1 The Dream Rider (9 page)

“Which is freeing your people?” I tried to conceal my
disbelief.

“Yes.”
 

“And just how am I supposed to do that? I don’t know the
first thing about fighting or combat.”
 
This statement brought about silence from the group.

They all seemed to be thinking but no one offered any
response at first. Finally, Elda spoke up. Her voice was deep for a woman, but
sharp. It contained the faintest accent that I thought might have resembled
Australian. “I overheard one of the guards talking about how you killed a few
of them yesterday. Is that true?”
 
Her question seemed hopeful.

I hesitated for a few seconds before answering. “Yeah. But
I have no idea how I did it. And I didn’t know those men were dead.”
 
It was a heavy thing to consider. I’d
taken lives. They were aliens, technically. And apparently they were bad
people. But I’d killed them nonetheless. The thought was strange, I felt like I
was supposed to feel guilty about it, but didn’t.

“You are the one we have been waiting for,” Jonas said,
finally. “It is said that when a world is in the most desperate need, the dream
rider will come to save its people.”
 

“Dream rider?”
 

“Yes, Finn,” he said reverently. “You are the dream
rider.”
 

I wanted more of an explanation but it would have to wait.
A giant of a man from the red corner stalked in our direction with two others
in tow. He wore a thick belt that was attached to a leather strap over his
shoulder. His tunic fit his enormous muscles like paint. He must have been
nearly seven feet tall, a monstrous representation of a human…well, human-like
alien. His short blonde hair sat atop a viciously chiseled face that seemed
permanently framed in a scowl. The two men behind him were slightly smaller but
every bit as imposing.

“Looks like you found Tallus’s replacement, Jonas,” the
beastly man boomed.

Jonas stood, surprising me with how tall he was. I
realized that he’d been sitting the entire time I’d been there, except for when
I’d passed out. Even then, he’d been squatting over me.

“Go back to your corner, Darwinius,” Petra interrupted
from the corner. “We don’t want your kind over here.”

“My kind?” he smirked. “And what kind is that, Petra?
We’re all outlaws here. Every one of us.”
 
He held his huge hands out wide, displaying huge biceps and forearms.
Whether on purpose or accident, it was an imposing gesture.

Petra took another threatening step forward. Obviously, a
rivalry had existed before I had arrived. There was another realization I made
that gripped me with fear, like staring into the eyes of a hungry lion. The
guard had said Darwinius was the man I was to fight tomorrow.

“We are nothing like you. You were a criminal before
Mallock arrived. And you are still a criminal, a murderer, a thief, and a
coward.”
 
Petra’s words brought me
back to the moment.

The last comment was like setting a match to a powder keg.
Darwinius tensed every muscle in his body. His face flushed bright red.

Petra continued egging him on. “Why don’t we ask Mallock
if we can settle this in the arena? You’re his lackey in here, aren’t you?”
Darwinius narrowed his eyes at the brash insult.

“We will fight soon enough, Petra. And you will pay for
your careless words. But you will have to wait. Tomorrow I fight your new
dog.”
 
The eyes of everyone around
me followed his pointing finger to where I sat.

Jonas stood up. “What do you mean? That can’t be right. He
just arrived yesterday. The games require a minimum of one week’s preparation
before a new fighter is allowed to participate.”
 

Jonas’s words did little to comfort me. One week still
wouldn’t be enough time to figure out a way to defeat this guy. I was a
beanpole compared to him. Even though I was pretty fit, my thin frame and lean
muscles would be no match. I thought of times when I’d seen people like him out
at the mall or at a club. I remembered thinking that even if I hit a guy like
that as hard as I could with a hammer it might not even faze him. Now I was
facing the fact that tomorrow, I would fight him, apparently to the death. My
mind drifted to details of the physical pain he could inflict on me.
Would he break my
arms or legs first? Would he toy with me like some kind of fleshy rag doll?
The thoughts overwhelmed my fears and replaced them with a kind of sickening
feeling.

Darwinius cut off my thoughts with a proclamation none
could refute. “The game master has ordered it. He said the emperor requested
it. And all rules can be altered by the emperor.”

Jonas lowered his head then glanced back at me. He seemed
crestfallen, but quickly recovered. “Very well, Darwinius. Make your peace.
Tomorrow you will die.”
 

