One Little Spark: Part 1

Chapter 10

          The first sight of this new world has become very welcoming for the three friends, yet also kind of twisted in a sense. What lies before them stands a tall mountain unlike any they have ever seen before. The mountain looks as if it were the outside of an apple were peeled and left alone in a large triangular shape completely hollow inside. The only thing colored in red is the very tip-top of the mountain. Who the heck knows why that is? None of the other mountain ranges around it are that red. Some of them have snow covering the mountaintops and floating rocks.

          What feels like noon to the team of three must be a few hours ahead for whomever lives in this realm. The sky is now turning orange depicting the time to be nearing sunset. And they have only been there for almost an hour. Time really flies fast here.

          Around the twisted mountain are also large craters with water rushing underneath them; it must be up to fifty feet at maximum. They are hiding beneath every crater in the land near every home-owned area in the land. The water matches the color of the sky at this time. A great source of that water is hidden under that twisted mountain and with it something else.

          At the base of the twisted mountain lies a city. Not much like the Wooso City back in Fillidore, but an actual urban city with skyscrapers, towers, monuments and everything! The silvery steel of those building structures shines brightly from the sun's reflection. A gondola sits right above the city with cables tracing the outer wall straight up near the top of the mountain. The largest thing Dreamfinder, Rachel and Figment can see in the city is a golden statue on top of a large white pillar holding something in its hand. Whatever significance caused the people who live in the city must have had some real good reason to build it and to build it so high.

           Again, Rachel brings out her camera and snaps an aerial photo of the twisted mountain and the city below. A mountain like this is nothing like the mountains back in California or anywhere else in the world for that matter. If there was art at home made to look a lot like this particular mountain, then that might be the only thing close enough to match the mountain here.

"That is one twisted piece of rock!" said Rachel, "How is it so hollow?"

"Mother Nature?" Figment replied.

"Impossible! There's no way she could make something like this, not that I doubt her power in general."

"Perhaps on Earth, she wouldn't." said Dreamfinder, "But in any realm it could either be made up by other beings residing in them or it could be us imagining these sort of things coming to life. In other words: mind into matter."

"You've been keeping that philosophy for a long time, haven't you." Rachel sassed.

"Never underestimate the power of the human mind, Rachel. Believe me, I've tired."

"When?"

"Right when my first adventure began with Figment."

"When was that? Over a century ago?" she snickered.

"Yes!" Dreamfinder exclaimed excitedly, "How'd you know?"

Dumbfounded she replied, "Uhhmmm...lucky guess."

"Hey you guys, check out that city down there!" Figment interrupted, pointing at the city.

"At least that's something to remind me of home." said Rachel.

"So shiny!"

"Those building must all be made out of solid steel." Dreamfinder inputs, "Let's check it out!"

"OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! OH!" Figment raised his voice, "Let's go down there the fun way!"

"No Figment! Not again!"

"What's the fun way?" Rachel asks.

"It's super fun!" Figment exclaimed, "You gotta try it! Can we do it? Please, please, please, please, please!"

"No Figment!" Dreamfinder said again, "Remember the last time we did it? I almost broke my neck from- no, I almost DIED landing down to the surface like that!"

"We can always imagine something to break the fall."

"Fall? Break what fall?" Rachel asked, "Are you saying we jump down to the ground from the Dream Machine?!"

"YEAH!" Figment shouted.

"You're even nuttier than Dreamfinder is.....I LOVE IT! LET'S DO IT! I've always wanted to jump down from the sky!"

"No! No! No! NO!" Dreamfinder shouted in between, "I am not going to risk either of your necks for your amusements."

"Aw come on, Dreamfinder!" Figment groaned, "It'll be fun!"

"That's what you said last time when we jumped down five hundred feet in the air and landed in the Mexican border between there and California on the way to the D23 expo!"

"OLÈ!"

"And when we fell down from the first portal we've crossed over, too, tumbling down a hill to the ground and nearly breaking every bone in our bodies!"

"That one wasn't my fault! It was your chairman from the academy in London who pushed you in by accident. Remember?"

