Dream Tunnel (3 page)

6

C
rane heard knocking and woke up. He was in his bed at Philly. He felt the bed beside him, expecting to find Conroe, but she was not there.

Nurse Olive opened his door and turned on the light. “Where is she?”

Crane sat up on the edge of his bed. “Who?”

“
Crane?
”

“Really. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was asleep.” Most of the dysfunctional kids in Philly had developed professional-level poker faces long before they met Old Cracker—but not Crane. He just wasn’t much of a liar.

“Since when do you sleep in your shoes?”

He looked down at his feet. “Uh…”

“Search his room.” She signaled to someone in the hallway.

Two male orderlies charged into Crane’s room. One checked the closet while the other looked under the bed.

Crane held his breath. If they found her, he and Conroe were both headed to Solitary for at least three days. And even though he had just met her, he couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from her for that long.

The orderly looking under the bed reported, “Nothing here.”

The one at the closet turned to Nurse Olive and shook his head.

“Okay,” she said, as the orderlies exited. “But I still think you’re up to something, and I’m gonna figure out what it is. You know I will, Crane—it’s only a matter of time. So, you might as well come clean right now and make it easier on yourself. Would you like two days in Solitary or seven?”

Seven?
He’d never heard of anybody spending seven days in Solitary. “How many times do I have to tell you? I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m not hiding anything.” He said it with such sincerity that he almost believed it himself.

“Good night, Crane.” She turned off his light and closed the door.

He lay back down. Where was Conroe? How had she escaped? Had she even been there at all? Crane began to wonder if the whole thing had been a dream.

Then he sniffed his hand and smiled. Relaxing, with his palm over his nose, he inhaled slowly and deeply, exploring every nuance of her wonderful scent.

7

L
ibby carried her breakfast tray over to the table where Tonya, Kelsey, and Emily were sitting. She grinned. “Good morning, Tonya.”

“Shut up!” Tonya growled.

Kelsey, Tonya’s roommate, said, “Don’t mess with her today.”

“
Excuse me
,” Libby replied, with more than a hint of sarcasm. “Why aren’t you over there sitting with Crane? He’s all by himself, so now is a good time.”

“I’ve got unfinished business to take care of.” Tonya held up a crude paper doll she had made with a pencil and scissors. “See this?”

“Is that supposed to be the new girl?” Libby asked.

“Conroe.” Tonya held up the paper doll for everyone at the table to see. “This is the hand she used to paralyze me with some freaky spell.” She ripped off the paper doll’s hand.

“Ouch,” Emily said.

They all looked over at Conroe, who was carrying her tray to Crane’s table.

“Conroe didn’t react at all,” Libby observed, “and it looks like her hand is still attached.”

“How about when I do this?” Tonya tore the doll’s legs off.

They checked Conroe again.

“She doesn’t seem to be feeling anything,” Emily mused.

“No?” Tonya responded. “Well, she’s
gonna
feel it when I do this to her
for real.
” She ripped off the doll’s head, stuffed it into her mouth, chewed it up, and spit it on the floor.

“Whoa.” Libby laughed. “That’s gonna hurt.”

“You bet your butt it’s gonna hurt!” Tonya snapped.

“What happened last night?” Libby asked. “I heard you went after her, but she got away.”

Tonya elbowed Kelsey. “When are you gonna learn to keep your big fat mouth shut?”

“Sorry,” Kelsey said.

Tonya tore off small pieces of the doll’s torso as she talked. “I decided to slip into her room after Lights Out so I could beat her face in. But when I opened our door, I saw her sneaking down the hallway, so I followed her. I wasn’t the least bit surprised that she went to Crane’s room.”

“So, what did you do?”

“I went to the office and told Old Cracker I needed some medicine for a stomachache, and that on my way there I happened to see Conroe walking down to the boys’ hallway. I told her I saw Conroe hanging out with Crane in the cafeteria today. That was all it took.”