The words were lathered in what I thought to be false
confidence. The huge man seemed caught off guard at first. After a few seconds
he recovered and began to laugh. “What’s your name, boy? Or can your little dog
not speak for himself, Jonas?”

Again, everyone’s eyes turned to me. A terrible feeling
began to grow inside of me. It felt like the same sensation I noticed when I’d
killed those guards the day before.

For some reason, I began to speak. The words came out of
my mouth before I could stop them. “Go back to wherever it is you belong,” I
snapped. The group seemed thrown off by my sudden comment.

Darwinius’s nostrils flared and his eyes grew wide with
rage. “How dare you speak to me like that, little dog,” he spat. “You will die
slowly in the arena tomorrow. I guarantee it.”
 
He jabbed his finger at me then stalked off with his two
cronies in tow. One of them peered back at me over his shoulder before trudging
away.

My body trembled all over. Petra scowled and went back to
the corner where he’d been standing before. Jonas and the others stared at me.

The old man seemed unaware of who my opponent would be.
“You fight Darwinius tomorrow?”
 

“That’s what the guard told me,” I answered, a tremor in
my voice.

Jonas swallowed hard. “Mallock must want you out of the
way quickly.”
 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

His face was solemn as he spoke. “Darwinius is the most
experienced fighter here. He has killed many, both in and out of the arena.
Most of his opponents don’t even touch him. When he enters the arena, the
person he faces does not exit. The emperor wants to make sure you don’t
survive. So, he is sending his best to fight you.”
 

Jonas seemed pensive. The beastly man I’d just insulted
was a killing machine. “How many people has he killed?” I asked just to make
sure I understood correctly.

“Twenty-nine. That’s only counting
the ones in the arena games,” Petra’s deep voice boomed from the corner. “He
murdered plenty more than that before Mallock took over.”
 

Everything hit me suddenly. “I’m sorry,” I took a step
backwards towards table. Somehow, I found my way to the seat and slumped down
into it, putting my face in my hands. No one said anything; however, I could
feel their eyes on me. It was too much information to process in such little
time. It seemed, however, that I didn’t have much time. I was scheduled to
fight tomorrow.
Fight?
I didn’t know the first thing about fighting or combat. Maybe I was looking
at this the wrong way. Perhaps the sooner I accepted the strange
reality,
the sooner I could get home. That was how I needed
to see things. I was on an alien planet, somehow, brought here by my sleeping
mind. And even though it was a dream, I was apparently not going to be able to
leave until I either completed some mission, or died trying. I lifted my head
up and looked to Jonas for answers.

“What do I have to do?” I asked him.

Jonas smiled sympathetically. His eyes narrowed with his
grin. “Fortunately, not as much as Darwinius would think.”
 
He extended his hand. “Come with
me.”
 

I stood up and followed him over to a rack filled with wooden
swords. I reached in and picked one up to inspect it. I eyed the mock-weapon
curiously. “Am I supposed to learn how to fight with one of these?”
 

Jonas shook his head. “No,” he reached out and took the
faux sword from me and replaced it in the rack. “The only thing you need to
exercise is your mind. The physical weapon doesn’t matter.”
 

“Wait a minute. I’m supposed to fight that dude tomorrow,”
I jerked my thumb towards the red corner, “and you’re telling me that I’m not
even going to practice?”
 

“That is correct.”
 
His simple, stress-free answer confused me.

“I’ve never even used one of those things before. Don’t
you think I should practice at least a little? I mean, give me a fighting
chance here. Shouldn’t there be some kind of monk-martial arts stuff you could
teach me?”
 

“Finn,” he said in an assuring voice, “the dream rider
does not fight with his muscles or with a sword. The dream rider fights with
his mind and his heart.”
 

“I don’t understand. What’s that supposed to mean?”
 
I was starting to think Jonas had lost
his marbles. Then again, according to what he’d said, I was interacting with
someone in a dream.

“When you fought the guards yesterday, had you ever been
trained to do the things you did?”
 
He made a good point with the question. We both knew I hadn’t. “Tell me,
Finn, since you arrived here on Sideros, have you noticed anything different or
peculiar about your physical abilities?”
 

