Lucid (12 page)

****

Security around the fortress had tripled since our last visit. We stopped well before the gardens outside of the wall
.

“Looks like Gruff's been busy,
” Kyle commented. There was now a smaller, though equally dangerous wall around the gardens. Searchlights like the ones that found Mitch and me scanned the entire perimeter outside of the new wall and in the garden. I felt anxious as I watched the souls file into the new mini-fortress. There was no way we could get past this and save Tiff any time soon
.

“Hope you're reconsidering your role in the plan,” Mitch commented to Kyle. To my surprise, my brother laughed.

“I knew Goatie would increase security,” he said, still chuckling. “It's like the time my friends and I got caught sneaking into the cinema. Next time we tried it, they had about forty security guards outside the back doors.”

“There was definitely only one old guy guarding the exit.” I corrected him, raising an eyebrow
. Mitch cracked a grin at my remark, but I'm pretty sure he only grinned because I looked like a funny, eye-rolling monster
.

“Well, anyway, it's nothing I can't handle
,
” Kyle assured us. “You two stay here, and I'll get to work. When I signal, you run like crazy to the main entrance. Wait until you see the real monsters, but don't look suspicious.”

“What's the signal?” Mitch asked
.

“You'll see,” Kyle smiled evilly before sneaking off. I had a feeling his plan involved a bunch of explosions
.

Mitch and I backed further into the darkness and waited. We knew we'd hear Kyle's signal from here without being spotted by enemies. We spent a few tense moments in silence
.

“That's a cool scabbard for your sword.
” Mitch broke the silence again.

“Oh, thanks.
” I looked down at the blade and frowned. “It's a shame I don't know how to use it.”

“Are you kidding me?” Mitch looked up — which was funny because he normally had to look down to talk to me. “You made fire with it, and you said you made lightning with it last time?”

“Yeah, but I don't think that was the sword
.
” I voiced some of the concerns I had about the sword. “When I hurt Serpentine, the blade didn't even touch her. I can't explain the lightning, but it felt like it came from somewhere else. You're the one who can use the sword correctly. You were awesome back in Leona's room. All I have is a stupid ball of light.” I looked gloomily at my shoulder.

“Yeah, the light that's our ticket out of here.” Mitch folded his arms. “And you're the first person who came to this world. Without you, no one would know what's going on, and I wouldn't be able to wake up!”

“That's not true.” I shook my head
, which was pretty hard with my huge horns and all. “You came here without me
, remember?”

“I think I had help waking up, though.” Mitch looked out into the darkness. “You see them, too, don't you?”

“You mean the Dreamers?” I asked, hoping one would magically appear and help transport us to the place we needed to be to save Tiff
.

“Yeah
.
” Mitch continued to stare into the darkness. “I saw them in the distance before the light appeared to wake me up. Without them, Serpentine would've got me. My stupid oar is useless here.” He looked at his weapon gloomily
.

I'm not sure what made me do it. Maybe it was because I had hope that I'd find my talent here soon enough or maybe it was because I couldn't use it anyway, but something told me to give Mitch my sword.

“Here
.
” I handed it over without even thinking
.

“What?” Mitch's monster eyes stared at my gift. “You can't be serious.”

“I am,” I assured him, pressing the sword into his hands. “You know how to use a sword, so we might stand a chance against Leona and the others. Just make sure I ge
t my bat back for next spring.”

“Wi-
will do
.
” Mitch hooked the sword to his belt. “Thanks, Devon.”

“Don't mention—” I was cut off by a series of explosions.

“That's our cue
,
” Mitch commented. He looked about as nervous as I felt. “Let's go.”

I'm still not sure what Kyle actually did to get Gruff's undivided attention. Whatever he did, it was
big. We stuck to the plan and bolted past the soul's entrance, but we still saw the pillars of fire and columns of smoke engulfing the once beautiful gardens. I heard a woman scream barbarically behind the wall of flames; Serpentine was
not happy. All of the searchlights shined away from our direction. Kyle's plan was working for now. I just hoped the souls made it inside safely before his plan went into full effect.

Mitch and I reached the main entrance in no time. Our new forms were much taller and had longer legs, so we covered ground quickly — once I got used to being a giant, of course. We made it to the multi-colored fountain in less than five minutes and saw that the main entrance was deserted. The creature-hedges glistened in the artificial light, and the giant fountain gurgled away. We barely heard the explosions from here
.

“Wow
.
” Mitch caught his breath and sat down on the edge of the fountain. “Kyle really knew what he was doing.”

“Yeah
.
” I sat down next to him. “Seems like his plan is going smoothly.” But something made me feel uneasy
.

Was Kyle's distraction really so impressive that we made it this far without being spotted? I felt that the worst would appear when we actually entered the fortress. Leona was probably waiting for us right now in her newly fixed room, watching us from one of her surveillance cameras, and waiting to make her move
.

“Devon?” Mitch shook my shoulder and caused me to look down the path. I saw tall shadows of figures moving in our direction; the Nightmares were arriving
.

“Hide and join the group at the end?” I suggested. Mitch nodded, and we hid behind the hedge we used before
.

We watched the Nightmares enter the fortress, but we kept looking back to make sure no one popped up behind us. Thankfully, no one showed up, but that didn't make me feel any better. Mitch and I were about to enter the fortress, the source of Leona's evil plans. If security outside of the place was so heavy, I didn't even want to imagine how the inside looked. What if she had guards waiting at the door for us? I was sure she wouldn't kill us on the spot. My — I mean Mitch's — sword scared her too much. She'd probably imprison us and make us watch Tiff enter the coliseum. I think I'd rather fight forty Gruffs before seeing that
.

