Dream Rider Prologue

Dream Rider

Prologue: The Beast Within

            Gary Whittaker was a mess. Sitting there in the waiting room of the institute, the soft morning light that filtered through the windows in the ceiling would have put anybody else at ease, but not him. At this point his brain was hardwired to prevent himself from falling into anything close to resembling a state of comfort. He had long given up fighting against his body's wailing cries for sleep.

            How long had it been now? Seven days? Eight? He'd lost count. He knew it had been longer than a week, that's for sure. The bags under his eyes gave that away instantly.

            He raised his steadily shaking arm to check his watch. It was a brand new Rolex, a gift from one of his wealthier clients. 9:30, on the dot. He still had a half hour until the procedure. His attention was averted to the sleek clockwork around his wrist, finding it ironic that the clock hands moved in a more smooth and fluid motion than he could move his arm.

            Gary was anxious. Not about the procedure itself, he had total confidence in that. These people were professionals with a near flawless track record and he didn't care what his friends in the media said. Of course if it were public knowledge that he was here Gary would become a laughing stock. He would lose some of his clients for sure and even see his stock dip, but that wasn't what scared him. It was the fact that after a week he would finally be falling asleep, and in doing so would be subjected to that which he had been running from.

            His wife Linda sat with him in the waiting room. She had been strong, staying with him through the worst of his plague. So many nights in which he would wake up screaming bloody murder, sometimes injuring her attempting to fight off something that wasn't even there. It had been three years since his somnambulistic affliction arrived and she was still with him. Why? Was it his money, or his power? He had wrestled with that notion many times while waiting out the long hours of the solitary corners of the night. If she wanted she could divorce him and keep a more than generous sum of his money while at the same time shedding herself of his nocturnal blight, but she didn't.

            She grabbed his shaking arm and held it steady. He looked up into her eyes and his own began to water. Her beautiful visage reminded him that he had an anchor in all of this, bringing up tears from a well that had been run dry by a sleepless body. The happiness her face brought him was complimented by an equal feeling of sadness; he couldn't look at her this closely without being reminded of how she looked in his head after he fell asleep.

            Decapitated. Blood flowing from the empty sockets that used to be her eyes. It was so vivid, even now in his waking state he could see it by simply looking at her. Linda's soft and perfect skin boiled by some unseen force, melting away to reveal a skeleton that withered and turned to dust.

            He looked away and tightly closed his eyes. He withdrew his hands from hers to bury his head in them, wiping away what few tears he had left. The health of the mind is a brilliantly delicate thing, and can only subsist for so long while being accosted by sensual and emotional torment.

            It was Linda's idea to bring Gary to DreamEx. He dismissed her suggestion initially, fearing the fallout that would occur if his clients found out that he was letting strangers root around inside of his head. He laughed it off as a joke, ignoring the fact that he was getting less and less sleep every night and his physical health was beginning to wane. Like a crotchety old man who refused to go to the doctor, Gary ignored his symptoms and acted as if nothing was wrong. What's the worst that could happen if he got a little less sleep?

            He didn't notice it at first, but the more he went without sleep the more his physical health would deteriorate. It started with a thin layer of grease that would constantly cover his face, the first consequence of not getting enough rest. Over time the obvious loss of energy interfered with his career and sex life, splintering the ying-yang relationship between work and pleasure. Over time the splinter turned into a crack, creating an emotional imbalance that started turning his waking state refuge into a nightmare itself. Too much of this lead to times when he needed to give in and rest, even if only for the sake of letting his body repair itself.

            The longer he went without sleep, the more vivid his nightmares would become. It wasn't only disturbing images that plagued him, but the feelings of absolute dread and sadness that accompanied them. At first Linda was the only victim, but over time their two children made appearances as well. They had a son, Caleb, who was nine. Their daughter Kayla was seven. He couldn't fall asleep without seeing them through various forms of torture. Sometimes they were disemboweled, their guts and feces spilling all over an otherworldly twisted and gnarled ground. Other times they were skinned alive, their hands and feet tied together as glistening claws dug into and tore off their skin. Asphyxiation, popped in there from time to time. Gary considered this version of his nightmare the most tame and tolerant of the bunch. All he had to do was watch them lose their breath, turn blue and quietly slip away as their eyes rolled into the back of their heads. The worst and most violent version had them each gored alive by some unseen animal.

            The most maddening part of it all was that he never saw what did these horrible things to his family. All he ever saw were their pathetic forms being helplessly tortured and he was no where to be seen to help them. This happened every single time he went to sleep. He didn't understand why, so he sought therapy. He was diagnosed with a severe dream anxiety disorder, but even after advanced therapy it's source couldn't be found. He was a man in optimal standing, the founder and head of a major corporation with a loving and supportive family. Sure there were stresses both at work and at home, but nothing too strenuous as to cause this kind of trauma. The doctors were baffled.

            The best psychological minds that money could buy couldn't find a root to his madness, and therefore were powerless to help him. He figured that if therapeutic assistance couldn't help, he didn't stand a chance. If he stayed awake for too long his physical health would decay, and if he gave in and fell asleep his mental well being would crumble. There was no way out.

            Except one. The big one. The final one. All it would take is one instant...and then sweet release. He thought about it from time to time, but often disregarded it as a mild hysteria.

            Gary was at the end of his rope, so he tied one around his neck. Caleb found him that day standing on a chair in the middle of his bedroom, ready to kick it over and let the noose tighten. All Caleb wanted was to show his father the giant frog he found near the pond in the backyard. It was the biggest he'd ever seen, and put up little resistance in the face of Caleb's curiosity so he was able to carry it all the way up to his parent's bedroom.

            When Caleb opened the door and saw his father standing there, confusion swarmed him. He didn't know what was going on. Gary looked at him standing there in the doorway, holding up that giant frog, and didn't know what to think. Suddenly the realization of what he was robbing his son and the rest of his family of overtook him, and tears began to flood from his face. He shooed Caleb out of the room and closed the door, his son asking what him what he was doing. Gary slumped to the floor and cried.

            Linda had a very serious discussion with him that night. The notion of meeting with DreamEx was brought up again, and this time Gary had no choice but to oblige. He knew it was the right thing to do. In the wake of what happened with Caleb, all of a sudden the prospect of losing his professional reputation didn't seem so scary. So he did a little research, and what he found seemed more than appealing. Not only could DreamEx finally allow Gary to get some much deserved rest, but they could guarantee that he would rest well for the rest of his life. It seemed too good to be true.

            The concerns of his clients were well regarded, but the technology of DreamEx was so misunderstood that Gary knew they were without cause. Ignorant neophytes feared that he would give away all of their financial plans and secrets, but he knew this wasn't the case. Numbers and their bottom line was not at the root of his troubles, and therefore could not be given away. If Gary did in fact go through with this procedure and opened himself up to seemingly unknown people, they couldn't just dig around inside his head to find financial secrets. They would however find what was ruining his life, and he knew they were getting in deeper than they realized. He never actually saw it himself, but he imagined it could only be a vile beast of unimaginable strength and evil.

            He felt very patronized during his first meeting with DreamEx. He met with a psychologist named Brad Edwards, the company's first filter against the phonies and lunatics that were not qualified to undergo a cleansing procedure. As he described his symptoms, Dr. Edwards made notes on his clipboard as he responded to Gary's plight in a monotone voice that made him feel very insecure. Was this all just protocol to Dr. Edwards, or did he simply not care for Gary's troubles? He was so tired at this point, he let it slide.

            Dr. Edwards concluded that Gary was not a lunatic and not faking, and therefore he could move onto the next step. Another appointment was scheduled, this time with an experienced dream analyst and sleep therapist. Dr. Edna Faracy studied and practiced the field of dream study long before DreamEx was even established. Her record was impeccable and she helped hundreds of people overcome their nocturnal doppelgangers without the aid of cutting edge technology. Gary was not one of them.

            Gary lay on a fancy leather couch in Dr. Faracy's office. The color temperature in the room was a mix between mahogany and a deep brown, creating a calm atmosphere as the light from the windows behind Edna's desk. They had just finished what was scheduled as a therapy session, but felt more like a game of 20 questions. Gary was bombarded by a series of inquiries spanning from his personal habits to his professional practices. "Well Mr. Whittaker, there's no question. You're a prime candidate for a cleansing procedure.", she said as she closed his folder and took off her glasses, folding them and placing them neatly on her desk.