“Oh, they must have gotten into so much trouble,” Emily said.

Libby asked, “Then why aren’t they in Solitary?”

“Old Cracker went down to Conroe’s room first,” Tonya explained, “and, of course, Conroe wasn’t there—just like I told her. Then she was headed for Crane’s room, but she made me go back to my room, so I didn’t see what happened when she got there. I asked her about it this morning, and she told me that Conroe wasn’t in Crane’s room, and that from now on I’d better mind my own business.”

“Maybe she was hiding under the bed,” Libby suggested.

Kelsey glared at Libby. “You know better than that. You can’t hide from Old Cracker’s goons. But, Tonya, you weren’t gone from our room more than ten minutes. Crane and Conroe couldn’t have done much in that amount of time.”

“I don’t want her
touching
him.” Tonya sneered at what was left of the paper doll and ripped it to shreds.

“Well, I’m sorry,” Emily said, “but if you’re interested in him, you should just let him know.”

“I shouldn’t have to,” Tonya replied. “He should come to me. He should want
me
.”

“He’s shy,” Libby observed. “The only reason he’s with her is that she went after him. You could do that too.”

“Oh, I’m
gonna
do that,” Tonya said, “as soon as I finish stomping her face.”

8

“
W
hat happened last night?” Crane asked.

“You don’t remember?” Conroe picked up a strip of bacon from her tray.

“What I remember is that you came to my room and we got in bed together and fell asleep.”

She smiled. “And then what?”

“We had this strange dream—together. How did you do that?”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Well, yeah, after I got over being scared half to death. That bridge was freaky—and the tunnel wasn’t much better.”

“I know,” she said. “Sorry about that. I should have done a better job of preparing you.”

“And then I woke up in my bed and you were gone.”

“I had to get out of there before Old Cracker caught me,” she explained. “She came by my room while I was with you.”

“Are you in trouble for being out of your room?”

“Yeah. But at least she didn’t send me to Solitary. I told her I must have been sleepwalking.”

“And she believed you?”

“I guess so, but she did set up an appointment for me to see the shrink.”

“Dr. Felsquat? I’d rather go to Solitary than to his office.”

“Why?”

“He’s weird, and his office smells funny, and he keeps asking you all these questions that you don’t want to answer, but then you finally answer them anyway—just so you can get out of there.”

“I think I can handle it. But the worst part is that my appointment is at noon, so I won’t get to eat lunch with you.”

Crane frowned.

“But we can get together this afternoon. Meet me outside during recess, and we’ll go dreaming again.”

“In the daytime? No, we can’t do that. Where would we sleep? Somebody would catch us. And besides, recess is only thirty minutes.”

“We can do it. Trust me.”

Crane thought she was being wildly optimistic, but he would go along with whatever she wanted. He was hooked.

9

A
t recess time, Conroe walked out of the building to the three-acre, security-fenced yard. She spotted Crane in the playground area, pushing a young boy’s swing.

“Higher!” The boy laughed.

Crane pushed him again. Then he saw Conroe. “Okay, one last push.”

Conroe met him at the edge of the playground area. “Are you ready?”

“Where are we gonna do it?” Crane asked, looking around.

“In the maintenance barn.”

“Do you really think we have time for this? I don’t know if I can fall asleep that fast.”

“You’ll be fine.” She led him around to the back door of the maintenance barn, and they went inside. Riding lawnmowers, weed eaters, and two small tractors covered most of the grass floor.

“Not a very good place to sleep—in these gasoline fumes,” he said.

“Don’t worry—the fumes won’t hurt us.”

She located an area near the large front doors.

Crane pointed to the ruts in the ground. “Looks like there was a tractor parked here. They could bring it back at any time. We don’t want to be caught sleeping here when the doors open. We might even get run over.”

Conroe took both of his hands in hers and peered into his eyes. “Do you trust me, Crane?”

“Yes, I trust you. Why do you keep asking me that?”

