Phantasmagoric

PHANTASMAGORIC

Describes something with a dreamlike, fantastical, unreal, deceptive, or shifting appearance, like an optical illusion.

Dreamwalkers

A gentle voice is heard in the darkness.

There are people who believe that dreams have meaning behind them. Some believe it's your subconscious mind working out problems you encountered during the day. And some believe it is God's way of speaking to you. But what if you had a dream that was so bizarre that no rhyme or reason could decipher it, a dream so realistic that you could even taste the air.

I don't mean bizarre, like giving a speech with no pants. I had plenty of those, I know it represents insecurity in some manner. I'm mention this example because of a series of dreams I think I'm having, each one more bizarre than the next. Now before I tell you anything about me, I'm going to tell you what happened in the first and second dreams. Then maybe this third dream (or whatever it is) will begin to make sense to you, because it hasn't for me yet.

Marlboro

I woke up alone on a Greyhound bus; I don't know how I got on it, but right now that's irrelevant, or maybe it is. Anyway, I stepped off the bus with a backpack that had been sitting beside me in hand. I didn't notice a driver until the bus drove away, disappearing in the distance.

In front of me was an old rundown gas station with the city skyline in the distance. Even then, I noticed the city looks odd but didn't know how odd until I arrived. Behind me was a foggy endless desert, so I journeyed forward to the city.

About a fourth of a mile past the station, I felt the ground tremble. I stopped and examined the soil for some reason. It was very fine and looked suitable for farming, but yet there was no flora in sight anywhere. I look back at my footprints that crushed the soil flat, and then the earth trembled again.

The heat might be playing tricks on my mind, even if it wasn't hot, but the mirage looked like a giant ant was following my footprints. Curiosity urged me to look into the backpack; there was an assortment of items, none I recall putting in there.

Among the items was a spyglass telescope.

Looking through it, to my horrified surprise, it was a giant ant. According to my footprint, it is a little over twelve inches in length. Suddenly realizing I could be walking across a massive ant hill. I dash to a rusty old car I noticed in the distance through the spyglass, hoping I reach it before the reinforcement surfaces.

In hindsight, I realized this could've been a mistake because the ants heard me running across their nest. When I reached the car, I instantly noticed the skeleton sitting in the driver's seat. It didn't look quite human, and the car wasn't much protection for him, so I jumped on top of it. To my pleasant surprise, they had no interest in me yet, only removing my footprints' trail.

In my youth, my older cousin convinced me to stomp in an ant bed. When they started biting, he told me to stomp faster. I'm certain that lasting trauma is the reason I've seen them now. Anyway, I looked through the spyglass once more at the city in the distance.

As I attempted to focus it, I whispered, "I wonder how far away you are?"

On the lens are three lines pointing at an upside-down triangle along with some alien symbols. The symbols change as I lower my angle. Near the ground, I saw a fence with a red sign with more strange symbols.

"Right. If I remember correctly. You can't read in a dream, but red is normally a warning." I said to break the silence.

The ants were getting closer, so I took off my shoes, sprinting my way towards the fence on my tippy toes. In high school, my best time at running a mile was without shoes in the same manner, in case you were wondering why I took them off.

Halfway to the fence, I heard something peculiar behind me. Another insect had emerged from the ground and again followed my footprints. Not quite sure what it was, but the ants aren't pleased.

This creature is about twice the size of the ants, with a pinecone-shaped abdomen and a vicious head with massive pinchers. It looks fuzzy or maybe sandy, but I'm not getting closer to finding out.

In this situation, curiosity may be my downfall, but any information could be helpful. The earth moved again, but this time, a sinkhole appeared were a number of ants gathered. As they try to escape, loose gravel erupts from its center, sending them back, and then something grabs and pulls them underneath the sands. The Earth returns to normal as if nothing happened.

When I turned around, I was inside the city's gate, the same distance I was away from the gas station. Even the old car was in the same spot, along with thousands of others that line the busy streets. This city seems void of human life, but the plants have covered every building; oddly enough, it starts at the second-floor level.

As I traveled with no distinct destination, I noticed the pollen that covered the cars, the streets, and the human remains, which showed no evidence of panic. Whatever happened here could have been instant.

Ever since I got off the bus, with all the oddness, I still felt it was something missing, but I couldn't put my finger on it until just now. There's no motion, no wind flow in sounds, and no clouds in sight. If not for the ants, I would say I'm walking in a still-frame photo.

I yelled out, "If this dream is pointless, I can wake up now."

Suddenly, a stench of tobacco catches my nose, along with a sweet aroma. Behind me, the sound of a multitude tapping on metal. The sound of my voice brought this photograph to life, along with a series of impact quakes. I turned to see an army of tire-sized spiders heading for me over the dilapidated cars, followed by a twelve-story daddy longlegs. The wind blew behind me, stirring the pollen that made the second-story-level spider webs visible. I used the backpack to block the onslaught of wind until I saw the plants move, wrapping together to form.

I woke up in my bed with the scent of burning leaves, my next-door neighbor's failed attempt to hide the stench of illegal drugs. As I took a shower, I felt this stinging pain along my back. Something scratched me good, but I don't quite remember what. After searching, my favorite work shoes are missing. Other than that, the day went on as usual as I rationalized that the events of my dream could be related to the unpleasant products I have to sell at work.