"Still! The point is that neither of you are jumping down from the Dream Machine. We are going to safely land this ship down to the ground like how a real pilot controls the landing and that's that!"

"Joy killer." Rachel mumbled.

"I DO NOT KILL JOY, RACHEL!" Dreamfinder shrieked, "I MAKE JOY HAPPEN WITH IMAGINATION! What you and Figment are intending on doing is making joy happen for yourselves with excruciating pain! I will NOT stand for it! Especially for you, Rachel."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Don't push it, girl or I'll turn this airship around and send you home to St. Peter's Town. That's where you from, right?"

"Yes sir. Sorry sir." Rachel moaned.

"Good girl."

          That certainly shut her up. The last thing Rachel wanted was to go home to her parents in California. They'd likely yell at her for getting fired by Disney and not coming home on time. Then again, when have they not yelled at her in general? Plus, going with Figment and Dreamfinder on adventures like this hardly comes anytime in a person's lifetime. Especially since those two are always searching for different worlds every so often that hardly anyone ever sees them on Earth. That's how Dreamfinder and Figment's rare appearances at social events get so wild as well as their stories of different worlds. Sadly, Rachel never got to hear much of them because of her fear of her parents pressuring her with their loud volume. Going home to relive those moments is something she does not want to do.

"But Dreamfinder-" Figment tried to go on, but got cut off.

"No buts, Figment!" Dreamfinder yelled, "We are landing this thing safely and soundly and I don't want to hear anymore of it."

"Aww..."

"So what were you doing in the Mexican border anyway?" Rachel asked.

"You don't want to know." Dreamfinder advised while rubbing his eyes underneath his goggles with his two fingers, "It doesn't exactly have a happy ending. For me at least."

"What? Does it have anything to do with a likeness of you as a piñata getting decapitated by Figment whacking it with a stick and having candy fall from your head?"

"...Yes." he quietly chirped, blushing, but making it loud enough for Rachel to hear.

"Oh. Sorry."

"That's alright. In a sense it was kind of funny."

"And delicious!" Figment added.

"Figment, you're making me feel worse about it." Dreamfinder said.

"Lighten up, Dreamfinder! At least your head didn't fall like what we could be doing now."

"ALRIGHT FINE!" Dreamfinder screamed, as he stood straight up from his pilot's chair setting the controls to autopilot, "YOU WANT TO JUMP DOWN TO YOUR DOOM, THEN BY ALL MEANS GO ON AHEAD! I DON'T CARE! Not you, Rachel! You're staying!"

"But Dreamfinder, I didn't mean-"

"No, no. Go right ahead. I don't mind anymore. You've got wings after all, so you should be able to fly yourself to safety."

"All by myself? But that's not as fun!"

"Then don't do it then."

"Why don't you drop down with Figment?" Rachel asked Dreamfinder.

"W-w-what- what do you- ...you were not just listening to me earlier?" Dreamfinder stuttered, "we almost died or at the very least broken every bone we have going down like that. I don't even know how we survived that time. Plus, someone needs to park the Dream Machine if two of us plan to go down there this way, which we're not."

"Okay then, you can land the Dream Machine while Figment and I drop down."

"...Am I talking to people or a couple of deaf brick walls? I forbid you to go down with Figment, Rachel. You'll die young and quicker if you do so."

"YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!" Rachel screamed.

"RACHEL!" Dreamfinder yelled gripping Rachel by the shoulders.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Rachel pushes Dreamfinder away from her.

          But when she did, Dreamfinder accidentally flips backwards over the railing and starts falling. Shrieks of shock filled Figment and Rachel's vocal chords echoing in their necks and stomachs. Dreamfinder screams as he plummets down the atmosphere without a parachute to aid him and break his fall. There is already too much fear rushing through his mind to think up of something soft to land on once he reaches the ground.

"DREAMFINDER!" Rachel and Figment shriek.

