I dreamed my college band was playing a homecoming game at my high school football stadium. I rushed over to join them as an alum of both schools. I got to the stands and was handed a packet of music. I got my horn out, but before I could get my lyre and flip folder together, the drum major called Mortal Kombat. No problem, I have that one memorized. So I put my horn together, stood up with the rest of my section, took a deep breath, and blasted out the opening bars.
It sounded AWFUL. I couldn't figure it out. I knew the notes. I was playing them right. What was wrong? I lowered my horn and looked down at it, thinking maybe my tuning slide had gotten pushed all the way in. Nope. My tuning slide was gone. Missing. Not there. So I started hunting around the bleachers for it.
I found it, thankfully, and the band was on the move, getting ready to go down for half time. But then I realized that I didn't have the show music, and I was in jeans, t-shirt, and fedora, and not the three piece suit uniform the rest of the band was in. So I decided I would just sit out half time. I was sitting in the empty stands when I heard a familiar voice greeting me. A super creepy guy I'd gone to high school with was standing there.
I put out my hand to shake his in greeting, but he somehow stepped forward and up on a bleacher, and then my arm was between his legs, with my hand on the other side of him, and he laughed and squeezed his legs together to trap my elbow in his crotch. Super creepy! But then he let me go, and went on chatting and catching up like normal. Some other folks from my high school band showed up to keep me company, and then the football game was over.
My best college friend had left the game right after half time, but her boys had wanted to stay with me, so I had promised to bring them home the next day. So we set out to stay at my house for the night, but as we turned onto FM 471, I saw that it was blocked by a big concrete wall up ahead, so I pulled off to make a three point turn and go back up Victory Lane.
This required for some reason that I pull off onto the shoulder, and I went into the grass a little. At which point, a man with a gun and a bunch of dogs burst from a house nearby, and he started yelling at me about driving on his grass. I tried to explain what I'd done, but he dragged me from the car, leaving my two little buddies terrified in the back seat. I called to them not to worry, to just try to get some rest and I'd be back soon.
The guy dragged me into his house while his dogs circled me warily, sniffing at my legs. I tried to make friends with them, and they didn't really warm to me, but they stopped snarling, at least. I realized one of them must have bitten me, because one of my legs was splattered with blood, and I was bleeding on the kitchen floor. A little boy of about five came creeping toward me with a rag, and helped me mop up. His three-year-old little sister watched warily from the shadows. Then his older brother came in.
I apologized for messing up their kitchen, and they just shook their heads and kept helping me clean up. Then they rushed me outside and into my car, and they got in after me and begged me to take them away to the nearest child welfare place. Since it was too late for any agencies to be open, and I wanted to get us all away before I made any phone calls, I rushed us up to my house.
I got them and my little buddies all tucked into my bed, and went out to sleep on the couch. My dad was there, and I told him the whole story, and he was livid about the man who'd threatened me, and the bruises he'd seen on the man's children. We heard a buzzing sound, and found the oldest boy had brought his cell phone, and his dad was trying to call him. We weren't sure what to do. Then the dad sent a text asking if this Laura Berwick person could be reached on frequency FM 100.4. He was trying to trace me, but we didn't figure he could. I wanted to go to bed, but then I looked out of the living room windows and saw the sky was light, and it was morning.
When the kids woke up, I told them I'd be calling Child Protective Services and taking them there. At that point, my little buddies got scared that THEY were going there, too, but I reassured them that no, I'd be taking them home to their mom and dad right after that. So we all went out to the car and then I woke up.
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