Somewhere in the near pitch-black library, I heard Randy Carter, the evil man who called himself the "Great", begin to laugh maniacally.
Powerless to do anything to help Kenzie next to me, because of the faceless, black, bat-winged creatures holding us both down, I continued struggling to free myself nevertheless.
"No!" I shouted, unable to move my limbs.
Watching in horror, the bat things pinning Kenzie down next to me began ripping her dress off with their sharp tails.
RING! RING! RING...
I leaped out of the chair as the alarm clock woke me! On the bed, Kenzie also shot up to a seated position, fully awake, sweat pouring down her face.
Outside the bedroom window, the sun had only just begun to rise. As the memories of the nightmares in the Dreamlands replayed themselves over and over in my mind, I ran over to Kenzie and we both held each other tight.
Fighting to retain my composure, and my sanity, I silently thanked myself for the foresight to set the alarm clock last night as a backup in case the dream preventing drugs didn't work as planned.
"I can't go through that again, Nash." Kenzie plainly stated. "I just can't."
I continued to hold Kenzie in my arms for at least another hour before we both felt emotionally strong enough to climb out of bed and start our day.
An hour later, after we both cleaned ourselves up and ate, I informed Kenzie of my revised plan. "Here's the deal. We have all day, but don't worry, I won't let you fall asleep again. This time, I promise. But we'll deal with that later tonight. Today, however, we'll go to the University library and after I..."
Someone knocked on Kenzie's door, interrupting me.
When Kenzie opened her door, the last person in the world I expected to see waiting on the other side was Randolph Carter.
Nevertheless, there he stood.
Without thinking, I ran forward, pushed Kenzie out of the way and grabbed the uninvited visitor by his scrawny neck. Tossing the man across Kenzie's kitchen, Randy slammed hard into the refrigerator, face first. Yet, amazingly, he still remained conscious.
I planned to fix that.
"Stop!" Kenzie pleaded as she inserted herself between Randy and me. "You know this's a trick or something! He told someone he was coming here or worse! Maybe he told the cops! He's up to something! I don't trust him! Don't kill him yet!"
"The hell I won't!" I shouted back. "I said I'd kill him and if nothing else, I'm a man of my word!"
Randy, his face bloody, uttered a single sentence that stopped me in my tracks. "Please, I came to help protect you from the Great."
"Nice try, jackass! You're the Great!" I yelled. "From the Dreamlands!"
"Please let me explain." Randy cowered. "Listen to me first, I'm risking a lot to come over here and warn you. Especially in front of her. Hear me out. Please."
"Warn us?" Kenzie shouted. "You little piece of slime! After what you've done?" This time, I had to insert myself between Kenzie and Randy to save Randy's life.
After preventing Kenzie from ripping Randy to shreds, I pushed the malnourished man against the wall and searched him thoroughly. As it turned out, all he had on him was a single house key.
"Sit." I ordered. Randy sat at the kitchen table as Kenzie closed the door to her apartment.
Glancing around the kitchen, I double-checked to ensure there were no knives or anything sharp Randy could lunge for. Then, ordering Kenzie to watch our prisoner momentarily, I went into the other room, to retrieve my "partner", placing the pistol in the small of my back, before returning.
Once I satisfied myself Randy posed no threat to either Kenzie or me, I sat across the table from the man I knew to be the "Great". Kenzie stood behind me. "Talk." I ordered, still amazed I had the willpower not to kill the man yet.
"Can I get a glass of water?" Randy asked.
"Hell, no!" Kenzie shouted.
"Talk, Mister Carter." I ordered again.
Taking a deep breath, Randy began. "I know you think I'm the Great, but I'm not. Look. I saw you two together at the library yesterday. Later that night, last night, I saw two people running from my house after breaking in. I figured it was you two again."
"We never broke into anywhere." Kenzie defended us.
Randy continued. "Anyway, I had to come to warn you. About the Great. You need to stay away from her. For your own protection. Before she tricks you into signing the accursed book of hers. She's a dream witch!"
