Dream and Nightmare

Chapter 3 - Dreamland *

Jack, with one hand on his gun and the other shoved into the pocket of his worn leather coat, led Anah to the edge of the circular space they were in. A narrow path cut through the tall plants, turning sharply just a few meters in front of them so they couldn't see what was ahead. A loud squawk forced a cry from Anah's lips.  

"Shhh!" Jack pulled Anah behind him and held the gun out with a steady hand. The tall stalks swayed threateningly, but a small toad-like creature was all that emerged. It was short like it had been flattened out with an iron, but had two large, bubbled eyes that popped from its skull. The mouth on the creature was nearly as big as its entire body when it opened wide to release another deafening squawk.  

"The hell?" Jack pushed Anah back with him as the creature, who happened to have six legs, each larger than the next, took a curious hobble forward. Apparently losing interest, the thing let out another dismissive cry, tensed its body and then sprung into the air, flipping forward head over heels after stretching its back legs nearly as tall as Anah was standing. It soared over their heads, disappearing into the thick of the plants behind them.  

Anah and Jack were quite for a minute, staring off into the dark with wide eyes. "Looked a bit like a pancake, didn't it?" Anah asked, forcing her voice to be as light as possible though her knees were still shaking.  

Jack laughed. "What happens when you leave your food out too long." 

Anah joined him in laughter and they soon found themselves unable to stop. Tears welled up in Anah's eyes, but her brain was beginning to go as mad as the world around them. Jack shook his head after they'd gone silent again. "I think we've stalled as long as we can. We have to see what's out there." 

She pushed him a couple steps forward. "Get going then. I'm right behind you." 

Jack shrugged her off, pushing his hair back one last time. Anah almost laughed at how vain he was being. Why care about how his hair looks when they were in the middle of some twisted wonderland? 

"Dreamland." Jack said as he took his first step outside the ring of blue ground.  

"What?" Anah blinked at the back of his head, worried that she had voiced that thought out loud. 

"I don't know. I think that's what my parents called this place. It's not in any of their journals. I think it's a memory, but it's a bit fuzzy." His grip tightened on his gun as he turned the first corner in the narrow path. "Woah...Anah, you have to see this." He stepped to the side to allow her to look past him. She caught her breath. 

They must have been standing on a very tall hill, perhaps even a mountain because she could see miles into the distance. The path curved along the edge of a cliff that seemed to be completely made of dark crystals. Below was a gentle lake with waves of clouds. In the distance rose a tall, lonely mountain that looked almost orange in color. A long bridge-like structure sprouted from it, curving and twisting its way to the ground. If Anah squinted, she could see several similar tentacles stretching out in every direction away from the mountain. To the left of the mountain were strange, ominous spires surrounded by dense fog. To the right was a completely flat and empty looking plain with what appeared to be rocks hovering in the air above it. 

The path that Jack and Anah were on wound into a tall forest made of strange looking plants and trees. The view to their left was blocked by more scythe plants. The sky was black and crackled with white everywhere Anah looked, but the ambient light of the world made it seem like it was midday. Anah turned in a slow circle to take everything in.  

The air was a sweet mix of ripe oranges and fresh rain that reminded Anah of her childhood, and long, winter days spent with her father on the front porch of their old home. He would read the newspaper to Anah, adding in his own commentary about the state of the economy and the stupidity of man. She would listen intently, savoring the way her father's deep, booming voice mixed with the pitter-patter of late winter rains and drinking orange juice from a sippy cup as she huddled under a large, warm blanket.