Lucid
By Joshua Scribner


“Come back, Goliath,” Ross said, but the German shepherd continued up the rocky side of the gully and was gone.

A growl reverberated, and he turned to see the Red Wolf creeping up on him. Ross lifted his gun and aimed, but it wouldn’t fire. Red Wolf was about twenty feet away, his mouth open, revealing his grimy fangs.

Ross knew he couldn’t make it up the side of the gully. He could make it into the river, though. The wolf probably wouldn’t follow him there.

Ross turned to make his move and then saw something at the surface of the river. It cut back into itself, repetitively, so as not to be taken by the current. Long Fish was shaped like a gar with teeth that rivaled Red Wolf’s fangs and a stinger on his tail.

Ross would stay on land. He backed away from Red Wolf, holding the gun barrel in front of him like a spear. This defensive posture was effective for the time being. Red Wolf didn’t completely close the distance. Long Fish flanked them.

A hiss startled Ross. He glanced over his shoulder at Fat Snake, whose green body was coiled in layers that came six feet off the ground.

Ross turned, so that Red Wolf was on one side, Fat Snake on the other and Long Fish in front of him. Stalemate was the best he could hope for. He hoped Long Fish would grow tired of fighting the current and leave before Red Wolf realized the gun couldn’t really hurt him or Fat Snake just got tired of waiting to make his move. Maybe Goliath would come back, but Ross doubted it. The dog was a great fighter but not much on hunting. He had probably made it home by now.

Fat Snake started uncoiling, bringing his head, which was big enough to swallow a basketball, his way. Red Wolf wasn’t advancing but holding his ground enough that Ross was trapped.

The sky started flashing like a strobe light. After a couple of seconds, logic started setting in.

There was a reason he had names for all these creatures. He’d been killed by each, many times, because each had been in his repetitive nightmares for years.

“This is a dream,” he said. He turned to Red Wolf. “And you can’t hurt me.” He rushed over and smacked the wolf upside the head. It whined and backed off. “Neither can you,” he said, as he turned to Fat Snake. He then jumped and kicked his head so hard it went flying back over his body.

He turned to the river, and saw Long Fish had gotten the message and split.

The flashing stopped. They had said it would. It was suppose to alert you that you were dreaming and then stop so as not to disturb the dream further.

They had told him he could be magic in his dream.

He spun a tight circle, a trick they’d taught him to stay asleep, amongst other things.

“I want a new scene,” he said and spun again. The river was now the ocean and the bank was now a beach.

Fat Snake was a little man holding a tray with two glasses and a bottle of wine. Red Wolf was another little man holding a tray with a red cut of prime rib and shrimp cocktail. Long Fish was coming out of the water, but was now a gorgeous woman with lascivious eyes in a slight bikini. He wanted to sample the wine and sample the food but decided to sample the woman first. He did. Her kiss was soft and warm. When he pulled away she said, “Spin again, so you’ll be here longer.”

He did, several times, and then felt a firm grip on this paradise.

He was looking into her eyes, getting ready to kiss her again, when he heard Red Wolf growl. He turned on time to see the wolf spring. He put out an arm and that’s what Red Wolf took. He was jerked to the ground. Red Wolf released but not before Fat Snake began wrapping around him.

He had heard them talk on occasion, so he recognized Long Fish’s voice. “I’ve summoned him. He should be here soon.”

“That last set of spins probably bought us enough time,” said Red Wolf.

Fat Snake had only the lower half of his body, so Ross had no problem talking. “But you’re all in my dream. You’re part of my mind. You have to do what I say.”

“Not exactly,” said Fat Snake. “You tortured a cat many years ago. That cat belonged to a witch, and she hexed your nightmares. We’re actually demons sent to torture you.”

“We torture other people, too,” said Red Wolf. “But we’ve been having some trouble with this new dream therapy.”

“He’s here,” said Long Fish.

Ross was hoisted up. A flying cobra came from the sky.

“The resistance is working,” said the cobra. Then it bit him.

#

Ross was relieved to feel himself waking from the weirdest of all nightmares.

“The participant is awake,” someone nearby said, and then there was the sound of feet moving toward him.

“Mr. Lotian. I’m going to remove the flash goggles now.”

He felt the goggles being taken from his head.

“Mr. Lotian. Go ahead and open your eyes.”

Ross didn’t really need to be told that. He’d already tried.

“Are you sure he’s awake?”

“He’s registering awake by the waves.”

“Mr. Lotian?”

He couldn’t open his eyes. He couldn’t move anything at all.

“Oh no! I hope this isn’t what I think it is. We thought the first case was a fluke, but there might be something about the goggles that causes chronic paralysis. We may have to stop the therapy.”


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Joshua Scribner is the author of the novels Seed, Fear and Repulsion, and Eleven O'clock Fright. His fiction won both second and fifth place in the 2008 Whispering Spirits Flash Fiction contest. Up to date information on his work can be found at joshuascribner.com.