          In a panic and without thinking Rachel jumps over the rail and starts falling through the sky to save Dreamfinder. Figment follows her leaving the Dream Machine unoccupied to his creator's rescue hoping deep in his heart they will get to Dreamfinder before it's too late. Rachel falls, diving faster and faster, closer and closer to Dreamfinder. Dreamfinder's hat is already off of his head by halfway through the fall, falling all by itself to the surface. With his back against the upcoming ground, Dreamfinder's watches Rachel and Figment coming down to save him. Why did they just do that? Now all of them are about to get hurt! But Rachel and Figment keep on diving down to him. It seems they care more for Dreamfinder's health than they do for their own.

"Dreamfinder! Hold on!" Figment shouted, "We're coming to get you!"

          Reaching out her arms, Rachel tries to grab the Dreamfinder's arms. Finally she succeeds but doesn't know what to do next. She, too, has her mind full of fear of falling down and landing in a huge splat. She looks into Dreamfinder's blue eyes and sees his fear flaring in his irises nearly crying. If that does not make Rachel feel worse about what's happening now, who knows what will then? She closes her eyes tightly trying to think of a way to save themselves. Flying is just about the only way to avoid the danger. She thinks harder and harder to imagine herself flying again. The last time she did it at the D23 Expo was a huge flop. She has to make this work right now. Trying to get a clear vision in her mind Rachel imagines herself flying again, but it's not working. Dreamfinder notices what Rachel is trying to do. He sees that Rachel is on the right track of using her imagination to save them, but he also knows that there is more to using it than just thinking about it in her head.

"RACHEL! RACHEL!" Dreamfinder shouts. Rachel opens her eyes to Dreamfinder's shouting that interrupted her concentration. She hears him say, "Believe..."

"What?" Rachel said.

"You have to believe in your imagination, Rachel! Believe in yourself and you can do just about anything!"

          Trying her best to heed Dreamfinder's advice, Rachel closes her eyes again. Fear has flooded her mind again. There isn't much time left for them to be saved. Closer and closer they are falling to their doom. Rachel tries to imagine herself flying again, only this time she adds just a smidge of self confidence. If this works, she and Dreamfinder would be flying safely down to the soft grassy ground that awaits them. But if it doesn't, well...the ground would be greeting them a lot differently.

          Suddenly, they stopped falling. Nothing hurt them. In fact, they didn't even touch the ground. Figment stops diving just in time to see this happen. In midair, Rachel and Dreamfinder are gently floating! Rachel is flying again! Her imagination has saved them!

"You did it!" Dreamfinder happily announced, "You're flying again, Rachel!"

"Yippee!" Figment cheered, "You're safe!"

"What?" said Rachel in complete wonder, "Y-Yeah, I-I guess I did."

"You saved me." Dreamfinder added in a soft tone and now fondling Rachel's cheek in gratitude. Of course Rachel blushed, but at the same time she looked a little gloomy. "What's wrong? Aren't you at least happy we're alive still?"

"Yeah, I am." Rachel smiled a little, "Couldn't be any happier."

"By the way, who's controlling the Dream Machine?"

"What?" Figment and Rachel said at the same time with their eyes widened with disbelief.

          Rachel and Figment turns their heads behind them and sees that the Dream Machine is also plummeting down toward them! No one is driving the airship! Therefore the Dream Machine, without the power of imagination, is falling towards the surface ground.

"Oh snap!" Rachel shouted.

"Yikes!" Figment yells.

"Quick! Fly me up to the pilot's seat!" Dreamfinder orders.

"But didn't you just set that thing to autopilot?" Rachel yelled.

"I did! But that's not enough! Without the power of imagination, the Dream Machine won't fly as well as it should. In mere moments the airship will plummet down by itself and crush anything inside and out and anything around it."

"And I just finished decorating my bedroom today."

"Hey, less negativity! More flying!" Figment reminded.

          With their stomachs tightened, Rachel and Figment eagerly flies Dreamfinder back up towards the Dream Machine. Without a pilot to steer it, the Dream Machine cannot operate well. That means the Dream Machine will be dropping down and destroying anything it will hit. Time is of the essence! The Dreamfinder has to take control of the airship again fast! The three friends race back up to the sky trying to get close enough to the Dream Machine in time before it hits the ground. Like two mountain rams the Dream Machine and its riders race at each other ready to collide. It is like running against a wall the closer the Dream Machine is falling toward Dreamfinder, Figment and Rachel.