            Gary rolled his heavy, tired eyes. As if he needed to be told that. He sat up and rubbed his greasy face. "So what now?" he asked. Dr. Faracy opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out what appeared to be thick, black goggles. "Say hello to your new best friend." she said as she outstretched her arm gestured toward Gary to take them from her. Gary stood up and walked over to her desk, calmly receiving the strange headgear.

            It looked like a sleeping mask but was thicker and heavier than any that Gary had ever seen. The fabric on the inside was silky and smooth, all except for a glassy crimson streak that stretched from one ear to the other. On each side of the mask, presumably where the wearer's ears would be, were small black boxes that were square at the top but rounded at the bottom. An adjustable strap clasped each of these boxes, connecting the front of the mask with the back. Gary turned the mask around in his hands, admiring every inch of the strange device.

            "I read about these," he said. "They're heavier than I thought they'd be." Dr. Faracy smiled. "They're exceedingly comfortable, I can assure you." He turned them around and saw a power switch located on the right ear's black box. "Does this need to be on the whole time?" he asked. "Yes." She stretched her hand out to him again. "May I?" He handed the mask over to her. She flipped the switch and a band of dim red light illuminated across the front of the mask. "They need to be on from the moment you get in bed until to you wake up. The first step in going through a cleansing is capturing the nightmare you want us to remove."

            Gary chuckled. That wouldn't be difficult. There wasn't a time in the past three years in which he slept and didn't have some variation of the same nightmare. She pressed inward on the mask's right side and a small memory card popped out. She held it up for him to see. "This is a DCC, or dream capture card. The data this mask records will act as a mini polysomnogram. Heart rate and blood oxygen levels will clue us into the exact severity of the nightmare, but your eye movement and corresponding brain signals during REM sleep are the most important. In order to recreate the experience we need to capture it in it's entirety. To do this, you'll need to wear this mask every time you go to sleep." She turned off the mask and handed it to Gary. "When you're sure you've gotten it, get back to us so we can review the information and schedule a procedure."

            Gary took the mask from Dr. Faracy. Although he was relieved that there was finally a possibility to cleanse himself of this horrid disorder, taking that mask made him nervous. He knew that he couldn't run anymore. He would have to fall asleep and endure the experience again, at least one more time, to begin the process of cleansing. That night, he put on the recording mask and laid his weary head on his pillow. Within minutes he was asleep. Like clockwork, the terrible vision appeared to him.

            He awoke covered in sweat. Breathless, the confusion of going from the traumatic world of his nightmare back to reality clouded his thoughts. Everything was black. He touched his hands to his face, feeling a strange combination of silk and plastic. He was still wearing the mask. He checked the black box on it's left-hand side. There was a faint blue light flashing at a steady pace. It had recorded everything he experienced while asleep. "Well that didn't take long," he said aloud, alone in a darkened room. He had locked himself in their guest bedroom so he wouldn't injure Linda, or hopefully, even wake her up.

            That was weeks ago. He had long since returned the mask to DreamEx, and was now waiting in the lobby of their research institute to undergo a cleansing procedure. He looked at his watch again. 9:59. His anticipation had reached a fever pitch, but it wouldn't be long until all of this could finally be put behind him.

            A receptionist at the main desk called him over. "Mr. Whittaker?" He stood up. Linda straightened him out, but Gary didn't care how he looked. He knew he was a mess so why bother fighting it at this point? He walked over to the desk, tired and with heavy eyes. The receptionist handed him two forms on a clipboard. "Please double check all of your personal information. If it is correct, we just need a signature from you at the bottom. The second sheet it yours to keep." He fumbled around the desk, looking for a pen. "Oh," the receptionist exclaimed. "My mistake!" She pulled out a pen that was resting atop her right ear and handed it to him. With his blurry vision he could make out the DreamEx logo. The pen read, DreamEx: We can't guarantee you'll dream every night, but we can guarantee you'll never have a bad dream ever again! This made Gary chuckle. "We'll see," he muttered to himself as he signed his name at the bottom of the form and handed it back to the receptionist. She stood up and walked over to a large double doorway, holding one side open and gesturing toward him to enter. "Right this way," she said with a large smile.

            The receptionist lead him down a long hallway, her heels clicking loudly with every step she took. They passed rooms full of what looked like large computer towers, although Gary couldn't make out exactly what they were due to his blurry vision. All he saw were black obelisks flashing with green, yellow and red lights.

            He was so tired, the hallway seemed like it would never end. It began to curve, and after a while he realized he was walking downhill. "The rotunda is below the building. We need to keep it there so the servers don't overheat during the summer droughts." The perky receptionist seemed to be apologizing for something she hadn't done. "Sorry for the long walk, I'm sure you were already exhausted before you came in." That was an understatement. He could make out a light at the bottom of the swirling walkway.

            And then he saw it.

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            At first glance, the rotunda wasn't a terribly large room. It looked bigger in all of the brochures Gary had been given in the weeks leading up to the procedure. The media attention that DreamEx had been given recently was a double edged sword; while it was clear that the American public was incredibly tepid about adopting this strange technology into their cavalcade of consumerism, reports on TV and online had made it seem incredibly romantic. Now, standing here in the midst of it, all of a sudden Gary thought it was somewhat underwhelming. "This is it?" he asked with irritation. It was just a small circular space with a funny looking chair in the center.

            He followed the receptionist into the room as the floor changed from the slip resistant rubber finish of a public building into a cage-like metal walkway. Looking up, he raised his hand to block out the light coming from somewhere high in a darkened ceiling. It wasn't very bright but it made Gary's tired eyes squint. The room was round, a cylinder stretching up into darkness. He couldn't quite tell, but the entire room looked larger than he first thought. Where was that light coming from?

            He didn't notice because he was too busy staring upward, but apparently there was another person there with them. He heard the voice of a young woman coming from behind him, talking with the receptionist. Gary's mind was fuzzy and unkempt, so he didn't notice the receptionist walk past him and back into the hallway they entered from. He was tapped on his right shoulder by what felt like a long female fingernail. He turned and was greeted cheerfully by a pretty blonde woman in a long white lab coat.. "Good morning!" she exclaimed.

            She wore a thick pair of glasses and held a long black clipboard. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "My name is Vicky Faracy. You must be Mr. Whittaker," she said not even looking up at him, scribbling quickly on her clipboard. Ah, so that was it. She must be Dr. Faracy's daughter. "Are you ready for the procedure?" She didn't even give him time to respond before turning to the chair and messing around with a small panel on the back of it.   "What's this, the electric chair?" he joked. She responded with a quick staccato giggle. "Not quite. Although it is electric." She wasn't kidding. She pressed what seemed like a random sequence of buttons and the chair hummed to life.

            Gary watched as the chair raised itself from the floor. There was a long metallic cylinder beneath it that began to extend upward until finally stopping about two and a half feet off the ground. The long hiss of compressed air releasing from the bottom of the chair signaled that it was ready for somebody to sit in it.

            Gary stood up straight and saluted Vicky. "Permission to come aboard, Captain." She held the clipboard down at her side and returned the salute. "Permission granted, Mr. Whittaker." Gary climbed into the chair, getting comfortable. "...but I'm not the Captain. He's up there," she said, pointing to a windowed room high above them. It was something Gary hadn't noticed earlier. This room really was bigger than it seemed.

            Behind the chair was a large wall of computer towers in a semi-circle. Vicky walked over to them and began connecting thick cables into the back of the chair. She flipped switches on the towers, adding extra technological hums that almost harmonized with each other.

            Vicky spoke into a headset attached to her ear. "Link parameters connected. Establishing base-wave interface." She spoke very intelligently for someone so pretty, Gary thought. Continuing to press buttons and flip switches on the towers, Gary heard a whirring noise approaching from directly above him. He glanced upward to see a funny helmet emerge from the hazy darkness and lower itself down toward the chair. "Do I need a helmet for this ride?" he joked.