Her? She? I thought.
"Stay away from who?" I asked angrily. "Who's a witch?"
"Her." Randy pointed at Kenzie. "Miss Mason. She's the Great. The dream witch of Dreamlands. She's been tricking you, Nash. This whole time. Everything she's ever told you is a lie. She wants something from you. Don't believe her!"
Am I still dreaming? I thought for a moment.
Despite my previous bursts of anger, I managed a small laugh. "A dream witch? The Great? You're joking?" I asked incredulously. Behind me, Kenzie remained silent.
"She's the Great." Randy repeated.
"You're freaking kidding me!" Kenzie shouted, unable to keep silent any longer, her body visibly shaking. I gave her a look and after a moment, Kenzie continued speaking, but in a calmer tone. "I'm the Great? It's you, loser. You said as much in the Dreamland last night. In the library. With those things. Nash called your name and you said something like 'don't trick me by calling me by my name' or something..."
"Look." Randy interrupted. "I don't know what happened last night in the Dreamlands, but I wasn't there and I didn't say anything. It must've been her. She created the image of me, to fool you. An illusion. She can do that." Randy turned towards me. "I'm here to protect you. From her. I can prove it."
Flabbergasted, Kenzie addressed me directly. "Nash. You can't believe any of this?"
"Not a damn word." I assured Kenzie. "Go ahead, Randy, prove it. Prove it as if your life depends on it, because... Well, you get it, don't you?"
"Here's the truth. The truth she won't tell you. I think she's Harley Warren's sister. She, along with the police, think I killed him. I didn't! We were colleagues! He was murdered by some sort of dark force in a grave. I swear! I didn't kill him! But she thinks I did. Look. I know she hangs around the University library trying to trick people into killing me for her. She won't do it herself. First, she tried to trick that principal fella, the one who stopped me when I jumped on you. He refused to help her kill me. Then she met you and tricked you into helping her. Hell, you almost killed me a few minutes ago. Miss Mason hates me because she thinks I killed her brother. I didn't. I promise!"
Behind me, I heard Kenzie begin to protest. I held up my hand and she kept quiet. "Let me get this straight. Kenzie here is the sister to this dead Harley Warren guy. You claim she thinks you killed him and she wants someone to kill you for revenge or something. Oh, and she's a witch who purposely hurts herself to trick me into thinking you did it?"
"This is stupid. I never even heard of Harley Warren before yesterday!" Kenzie mumbled.
"Look." Randy explained. "If you think you saw me in the Dreamlands, it wasn't me. Sure, I lucid dream, but she's the Great. She tortures me in my dreams, not the other way around. I've never even interacted with you in my dreams."
"Oh, this is rich." Kenzie muttered angrily. Coming around from behind me, Kenzie lifted her shirt, displaying the bandages and scars there. "And I suppose I did this to myself too? Imagined a little rat creature to scratch me up in my own dream?"
Randy turned away, disturbed by Kenzie's wounds. "It wasn't me, Nash." Randy pleaded. "Don't kill me and don't believe her. How did you even get my name and address? Let me guess, she gave it to you?"
I remembered Kenzie had provided me with Randy's name and address, along with the name of Harley Warren. However, I still didn't believe the man sitting across from me. "Why did you attack me in the library, then?" I asked.
"I thought you were going to sign that book." Randy explained. "I wanted to stop you."
"Are you done? Is that all the evidence you have? Because I still don't believe you. Now, you're going to pay for your crimes." I snarled, remembering someone had to sign the book in the Dreamlands, not in the real world.
"Wait!" Randy shouted, tossing his chair back and standing up. "She has a doll idol here. A magic doll. It'll look like a child. I know she does, she has to. I can find it! I can prove she's a dream witch! If she has a magic dream doll, that proves she's a witch! Black magic! She probably has other magic stuff here too! Witch tricks and spells. Give me a few more minutes to prove it, please! But whatever you do, don't turn your back on her! She'll kill us both!"