          Finally, they make it to the Dream Machine. They each grabbed onto the cable chord that's attached the machine to the balloon and are being pulled down with it faster than gravity. To Rachel, it's like riding the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's California Adventure only with rocky obstacles in the way and without ever rising back up for more rounds. It's all downhill for everyone for where they are going unless Dreamfinder finds out what's wrong with the machine itself. Figment tightly holds onto Dreamfinder waving like a flag as Dreamfinder returns to his seat where the controls are searching for the problem and with it, hopefully, a solution.

"The Dream Machine is still on autopilot," Dreamfinder informed, "but I don't think it has enough power to keep it afloat! We'll have to conceptualize the Dream Machine to aviate itself if we don't want to be relinquished!"

"In English please!" Rachel yelled.

"The Dream Machine needs dream power in order for it to work! We need to use our imaginations to fly again if we want to live!"

"No problemo!" Figment assured, "That shouldn't be so hard!"

"Easy for you to say!" Rachel hollered, "You've got wings! You can fly yourself to a safe place if you wanted to."

"All together now!" Dreamfinder shouted, "Start thinking and believing!"

          That is really all they can do unless they want to keep ranting to their deaths. The three friends start imagining the Dream Machine to start flying again. Their faces are clenched tight as they think harder and harder and harder, gripping onto the rails as the Dream Machine continues to fall and bringing its riders to their doom. Believing the Dream Machine will fly again is most essential to bringing imagination to life. Even if Rachel alone is unable to believe the Dream Machine will be saved, Figment and Dreamfinder's imaginations are enough to power the airship to a satisfied stability. Still, Rachel is trying her hardest to join her mind with her new friends'.

          The gears in the Dream Machine began operating fast, turning and turning and turning quickly providing enough dream power for the ship to float. The purple steam rose and shot out of leaking pipes and pressure dials indicating that the Dream Machine is given too much power and is being overwhelmed by the pilot's thoughts. Finally, the Dream Machine started taking position. With the balloon still inflated the Dream Machine begins flying again. Seconds away from hitting the ground, the fore of the Dream Machine swoops upward into a big 'L' before crashing. Now the airship is gliding right over the grassy plain making the friends feel relieved for not plummeting onto the ground. The only worry now is landing this thing without breaking anything else around them, such as the nearby houses, the hilltops and the craters. At least most of the rocks are floating high above them.

"Whew!" Rachel sighed with some relief in her, "Barely made it!"

"Indeed!" said Dreamfinder, "The only complication now is where to land this thing."

"How about over there!" Figment suggested, "By that hill closest to the city."

"That's too close for me to park at this speed!"

"Can't you slow it down?" Rachel asked, regaining her panic.

"I'll try, but it's going to be close." Dreamfinder replied, "Hang on!"

          Dreamfinder handles the stick shifts and pushes them forward. The wheels underneath the Dream Machine inch their way carefully to touch the grass. Hopefully, the results won't result to extreme peril. When the wheels touched the surface, the grass has been cut and spewed behind them like a lawnmower on a hot summer day. This has increased the Dream Machine's speed almost twice as much as it did while falling. Dreamfinder slams onto the brakes very hard. Screams are yelled by all three persons onboard the ship as they approached the nearest hilltop standing between a small group of houses and the large city underneath the twisted mountain. Rachel slams her foot on top of Dreamfinder's right foot along with Figment's foot slamming onto Dreamfinder's left foot at the same time. Will it be slow enough not to slam onto the hilltop and crush Dreamfinder, Rachel and Figment with it? Nearly breaking the brakes, and nearly ruining Dreamfinder's shoes, the Dream Machine pulls up to the hilltop with its speed decreasing. Slower and slower they went until the very tip of the front rail tapped onto the hilltop indicating that the Dream Machine has finally come to a complete stop.