            Vicky continued working near the computer towers. "You most certainly do," she said, turning toward him. "This is what's going to allow us to disable your consciousness and induce your nightmare." Those words put some fear in him. The reality of facing that which he had been avoiding for years suddenly made him very anxious. "If you'll place your hands face down on the chair's arms please," she instructed.

            Gary did as he was told. Thick metal barricades emerged from the chair and locked him into position. "Oh! That's cold." The surprising coolness of the metal jolted him awake.

            "Sorry about that. Now your legs. All comfy?" Vicky asked. Gary nodded and she pressed another button that activated similar restraints on the lower side of the chair, locking his legs in place.

            "They may be a little tight, but we need to take precaution to protect our workers and equipment." She didn't have to explain it to him. Gary knew exactly why he was being strapped down. The last time he had the nightmare with people in his immediate vicinity, Linda got a black eye.

            Vicky walked in front of him and adjusted the helmet onto his head. It was heavy, but being attached to the ceiling Gary didn't have to hold it up. She placed a chinstrap around him and connected it with a loud click. Gary was trembling. "Nervous?" He had no witty retort, so he just nodded. She giggled. "Don't be. You're in capable hands." She pointed up to the level above them, a part of the room Gary's blurry vision missed earlier.

            Above the massive computer towers was a long line of chairs that looked similar to the one Gary was sitting in, only smaller. They were fitted with similar helmets as well, only theirs were attached to the chairs themselves and not sticking out of the ceiling. Gary saw that only three of the many chairs were being prepared. A man was working on the farthest chair on the left while two women were fiddling around with buttons and knobs on the two chairs next to him.

            There they were. The infamous few that the media nicknamed sleep walkers. Wait, there were only three? Don't these people know what they're getting into? Gary feared that they may be underestimating the severity of his stress.

            "Excuse me ma'am, but are you sure that's enough?" Vicky was sure to speak as comforting as possible. She understood his concern, but knew that they would have the situation under complete control. "Don't worry about that. These are three of our finest somnambunauts, and Mr. Bishop is one of our most promising young scouts." He didn't know these people, and he was going to allow them into his head? Her reassurance did little to placate his anxiety.

            She stepped away and the chair swiveled slowly and faced the opposite direction. Vicky walked in front of him and faced the wall of computers once more. "Initiating consciousness retraction." She made some more connections and a deep mechanical hum signaled a bronze cylinder from above him. So that's what his helmet was connected to. It was covered in zigzags that pulsed with bright blue light. They began on the cylinder's farthest ends and met in the center. When it stopped moving, a countdown timer appeared.

            "When this timer reaches zero you will lose all conscious control of your body. After the nightmare has been induced, we can begin the procedure. Remember this?" she asked, holding up the card that stored the information from his sleeping mask. She then walked to Gary's backside and inserted the card into the back of the helmet.

            As Gary adjusted to the cool temperature of the restraints, he began to find that elusive state of comfort that he had been avoiding for so long. Vicky lowered a visor on the front of the helmet, covering his eyes. "Just close your eyes and relax. We'll handle the rest," she said as the countdown timer reached zero.

            Gary took a deep breath, then entered the void.

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            His consciousness had been completely shut down. Now that he was asleep, Vicky was able to begin inducing his nightmare. The DCC was already in place so all she had to do now was send the appropriate signals to his brain so it could be replicated. Like a printer copying the image from a computer onto a sheet of paper, the processors inside the massive helmet began remaking the signals they had collected three weeks earlier. As far as Gary's brain was concerned, it had no idea the signals were fake. It began to play the nightmare out.

            A man's voice came through Vicky's headset. "Vitals and brain signals are positive. Dream replication successful. Initiate the CorTex for reception." Hunched over Gary scribbling the final notes on her clipboard, she noticed he was beginning to sweat. Not even under for a full minute and he was already showing physical signs of unease...this must be on hell of a nightmare.

            She straightened herself out and walked over to a large switch in the center of the computer towers. She flipped it upward, using all of her might to make the switch move. It clanged in place and the lights on the brass cylinder changed from blue to green. "CorTex ready for reception." She then climbed up the small set of stairs that lead to the second floor.

            Myra and Gale were already strapped into their chairs. Vicky nodded, acknowledging them as she walked by. She knew Myra didn't like small talk, especially when they were this close to going in.

            The man on the end however was not strapped in yet. Vicky slowed her walk as she neared him. "Last minute alterations?" she asked the man. He looked up and shrugged, smiling. "I've got a feeling Hansen underachieved again."

            Leonard Bishop had only been with DreamEx for three months now. At 27 he was a youngster fresh out of college. With a PhD in physics, many had wondered why he had worked so hard through school just to end up here. Whenever they asked, he always responded with the same statement: "The pain is fake and the pay is better. Plus this is the only job on Earth where I get paid to sleep."

            He hadn't been into many live dreamscapes. In fact, this was only his fourth time going in on a live patient. He began his career as a scout. His job was to look and listen, acting as a lifeline for his fellow somnambunauts. He was an amazing problem solver as well, which was good because the last two procedures he was on were almost botched by Data Development.

            Vicky looked quizzically at him. "Do you have a bad feeling about this one?" She hadn't known Leonard for long but she almost immediately trusted his sense of judgment. He tilted his head. "Not necessarily, but considering the severe anxiety this man has suffered from and how quickly it took for Data to analyze his DCC..." He held up a small card similar to the one that was in Gary's sleeping mask. "Better to be safe than sorry," he said as he inserted it into one of the numerous slots lining the back of the helmet on his chair.

            Myra and Gale were strapped in and ready to go. Vicky walked over and attached their helmets, making the various connections from the helmets to the back of their chairs. A thick pipe-like structure covered in wires went from the top of the helmets and into a large square box that was attached to the ceiling. Multiple smaller cables jutting out from the side of the box met and connected into the top of the large bronze cylinder now pulsing with green light.

            A voice came over the PA. "They're waiting for you, Bishop." Leonard and Vicky looked up to the control room. A young man with large headphones waved to them and smiled.

            "Looks like everybody's ready to go," Vicky said as she made the connections behind Leonard's chair. "Anymore last minute alterations?" He laughed, strapping himself in. "My bag of tricks is empty." The buckles on his restraints clicked as he inserted them together. Vicky placed his helmet on his head, then walked over to the wall behind them. 

            She placed her hand on a large switch similar to the one on the bottom floor. She was about to flip it when Leonard stopped her. "Vicky, do me a favor. When you get to the control room call up HR. Let them know that we may need somebody on standby. You know, just in case." She smiled. "Better safe than sorry?" The visor on Leonard's helmet came down. "Exactly," he said smiling.

            The three chairs began to lean flatten out so that they were all nearly laying down on their backs. "Good luck in there," she said, flipping the switch.

            The entire room became very quiet. All Vicky could hear now was the mechanical hum of all the machines working in concert and the clicking of her heels against the metal walkway.

            Just like Gary, Leonard, Lori and Myra's consciousnesses had been suppressed. They were now being re-routed into the CorTex where Gary's nightmare was being played out. In a moment or two the connections would meet and they could begin the cleansing procedure.

            Vicky walked up to the control room. It was small, but could fit 4 or 5 people comfortably. A large control hub consisting of multiple screens and keyboards was placed in the center of the room. On the far wall was a door that lead back into the institute, and in front of the control hub was a large pane of glass that looked out over the dream floor.

            Each person's vitals and other important information were displayed on the screens on the farthest sides, but the screen in the center was black. The man with the big headphones was sitting on a swiveling chair that had access to the numerous screens and panels. Vicky entered, looking over her notes.

            "The CorTex received each consciousness. Has Bishop checked in yet?" she asked, quickly verifying the various statistics flashing across each screen. The man in the chair swiveled it toward Vicky. "Not yet, but his signal should be coming online any second now." She copied some of the stats to her clipboard, keeping her eyes glued to the screens.

             Simon Jeeves had been with DreamEx since it's inception. He was hired for his near flawless understanding of technical jargon. A computer science major at Stanford, he would have graduated with honors if he hadn't been caught hacking the dean's account and altering numerous students' grades. His skills were flawless, but he was caught because a former friend that he owed money had ratted him out.

            When interviewed about the incident, he was quoted in the school paper as saying, "It's for the best. I'd rather be kicked out than pay what I owe." He was lucky that a little startup company nearby desperately needed somebody who could read and debug multiple lines of code at once.

