Dreamcatcher (ONC 2020)

11

"Where are we going?" I hiss.

The four of us are scampering down a dark hallway. We edge past an open doorway that I recognize as the one where I first found out about Florence's betrayal.

"We have to hurry," Hyacinth says. She turns the corner then stops to face us. "Look. I want to help you guys." She nervously glances left and right down the halls. "But I'm bound to Vera. If she comes out right now, we're all screwed."

"But aren't you one of them?" Adam asks. "Why would you want to help us?"

Hyacinth looks down at the ground. "Vera is planning something. And she doesn't understand the consequences of what she's doing." She looks at us desperately. "By getting you out of here, hopefully I can buy myself some time."

"Getting us out of here?" I echo. "No way. Tell us what she's doing, Hyacinth. We'll help you."

Her eyes widen. "You can't," she says urgently. "There's a very high chance you'll die. And there are only three of you. You'll never be able to stop her by yourselves."

I pause. Then an idea starts to form in my head. "Do you have any communication devices?"

She gapes at me. "You don't mean—"

"Yes," I say. "We're going to get some backup."

Hyacinth hesitates. Then she nods and starts walking down the hallway again. Adam, Florence, and I follow her.

"There's a room over here with all our communication devices," Hyacinth explains. "Hopefully you can get in contact with your friends."

"Uh," Florence says. "So what exactly is this whole thing Vera is planning?"

"She needs essence," Hyacinth says. "Lots of it." She pauses. "She's planning to do a mass dreamcatching ritual. She's going to take every single dream of everyone who lives in this city."

"Every single dream?" I ask incredulously. "All at once?"

"Yes. Which is why she needs so much essence." Hyacinth stops in front of a weathered black door and takes out a ring of keys. "There are 18 dreamcatchers, besides Vera herself. I'm one of them. She's going to sacrifice us all." She unlocks the door and opens it.

My throat feels dry as I follow her in. "And us? We're going to be sacrificed as well?"

"Precisely." The room is empty except for several large boxes that are filled to the brim. Hyacinth kneels over next to one and starts to rummage through it. Florence and Adam are quiet, both lost in their own thoughts.

Hyacinth pulls out an old headset and what looks like a small radio, then hands them both over to me. "Here. This is probably the oldest stuff we have. So old that Vera won't be able to track it with the tech she has." She stands up, dusting her knees off. "Those comms you had earlier were pretty damn fancy. If your friends have those as well, they should be able to pick up the frequency through the transmitter." She points to the radio-like object.

I put on the headset and look at the transmitter. It looks so old and fragile that I'm afraid it'll fall apart in my hands. The only thing that stands out from its nondescript appearance is a red button, so I press on it. But as soon as I do, a loud ringing fills my ears, and I wince.

"It's a bit noisy," Hyacinth says, loud enough for me to hear her through the incessant ringing. "Hopefully they'll pick up soon."

The ringing slowly starts to decrease in volume, then suddenly it's just pure static. I wait for about a minute, and I'm about to take off the headset and call it quits when distorted words start to pop out.