Defying Equilibrium

Chapter 18: Just a dream

The landscape began to take shape around Oscar, skies appearing above him and ground forming beneath his feet. It was one of those strange dreams, the ones where you know that you're dreaming, but you continue to dream on regardless.

Rocks and trees painted themselves into the environment around him, and even a bird or two could be seen flying in the sky. The detail of this dream was incredible. Oscar looked around, gazing at the place he was in. He had never seen anything like it, it was... beautiful. Like a scene from a painting. It was sunrise in this strange valley, rays of light breaking over the mountainous horizon.

A little distance away was a small cabin, smoke rising from the chimney. It was an idyllic scene, the kind Oscar would want to find in real life. But this was definitely too unreal to be anything but a dream.

"I see you made it," said a voice behind him.

Oscar turned. Sitting on a rather large rock was a boy, probably about the same age as Oscar, no older. He was rather angelic-looking, and the breaking rays of sunlight cast what looked like a halo around his face. But the expression on his face was one of boredom and dark humour, as if he was waiting for something bad to happen. Something that he would enjoy watching unfold.

"Made it where?" asked Oscar.

The boy shrugged. "I have no idea. This is your dreamscape, not mine. If it were up to me, I would have chosen somewhere a little fancier. A palace or something. I rather like the idea of myself as a king."

"Dreamscape?"

The boy smiled again, that unnerving smile. "Yes, dreamscape. All of this," he gestured to the valley around him, "is an invention of your mind, Oscar. You made this place."

"I did?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, you did. Subconsciously, of course."

Oscar said nothing as he looked around. He supposed it made sense, if this was his dream then of course he'd invented this place. And he'd only dreamt the boy, too. Nevertheless, there was something that felt wrong about this dream. It felt too real.

He walked over to a tree, and touched a leaf with his fingertips. He couldn't feel anything, couldn't feel the rough texture of the leaf on his fingers. It was the same with the grass beneath his feet and the hilt of the sword at his hip. It was if he was completely detached from this world and everything in it, he was intangible.

"Feels odd, doesn't it?" said the boy. Oscar almost jumped. He'd had no idea that the boy was there, he moved in complete silence. It seemed that he couldn't touch this world either.

"I remember my first time in one of these," the boy laughed. "I was not as calm as you are, but then again, my circumstances weren't as... favourable."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Oscar asked. It was a pointless question really, if this boy was an invention of his mind then he really wasn't anyone at all. But Oscar asked anyway.

"Oh, how rude of me," said the boy, his face the picture of sarcasm with his ash-coloured hair, white skin and large hazel eyes gazing at him nonchalantly. "I didn't introduce myself. So impolite! To come into your dream and not introduce myself," he shook his head. "I can't believe myself sometimes. My name is Silas. Silas Frasier." The boy held his hand out to shake, and Oscar took it uneasily.

"Oscar Escalante," he replied.

"Oh, I already knew that," said the boy dismissively. "What did you think, I'd barge into your dream and not even know who you are?"

Oscar shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

Silas looked contemplative. "So they have, so they have..."

Oscar turned back to the tree that he had been investigating before. He tried to break off one of the leaves, but he couldn't seem to get a grip on it. He couldn't touch anything at all.

"Irritating, isn't it?" said Silas. "You'll get used to it. Try spending days in a dreamscape, now that's a challenge. You can't even touch the water to drink it," he said bitterly. "Quite an effective form of torture, keeping someone trapped in a dreamscape."

Oscar looked at him. "Who are you? Usually my dreams aren't like this. And usually dreams come from memories, don't they? I don't recall ever meeting you in my life."

He laughed. "Well of course you've never met me. And of course your dreams aren't usually like this. This is your first dreamscape, isn't it?"

"You keep saying that word, 'dreamscape'. What is a dreamscape?"

Silas put his hands up and spun around, gesturing to everything around him. "All of this is your dreamscape, Oscar Escalante. All of it. This whole world."

"It seems so real," Oscar said quietly, to himself, but Silas heard him and laughed.

"That's because it is," he sighed. "Ordinary people are so ignorant sometimes. You're really not getting this, are you? Have you never heard of a dreamscape before?"

Oscar narrowed his eyes. "Of course this isn't real. I'm dreaming."

"Ah," Silas nodded in amused understanding. "I see. You still think that this is an ordinary dream, don't you?"

"If it's not an ordinary dream, then what is this?" Oscar asked.

Silas slapped his forehead with his palm. "I hate people like you!" he shouted suddenly, startling Oscar, and then he looked up at Oscar and grinned. "Sorry about that. Are you playing dumb, or are you really that stupid? I've already told you, this is your dreamscape!"

"Well if this is my dreamscape," quipped Oscar, "then who are you? Aren't you just an invention of my mind then?"

He laughed. "No, I'm not, but we'll just leave it at that. No point explaining the technicalities. Dreams are insecure places to discuss such matters, you never know who could be listening in on your dreams."

Oscar looked at him, confused. "That's ridiculous. No one can 'listen in' on someone else's dream."

"Dreamwalkers can."

"A dreamwalker. What the hell is a 'dreamwalker'?"

"I would have thought the name to be fairly self-explanatory, but if you need me to spell it out for you, they are people who can travel into the dreamscape realm. And they can transport other people to the dreamscape realm too. I brought you here, Oscar."

"You did not, this is just a dream. I don't believe you, 'dreamwalker'."

Oscar gazed around at the landscape once more, but it seemed as if it was beginning to fade. His vision was fading at the edges, and everything began to sound like it was underwater.

"What's happening?" he asked.

Silas smiled. "You're waking up." He sighed, "It looks as if our time together is at an end, Oscar. Such a shame," he said, shaking his head.

Oscar didn't think it was a shame at all. If this dream was coming to an end, he would be relieved. This dream, and especially Silas, were beginning to creep him out. The sooner this dream ended, the better.

As the beautiful landscape faded into blackness, he heard Silas's last words very clearly.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Oscar Escalante."

Oscar woke up with those words still fresh in his mind. The dream was still in his head, as if it were more a memory than a dream. He discovered that he had been woken by Dare, who was shaking him by the shoulders to wake him. It was barely dawn, the sun just creeping over the mountainous horizon.

"Sorry to wake you, but Ahmed says it's time to get moving," said Dare, who helped him to pack up his belongings. He then looked at Oscar quizzically. "Usually you're a really light sleeper, but that was like trying to wake the dead. Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

Oscar brushed it off. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"And you kept saying something in your sleep," said Dare. "You kept saying 'dreamwalker'. Do you remember what you were dreaming about?"

"I'll tell you later," Oscar replied. He didn't want Dare worrying about it now, they had to get going.

It was just a dream, he told himself. But he was finding it hard to believe himself this time.