            That was ten years ago. Now he oversaw at least six or seven procedures a week. Jeeves enjoyed working as a procedural manager. Dealing with computers gave him solace; he much preferred that to dealing with people.

            As they waited for Leonard to check in, he turned to Vicky and spoke with suave valor. "So...dinner tonight? It's all you can eat at Golden Corral. My treat." She smiled and rolled her eyes playfully, responding with, "In your dreams." He laughed. "That can be arranged, you know." Just then, the blank screen lit up.

            Jeeves swiveled back toward the screen. "Ah! There he is." Jumbled letters and numbers appeared and began to form coordinates and various other signals. Jeeves leaned in so he could see Leonard's vitals. "His heart rate is off the charts. You think it found him?"

            Vicky looked over the various statistics beginning to pour in and shook her head. "Not so soon. He must be discombobulated from the jump."

            Jeeves chuckled. "I thought you said this guy was good?"

            "As I recall," Vicky responded, "the last time you went in, you 'wet the bed', as it were." Jeeves became coy. "I never did like swimming...even in dreams." He didn't even glance back toward Vicky, but instead began typing furiously on the keyboard.

            "Send them in, joker," she said as she lightly smacked his head with the back of her clipboard. Jeeves flinched, then cleared his throat and switched to his professional tone. "Completing conscious synchronization."

            Jeeves swiveled to another keyboard and began typing. Leonard was already in the dreamscape, but now that he gave the go-ahead Jeeves could send in Myra and Gale.

            "Godspeed, sleep walkers," he said as all the connections were completed. Now, it was all up to the somnambunauts.

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            Leonard awaited the arrival of his fellow sleep walkers. He remained calm, but was anxious for them to arrive. This dreamscape was particularly hellish, more so than any of the others he'd been in thus far. He arrived on top of what appeared to be a tall plateau. Ahead of him was a steep drop off. Walking over to the cliff's edge, he looked out toward the nightmarish vista before him.

            The ground was a mahogany colored crust that felt exceedingly dry, cracking in numerous places. The sky was blood red with streaks of yellow and orange peppered throughout. It was almost as if it was on fire. In the distance was the silhouette of a small city. Leonard couldn't quite tell why, but it gave him a sense of foreboding. Perhaps it was because the buildings were all so dark, with no lights on in any of the windows.

            There was no sign of the nightmare's root just yet, and Leonard was glad. Considering his surroundings he'd rather his support show up before the beast did. He adjusted the sleek white headgear wrapped around his head. A clear blue viewfinder emerged from the side of the headgear with a tiny whirl and extended out in front of his right eye.

            Adjusting the knob on the side of the headgear, menus scrolled through the viewfinder. He brought up a tab labeled "CONTROL", his only link to the outside world. It was quite possibly the most important of all the tools he was equipped with.

            The control tab was linked to the servers in the rotunda. With it Leonard could send signals to his procedural manager. If things weren't going as planned and they needed to be pulled out, he could let them know. Likewise, if something unexpected happens on the outside, say a fire breaks out or an earthquake hits and the procedure needs to be cancelled, Leonard could be notified.

            However, the time passage gap between the dream and reality created a delay in response time, something Leonard hadn't gotten used to yet.

            He gave the go ahead to send in Myra and Gale, and now he was waiting for Jeeves' reply. The creepy quiet atmosphere of the nightmare around him made the wait almost unbearable.

            After an uneasy couple of minutes, the headgear received a confirmation signal. It wasn't long before the form of Myra Lockhart and Gale Ducard appeared before him.

            Myra and Gale had been with the company for years, so they needed no time to adjust to the nightmare's harsh conditions. "You make it seem so easy!" Leonard exclaimed as Myra and Gale walked over to him.

            Myra placed her hand on Leonard's shoulder. "Give it time, rookie. You'll get the hang of it." She balled her hand into a fist, playfully slammed it against Leonard's shoulder and walked past him toward the edge of the cliff.

            Myra was in her late 30s. Her appearance was plain, save for her blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair. She was an experienced somnambunaut, being requested by some of DreamEx's more notable clients. Celebrities, pro athletes, major politicians...she had even once performed a cleanse on the Vice President. How do you put a mind at ease that sporadically dreams of nuclear fallout? Myra figured that one out. The VP's procedure was kept confidential however, since it was performed during an election year.

            Gale, however, was a soldier at heart. She was great in a tough spot, but had no managerial skills. Myra had selected her for this procedure because of her impeccably poignant sense of duty. If there was in fact a nightmarish beast at the heart of this man's psyche, Gale wouldn't flinch before it.

            And then there was Leonard. A newcomer to the DreamEx corporation, but no less valuable. So far he had worked as a Scout, the usual starting position for new somnambunauts. Being a scout wasn't very intensive. In fact, they saw very little action at all. Scouts mostly assess the dreamscape, supply support and remain in contact with procedural managers. In this case, he was linked to Jeeves back in the control room.

            Myra wanted to get right down to business. She turned to Leonard and asked, "Where do we start Bishop?" He turned the dial on his headgear and read the information that was collected before the procedure. He pointed ahead of them, past the cliff's edge and across an empty nightmarish valley below them. "There's a city half a mile in that direction. From what we can tell, the root changes it's position every time the nightmare occurs. However, it's always somewhere within that city."

            Myra knew what she and Gale had to do. "You stay here. We'll draw it out into the plains. With any luck, you won't need to get involved." That instilled some doubt in Leonard. Did Myra not trust him to get his hands dirty? Or was she just trying to protect him? Leonard wanted to help, but at the same time he didn't feel prepared to face whatever was out there.

            "Good luck," he said as they made their way down the cliff's edge.

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            It had been a long time. A little over an hour had passed since Myra and Gale headed out toward the darkened city. No distress signal was sent to him, so he assumed everything was going as planned. They hadn't sent a success signal either, which meant there was still work to be done. Their lack of communication made him uneasy.

            The red hue of the nightmare enveloped everything. It strained his eyes to adjust to the horrid light. He busied himself with comm. checks and protocol. Then he heard it. A frightening roar of otherworldly origin. "Here it comes..." he whispered as he pulled down his viewfinder to get a closer look.

            There was movement in the distance, close to the edge of the city. Two trails of dust darted outward, speedily heading away from the city. That must be Myra and Gale, he thought. His viewfinder zoomed into the dust cloud and confirmed that yes, Myra and Gale were heading in his direction. They were hauling ass, too.

            Not long after he spotted them, the beast appeared. He couldn't make out the detail on it, but saw that it was enormously large. From what he could tell, it was around the size of an elephant. No, it was a little bigger. The muscular travesty ran on all fours as it barreled toward the two specks fleeing from it.

            It's skin was a dark red, and almost seemed like human muscle but without the skin. Bulging veins criss-crossed each other all across the beast's body. Some were underneath the skin and some were above it. It's two back legs were smaller but muscular, and it's two front legs were actually massive arms with large human-like hands that it was currently using as an extra pair of feet. It had four fingers instead of five, and each one was capped off by sharp looking talons.

            The monstrosity's face was terrifying. A large jaw protruded outward, it's gaping maw glistening with what Leonard assumed was saliva. It had four eyes; two larger ones toward the top of it's head, and two smaller ones immediately below them. The upper pair of eyes looked almost human, while the smaller pair looked beady and evil.

            A dark red mane ran from the top of the creature's head all the way down it's back and ended with long ragged drapes on what appeared to be a stubby little tail behind it's back legs.

            "Well there's something you don't see every day." Leonard sent a signal to Jeeves indicating that they had found and engaged the beast. He reached behind him and pulled out a smooth white pole-like item off of his back. He squeezed the pole's hand grips and it extended into an arc. A stripe of blue light shot from one end of the arc to the other and glowed with a soft hum.

            It was a bow but without any arrows, something that Isaac in R&D had whipped up for him before his first procedure. He remembered how excited Isaac was when he presented Leonard with a light blue accessory chip.

            "How lucky are you! This little baby will work with any base wave, and it just so happens to match up with your beta-1 frequencies." Leonard didn't know exactly what that meant at the time, but after three procedures he was beginning to understand why it was so valuable. He nicknamed it 'the infini-bow'.