          It's all over at last. No more falling, no more crashing, and no more screaming. Dreamfinder sat in his chair quietly letting go of the stick shifts with Figment and Rachel standing right behind him. They all panted at each other thanking fate in their minds for not putting an end to them. For about a minute there was silence. And then Rachel began laughing softly. So much relief fell upon the poor girl for not dying she felt the need to laugh. Then Dreamfinder and Figment joined in on the chuckling. Ever so thankful for the fact that they still get to live.

          In the midst of that laughter, Rachel falls off the Dream Machine as if fainting. A loud thud hits the grassy ground with Rachel's face and her body facing down breaking the glass on her goggles. Then she started crying hiding away her tears as they drop onto the strands of grass beneath her.

"Rachel!" Dreamfinder called out, ending his spell of laughter.

          He jumps down from the Dream Machine with Figment following him and rushes to Rachel's aid. His feet finally touches the ground after being pushed over a rail, falling down through the atmosphere, and receiving his share of perilous terror. Arriving at Rachel's side, the two of them sees her crying her tears, cringing in the fear that had built up inside during the fall, and her puppy-dog whimpering sounding in their ears. Dreamfinder's hand is placed onto Rachel's shoulder and then to her head for her comfort while Figment takes hold of Rachel's hand and pats it. Each time they did Rachel keeps clenching her body tighter with fear. She has experienced too much within the past five to ten minutes of unimaginable horror.

"Are you alright, Rachel?" Dreamfinder asked.

"I'm...I'm alright, I-" Rachel whined, "I-I-I need a moment to rejuvenate a bit."

"Take your time. Figment, watch over Rachel for a moment while I check for damages on the Dream Machine."

"Okay." Figment agreed.

          Dreamfinder leaves Rachel into Figment's hands and heads back for the Dream Machine. As he did, he recollects his hat that had been sitting by while everything else was happening waiting to be taken back again and placed onto Dreamfinder's head. The minutes have gone by as he searches for any casualties upon the gears, pistons, and pipes as well as the damages in the cabin rooms. Meanwhile Figment is keeping his eyes on Rachel figuring out ways to help her feel better from this traumatic moment. Nothing seems to work for Rachel continues to whimper. She can hardly move her body, her arms and legs at the very least. They trembled and twitched as every thought in her mind rushed with the recent memories of almost dying. Why did I think I could fall from the sky like that, she thought to herself. She thought of herself as a foolish woman for jumping off the Dream Machine. At the same time, she feels so foolish for confronting Dreamfinder and pushing him off the Dream Machine in the first place out of anger and selfishness. What she had done was wrong. She realizes that now. The question is will Dreamfinder ever forgive her for what she had done to him.

"Okay. Thankfully, the pipes, the gears and everything else operating the Dream Machine haven't taken any severe damage." Dreamfinder announced, "It's going to take some tweaking and some parts in need of replacing to restore this old lug to its former glory. The cabin, however, needs a little work in fixing and rearranging. But we can worry about that later. How is Rachel doing, Figment?"

"Not good, Dreamfinder." Figment replied, "She's still cringing and crying a little. I think I can actually see a tiny puddle of tears in the grass."

"Rachel? How are you doing, Rachel?"

          But Rachel only groaned. Considering how drastic the fall was without having any safety precautions, one could hardly blame her for feeling this way.

"This is bad." said Dreamfinder, "The cabin is too messed up to sleep in so we're going to need to find some help as far as shelter and fixing up the Dream Machine. But where can we find that kind of help around here?"

"I saw a couple of houses nearby during the fall. Maybe we can find help from someone there." Figment replied, "But can Rachel get up and walk?"

"Rachel? We're going to take a walk." Dreamfinder said calmly, "Can you move?"

"I...I c-can't feel my legs...or my spine...or anything." said Rachel in a weakened tone.

"Then I guess I'll have to carry you over to wherever we can get to. Figment, help her up onto my back."

"Righto!"

