The Big Sleep (Duology)

Chapter Seven - Eggs

When I was a bit younger and much more obedient, I woke up two hours before school each day to trek across out property and back to gather the eggs from the westside chicken coop. Summer or winter, the poorly ventilated coop always delivered a foul smelling, heavy gust of hot air when I opened it. Of all my chores, the eggs were my most hated. They had also been my first act of rebellion; four years ago, I had stopped gathering them.

And Beth had started.

Every day, she happily hopped out of bed and bounded to the coop, wicker basket in hand. The chickens loved her as much as she loved them, which was quite a lot. After saying her long farewells to her loving brood, my industrious sister usually paid a visit to the beekeepers, who worked just behind the coop, among fields of wild and cultivated flowers. As she waited for her honey, she collected a bouquet. And so, every morning, the breakfast table was laden with fresh eggs, honey, and flowers. The morning after the Masters arrived, the kitchen table was set with a partial loaf of stale bread.

I sat down in my usual seat, not acknowledging the inauspicious table setting, and ripped a piece off of the bread with my hands while Beth sat quietly, picking crumbs off of her own hunk of bread.

"Did you see it?" she said quietly, not looking at me. "The people across the ocean?"

"Yes."

"Was that...?" She sighed and set her bread down, finally making eye contact with me. Dark circles lined her wide eyes. "Rain. Was that the Masters?"

I nodded slowly. "I think so."

"Shit," she said, bolting up from her chair. She began pacing the kitchen, cursing under her breath with every step she took.

I stepped in front of her, grabbing her by the shoulders to get her attention. "Beth," I said. "It's going to be alright."

Her wide eyes grew wider and she laughed. "Oh, is it?"

I couldn't help but laugh with her. "Probably not." I sighed. "But if you believe now, maybe others will."

She frowned. "That was a projection of their victory. It wasn't a dream. That was real. How are we supposed to fight them when they understand everything so much more than we do? They understand the Greymen and our powers more than we ever could. We can't fight them."

"We can try," I said.

"I'll help you," she said.

I nodded. "Thank you, Beth."

"What are you girls gossiping about?" My father smiled as he took his seat at the kitchen table, but his expression dropped when he saw his breakfast. "Hm. The school gave you a few weeks off after... everything, right?"

Beth nodded. "Miss Diana said we can go if we feel up to it, but we don't have to."

"How about we see if we can get the coop fixed up this morning, then?"

"Don't we have more important things to worry about?" I said.

"Hm?"

"The Masters, Dad. Don't pretend you didn't see the same thing we did last night."

"The Greymen are manipulative, Rain," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I lived with the nightmares for thirty years after the First Big Sleep. A lot of us did. We remember what it feels like when they use their illusions. You have to understand, Rain. We know what they are doing. This isn't the first time they've tried to trick us."

"And this isn't the first time you've tried to control me," I said, pushing him away. "It wouldn't be the first time you'd done so with lies either."

He frowned, but did not press me. I had spent my entire youth dreaming of travelling the dream world with him, but he had always said it was too dangerous or impossible. When I found out he'd been training his farmhands the whole time, I couldn't forgive him. He had hidden so much from me--the farmhands, the Dreamcallers, his own connection to the Greymen--I couldn't trust him either.

"It's not a lie," I said. "It was real, Dad. Beth felt it. You did, too. I know you did. That wasn't a nightmare. That really happened. The Masters are here, in the real world. We have to prepare. They're coming."

"No. What we have to prepare for is winter. The shipments aren't coming in anymore. We have to survive on what we and the other farms can provide. Rain, if you're not going back to school, I need you on the farm. Get your head out of the dream world and help me. Help the community or we'll all starve, whether the Masters are real or not."

"I can't believe how blind you are. They are real. They are here. Dad, if we're dead it doesn't matter how many eggs there are."

"But if we're alive, we'll need eggs."

I scoffed. "I can't take this. You have two kids, Dad. You can't sink into this delusion and ruin our future just because you're so certain of your own past. The Greymen were never evil and you can't accept that. Fine. Then step aside and let us handle this. You old men are just getting in the way."

I stormed out of the house, intent on not coming back.

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