“Let's go
.
” Mitch got up first and trailed behind the Nightmares. I followed suit.

The creatures looked even worse up close. I thought I wouldn't be afraid, having been one for the past hour, but seeing a real Nightmare was different. Their teeth looked much sharper and jagged. Their horns stuck out higher, some of them had intricate carvings around the base. Their grayish, blue skin was actually made up of scales. I can't even describe how I felt. Let's just say they were named correctly.

Luckily, none of the Nightmares cared that we joined the line. One dressed in a loin cloth and a Hawaiian print shirt looked around at us, but he merely blinked and walked on. As creepy as they were, I could tell most of them were excited, like people are when they're going on vacation. That didn't make them less scary, though
.

We trudged along behind the group until we reached a marble arch directly behind the fortress wall. We were about to enter the resort; we were going to see what the Nightmares came for every night.

If I thought the entrance outside of the wall was elaborate, it was nothing compared to inside the fortress. The ground was paved with sleek, black stone that looked like dark mirrors beneath our feet. Silver bushes lined the pathway, little balls of light sparkling in the clusters. Strange, beautiful yet creepy music played faintly in the background. I turned to Mitch and saw he was staring all around, taking everything in, his jagged-toothed mouth held agape. One of the Nightmares caught our amazement and turned around. I could tell she was female, because she wore a skirt over her loincloth. That and she had on a coconut bikini top. She asked us something in a dark, gravelly language
.

“Um, what?” I asked stupidly. Mitch stomped on my foot, but I didn't need the warning. Of course the Nightmares would have their own language; they didn't live in our world and were certainly not human. To our great surprise, the Nightmare chuckled, a sound worse than her speaking tone.

“I can tell this is your first time coming here. Practicing your human-speak, eh?” She switched to English but still sounded horrifying. The grating sound coming from her throat made the real hairs on the back of my neck stick up. Imagine the feeling you have when you wake up from a dream where you're falling. That's how hearing a Nightmare talk feels
.

“Yeah,” Mitch replied in his dark, fake Nightmare voice. “We need to speak in human tongue around here. Bad service otherwise.” The Nightmare laughed loudly at his joke. I silently admired Mitch's quick response. I wish I could've come up with something that clever in the face of total fear
.

“Yes,
she al
so refuses to learn our ways
.
” T
he Nightmare looked ahead with an evil stare. I was pretty sure she was talking about Leona. “Even though she is in
our territory, she thinks she rules this land. But her kind, powerful though they are, never last very long in our world, do they?” She laughed evilly as she walked further ahead. Mitch and I exchanged looks. I guess we weren't the only ones Leona had to worry about
.

Thankfully, none of the other Nightmares were as friendly as she. We walked up the pathway in silence. Two souls stood guard at either end of the entrance. I recognized one as the buff guy from my first trip here. His eyes stared blankly ahead as I passed. I guess he never wished to fight for his freedom. My sympathy for the man soon melted as I saw the entrance to the resort
.

Think about the fanciest hotel you've ever been inside. Now pretend it's four times bigger and the floor, walls, desks, and all other furniture are made of gold. That's nowhere near good enough to describe this place, but I bet it would make the richest man in the universe's house look like a cardboard box. If I didn't know the place was really a way to enslave people and entertain giant monsters, I'd book my vacation right away
.

A deep, narrow stream circled around the entire lobby with fish of every size swimming around the circle. The golden tables had rich, scarlet tablecloths that matched the drapes around the tall windows. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, holding illuminated precious gems instead of light bulbs. The place would have been beautiful if it weren't for the monsters walking around and the gaunt souls serving them
.

“Guess we're going to have to check in,” Mitch muttered, pointing to the main desk. Some of the Nightmares ahead of us had already checked in. I even saw one from the front of the line walking around carrying a towel and wearing a banana hammock
. I was sure
that would be in my real nightmares if I ever got to dream normally again
.

As Mitch and I slowly made our way up the line, I kept looking around for some sign of Kyle. I also looked around for Tiff to make sure she wasn't folding towels or, worse, actually being a cocktail waitress. However, Mitch and I saw no one familiar. It was just us, a bunch of souls, and the Nightmares waiting for their rooms
.

Finally, we got to the front of the line. The receptionist had on a red skirt and white blouse. Her once wavy hair was tied back in a tight bun, her eyes wide and glassy. She didn't wear a nametag, but I immediately recognized her; she was Andy's sister.

“Melissa,” I said soft enough for only her to hear. For a second her eyes looked at me, but then she looked straight ahead
.

“Name of reservation?” s
he asked in a flat tone. I stared back at her, not comprehending the reality of her being a soul.

“Come on, Devon
,
” Mitch muttered. “We'll save her when our plan works.”

“Melissa, wake up!” I said a little louder than I intended. “Your family misses you.” She looked at me again.

“No reservations?” s
he asked. “No problem. There will be a fee, but I can give you a room with two double beds for
—
”

“Melissa!” I reached out and grabbed her arm. At once, the ball of light at my shoulder became brighter, and Melissa's eyes focused on me. They grew wide with fear, and I realized she was seeing Nightmare me
.