I dreamed I was part of a military intelligence operation tracking shipments down into Houston by various rivers. The Frio River ran almost due north/south, and we had detected a lot of clandestine activity coming from a northern port city called Ebsilos. We thought we might be onto something big, and we were keeping our discovery very hush hush.
So when my commander came in one afternoon waving a newspaper, we thought we'd been blown and were about to be in enormous trouble. It turned out, though, that only I was in trouble. I'd done some work that had brought to light a thriving black market in human flesh for human consumption, and Houston was a hotspot for that trade. I hadn't spoken to the paper, but somehow I was named as a person involved at the highest levels, and one of the bosses was after me.
His name, as far as I could tell, was something like Alfred Canata, and he looked like a Colombian Mario, with a red Make America Great Again cap instead of a plumbers hat. So the boss told me to go up to New York City and try to track this Ebsilos thing and stay out of Alfred's sight.
So I went up to New York and I met my friend Summer there. She had booked us a room in a reasonably priced and inconspicuous hostel on the edge of Central Park. We settled in, and I gave my cover name. We went out for dinner in Chinatown, and when we came back, the desk clerk said a friend had come by looking for me.
We asked some nervous questions and found that, sure enough, it was Alfred Canata, king of the cannibals. The clerk gave a very clear description, and said he'd left me something in my room box. I knew that meant he'd watched the clerk put it in the cubby, so he'd know what room we were in. He had left me a warm, juicy cheeseburger, and it didn't smell quite like beef. I was absolutely sure it was ground human flesh.
We called the cops, and they took the burger away for testing. They looked at some security footage, and were able to identify Alfred as someone they'd had under surveillance, and knew just where to pick up. They swore they'd apprehend him, and the desk clerk put us in a suite of rooms that was the most secluded thing they had on the property.
We had to go up to the fourth floor of the main building to get to the only staircase that led down into a brick courtyard. That courtyard was covered over with a tin roof, and no one could observe as we entered a small square of lodges with windows only facing into their own private court. We were in the back two rooms on the ground floor, that had hidden stairs leading to a suite in the basement.
We had gotten settled in, and it was decided that I was sleeping in the basement rooms, of course, though I hated to be down there away from the light and air. Just then, the front door opened, in spite of all the locks they'd locked, and a guy I knew from New Orleans came in. It turns out, they'd given us his rooms by accident, and he had the key, of course.
We locked everything up and explained to him what was going on, and we all agreed it would just be easiest to share, and that he could even add a layer of obfuscation if anyone came looking for me. Then Summer's cell phone rang, and she had to go to the first floor rooms to answer it, since she didn't get reception in the basement.
I heard her start to yell and curse, and I ran upstairs. It turned out that the police had detained Alfred, but he'd made it clear that nothing he did was illegal, and he meant me no harm. He just wanted to get to know me better, and couldn't understand why I'd made such a fuss over a perfectly normal cheeseburger. The lab hadn't had a chance to test anything yet, so they just sort of took him at his word and let him go. Some of his friends had come to pick him up.
By "friends" I knew he had meant his minions or followers, because the black market human flesh trade was pretty much a cult. They claimed they never killed anyone, but bought bodies from people who had been donated to science, and that anyone who was a member of course donated themselves as needed. I that was a load of crap, because we'd turned up ample evidence that a number of missing persons and murder cases could be traced to the black market. Maybe he did want to kidnap and convert me, not kill me, but I still had no intention of going along with his program.
Summer finished reaming the NYPD up and down and out, then the hostel desk clerk called and blithely informed us that she was sending our "friends" over, so Summer started in on her. My friend from New Orleans pulled a shotgun and a pistol out of his suitcase, and we got them loaded.
We turned off all the lights, and I laid down along the base of the door and front window, so that I was invisible from the outside. Everyone else hid similarly, and we hoped they'd just decide we were out and go away. Then the locks began to turn above my head, because the desk clerk had given them a key.
