The Dreaming: Dark Star (Book 5)

8.1. Oblivious (Dream - Imorah)

While lying unconscious, Imorah has the following dream:

I'm in the long hallway again - the place of infinite choices. In this hallway, I know that I can go anywhere. I walk down the hallway to the very end. Of all the places I'll ever go, this one feels the safest.

I reach the end and open the door - a plain white door with a black old-fashioned knob handle, like you read about in books. Opening the door, I enter the apartment in New York City where Shalon lives.

The living room is surprisingly empty.

"Hello?" I call out and enter, closing the door to the hallway behind me.

Shalon doesn't answer and I feel a sense of dread and wonder how to lock the door, but I don't know how to use it.

I stop fiddling, close my eyes and will the door to be locked. I open my eyes and see the door has turned into an iron gate. I watch as the entire wall turns to iron and the door disappears completely.

Satisified, I turn around and walk into the apartment, and head straight to the coffee table. There it is, on the coffee table is the small wooden box with all my secret memories in it.

I gulp. Yikes! I think. It's just left here in the open for anyone to see.

Just then I spot a note on the coffee table beside the box, and I pick it up.

Dear Imorah,

Glad you found your way back here again.

I left something for you in the fridge.

Sorry I couldn't be here but I'm sure you'll be fine.

Love,

Shalon

I look down at the box on the coffee table with all my memories in it.

I decide to leave it for now, and go to see what Shalon left me in the fridge. Opening the 'fridge' I see a plate with a cookie on it shaped like a person. There's a note with the cookie that reads:

Dear Imorah,

Take a bite of the little boy.

See you soon,

Shalon

Imorah frowned and picked up the cookie that was shaped like a little boy. It did look delicious, but Imorah was sad to eat the cookie. She decided to nibble on the little boy's foot.

As soon as the cookie touched her tongue, the apartment disappeared. Everything disappeared and Imorah was falling through a darkness. She fell for what seemed like ages, but she wasn't afraid.

She did feel a little dizzy though, so she closed her eyes.

When she'd had enough of falling, Imorah willed the dreamworld around her to change. Enough already, she said to herself.

She stopped falling and opened her eyes and there in front of her was an abandoned house. A dirty, abandoned, dilapidated house. Imorah turned and looked around. She was in the remains of a city. It looked like hell. There were crumbling buildings everywhere - she certainly didn't want to be here. Where am I? she thought to herself.

"It's my home, Old Vancouver," a female voice responded out loud.

Imorah turned and there was Shalon, sitting on a large tree that had fallen over. She was wearing a very strange, tight-fitting outfit and smoking a cigarette.