She continued to hold his hands, leading him down to the ground. “Lie down.”

“What if we’re still sleeping when recess is over?” he asked. “They’re gonna come looking for us, and we’re both going to end up in Solitary.”

“No, we won’t—I promise. Look, you’ve experienced the bridge and the Dream Tunnel, and you know what to expect, so it should be easier for you this time.”

“I hope so,” he said.

They lay down, held hands, and Conroe began to describe the dream.

Crane listened to her soothing voice and became drowsy.

10

T
onya surveyed the playground as she walked up to Kelsey.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on them for you,” Kelsey reported.

“So, where are they?”

Kelsey pointed. “I saw them walking toward the maintenance barn. They’re probably in back, making out.”

“Now is an excellent time to mess up her face.” Tonya spat on the ground. “There’ll be no little kids watching back there—nobody to tattle.”

“But you’d do it right in front of Crane? Won’t that make him hate you?”

“No, it’ll make him
respect
me—and she’ll never come around him again,” Tonya asserted, heading for the maintenance barn.

“I’ve got to see this,” Kelsey said, following her.

They went around to the back of the maintenance barn. Nobody was there.

“They must have gone inside,” Kelsey suggested. “I can just imagine what they’re doing in there.”

“They’d better not be.” Tonya beat her fist into her hand, warming it up for a beat down. She flung open the door. “Time to come out and get your butt beat, chicky!”

There was no response, so Tonya went inside. “What’s the matter—you afraid of me? I thought so.”

No response.

Kelsey joined her inside, and they split up to search the barn.

“They’re not here,” Kelsey said.

“You’re the one who said they came over here. You told me you were watching them.”

“I was. They walked behind this barn, and they never left.”

Tonya kicked a riding lawnmower.

11

“
S
omebody rebuilt the bridge,” Crane said, remembering their previous trip and how the bridge had broken apart and fallen into the chasm.

“Nobody fixed it. This is a different dream, so everything is new again.”

“So it could fall apart again like it did last time?”

“Yes—so we need to go faster this time. And it’s easier if we don’t hold hands. Run!” Conroe started running across the bridge.

Crane ran after her, screaming all the way, hoping it would make him brave.

One of the planks broke apart under Crane’s foot, but his momentum carried him forward, and he made it to the other side.

He took Conroe in his arms and hugged her tight. “We did it!”

A loud cracking sound startled them, and they turned to watch the bridge crumble into the chasm.

“Maybe we should run all the way—as soon as we step inside.”

“Yes,” she said, “that probably is the best way to do it. But the tunnel is trickier than the bridge, since you can’t see where you’re going.”

“Yeah, but at least this time I won’t be worried about running into anything.”

She smiled. “Okay then, here we go.” She took his hand, and they ran into the tunnel.

It seemed almost too easy to Crane, although he nearly tripped a couple of times.

A speck of light appeared in the distance. They ran toward it, and it grew larger.

By the time they reached the end of the tunnel, the light became so bright it blinded them.

They fell out of the tunnel and rolled onto the grass.

Crane began to laugh. “That was crazy. I love it!”

“Glad you enjoyed it.”

“Now what? Last time we didn’t get to stay very long because of Old Cracker.”

“Let’s go for a ride.”

Crane looked around for a vehicle. “In what?”

Conroe put two fingers to her lips and whistled.

“I doubt there are any taxis around here—since there are no roads.”

Two magnificent saddled horses galloped over the top of the hill and slowed to a stop in front of Conroe. She began to pet them and talk to them in a language Crane had never heard. The horses seemed to understand her, nodding in agreement.

“So, you’re a horse whisperer? Wait, of course you are—you’re controlling this dream, so you can be anything you want.”

“They say they’ll be happy to take us for a ride.”

“We’ll, I’ve never ridden a horse before, but what the heck—it’s just a dream. Good time to learn.”