I couldn't decide at that point if they were going to recruit us or grind us up into mincemeat, but I knew we'd shot a few deadbolts and bar locks they couldn't open with a key. This had the benefit of definitely keeping them out, but also would be a dead give-away that we were somewhere inside. Then they began breaking the glass on the door and window, and we couldn't really pretend any more.
Something about the mullions kept them from just coming in, and they couldn't reach the locks, but they had guns, too. Alfred said several times that he just wanted my friendship, not my flesh, at least, he joked, not in THAT way, but he wanted me to marry him and be his queen. His minion Christopher had orders not to hurt me, but the rest of my friends were fair game.
Christopher began shooting into the room at everyone else, and they were shooting back at him, but no one seemed to be able to hit anyone. I had the shotgun, and I was only feet from the door, so I knew I couldn't miss. I pumped the gun, pointed, and pulled the trigger. Something clicked, but nothing else happened. I scrambled to check that it was loaded, and it was, but every time, I cleared it out, loaded the cartridges, pumped, and tried to fire, and absolutely nothing was happening.
I wasn't sure how long we all could last, and there seemed to be absolutely nothing I could do. Alfred Canata just stood there, on the edge of the ring of light from the front porch lamp, smiling, smiling, smiling, and Christoper fired over and over just around me and above me at my friends in the room behind me, his eyes absolutely dead and void of any light and feeling. Because that's what you became when you'd eaten as much people meat as he had.
Then I woke up.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Last Night in Television ~ 3/21/2017
I dreamed I was really good friends with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not Scooby Gang level friends, but we spent a lot of time together socially. I'd been staying with some friends in the little guest cabin beside my godparents' house, and we all headed over to the mall where Buffy and I worked. She worked in the shoe department, and I worked in a book store.
I was going to meet her for lunch, but when I got to the food court, she was sitting at a table covered in crystal and silver and lilies, over a snowy white cloth. There was champagne in glasses, and Riley was sitting across from her. Buffy's back was to me, and Riley was facing me, but he had eyes for no one but her. Slowly, he rose from his seat, knelt down in front of her, pulling a small box from his pocket. He began to open it, and something glittered in the sunlight, streaming from the glass overhead.
But as he had risen, Buffy had realized what was going on, and turned, pretending to look for something in her purse, which was slung over her chair, as an excuse to take a minute before looking at him. She looked up at me, and her eyes gazed into mine. It was like time slowed down, and I could hear her thoughts. "This is it. I should be giddily happy. But I'm not. Should I say no? I feel like I want to say yes, but I'm just not..."
Then the scene was interrupted as another girl we worked with came running up. She had long, reddish dark hair, golden skin, and enormous green eyes. She was in a panic because her mother and father had come to have lunch with her and her older sister, who also worked at the mall, but the manager was throwing them out because her mother wore a hijab.
Her older sister was incensed, and was shouting at the manager. Her father was indignant, but trying to calm her and remind her to act with dignity. Her mother was weeping, but standing her ground. The older girl finished her tirade, announced that she was quitting, and marched to the exit. We all scurried after her, and I had this horrible sense of foreboding. Sure enough, just as she stormed out of the shop doors, she tripped and stumbled out into the street. There was a squeal of tires and a horn, but the semi truck couldn't stop. I watched, horrified, as everything slowed down again, and I couldn't look away from the sight of the truck smashing into her, her head impacting its grill and shattering, and blood and brains flew everywhere. Her family collapsed in shock.
Buffy and Riley and I spent a lot of time after that looking after our friend and her parents. Buffy wanted to look into whether or not the accident had been caused supernaturally, and went off to consult Giles. When we got warning that massive tornadoes were headed our way, Riley ran off after her, and I had to get the family to safety. They were taken into a cellar, but there wasn't room for me. I went to my book shop and found a corner of shelving that was secluded from all the glass windows. I crouched down there, beneath a heavy table. It was the best I could do.