Elevator

At the end of another tedious day, I drift off to sleep again, awakening once more in the same seat on that strange bus. On the seat beside me were the backpack and my favorite shoes. The inside resembled a Greyhound bus, but what drove off was a school bus with no recognizable details.

In front of me was a hardware store in a small town like Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show. This area looks inhabited, which is a relief; hopefully a building-sized plant with thorns for teeth isn't lurking somewhere. I walked to town, but none of the other stores were open but had people inside, so I returned to the hardware store. I entered, walking past a few faceless people, and made my way to the back where the store manager was putting up stock. Her physical appearance changed when she stepped off the stool.

Now favors a former manager and said to me, "I know you haven't clocked in yet, but there's a customer looking for an item in the backroom. Would you be a dear and go retrieve it for me?"

I had never been in this store, but I knew the items she was referring to. I opened the backroom door to reveal an out-of-place elevator that's not in the best condition. Nevertheless, I entered and pressed the button. Unexpectedly, the elevator drops quickly into the foggy abyss below. Somehow I didn't fall with it but was holding on to the emergency ladder on the opposite side from the doors. The steps were above and below me for damaged and most likely couldn't support my weight. I reached for the open gate ledge until it elevated itself out of my reach. So I yelled out for help, but fearing it fell on deaf ears.

A minute later, the shaft shakes, and from the floor beneath me, I hear its steady banging on the elevator gate. Someone is trying to get it open, so I yelled out again. The noise stopped for a second, then hit with greater force. The gate gave way, creating a bridge resting on the emergency ladder beneath me. So far, it's close enough for me to safely land on, but I hesitated.

Not out of fear but caution, whatever knocked the gate down hasn't revealed itself yet, plus something has passed in front of the dim red light, something that wasn't human.

One more tidbit about me. Ever since I was a kid, I always had this innate intuition and accurate knowledge that wasn't learned. Now, I wouldn't win Jeopardy, and I'm no fortune teller, but sometimes through observance or a whisper in my mind, everything becomes obvious to a point.

Christians may call it the gift of discernment; others could say it was a sixth sense. Whatever the terminology, I'm glad I have it at times. But sometimes the scenarios my mind plays out can spoil a good time. The point is, these tremors have so far been an indication that something bad is coming.

From the basement gate entrance appears a small sloth-looking creature, slowly followed by two more. One remained in the doorway while the other two slowly looked over the edge on opposite sides into the foggy abyss below.

"Well… that's not the danger I was expecting," I said softly.

The creature in the doorway quickly raises its head at me with glowing red eyes, followed by the others. The creatures attacked with swinging claw blades, strong enough to cut through solid rock. I leaped from my position, landing on the weakened elevator gate, and then rolled into the basement storage room. I reached into the backpack hoping to use the spyglass as a weapon, but what I grabbed was a flashlight. With few options left, I shine the lights at the creatures, hoping to blind them at least. To my joy, the creature stops at the edge of the light beam on the ground and then steps backwards.

"So you little… gremlins don't like bright light?"

The sloth creatures lowered their heads like a dog apologizing to his owner, then the red light behind me flickered, then changed its angle. I slowly turned around to see a dinosaur… kind of. With a shorter neck and tail, the six-foot-tall monster resembles a wolverine wearing therizinosaurus skin.

Anyway, I shone the lights in its face, and it backhanded me against the elevator wall, and I fell onto the weakened gate for a few seconds before it collapsed with me into the abyss.

As I plummet in this endless fall, a memory comes to mind, one that I'm sure everyone has had at one point in their lives. It's referred to as the fallen dream. Everyone that I know has had this dream, and it all ended in similar ways. For me, the results were different. After nights of having the same dream, my mother suggested that I take over the dream. If you don't like the outcome, change it, and I will.

The next time I had this dream, I yelled out, "STOP. Redo!" And it did. Beneath me, I saw the ground; above me, I saw the sun.

The next morning, I woke up excited, telling my mother about the dream. She asked how it ended.

I smiled and replied, "I thought about touching the ground, but flying is much better."

My mother said nothing, but later I found out that this kind of dream control, called lucid dreams, is very rare, especially if you can control more than one dream per month. Depending on the dream situation, I can easily do this once a week, and so I decide to do it now.

"STOP!"

With that simple word, I created my own dream quake. I levitated back up to the basement floor, where the four monsters frantically panic when they notice me. Something took control of them, and the fear left. They attacked once more; I raised up my hand.

"You're nothing but toys."

With a focus dream wave, the four creatures fell to the ground as two-inch toys at my levitating feet. I turn to exit the backroom area when a gust of wind occurs, followed by a gentle voice speaking.

"I have finally reached you. So long have I searched for one in your world that can hear me."

I touched the ground and turned. "My world? Who are you and how are you speaking in my dreams? I asked.

"This is more than a dream. You humans, the mind is far more complicated than you even know, but that knowledge will only be revealed depending on your choices.

Take heed; there's one who seeks to corrupt your world through dreams. I'm reaching out to ask for your help. When you awake on the bus again, you have a choice. If you wish to help, just step off the bus; if not, inform the driver that you wish to transfer. This will return you to your normal dreams. After your choice, we will speak again. Peace to you, Dreamwalker."

The gentle voice fades, and I awake in my bed, feeling more rested and energized than remembrance. I jumped out of bed and opened the blinds as the sun filled my room. On my bookshelf, unnoticed by me, were the four creatures encased in solid glass. For the first time in a while, I didn't feel depressed.

End?