Champion of The Dream Keeper

Joy Ride

Twenty-four years old, staring down at the infant suckling the bottle in my arms, I felt an overwhelming fondness, warmth, and peace as we barreled down the road at astonishing speeds the world blurring around us outside the car. The tan Chevy Impala projected familiarity and protection, so I barely had time to think as screeching occurred and my body is thrust against the seat belt. Curling around the child, white light surrounded my vision.

I came to buckled in the front seat as my demon sat in the driver's seat. "Interesting."

"What? Are you going to psycho-analyze my dream? Perhaps then tell me exactly how you plan to use it in your latest harebrained scheme of convincing me to join a side?" I scowled, clutching my right hand over my heart.

He glanced at me. His eyes sparkled in amusement as his mouth situated in a teasing smile, "What? No 'Hello'?"

He chuckled at my glare before turning his eyes back onto the road and suddenly swerved into a tree.

The same bright light and overwhelming sensation of panic came to me again before I suddenly felt myself being pulled back into the front passenger seat again.

"What the fuck?" I shouted gripping the seat and door handle tightly. "What the fuck were you thinking?" I turned to face him.

The easy smile still stuck on his face made me want to punch him. Violently. "So, that's what it takes to get you to crack. Just a surprise, " He swerves the car to go off road again as I flinched closing my eyes. I re-opened them when I hadn't encountered the striking white light. Glancing up at him I waited to see if he would offer an explanation. Instead, the demon fucker went along as if nothing happened casually turning to a classical music station on the radio. He even hummed along with it. I couldn't get it. It's almost as if he's just trying to -

There was another loud crash this time into oncoming traffic as the brightness took over again. Again, we were right back to square one with me tense in the front passenger seat as he continued driving the car as if nothing odd had occurred. "So..." I trailed trying to catch my scattered thoughts as I came down from my adrenaline high. "This a dream?" Starting with the obvious seemed like a good idea as a mild headache began to form its way into my brain. I'm not sure how I could have a migraine. I thought people weren't capable of feeling pain in their dreams.

"When's it not?" His voice held a nonchalant, light tone. Nothing like the usual frustration after he failed at getting me to do as he wished or the thick seductively, persuasive tone he took on when tempting me in the first place. "Also, incubi typically avoid fucking other demons." He said in response to an earlier thought. My eyebrows scrunched together as I looked to him for an explanation at the sudden statement. "Too messy with too many strings." I nodded my head not really caring.

"Alright, but could you expla-" we went sliding off the edge of a cliff doing a sharp turn. The bright light returned and diminished in the same manner it had before, only this time the mild headache from before had turned into the beginnings of a full blown migraine. "That," I hissed out rubbing the sides of my temple. "Why do you do that?"

His smile seemed to slip slightly as he noticed my reaction being not like the previous fear filled one's, but rather the aftermath of pain. "We decided to use your natural dream against you."

I let out a sigh as we crash again. Rubbing my temples, I begin to take deep even breaths. In one two, out one two. I kept repeating the motion even as the demon driver piped up, "You doing alright there, Champ?"

If it weren't for the pounding migraine that made me feel nauseous I probably would've teased him about caring. As is, however, I could barely focus on getting words out of my mouth. Trying and failing to even get something out, I gently shake my head only to groan at the movement.

He reaches out to place a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged him off, reaching to balance myself on the side door I missed and pulled the car handle done only to fall out of the vehicle and be faced once again with that pounding white light.

"Fuck..." I groaned curling in on myself as much as possible. Trying to cover my head as much as possible, I hate to say it, but I whined. "Turn it off."

"Turn what off?" Came the gravelly reply.

"Everything. Off. Off." I couldn't focus on anything I just wanted it off and to get the pain to cease. I didn't notice anything until I felt distinct warmth and darkness taking place of the painful brightness.

"Champ, calm down now. It's my job to kill you in this dream." I smiled despite the pain for a moment before feeling another throb that had me hissing.

We sat there with only the hum of the engine to break the silence. As the pain slowly began to dwindle I began to slowly take note of my surroundings. The darkness was some sort of cloth he'd draped over me. The demon was attempting to comfort me. What the hell.

"Your mind was slowly starting to shut everything down. And as much of a pain as you are, we still need you alive." I peeked up from underneath the cloth to see the demon grinning. "Back under the blanket, Champion. Not sure why, but you seemed to experience pain and I'm not taking any chances until you're ready again."

"Or alternatively, you could just call the dream to an end?"

He scoffed, "And risk actually getting reported to management? Not happening." He put the radio back on, as I adjusted the blanket to be around my shoulders with my head now exposed. Now that I wasn't panicking from the aftermath of 'dying,' I took my time to truly look at the demon.

He was dressed in his impeccable suit from last time. I don't know how I knew that it was the suit from last time, but this time, I made sure to take in the details. The pants in jacket were black with a blood red vest covering his white button down shirt. "Button up," he said out of the blue.

I was confused, "What?"

"The shirt," he clarified. "It's button up not button down. A button down has buttons on the collar itself, with looser fabric meant for more casual affairs." I laughed as the demon scrunched up his nose in distaste. "I don't see how this is humorous, knowing the difference between fabrics is very important."

I calmed down and just looked at him with an odd feeling of fondness, I leaned over the center console and kissed his cheek. That was a mistake, the next thing I know we've swerved into another lane and -

"GOD DAMN MOTHER FUCKING BASTARD!" I woke up clutching my pounding heart. That demon might convince me to join a side soon if he keeps pulling stunts like this.