            He raised the weapon to his shoulder and looked down the scope; it allowed him to get a better view of what was happening down below. Myra and Gale stopped, turned toward the beast and waited for it to engage them. "Here we go," Leonard said.

            It rushed toward them like a fierce hurricane. Snarling and mad with fury, it swiped at the two puny women with it's massive front arms. They jumped backward with grace, evading the beast's reach.

            On the surface this seemed like a typical slay procedure. Find the root of the nightmare, take it down and fill the root. Usually this was simple, but depending on the tenacity of the nightmare it could be tricky.

            Leonard knew immediately that this was one of the tricky ones.

            Dodging the ravenous creature's flurry of anger, Myra pulled out her weapon of choice: the long sword. It looked like a relic pulled right out of medieval times but it was just another accessory created by Isaac specially for Myra. Unlike Leonard's bow, Myra's long sword couldn't be brought into just any dream. It had an irregular wavelength, and while it matched up with Myra it didn't necessarily match up with most of her patients. It was a shame too, because she was incredibly skilled with it.

            Gale carried a large battle axe. Her compact figure made it perfect for sneaking in as close as possible and dealing ridiculous amounts of damage. She refused to take part in slay procedures unless she could take it with her. Most nightmares high-tailed it after their first taste of Gale's axe, but this particular abomination didn't even seem to feel it.

            Then Myra and Gale split up. Gale headed for the base of the cliff while Myra slid underneath the creature, kicking up a mess of dust. She stuck the beast on it's underside causing it to howl a long blood curdling scream. It stood up tall and grabbed at it's wound with it's front arms. She took this opportunity to roll to the side and escape it's massive kicking legs.

            Myra made a loud whistle, drawing the beast's attention. It eyeballed her and turned it's whole body in her direction, furious with rage. Leonard hoped she knew what she was doing.

            He heard a loud metallic clacking sound, repeating over and over. He moved over toward the cliff's edge and saw Gale hacking away at it's base with her axe. What was she trying to accomplish?

            Looking up he saw Myra running toward the cliff with blinding speed, the mighty monstrosity giving chase not far behind her. Ah, so that's what they were doing. They were going to try to bury it underneath a rockslide.

            The ground beneath him quaked, and he knew Gale had succeeded. He took a couple of steps backward and saw the cliff's edge crack and fall apart. He moved to a different vantage point so he could see what was happening below.

            "Make way!" Myra yelled as she approached the cliff at blinding speed. Gale jumped out of the way just in time and grabbed Myra's arm as she ran by. She flung Myra out to the side and then booked it as fast as she could from the cliff.

            The beast crashed into the cliff's wall, sending a tremor up through the rock that began to break it apart thanks to the dent that Gale had made in it with her axe. The rocks tumbled downward, crashing on top of the beast's head. It tried to block the incoming rocks to protect itself, but it wasn't fast enough. Small rocks gave way to large boulders as the nightmare was buried.

            A huge cloud of dust shot outward. Myra and Gale covered their eyes as it blew past them. Soon, the dust settled and an eerie silence swept over the empty valley.

            Myra and Gale cautiously approached the pile of boulders. "Did we get it?" Gale asked, two steps behind Myra. She didn't respond because she didn't know. She crept in closer to find out.

            Myra drew her sword again in case this thing wasn't dead. Everything was silent. There was no movement from the huge pile of rocks before them. She looked it over, gave it a minute and made the call.

            "No sign of movement. Let's get these rocks moved so we can fill the root." She gestured over to Gale to get some help lifting the massive boulders.

            Leonard looked down and saw the two women lifting rock after rock, making their way down to the beast's body below. Myra looked up and waved. He waved back, then she signaled for him to come and help as well.

            He began to carefully make his way down the steep incline when he felt the ground begin to quake. He stopped and looked around. Was the rockslide over? Myra felt it, too. She stopped lifting rocks. Gale did as well. Everything suddenly got very quiet.

            Then, without warning, two large boulders buried underneath some of the smaller rocks shot upward. Geysers of horrid breath acted as a force of nature, shooting more and more of the heavy boulders into the air. Leonard was about a quarter of the way down the incline when he lost his footing and fell on his back.

            Myra was pushed backward by the force that was exerted underneath her. One of the large boulders that was thrown into the air fell back down to the earth and landed directly on Myra's arm, trapping her underneath. She screamed as pain shot up through her. Gale was nowhere to be seen. She feared that she had been crushed under the rocks.

            A deep growl came from underneath the remainder of the rocks. The beast's horns protruded from the rubble first, followed by it's massive head. It's body was covered in bruises, rips and tears. The rockslide had injured it, but didn't even come close to killing it. It was still very much alive, and incredibly pissed.

            As the monstrosity emerged from it's supposed resting place, it stared Myra down. It wasn't happy. She tried in vain to lift the boulder off of her arm, but couldn't get it to budge in the slightest.

            Leonard got back onto his feet and used his headgear to zoom in on the action below. He couldn't see Gale either, but got up just in time to see the beast grab one of the enormous boulders and slam it down straight onto Myra's head. The ground rumbled as the boulder came down, and then the beast roared in victory.

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            Gary writhed uncomfortably in his chair. Vicky and Jeeves watched from the control room as the lights along the rims of Myra and Gale's helmets turned from green to red. Their signals had been lost.

            What looked like seemingly random numbers appeared on Jeeves' main console. They were highlighted in red, which meant that their message was urgent.

            Jeeves was confused. "We just got a signal to send backup...so soon?" Vicky suddenly felt incredibly uneasy. With Myra and Gale out of commission, she knew that Leonard wouldn't be able to revive them without some sort of support.

            Jeeves turned to Vicky with concern, a guise that he rarely showed and never felt comfortable in. "I've got Barnes and Mahoney on standby. Should I call them in?" She nodded.

            Leonard's intuition was right.

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            Leonard watched from the safety of the cliff top as the creature ripped up Myra and Gale's remains. It didn't seem to be satisfied with simply killing them; it felt the need to desecrate them as well.

            Whatever issues this Whittaker guy had were suppressed to such a degree that they had manifested into this maelstrom of anger and rage.

            He felt a hand plop itself onto his shoulder. Taken by surprise, he jumped and turned to see a large black man standing behind him. Leonard's heart skipped a beat. "Oh! Carl! It's just you." Mahoney grinned, the bright white teeth of his perfect smile glistening against the dreary mahogany backdrop they were standing in.

            Carl Mahoney was a monolith of a man. If he wasn't working with DreamEx, Leonard could have sworn he was a pro linebacker or something along those lines. He could bench 375, easily.

            He reveled in being able to take part in slay procedures. It was his specialty. Mahoney didn't like having to figure out what was at the root of a patient's nightmare or gathering up their emotional baggage. He was a shoot first and ask questions later kind of guy, and in situations like this he was invaluable.

            Leonard would never be able to revive Myra and Gale without an ample distraction. Mahoney could provide that and then some.

            He took his hand off of Leonard's shoulder. "Time to switch to decaf, huh Bishop?" Leonard forced a chuckle. "Heh, maybe not. Look down there and see for yourself," he said pointing down to the beast below. Mahoney peeked over the ledge. "Daaamn! Somebody needs a makeover."

            "Well it's your lucky day, then. You get to be the one to give it to him." Mahoney relished the opportunity. "Damn straight. Pretty boy'll be screamin' for uncle by the time I'm through with 'im." He locked and loaded the large portable gatling gun strapped around his chest.

            Leonard didn't share Mahoney's optimism. "Yeah, well be careful. That thing survived an avalanche and then ripped up Lockhart and Ducard like they were paper dolls." Mahoney just kept grinning. "Psshaw! Ain't no nightmare that ever made friends with Big Bertha, here." He rubbed the shaft of his gun like it was his favorite pet.

            "Barnes should be along any minute now. You need anything else before I head down there?" Leonard shook his head. "Well then. Let's get going."

            Mahoney began to slide down the incline with Leonard following closely behind. The temperature began to increase as they got closer to the bottom. A warm wind whipped past him, pushing the newly formed beads of sweat on his forehead backward. "Woo! Having fun yet, Bishop?" Leonard was barely keeping up with him.

