Cave of Dreams

Chamber 10

Chapter 3 – Chamber 10

The doctor stepped into the room and stared at Marcus with his incredibly wide and white smile.  The smile didn’t go away, even when he began speaking. “We found you laying face-down in cave chamber 26. I can only imagine what business you had being there. If we hadn’t been passing through, you would’ve been a goner for sure!” He appeared to be far too happy for such a frightening statement. 

“Who…who are you? Where am I?” Marcus managed to stammer. He tried to maintain eye contact with the doctor, but the shining teeth and unblinking gaze made him feel uncomfortable. 

“Why, you’re in cave chamber 10 of course! Can’t you tell from the characteristic pink wallpaper?” The doctor tilted his head slightly, to show inquisitiveness.

Marcus looked around the room and saw that the doctor was right. It was the same color as the doctor’s uniform. He wanted to say something clever, but all he came up with was, “No…It’s a nice color though." 

“Isn’t it? I really think it adds a splash of color to the workplace! Well I came here to bring you to Janice. She said she wanted to run a few tests.” He unlatched Marcus from his chair and led him out into the hallway. The walls were all painted the same color pink and doctors and nurses walked down the halls. As each of them passed they waved at the doctor escorting Marcus and said “Hi, Jared!”

After this continued for some time Marcus blurted out, “So your name’s Jared?” He appeared to be happy to have some kind of information.

“Yep! Well here we are.” They stopped next to a wooden door with the name Janice printed on the outside. “Janice is right inside. Good luck!"

“Good luck?” Before he had a chance to get an answer he was pushed through the door. Inside there was a rather large woman wearing the same pink outfit as the other doctors. She was doing paperwork on a fancy desk. 

“So you must be Marcus.” She looked up from her work with a snarl on her face.

“Yeah that’s me. I mean…how do you know my name?” He straightened his back in an attempt to look more confident. It didn’t work.

“It was written on your backpack. Tell me Marcus, what were you doing in chamber 26? It’s strictly forbidden for those of…your type.”

“It was an accident! I mean, I don’t know. What do you mean my type?” Janice stared back at him with a blank expression. She was not amused.

“Unfortunately Mr. Jenson, since you won’t share your purpose for being in the M-zone, we will have to place you in detention.” She pressed a button on the side of the desk and almost immediately two doctors entered the room. They both had huge smiles with brilliantly white teeth.

They each grabbed one of Marcus’s arms and began dragging him out of the room. Marcus tried breaking free as he yelled back to Janice. “Wait no! What are you doing? You’ve got it all wrong!” The two men dragged him to the end of the hall where a heavy-duty metal door stood. One of the men entered a passcode on a keypad on the door and the door slid open.

“I know you’ll enjoy it here! It’s a little dark and a bit scary but it’s cozy.” The man said. “At least you’ll have James to keep you company,” the other interjected. They tossed Marcus into the dimly lit room and the door slid closed behind him.

Inside there was a young man, probably only 16, hunched in the corner. He wore dirty clothes and had sunken eyes, which stared intently at the ground. He looked up at Marcus as he entered and then quickly back at the ground.

After standing in silence for a couple minutes Marcus finally said, “Hello.” The boy continued staring at the floor. “I’m…Marcus.” There was no reply. Marcus looked around the room as though searching for another person to make the situation less awkward.

 “James.” The boy replied. “You a Yaladin?” He looked up at Marcus with a glimmer of hope in his eye.

 Marcus stared at him with a puzzled look. “A what?” James’s head dropped in disappointment.

 “Forget it.” They sat in silence for over an hour.

 Suddenly a rumble began, much like the one Marcus experienced when he first entered the cave. “What’s that?” He asked James worriedly. The last time he felt a rumble like that, nothing good came out of it.

 “It…can’t be.” The boy stood up quickly, motioning Marcus to do the same. “We’ve got to get out of here. They’re here!”

 “Who’s here?” Marcus shouted, tired of not getting any answers. James ran to bang on the metal door. “WHO’S HERE?” The door slid open with a hydraulic hiss. In the doorway, there stood an unusual humanoid creature. It had bleach white skin, a face like a goat, and squid tentacles for hair.

 “You’re coming with me.” It said.

5 years ago –

 “Sean, I’ve told you a hundred times, I don’t need a girlfriend!” Marcus said as Sean led him quickly down a city street.

 “Shut up!” Sean said with a smile. “You can do this man, I’ve checked out this bar and there are tons of girls waiting for a nice guy like you to come along.”

 “Whatever you say. I’ve never been so good with girls though. They always seem to…ignore me.”

 “Not this time, my friend. This time you’ve got me. I’ll walk you through the whole thing. First, you just go up to a cute girl and say hi. Got it?”

 “Well, that’s kind of the part I have the most trouble with.” Sean stopped walking and turned to Marcus. He put his hands on Marcus’s shoulders.

 “Just remember what I keep saying! She wants you already, you just need to show some confidence. Once she’s interested just talk to her like you talk to me.”

 “What if she turns me down man?”

 “If you keep thinking that way then she will. I know you can do this. Do you trust me?”

 “Yeah, of course. But I’m not sure if…”

 “Then just say hello and the rest will come naturally. Let’s go, we don’t want to miss peak woman meeting time.” Sean gave Marcus a wink and a grin. Marcus rolled his eyes and they kept walking.

 They walked into the bar and sat down at a table. Sean was right, there were women everywhere.  One woman sitting alone at the bar caught Marcus’s attention.”

 “You like her?” Sean said. Marcus stopped staring at the woman and looked at Sean.

 “Um. Yeah. She’s cute.” He gulped in nervous anticipation.

 “Alright we aren’t going to let you wimp out this time. Just do what I told you, go over there and say hi!”

 Marcus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He stood up slowly and walked over to the woman.