The Owls Who Watch

Chapter 3 - The Dream That Whispers

'Leftist groups branded 'conspiracy theorists' by the UK Government following recent pro-homeless publicity stunt' – The Weekly Anchor.

'Debunking the Communist myth of Homeless Disappearances' – Capital Right.

'Homeless people are economically viable, say experts in wake of recent Liberal vote' – The Amethyst Mail.

Kevin never believed anything the Government, or the mainstream media said. He knew where his suspicions lay. Scrolling onwards, the articles soured. He barely knew much about politics, other than it was a two-horse race between the Liberal Party and the Conservatives – two fatcat parties that hate humans.

'The homeless can serve our Market, here's why we should assist them' – Starlord's Opinions.

'Opposition propositions to create public assistance for the homeless rejected by UK MP's by 461-22, in wake of recent assassination scandal'. – BBC.

In the latter article, Kevin managed to stomach reading only the summary of the article,

'UK MPs have overwhelmingly rejected a proposition from the opposing Liberal Party, which sought to reduce the price of healthcare for the underclass. The initial proposals for the Bill included extending this reduction for the lowest income brackets in the working class. However, these were revoked from the final proposition as a result of opposition from Super PACS and pressure groups led by Starlord and Bank of Earth, who, in a multilateral statement, claim that the propositions will 'lead to communism' and are 'diametrically opposed to the constitution of the Grand Market'. The recent scandal which saw assassination threats from right-wing vigilante groups across the UK, may have played a role in this decision. Additionally, the BBC can confirm 17 more arrests have been made today in regards to this scandal. Officials from the Conservative Government, and from Grand Market's ruling Classis Elitist body themselves have declined to comment.'

Kevin shuddered, This is the reason I never pay attention to the dystopia we live in. He crawled back into bed and began to daydream again. A knight would burst through the front door to rescue him, to take him past beautiful scenery in Greenland. Maybe, in real life, he would somehow move in with his sister if he found her. I can pretend. In his fantasies, none of the areas Kevin and his knight would adventure to were tainted by the smog, the Grand Market and its oligarch, or bitchface. Unrealistic, he thought, moments before he fell into dreamland.

Kevin dreamed of the hotel he had stayed in during his holiday in Grenland. His real mother was there, and his father too, looking vibrant and full of life. His sister Morgan was dancing with them, as young as she had been then. The hotel was distorted however, The rooms were all bathrooms, and the staff were all characters from TV shows. I must find her, he thought, yet the identity of this woman was unclear. When Kevin exited the building, he saw a dark and ruined landscape. The black smog ruled over Greenland and people were nowhere to be seen. A screen sat on the ground atop a pile of rubble. On it, played a video of zombies marching across the streets of some city, the smog marching behind them. Some feasted upon some purple substance. In his dreaming mind, this substance was familiar, important even. The dream ended here, but his sleep didn't.

Another dream began. There was something different about this, everything felt wrong. This is no ordinary dream, Kevin realised. But just then as he realised this, the dream became lucid. He was literally inside the dream. Lucid dreams weren't entirely rare to Kevin, but he still had trouble maintaining his presence within the dream. He had to stay grounded within the dream or parts of his body would turn numb and he would wake.

He looked around and realised he was on a small stone bridge in a very dark forest. The only light source was from thousands of strange, luminous bugs who formed a purple stream in the air alongside the bridge. It was a pretty sight, which helped alleviate some of the unease Kevin felt. He decided to follow the bugs into the forest they were entering. The sensations throughout his dream body shifted and distorted, but onwards he pushed. If I panic, I will wake.