            Mahoney jumped the last couple of feet, landing on the bottom with a loud thud. He stood up tall and prepped his gun. It was connected to an incredibly large backpack that housed multiple rounds of ammo. Leonard finally reached the bottom of the slope, struggling to keep his balance as he stopped.

            Mahoney began to approach the beast. It was still ripping up what little remnants of Myra and Gale it could find. "Alright, Bishop. I'm gonna piss 'im off nice and good. As soon as you're in range of their signals bring 'em back and then get the hell out of here. Go wait for Barnes. We'll finish it off."

            Leonard couldn't argue with him. He didn't want to be down here with that thing if he couldn't help it. He stayed behind Carl at a considerable distance. An electronic whirl sounded as Mahoney's gun warmed up. The barrels began to spin and a small volley of ammunition was sent in the creature's direction.

            The beast's rage was exponential. It held up it's hands to try to block the incoming bullets. Mahoney stopped shooting so the beast could get a good look at him. It breathed heavy, it's large nostrils shooting angry pillars of steam as it looked around for whatever was annoying it. It looked as if it was blinded with rage.

            "Hey Fabio! Yeah, you. Having a bad day, huh?" He let loose another volley of ammo. Leonard watched as he moved closer toward the beast with seemingly no fear. "Come get some!"

            While the monstrosity was distracted, Leonard snuck in toward the site where Myra and Gale were taken out. Reviving teammates was easy. All he had to do was reestablish a connection with Myra and Gale's wayward signals, but he'd never been under this much pressure before.

            Mahoney seemed to be successfully keeping the beast's attention, so what was there to worry about? His viewfinder came down and he speedily turned the dial on the side of his headgear to initiate a signal search. It didn't take long to find one.

            A soft ping rang in his ear. The CorTex had identified the wayward signals and was ready to reconnect with them. After completing the process, a couple more seconds passed and Myra reappeared.

            "Whoa! Damn, that stung!" She didn't seem to have taken the drop with such ease this time. "Nice job, Bishop. Knew you had my back." This was a tougher job than she thought it would be. She was proud of him. "Actually, I wouldn't have been able to get this close if it weren't for him." He pointed toward Mahoney, who was laughing as the creature seemed to be having trouble keeping an eye on him while fending off volley after volley of ammunition.

            "Mahoney, huh? Well it could be worse. Where's Ducard?" Leonard double checked her status in his viewfinder. "She should be rejoining us any moment now." Myra drew her long sword, preparing herself to meet up with Carl and help him take this thing down.

            "Good. Get to higher ground. We may need you to bring us back again." Leonard couldn't argue with her either. "Yes ma'am." His viewfinder found it's way back into his headgear as he turned and headed back up the incline.

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            Vicky returned to the control room after prepping the CorTex for Barnes' arrival. Jeeves was busily typing away at one of his keyboards trying to keep up with everything that was happening down below. It had quickly turned into bedlam in there, and he didn't want to lose track of anybody.

            Vicky tapped him on the shoulder. "She's good to go. Send her in." As Jeeves completed Barnes' sequence, the lights on top of Myra and Gale's helmets turned back to green from red.

            "High-ho! Aaaand they're back!" Jeeves seemed happy for once. Well, legitimately happy with no trace of sarcasm. "For those keeping score at home, that's four online with a fifth incoming. You got anybody else on standby?" Vicky looked at her list. As a matter of fact, she did. Hopefully though...they wouldn't need them.

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            The beast was now being assaulted from every side. Mahoney worked in tandem with Myra and Gale, shooting volley after volley of ammunition to distract the beast while they tried to find a weak spot of some kind. This thing seemed impenetrable.

            Myra's frustration mounted.

            Atop the cliff, Leonard watched as the three tried to find some way to take this thing down. He'd never seen or heard of a nightmare this tenacious. After all the hours he put into studying the results of various slay procedures, nothing compared to the one he currently found himself in.

            When this was over, he was going to have a long talk with Hansen in Data Development.

            Suddenly, Sarah Barnes appeared before him. She came in a little too close to the cliff, and nearly fell over and into the fray below! She tried to keep herself from falling, but couldn't maintain her balance. Leonard grabbed her arm and pulled her back up onto solid ground.

            "Whew! Thanks, partner." She whipped her soft blonde hair backward and smiled at him. Leonard had never met Barnes, but he'd heard about her. She was the only one who's beta-1 frequencies matched up with Isaac's so called 'shield sword'.

            Only a devious genius like Isaac Oppenheimer could come up with a sword big enough to double as a shield.

            For a petite little person like Barnes, Leonard couldn't imagine how she could even lift the gargantuan blade, much less swing the thing. In the real world it would be impossible. Here however, it was no problem.

            "I forgot that we destroyed some of the cliff trying to take that thing down. Sorry about that." He felt sheepish in front of her. The world around him may be fake, but the feeling of embarrassment was too real.

            Down below, the beast was getting wise to Mahoney's tricks. It was tired of being pelted with round after round of ammo, the sharp bullets seemingly bouncing off of the creature's skin. It slapped it's mighty front hands down onto the ground, causing the earth to quake. Myra, Gale and Mahoney all fell on their asses.

            Leonard and Barnes watched as the creature attempted to gain momentum against these pests. Mahoney was first. He was stunned, but wasn't down for long. He stood up and resumed firing as the beast grabbed one of the large boulders and held it up. It blocked Mahoney's volley and slowly moved closer toward him.

            He screamed with rage and excitement as the beast approached. His bullets tore the rock into little pieces, but the beast succeeding in shielding itself to get close enough to grab the front of Mahoney's gun. It squeezed the shaft shut and ripped it right out of Mahoney's hands.

            He was pulled forward as the gun was torn up like tin foil. He fell flat on his stomach and looked up, spitting some of the pale red dirt out of his mouth. "Son of a bitch!"

            The creature grabbed another boulder and lifted it high, casting a shadow over Mahoney's body. He tried to get up and run away, but it was too fast for him. It roared with fury and slammed the boulder into him with an impact that Leonard and Barnes could feel on the top of the cliff.

            They looked down and watched the entire thing transpire. She turned to him and pulled out the massive sword strapped to her back. With an electric whirl the blade came to life, a wave of yellow light splitting it down the middle to create a fork-like edge at its tip. "Watch my back, ok?" She jumped off the cliff's edge, riding the gargantuan sword like a surfboard across the pale red rock.

            When she reached the bottom she pulled her sword up and held it forward, Myra and Gale behind her ready to take this thing on. "Just in time Barnes," Gale said. "You here to show off?" Sarah turned her head toward Gale and retorted, "No. I'm here to save your asses." Myra chuckled. The three of them raced forward and engaged the seemingly endless maelstrom of rage before them.

            Leonard revived Mahoney while the beast was distracted. He reappeared, seemingly surprised and gasping for breath. The last thing he knew, he was being crushed by a massive boulder. Just like waking up from a nightmare, he took a second to get his bearings straight.

            He looked around, checking all of his equipment. His gun was as good as new and ready for combat. He locked and loaded, looking up with a face of determination. "Aight. Now I'm pissed." He was almost too eager to get back into the fray.

            They attempted to wear the beast down, trying almost every plan of attack they could think of but always coming up short. They would get the upper hand and then the beast would stomp them out like a boot putting out a flame. It seemed like their only plan now was to chip away at the beast until nothing remained.

            Leonard didn't think it could get any uglier, but after taking so many hits from the various blades and bullets it's skin began to peel. A sticky black liquid oozed from it's wounds, covering it in blotches of brown where the ooze had dried.

            It seemed like they weren't making any progress, but they kept at it. Their determination didn't budge, and slowly the beast began to wear down. Leonard knew that it was only moments in the real world, but to them this struggle had been going on for hours. He revived them when he needed to, but mostly stayed out of the madness.

            Finally the creature began to slow down. Reaching the end of it's stamina, it needed to give it everything it had to make these annoying pests go away. Getting on all fours, it let loose a monstrous roar that bellowed across the valley like the explosion of a massive bomb. Myra, Gale and Mahoney were all tossed backward.

            Barnes however, didn't flinch. She stuck her massive sword into the ground and hid behind it, letting the force of the roar pass over her. When it ended, the beast needed to take a breath. She knew that this was her chance.