          Dreamfinder takes off his suit jacket and wraps it over Rachel. It should at least keep her warm from the cold night. He then grabs Rachel by the arms while having Figment lift her to onto his back. With Rachel safely secure, the Dreamfinder stands up holding onto to Rachel on his back with his hands under her legs for support. Figment will fly right behind them in case Rachel falls off. The Dreamfinder can feel the coldness of Rachel's body through his shirt and dress vest. That's definitely not a good sign. Perhaps the fall has scared Rachel to near death. That's an understatement Dreamfinder wishes doesn't come true.

"From now on, Figment," Dreamfinder started, "we only land the Dream Machine the 'fun way' when it really counts. Like when we have to abandon ship from treacherous peril."

"Yes, Dreamfinder." Figment groaned in guilt.

          The three friends have to leave the Dream Machine behind while they go find some assistance. Dreamfinder can hear Rachel moaning a little in his ear along the way. It breaks his heart terribly to hear and see her this way. In a sense, this is what she gets for putting him and Figment in a situation like that. But he chooses not to think that way. What good will it do for him here now? He did just bring her along on this adventure to find Spaceship Earth, or geodesic sphere as he calls it. All he could do now is keep walking and hum a little tune for her. Hopefully, the tune will brighten Rachel's spirits just a little bit.

          Figment watches Rachel closely telling Dreamfinder to lift her up a little when needed. He feels this is all his fault. He only wanted to have a good time with his friends. Falling down from the sky with his friends was supposed to be like jumping into a swimming pool of clouds. The poor little purple dragon had forgotten that even though they could imagine themselves flying whenever they wanted to, neither one of them [Rachel and Dreamfinder] have any wings to support them. Perhaps the dispute between the two of them was the only thing that probably wasn't much of Figment's fault, though. But he did bring up the idea of falling from the Dream Machine in the first place. This is something Figment is going to remember for a long time.

          The sun is nearly down as the night creeps over the sky bringing with it the colors pink and purple with white glistening stars. The wind is starting to pick up in the cool air. The floating rocks fly over the world leaving their original places behind to a new location. The lights in the city nearby are bright enough to be used as one giant lighthouse. The atmosphere outside the city, however, is getting too dark to see ahead of their surroundings. Figment, Rachel and Dreamfinder need to find shelter fast before they get stranded in the dark and will have to sleep outside for the night.

          Up ahead of Dreamfinder and Figment they see four houses. Three of which are out from the inside while the one house have its light on. The first lit house Figment and Dreamfinder carry Rachel to was the nearest to them. Dreamfinder has Figment knocking on the door and they wait for someone to come answer them. They can hear footsteps coming toward the door and a jiggle on the doorknob.

          The owner of the household answers the door and finds Figment flying and Dreamfinder holding Rachel behind him. To Dreamfinder and Figment, the man is about as average as anyone else, but to the man the Dreamfinder and Figment are among the most peculiar kind of people he had ever seen.

"Uhh...may I help you?" the homeowner said.

"Please, good sir." Dreamfinder began, "You wouldn't happen to have a room we can stay in for the night, would you? You see, my flying friend, this girl and I are traveling aviators and we have had a bit of an accident with our transportation as far as the landing is concerned. When we landed, Rachel here fainted from all of the trauma that had happened and our cabin area is too busted up to sleep in. It would be greatly appreciative if you will let us sleep here for the night. At least until Rachel is capable to walk again."

"Oh, of course! Come inside. It's not safe out there at this time of night. There are creatures out there that prowl through the night, but they won't bother us so long as we stay inside and keep the lights dim."

"What kind of creatures are they?" Figment asked.

"Oh pray you'll never find out." the man replied gravely. He then checks Rachel's temperature with the back of his hand and says, "Oh dear...yep, she's out pretty cold. She needs some warmth and fast! I'll have a heating pad ready in a moment."

"I should remind you, though. We don't have any money to pay for your generosity, but we're willing to-"

"Money? Since when does anyone have any money in this place anymore?" the homeowner asked, returning with the heating pad and placing it on Rachel's shoulder, "With the government collecting every cent in the city and our homes, hardly anyone in this world are able to buy enough food to feed themselves. Even the middle classes are getting screwed over to them. You'd have to be lucky and smart to find a place in the highest degree if you were to earn enough money to buy at least one meal a day."

