DRAUMRS - Dreamweavers - Book Two

21 - Butter Knife to a Bun Fight

Will silently followed his dreamers through the corridors until they appeared to be safely back in their suite. Soon enough after that, the dreamscape of the hotel main corridor faded as Mert and Ece slid exhausted from the dream state down to deep, dreamless sleep.

Will found himself in a blank space, wearing tattered battle dress and with Snow's club in his hand. He could feel swelling from bruises forming around bleeding cuts on his face. With some concentration, he dried up the wounds and was able to wipe his face clean on the arm of his clothing. His shoulder hurt and a few broken ribs from the bear swipe seemed likely. He thanked his lucky duck, wherever it was, that Lex had left the knife behind. Then the thought occurred, Maybe, he didn't have a choice, if that was what I wished?

He knew that he had to try to get to one of Snow or Lulu, to add the strength of the talisman to their efforts against the Reds. As Xana was the most formidable target, he decided that his priority had to be Snow. He had joined in dreams before, but usually by being drawn in. He wasn't sure that he could make the jump on his own. Should I wake up and get a new pointer from Philip? It would waste of time that might be critical, or, if the ferocity of the fight with Lex was an indicator, deadly.

He looked down at the war club and had an idea. Taking the shaft in both hands he wished that it might be able to take him to its owner. He felt a little like Timmy's dad talking to Lassie when Timmy fell down the well, but he thought he'd give it a try.

Hanging on tight, he spoke out loud to the club. "Where's Snow?" Nothing.

"Can you take me to Snow?" Still no response.

He shouted, "Snow needs you, now.'" The hackle feathers rose in response to this one.

"Go to Snow, now."

With that, the hackles came fully up and Will could feel the club start to vibrate. The pull, that he had felt only in his arms, now radiated through his entire body. The dreamscape setting went dark and then came up in half-light as a service hallway in another part of the hotel. They had moved. He could hear raucous music and loud conversation through broad steel doors closed directly in front of him. The war club was now buzzing with barely-contained energy and was dragging him towards the doors.

So, you respond to commands, not questions, eh? I'll remember that for next time.

The frenetic pull towards the doors wasn't going to work though. Not knowing what was on the other side, he didn't want either the club or him flying into the room.

"Stop." He tried the command approach, but with an explanation. "We need to know what we're walking into."

The club stopped pulling and seemed to relax a little. He patted it a couple times and lowered it beside his leg. He planned to hide it until he had a target for it clearly in sight.

"OK, let's take this a small step at a time." Now, he was treating the club as an ally. The partnership felt a little like having the right gun in the woods when he came upon fresh tracks. He hoped that the club would wait for his aim before it started shooting.

Pulling the door open a crack, Will was immediately assaulted by a raucous and sweaty party going on in a large underground rave bar. Techno music blared from a stage at the far end, where a barely-clothed, red-haired female DJ was whipping up a gyrating crowd on a tiny dance floor. He squeezed through the opening and ducked down into the darkness next to the door.

A backlit service bar, staffed by red-haired young men in body shirts, completely filled a far wall. In between, several dozen patrons were drinking and jostling in a fairly drunken state. In the scattered illumination of dim pot lights Will could see that many in the standing crowd were having trouble staying upright and in one place. Men and women in apparent party dress were mixed in with a more laid-back crowd of younger partiers in tee-shirts and jeans. The majority of casual crowd also appeared to be red-haired. Many in the partiers appeared to be smoking foul-smelling cigarettes or possibly horseshit saturated joints. Will couldn't tell which, but was repulsed by the acrid odor. The entire room was shrouded in a stinking smoky haze.