The tornadoes tore through the mall, but only caught the far end of the book shop. I watched a deep, sooty cloud of dust and dirt and torn paper and ripped fabric churn across my field of vision, beyond the shelves. A broad swath of devastation had been cut through the mall. Far on the other side, still standing, was the university wing, stately and untouched. The facade was layered arches of red brick, and I could see someone waving from a window.
I picked my way over and climbed up flights of deserted stairs. Sunlight slanted hot through the windows at each landing. On the third floor I found Hodges and Wendell from Bones and Sarah Sidle from CSI. Hodges and Sarah were expecting a baby, and Wendell was making all sorts of cheerful, knowledgeable suggestions that were making Hodges super suspicious about how he knew so much. Wendell explained that he had a lot of younger brothers and sisters.
Hodges was insisting that Sarah get to a hospital or something while the weather was good, because there might be more storms on the way, but Sarah didn't want to. She called to me and asked me to help her up to her office on the fourth floor. Hodges wanted to come with us, but his father showed up with a present for him and the new family, and Sarah and I slipped away.
Sure enough, the sky was getting gray and the light was fading. There was a heavy dampness to the breeze. But Sarah insisted she wanted to have her baby here, where she felt the most safe, so we locked ourselves in an unfinished corridor that had good air flow and access to her office and lab. I boiled water and pulled out blankets and made a pallet for her as the rain began.
The wind was high and lightning flashed, but there was nothing really dangerous in the storm. As the thunder rumbled, Sarah gave birth to a baby boy. When she and the baby were both safe, I ran to the tower to ring the bell. The signal was two tolls for a healthy boy, and I looked out the window as the sun came back out and our friends all cheered across the courtyard.
When we came down to greet them and introduce the new baby, Hodges and Sarah announced that his name was Louis Martin Hodges, and he was named for the Louis Martin Lighthouse. This had been Hodges favorite place to go with his father as a boy, and his father had a wonderful story about how he'd been a sailor and the lighthouse had saved his life.
His father had left a while before, but Hodges now opened the present, and inside the box was a tiny lighthouse, painted bright blue and white. It was an exact replica of the Louis Martin, and there was a note that said, even though they were estranged, that he was proud of and happy for his son and daughter-in-law, and new grandchild, and hoped they'd always remember this family history. It was absolutely perfect.
Then I woke up.
I was going to meet her for lunch, but when I got to the food court, she was sitting at a table covered in crystal and silver and lilies, over a snowy white cloth. There was champagne in glasses, and Riley was sitting across from her. Buffy's back was to me, and Riley was facing me, but he had eyes for no one but her. Slowly, he rose from his seat, knelt down in front of her, pulling a small box from his pocket. He began to open it, and something glittered in the sunlight, streaming from the glass overhead.
But as he had risen, Buffy had realized what was going on, and turned, pretending to look for something in her purse, which was slung over her chair, as an excuse to take a minute before looking at him. She looked up at me, and her eyes gazed into mine. It was like time slowed down, and I could hear her thoughts. "This is it. I should be giddily happy. But I'm not. Should I say no? I feel like I want to say yes, but I'm just not..."
Then the scene was interrupted as another girl we worked with came running up. She had long, reddish dark hair, golden skin, and enormous green eyes. She was in a panic because her mother and father had come to have lunch with her and her older sister, who also worked at the mall, but the manager was throwing them out because her mother wore a hijab.
Her older sister was incensed, and was shouting at the manager. Her father was indignant, but trying to calm her and remind her to act with dignity. Her mother was weeping, but standing her ground. The older girl finished her tirade, announced that she was quitting, and marched to the exit. We all scurried after her, and I had this horrible sense of foreboding. Sure enough, just as she stormed out of the shop doors, she tripped and stumbled out into the street. There was a squeal of tires and a horn, but the semi truck couldn't stop. I watched, horrified, as everything slowed down again, and I couldn't look away from the sight of the truck smashing into her, her head impacting its grill and shattering, and blood and brains flew everywhere. Her family collapsed in shock.