"That's unfortunate. How long has it been this way?"

"Ten years. Ever since the current governor took place in office, Iyra City and everywhere else in Iyrilia have been running in ruin with the financial economy. The people have tried to impeach him for his injustice but the government rules always keeps blocking the way from succeeding, backfiring and counter suing anyone who attempted to get in his way for everything they have including their homes."

"That's terrible!" said Figment, "What does impeach mean?"

"It means to accuse, criticize or reprimand someone, Figment." Dreamfinder replied.

"Our city was once a grand city filled with diversified cultures, races and advanced innovation until the last governor we had in office had been assassinated. Thereby putting our greatest resources to shameful use. No one knows still who was responsible for the last governor's death. I would love to have known so I could give that guy or gal a piece of my mind!"

"We are so sorry this has happened. I wish there is something we can do about it."

"Bah, think nothing of it. You three are lucky to be only passing through. We all want to leave, too, but we wouldn't know where to go. Our place remains here in times so troubling or not. Anyway, the guest room is in the back of the house. You can put your girl friend in there, but there is only one bed. I have a sleeping bag one of you can use, though."

"That's very kind of you. Thank you. Figment, you wouldn't mind taking the sleeping bag, would you?"

"Not at all." said Figment, "It'll be like a sleepover with all of us together."

          The homeowner escorts his guests into the guest room where only one bed stood at the corner beside the one window and a pitcher of water with a bowl and towel stood on a nightstand stood next to the bed's left side. There are only two chairs nicely fabricated and a mirror. A small room it is, but quite cozy and charming in appearance.

"It's not much," said the homeowner, "but compared to how everyone else is sleeping in the city today, it's become like a four-star hotel."

"Thank you, Mr....uh..." Dreamfinder paused.

"Howard. Howard Fitz."

"Howard Fitz. Thank you."

"And we'll see what we can do about your airship tomorrow morning. Before the depression in the city began, I used to work in an aviator's garage fixing planes and jets for the military."

"Thank you again! I do hope you can do something about the Dream Machine. It's unlike any piece of flying innovation made by man."

"Try me." Howard chuckled.

"This is lovely!" Figment yawned, "I can't wait to get some...sleep."

"You just settle yourselves down and we'll do what we can tomorrow. The bathroom is down the hall and if you have any questions, just knock on my door softly. The business with the city has given me quite a headache."

"We'll be gentle." Dreamfinder assured, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Howard says one last time and leaves the room.

          While Figment sets up the sleeping bag Howard let him borrow for the night, Dreamfinder carefully puts Rachel to bed. He unties his bowtie, takes off his shoes and socks, his hat placed onto the nightstand, and his suit jacket and dress vest now hangs on the bed board. All that's left on him was just his white shirt and blue pants. By the time Dreamfinder was ready to hit the sack, Figment had already started sleeping. Living a day in terror really wears out a guy from their energy. Dreamfinder didn't bother pulling the covers over him in the bed. He wraps Rachel with those blankets and holds her close to him in his arms, making sure she will sleep safely and warm throughout the cold night.

          His sky blue eyes looked straight into her defeated face filling up with sympathy for her. He fondly feels her cheek again with his forehead gently pressing against her own. In his arms, Rachel could almost swear that whomever is holding her has got to have the warmest hugs she had ever felt. And finally, feeling the moment inside him Dreamfinder smiles softly and warmly. He places a gentle kiss softly on her Rachel's forehead and holds her closer to him. A feeling like this has never entered him before in his life. To watch a young woman sleep in his arms this way brings warmth into his heart. Could he really be in love with this girl? A twenty-one-year-old girl whom he had met just days ago? Love comes by in many imaginative and mysterious ways and Dreamfinder has found his way in between them.

"You saved my life. Thank you." Dreamfinder whispered softly. And with one last kiss on the forehead, he concluded, "Sweet dreams, my darling."