briefly now and again just to be sure he wasn't going to crash. But there was still nothing in sight, Maddie outdid herself making sure he wouldn't get to her (or at least she was buying time) but why?
The field stretched for many miles but he kept focused, finally up ahead he saw a tiny town, not one he had ever came across in dream six, but he welcomed the break.
He landed just outside the town after looking it over and taking a mental map of the area, it was quite small, he would be able to get around and out pretty quickly that is if she was even here, he descended and walked to the nearest building. When he came around the first corner, the streets were completely empty, not a soul in sight, it felt strange but it was very normal in fantasy theory. He examined some of the buildings, they were all empty, Maddie must not be here he thought, he was about to resume his flight when suddenly and out of everywhere people poured into the streets, in the blink of an eye there was a bustle around him, One woman bumped into him
"I'm so sorry sir" he looked down at her and she looked up, Theo froze in fear. The woman spoke, she had the appearance of a woman but she had no face. He started to breathe a little heavier. Was Maddie turning this into a mare herself? He needed answers and to get them he needed to find her.
That's when he realized the people weren't actually people. They were distorted almost lazy versions of people. There was no way Maddie would be here. It was time to leave.
He ran after the 'lady' who bumped into him and without looking directly at her he asked hurriedly
"Excuse me ma'am where is the next town?"
Before this time, Dream Six mainly had one big city, and nothing else. If he could get to there he'd know where to find Maddie.
"Town? No, no this is the only town outside the city, and the city is two hours that way"
Theo quickly glanced at her and just like that her mouth appeared, only her mouth and she smiled.
"Thank you" and he ran off from where he entered the town hoping not to disturb any more characters that were now roaming around. Moments later and he was airborne heading in the direction of the city.
Theo glanced ahead, the city was coming in view and it looked dismal. The skies were darkened and there was heavy rain fall. He knew he needed to get to the car and get to Maddie immediately this dream was turning into a mare and it was happening quickly. Of all the deaths that occurred in the real world due to the Lucid pill, dying in a mare was reportedly one of the most horrifying deaths for the brain. The mental turmoil that cause your heart to seize and stop. Imagine being murdered by your own mind. No, not like any orthodox suicide; it was your darkest, scariest most negative thoughts and thoughts alone, literally ending your life. Dreaming yourself to death.
Theo got into the car and sped off toward Steven's office. She would be there. In this dream she worked for him. In the office and at home. He controlled her every move. She was comfortable while doing it because he was uber rich but what did it matter? it was not real! Why would Maddie conjure up such a being and allow herself to be so poorly treated. She was a smart independent beautiful woman. Why was she a prisoner to this toxic being. Did this person represent someone from her past before he knew her? Theo quickly looked around as he was speeding through traffic, there were no drivers in any of the cars, there were only passengers with no faces.
"Cmon Maddie help me out here... what's with all the traffic, we need to get out of here ASAP," he muttered.
Finally he came to Steven's office building. He actually owned the building. Theo pulled into the parking garage and rushed into the elevator.
The door closed, only then did he realize the two bodies standing in the corner, they were dressed as businessmen, but in their hands he noticed, they carried what looked like daggers.
"Shit." He whispered.
Was Maddie doing this was she trying to kill him so she could be free to live her dream life?? He needed answers and he wasn't going to die before he got them, especially not by some faceless boogie men.
Then the fight broke out. Theo dodged, punched and slammed one of the zombies the other trying relentlessly to stab him. He was surprising good at fighting, in the real world he would already be dead, then he felt a new surge of energy, something was happening his physical strength was increasing. It was time to end this.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Theo held his arm he had been stabbed in his bicep, and in Lucid dreaming, that pain was very real! With all the adrenaline taking over he fought ruthlessly and eventually overpowered them both. Knocking one out and killing the other. He was breathing heavily, staring at two faceless bodies on the elevator floor. He had never killed anyone before but even to do it a dream felt weird. He dropped the dagger to the floor it made a loud thud and it was as if it snapped him back to the situation at hand he frantically hit the button to the 12th floor. Although his plan was to kill Steven, something about even dream murder felt very upsetting. It felt real.
"It's not real Theo none of this is real" he kept saying this mantra as the elevator went up. The door finally opened and he burst out. He turned and looked before the door closed. The elevator was empty. He felt his strength dissipating.
"VIOLETTTTT" he shouted at the top of his lungs and starting running "VIOLETTTTT WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW" there was no time for strategy. Only time to escape. He ran down the hall to Steven's office . They weren't there, in fact no one was. The floor was empty.
"VIOLETTTTTT IF YOU CAN HEAR ME YOU NEED TO COME WITH ME RIGHT NOW!!"
He was running from room to room. What he saw outside gave him brief pause. The buildings were crumbling.
'Shit' he thought.
Where was she? This is where he met her each and every time. The rumbling was getting louder and closer. He felt very panicked and nervous.
"Oh god Maddie help me out here!" Theo came to the last door on the floor, a supposed conference room. He stopped suddenly. Someone was crying. He flung the door open.
"Violet?"
There she was standing at the very end of the room crying and staring at the floor. He ran toward her and froze. There he was. Dead. He heard a thud, she dropped the gun and ran toward him, sobbing heavily in his arms. He held her but his eyes and mind was fixed on Steven's body on the ground.
"Vi, vi what happened" he managed to get some words out. She was still sniffling.
She looked up at him pure sadness and fright on her face,
"Theo" she whispered "I'm scared."