            She pulled the sword from the ground and rushed toward the weakened creature. It looked up at her with it's two sets of eyes, showing fear for the first time.

            Barnes used her sword like a hammer, holding it horizontally and slamming the flat side onto the top of the beast's head to force it down. It's huge maw crashed into the ground, some of it's razor sword-like teeth shooting upward into the roof of it's mouth.

            It whimpered as Sarah lifted the sword up, then jammed the forked edge directly into the top of the creature's neck. She repeatedly pulled it in and out, stabbing the monster with a fury that almost matched it's own. The black ooze splashed upward like a small geyser against her repeated jabs.

            The beast was at it's breaking point. It was do or die, and the somnambunauts weren't backing down. Barnes stuck her sword deep into it's neck and had trouble pulling it out. The beast reached upward, trying to grasp Sarah as she attempted to pull her sword out.

            It succeeded and nabbed Sarah by her hair, plucking her off of it's neck like somebody swatting a fly. It brought her in front of it's face and roared with a raspy hoarse tone. Sarah screamed as the beast brought in it's other hand and placed it on her head, squeezing as tightly as it could.

            Her screams were muffled, then stopped completely. Once she was dead, the sword stuck in the beast's neck vanished. It tossed her headless form to the ground as if to warn the other three to stay back.

            They wouldn't, however. Mahoney was the first to get back onto his feet. He yelled as the bright flashes of his gun acted like a strobe light as he let loose another round of ammo. With most of it's thick hide now torn away and the soft flesh beneath exposed, his bullets finally began to wear the beast down.

            It wasn't ready to die, however. Grabbing another of the large boulders from the avalanche, the creature tossed it at Mahoney like a bowling ball. With no time to get out of the way, all he could do was shoot the boulder and attempt to break it up before it hit him.

            He wasn't successful. The boulder slammed into him and kept on rolling, taking Mahoney with it as it slammed against the side of the cliff. Myra and Gale watched as the Mahoney was crushed, once again taken out of the fray.

            Two down, two to go. Myra gave Gale a look of determination and nodded, signaling that they would not back down against this monstrosity. They charged with fury but the beast had no intention of engaging them. Instead, it crouched like a cat waiting to pounce on it's prey.

            To the shock of the two women, the beast jumped clear over them and headed for the cliff. They stopped in their tracks and turned, confused at the beast's sudden change in mood.

            It lifted the boulder it had rolled and plucked Mahoney's lifeless body from the ground. It looked at his pathetic form and chuckled. It was incredibly unsettling to hear this monstrosity laugh.

            Grinning, it rushed at them with Mahoney's body in hand. It wrapped it's fingers around his legs and swung him at Myra and Gale, striking them down with Mahoney's built figure. They both fell backward, now vulnerable to the beast's attacks. It repeatedly lifted Mahoney into the air and slammed him down onto them, pushing them further and further into the dry earth.

            All four of them had been extinguished. The beast roared with victory, stomping it's feet over and over as if it were dancing.

            Now Leonard was the only one left. Panic started to creep into his mind, sending his thoughts astray. If the four of them combined couldn't stop this thing, what chance did he have? He could revive them, but as long as the creature was in that area there was no way that he would be able to get close enough to them to sync up with their lost signals.

            The logical thing would be to call for more backup. Until it arrived he was on his own, and he prayed to God that Vicky had somebody else waiting to go in after them should he fail and wind up like the rest of his team.

            The beast began to calm down. Leonard heard it breathe, it's breath slow and raspy from the continuous assault it just went through. It was weakened for sure, but still ferocious enough to take Leonard out without even batting him an eye.

            He decided to wait. Eventually the creature would have to leave, and when it did he would sneak in and reestablish connection with his fallen comrades. Until that time however, he would need to quietly watch, and wait for the opportune moment.

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            There was a red ring atop each somnambunaut's helmet except for Leonard's. Jeeves and Vicky stared in disbelief. "Goddamn...that thing floored each and every one of them," Jeeves said, lacking a witty retort.

            "I hope you got somebody else on call." he said. She did, but didn't want to call them in just yet. "The nightmare is weakened. They were very close to bringing it down," she began to explain. "With Bishop's signal still active, there's a chance that they can complete the procedure on their own."

            Jeeves didn't exactly agree with her. He didn't have total faith in Leonard like Vicky did, but it wasn't his job to make decisions. He turned back toward the multiple screens in front of him. "If you say so..."

            She may not have shown it, but Vicky didn't have complete confidence in Leonard either. However, she knew he was incredibly bright. If there was a way around this debacle, Leonard would figure it out. If not, she would have to call in extra help to bail them out, or risk having 5 people in vegetative states on her hands.

            That wasn't exactly something she wanted on her record.

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            As the sun began to set on the hellish dreamscape, Leonard started feeling impatient. He'd stood atop the cliff watching the beast for hours, waiting for it to move. Did this thing need to sleep? Technically not, since it lived within a dream, but it should be oblivious to that fact. He figured it would have to rest eventually, especially considering the trauma it just endured.

            He watched the beast lick its wounds, almost feeling sorry for it.

            Almost.

            While he waited, he did a diagnostic on the area around him. Almost a kilometer behind him was a vast ocean. Beyond that was anybody's guess. For all he knew that ocean could span for miles, or perhaps go on endlessly.

            Darkness crept in on him slowly. After a little while, the sky was filled with bright twinkling lights. Were they stars? He knew that dreams didn't really have boundaries, but was the human mind powerful enough to inhabit it's unconscious state with entire worlds?

            Now really wasn't the time to try and figure that one out. All he really cared about now was the fact that the bright twinkling spots in the sky provided him with enough light to easily see in the darkness.

            Finally, the creature began to stretch. Was it finally getting ready to go to sleep? It moved like a dog, stretching it's front arms out as far as it could while opening its gaping maw wide for a long yawn. Yes! It was becoming drowsy.

            Unfortunately, it didn't look like it intended to move. It rested it's head down on the ground and closed all four of it's eyes. It was finally Leonard's chance.

            He crouched atop the cliff's edge, waiting for confirmation that the beast was asleep. After a couple minutes, it's breathing fell into a quiet pattern. It was finally asleep. He decided to move in.

            He carefully made his way down the steep slope, making sure to be as quiet as possible. Reaching the base, he approached the beast with a tepid reluctance.

            As he got closer, he could smell the rotting flesh from the beast's wounds. His colleagues had really done a number on it, but this nightmare was so tenacious that it survived the onslaught.

            It's raspy breath sent a wave of uncertainty through him. He was so close to the creature that he could reach out and touch it. If this thing woke up it would probably be pretty grumpy, and he would have to haul ass to get away from it.

            He quickly pulled down his viewfinder and started a search for Myra's signal. Of all his fallen colleagues, she was the one that gave him the most confidence. He wanted her back first.

            The computer searched. It was taking longer than usual. Go figure. He anxiously awaited a confirmation, but instead was confronted with a red X. It read, no signal found. Huh? How could that be? He was within close enough range, unless...

            He looked over at the sleeping beast. Was it blocking their signals? If so, he was shit out of luck. He tried maneuvering around it. Perhaps a sliver of one of their signals was protruding from underneath the beast. All he needed was a small percentage of a signal for a revival...

            Success! He found Mahoney's signal. His headgear beeped excitedly, indicating that it had established a connection with the wayward signal and was ready to begin the revival process.

            Unfortunately, Leonard was so close to the beast that it too heard the excited beeping. He quickly flipped the headset off and stood completely still, hoping that the creature wouldn't wake up.

            He held his breath, not wanting to add any unnecessary noise and rouse the beast. It lifted it's head and yawned, opening it's drowsy eyes that looked as if they craved more sleep.

            At first it didn't notice Leonard, but as it swung it's massive head in his direction there was nowhere he could hide. It zoned in on his stiff figure, and it's eyes changed from being heavy with weariness to being heavy with rage.

            That was Leonard's cue to run. He headed for the cliff, hoping that if he could make it to the top the beast wouldn't be able to reach him.

            He began his ascension as quickly as possible, making sure not to turn and look back at the impending doom nipping at his heels.