I actually had noticed a lot of things in the short span.
He watched me intensely as I contemplated his question. “Yeah,” I nodded. “I
tried to open a gate yesterday and accidentally ripped it off its hinges. I
have no idea how.”
 
He stared
intently at me, expecting more. So, I went on. “When they arrested me, I was
able to break their handcuffs pretty easily. And I moved fast, like superfast.
Faster than is probably possible.”
 

The memory of the events ran through my mind as I spoke.
“I flew through the air covering a huge distance, and I could almost see the
bullets as the guards fired them at me. When I attacked, I have no idea where
the actions came from. I’ve never taken any martial arts. My strikes were
strangely powerful, too. One punch sent a man flying twenty feet backwards. I
don’t know how I did any of it. And I don’t know if I can do it again in a
fight with that guy.”

Jonas put his hand on my shoulder. “Remember, Finn, you
are not bound by earthly laws here. Your only limitations are inside of your
own mind. You can do nearly anything here. In this place, you have incomparable
power.”
 

The last sentence lingered in our little space. Over his
shoulder, I could see the others watching us, but they couldn’t hear our
conversation. Other parts of the training room were alive with activity.
Warriors were lifting weights or clashing wooden swords with one another.

“Are you saying that in this world, I’m like some kind of
superhero?” it sounded strange coming out of my mouth.

He smiled at me, though I wasn’t sure if he understood
what I was asking. “Superhero?”
 
His question confirmed my suspicion.

“Yeah. You’re saying I have super powers here, like
Superman.”
 

“I do not know who this Superman is,” he responded. “But
yes, you have extraordinary abilities in this place. You are bound only by your
mind and imagination.”
 

My eyes widened at the possibility.
Why not? If I was dreaming, I may as well
enjoy it.
“So, you’re saying I’m invincible. That’s kind of awesome.”
 
I could feel something in the way of
pride growing inside my head.

Jonas waved a dismissive hand. “That isn’t entirely
accurate, Finn.”
 
I didn’t like the
sound of that. “Though you have extraordinary abilities, you are not immortal.
If you were to die on Sideros, you may very well die in your own world as
well.”
 
His warning reminded me of
the other dreams I’d had. I’d somehow survived those. He seemed to read my
thoughts. “Just because you didn’t die the other times doesn’t mean you won’t
the next time, Finn. Even with your great powers, you must be cautious.
Everyone has a weakness. Everyone can be beaten. And remember, you’re the only
one we’ve ever seen survive a dream death.”

Weakness
? I had weakness in spades.
At least I
did in my normal life. Low self-esteem, low confidence, lack of any physically
desirable characteristics, and perhaps a dash of apathy were all things I would
consider weakness.

I heard a loud grunt from across the giant training area
and looked back over my shoulder. I saw Darwinius swinging a sword that was
almost as long as I was tall. He let out a loud yell as he grappled with both
of his companions at the same time. The men lunged and withdrew, neither able
to reach him. Not only was he fast,
but
every time he
whacked the wooden blade onto the shield of an opponent, the blow sent them
backwards like they’d been hit by a truck. I considered the men he was fighting
were much stronger than me.

“Don’t worry about that,” Jonas went on. “The only
training you need is to learn how to let go of your doubts, your
self-criticism, and what you think you know.”
 

I turned my attention back to him. “Self-criticism?” I wondered
aloud.

“Yes. In your life on Earth, you are full of self-doubt.
You belittle yourself at every opportunity. Just moments ago, you told us you
were an average person with no special qualities. I would guess you probably
still doubt the things I have said or even the things you have experienced in
this place. Perhaps you think your actions with the guards were luck or some
kind of strange out-of-body experience.”

He had a point. That was almost exactly how I felt about
all of it. It didn’t seem possible that I, a lower than average kid, could be
some kind of super hero, much less save an entire planet full of people. Yet,
here I was.

“Finn, you have been trusted with a great purpose. You
must believe in yourself. If you do, you will see that the things you
experienced with the guards yesterday are just the beginning of what you can do
here, and anywhere in the galaxy. The sooner you accept that the laws of nature
you have been taught do not apply in this place, the sooner you will tap into
an incredible power.”