Conroe helped him up onto his horse, and then she mounted hers. “A few rules: When you want to stop, sit deep in the saddle. When you want to walk, squeeze your calves together gently—
gently
—and sit tall in the saddle—like this.” She demonstrated the walking technique.

Crane tried to emulate it and was surprised that it worked. “Cool. I feel like a cowboy.”

“Good, but just take it slow and easy, partner. Don’t squeeze too tight, or he’ll start running.”

“Got it.”

“Then let’s go.” Conroe took them through the woods, along a clear blue lake, through a deep green meadow, and up into the hills. They stopped near the edge of a cliff, overlooking a picturesque town.

“Isn’t this cliff a little dangerous?” Crane asked. “I would be worried if this wasn’t a dream.”

“Don’t get too close to the edge.” She paused for dramatic effect. “This…is the Kingdom of Ampla. What do you think?”

“Never heard of it. Of course, I’m not much for geography. But it’s beautiful.”

“Ampla is Latin for
opportunity
.”

“You’ve got quite an imagination, Conroe. What year is it? It looks like England in the eighteenth century. Hey, I like that castle over there.”

“There’s a story about the castle.”

“I suppose the king lives there,” he said.

“The king died recently, but the throne had already passed to one of his daughters—many years ago.”

“
One
of his daughters? That sounds like a recipe for trouble.”

“You’re right. There were two daughters—twins—but the crown could obviously only go to one of them, and by law, it had to go to the firstborn.”

“So the other sister became bitter and evil, I suppose?”

“Exactly—and when she turned 21, she declared that she would no longer live in the same castle as her sister, the queen-in-waiting. So her father, the king, ordered that another castle be built on the outskirts of the kingdom—a smaller, less majestic version. The people nicknamed it the OutCastle.”

“Did that make her happy?” he asked.

“No.”

“She still wants the crown for herself?”

“No, but you’re close. She wants it for her son. The queen has one child, a daughter, who must assume the throne on the very day she turns eighteen—no sooner and no later.”

“Why so young? Is the queen dying?”

“No, but since she has now reached the age of 50, she must give up the throne as soon as possible.”

“So, what’s the problem? The daughter just has to be crowned on her eighteenth birthday and everything’s good.”

“But there is another detail of the law: the daughter must be married before she can be crowned.”

“Who wrote all these laws?”

“The king,” she answered, “and he did it all with good reasoning at the time. But now there are unforeseen consequences.”

“Can’t the queen just rewrite the laws? She’s in charge, isn’t she?”

“Laws are passed by parliament now,” she explained, “and they are prohibited from making changes in the law to suit a particular royal family member.”

“So, what happens if the daughter misses the deadline?”

“Then the crown would go to the next in line when he turns eighteen—the queen’s nephew.”

“Uh…I’m just playing devil’s advocate here, but wouldn’t that give the evil sister and her son a strong motive to
kill
the queen’s daughter?”

“Yes, although it would be risky because the law states that anyone who murders a royal family member will be hanged naked in the public square, and their bodies will be left hanging until the vultures reduce them to skeletons.”

Crane shook his head. “Your dream world is a little too detailed—and graphic.”

“I know,” she said. “I get carried away.”

“Hey—let’s go down and check out the castle.” He yanked his reins to the left and kicked his horse with the heel of his shoe. The horse stood up on its hind legs and threw Crane off. He hit the ground and tumbled to the very edge of the cliff. “Whew, that was close.”

Conroe shouted, “Get away from the edge!”

The ground underneath him broke loose, and he began to fall. He was able to grab onto a tree root that extended from the side of the cliff. His body dangled in the breeze as he gripped the root with both hands. “Help!”

Conroe dismounted and ran to the edge of the cliff. “I’m coming, Crane. Hang on!”

She reached down to grab his hand, but the root broke off, and he fell.

Crane’s life passed before his eyes as he fell, and he began to remind himself that it was only a dream. Still, he just kept falling, faster and faster.