            However, it wasn't chasing him. His frantic escape simmered as he turned to see what was keeping the beast from pursuing him. Halfway up the slope, he saw the creature shaking furiously. Was it sick? Or perhaps too injured to chase him?

            He didn't want to find out. He kept ascending, reaching the top of the cliff. Below him, the beast roared as pointed protrusions began emerge from its back. "What the..." he said as he stared in curiosity.

            The creature hadn't run out of tricks. The protrusions emerging from underneath it's ravaged flesh extended into segments, and a thin layer of skin connected one end to the other.

            It had grown wings. "You gotta' be shittin' me..." The beast shook it's body like a wet dog, throwing various pieces of jelly flesh off of it leaving strong leathery skin behind. It began to flap its wings, blowing up a cloud of dust around it. Leonard turned and ran as the beast roared and began to lift off the ground.

            The feeling of panic returned. What was he going to do? Where was he going to go? The creature wouldn't rest until he was dead, so hiding wasn't an option. His chest burned from breathing so heavily as he ran.

            The creature cleared the edge of the cliff and spotted its target. It was still weakened, but being so only made it's conviction more fierce. It flew into the air and swooped downward. It's belly to the ground, it's wings spread out as it glided close to the surface.

            Leonard didn't dare turn back and look at it. His mind was still trying to figure out what to do. He flipped his visor down and quickly looked over the landscape diagnostic he ran earlier. The ocean was closing in on him fast. Soon he would be without land to run on. That was not good.

            Or perhaps...perhaps it was. It was a long shot, but if he could reach the precipice that dropped off toward the ocean, maybe there was some way he could throw the creature over the edge.

            As he raced forward, he tried to assess the creature's weak points. He knew that it was in a weakened state, so much so that it had to literally grow new body parts just to keep up with him. If he could remove those wings somehow...

            It was gaining on him fast and the ocean would soon be upon him. He looked in his viewfinder. Just a couple hundred more feet until the ground gave out beneath him. The beast snarled as it pursued him with reckless abandon. It was nearly upon him, and approaching fast.

            Looking up, he could see the cliff's edge quickly approaching. It was now or never. He reached behind him and felt the cylinder of his bow. He pulled it out and switched it on, igniting the bright blue strip of light connecting each end.

            He was so close to the edge now that even the slightest slip up would send him over it and into whatever this man's terrible nightmare decided would be appropriate to fill it's ocean with. In the starlight, he saw the beast's shadow begin to impede on his own.

            It was right behind him. He could feel it's warm disgusting breath on the back of his neck, and that's when he knew it was time to act.

            Leonard slid like a baseball player trying to steal a base. He extended his leg and slid across the dry ground, looking up at the creature flying over him. The expression on its face changed from rage to surprise as Leonard passed underneath him.

            He aimed his bow upward and pulled on the string of light. When he released it, a ball of energy shot forward toward the creature's right wing. The thick hide on the rest of the creature's body was tough as nails, nigh impenetrable. It's newly formed wings however were fresh and frail.

            The energy ball flattened into the shape of an arrow as it picked up speed and ripped right through the flesh that connected the wing to the creature's body. The leathery flap blew away in the wind. Taken by surprise, the beast attempted a turnaround but flailed in mid-air.

            Leonard stopped sliding and sat up. He aimed his bow at the flailing beast and let loose a barrage of arrows. One after another they pelted it's body and tore holes through it's remaining wing.

            Leonard stopped firing and eased, smiling. The creature lunged toward the cliff and dug it's claws into the ground. Leonard jumped backward and pulled back the string of light on his bow, ready to fire.

            He didn't need to however, as the dry rock began to crumble underneath it. The creature whimpered as it tried to maintain it's footing, but it was no use. The cliff fell apart and gave away, tossing the beast down toward the rocky shore. It howled a nightmarish cry as it fell.

            Leonard heard a loud thump as the creature hit the bottom. Then, an eerie silence filled the area. Did he do it? He approached the cliff's edge to look down and confirm the beast's defeat. He held his bow up, prepped and ready to fire. After that little surprise with the wings, Leonard wasn't taking any chances.

            He peered over the cliff's edge and looked down. The starlight was strong enough for him to see all the way to the bottom. The beast was nowhere to be seen. Instead, in the foamy backwash near the shore he saw the form of a man tangled within the jagged rocks.

            Leonard was speechless. "What the..."

            He found a way down the steep cliff side and made it to the bottom as soon as he could. His boots plunged into the shallow surf, foamy white globs shimmering in the starlight. As he approached the site of the beast's demise he could hear a pathetic moaning on top of the sound of waves hitting the shoreline.

            His headgear was going crazy. A combination of beeps and flashes informed him that the root was right in front of him.

            And at his feet, tangled within an outcrop of jagged rocks, was the shape of Gary Whittaker.

            Leonard skimmed through the menus on his headgear and prepped a beacon signal.

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            Back in the Rotunda, Gary Whittaker eased into his chair and stopped fidgeting. His heartbeat and breathing finally evened out. With his nightmare defeated, he could finally sleep easy.

            Jeeves checked his monitors, stunned. "He did it...the son of a bitch did it." He typed away and prepped the CorTex for the retrieval of the somnambunaut's signals once Leonard revived them.

            It wasn't long before the main console lit up with a bright green screen. A jingle tone cheerfully sounded, and coordinates popped up. "Beacon signal received. The root was traced to the base of the cerebellum in the right hemisphere."

            He stopped typing and thought about what he just said. "...one hell of a place to find a root..."

            Continuing his typing, the helmet on Gary's head started to swivel. Jeeves finished typing and the headgear locked into place.

            He turned to Vicky and returned to his smartass demeanor. "So what, you think we should fill this baby?" Vicky was still making a log of the final moments of the procedure. She finished writing and said, "Do it. Then get them the hell out of there."

            Jeeves completed the input command and the helmet lit up in a bright red glow around the area in which the root was traced to. They couldn't be seen from the surface, but tiny mechanical arms began moving underneath the helmet between the outer shell and Gary's skull. Just like filling the cavity in a decaying tooth, near microscopic lasers drilled precisely into the source of Gary's nightmare. The raw severity of the nightmare was a good indication that this area wasn't only the source of this particular dream, but all of the negative images and emotions that would and have plagued Gary for his entire life.

            And now they would fill that source so that it would never be a problem again.

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            Gary awoke with the most massive headache he'd ever felt. The helmet was no longer attached. His head felt lightheaded and heavy at the same time, a strange combination to wake up to.

            He plunged his face into his hands, rubbing his eyes as hard as he could. Just like waking up from an intense nightmare, he was discombobulated and didn't know where he was.

            He was in a strange round room filled with computers and mechanical devices. He looked around, still groggy and thirsty as hell.

            Behind him was a pretty blonde woman wearing a white lab coat. He tried to stand up, but she made sure he remained in his chair. "Easy there. You may need a minute to rest," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

            He was confused as hell. Placing his hand on the back of his neck behind his right ear, he felt a small bald spot. "What the..." He couldn't figure out what he was doing here.

            He looked around. On the floor above him he saw a row of chairs similar to the one he was sitting in. They were occupied by an energetic group of people with large smiles. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but they looked like they were complementing each other.

            There were three women and two men, one of which was a large mountain of a black man that seemed to tower over all the rest of them. He didn't recognize them, but they all seemed familiar somehow...

            ...and then it started to come back to him. One of the women, the youngest one with the brightest blonde hair he'd ever seen, jogged terrible memories from him. Just the sight of her face sent strange memories of high pitched screams to the forefront of his mind.

            The same face that he vaguely remembered crushing in the palm of his hand...

            And the black man...the black man conjured up feelings of intense anger. An annoying pest that he wanted to swat away to make the pain stop.

            The same black man that triggered a deep rage that made him want to kill...

            And the other man, the one whom all the others seemed to be congratulating and showering with praise.

            The same man that sent fear and surprise through him...

            It all came back to him. Every single detail. Mauling his family, and then mauling these particular strangers over and over...

            Unlike regular dreams, the nightmare used in a cleansing is not easily forgotten. A side effect of the procedure, Gary began to remember every little detail of what happened while he was asleep.

            His head fell into his hands again and he began to bawl. Vicky consoled him, kneeling in front of his chair and placing her hands on his shoulders.

            "Never again, Gary. Never again."