Buffy and Riley and I spent a lot of time after that looking after our friend and her parents. Buffy wanted to look into whether or not the accident had been caused supernaturally, and went off to consult Giles. When we got warning that massive tornadoes were headed our way, Riley ran off after her, and I had to get the family to safety. They were taken into a cellar, but there wasn't room for me. I went to my book shop and found a corner of shelving that was secluded from all the glass windows. I crouched down there, beneath a heavy table. It was the best I could do.
The tornadoes tore through the mall, but only caught the far end of the book shop. I watched a deep, sooty cloud of dust and dirt and torn paper and ripped fabric churn across my field of vision, beyond the shelves. A broad swath of devastation had been cut through the mall. Far on the other side, still standing, was the university wing, stately and untouched. The facade was layered arches of red brick, and I could see someone waving from a window.
I picked my way over and climbed up flights of deserted stairs. Sunlight slanted hot through the windows at each landing. On the third floor I found Hodges and Wendell from Bones and Sarah Sidle from CSI. Hodges and Sarah were expecting a baby, and Wendell was making all sorts of cheerful, knowledgeable suggestions that were making Hodges super suspicious about how he knew so much. Wendell explained that he had a lot of younger brothers and sisters.
Hodges was insisting that Sarah get to a hospital or something while the weather was good, because there might be more storms on the way, but Sarah didn't want to. She called to me and asked me to help her up to her office on the fourth floor. Hodges wanted to come with us, but his father showed up with a present for him and the new family, and Sarah and I slipped away.
Sure enough, the sky was getting gray and the light was fading. There was a heavy dampness to the breeze. But Sarah insisted she wanted to have her baby here, where she felt the most safe, so we locked ourselves in an unfinished corridor that had good air flow and access to her office and lab. I boiled water and pulled out blankets and made a pallet for her as the rain began.
The wind was high and lightning flashed, but there was nothing really dangerous in the storm. As the thunder rumbled, Sarah gave birth to a baby boy. When she and the baby were both safe, I ran to the tower to ring the bell. The signal was two tolls for a healthy boy, and I looked out the window as the sun came back out and our friends all cheered across the courtyard.
When we came down to greet them and introduce the new baby, Hodges and Sarah announced that his name was Louis Martin Hodges, and he was named for the Louis Martin Lighthouse. This had been Hodges favorite place to go with his father as a boy, and his father had a wonderful story about how he'd been a sailor and the lighthouse had saved his life.
His father had left a while before, but Hodges now opened the present, and inside the box was a tiny lighthouse, painted bright blue and white. It was an exact replica of the Louis Martin, and there was a note that said, even though they were estranged, that he was proud of and happy for his son and daughter-in-law, and new grandchild, and hoped they'd always remember this family history. It was absolutely perfect.
Then I woke up.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
TBTT#26 May 2013 Weirdness, Part 2
May 26, 2013
I dreamed that Summer and I kept sneaking off, and my family thought we were doing something bad, like working for a Hooters-like place in skimpy clothes. But really, we were on a sports team sort of thing, and finally my mom came out to watch us, and it turns out that we wore these soccer uniforms, but what we *did* was a sort of two person competitive karaoke/DDR team event, where one person sang to a track, and the other danced, and the score was based on accuracy.
My mom had brought Kerri and Erik’s youngest two sons (they’d had a third), so she had to go early to take them home. So I left to hang out in a bar with a college boyfriend and his roommate while he was at Rice. A girl across the bar was making eyes at my ex, so he pretended I was with him, and she said some really cutting things about me, but whatever.
Then those guys turned out to be two of my guy friends from New Orleans, and both of them were there to keep eyes on their sisters. My sister was there, too, and we were all talking about how protective we were of our sisters, and I realized no one felt that way about me.
The bar was on the coast and some blue whales were going by, so I left and walked down the beach and followed them. I swam for a while, until I realized that the orcas and other predatory whales that were also there might think I was food, so I swam back to the bank, which was loaded with penguins, and a dead Beluga. I was sad, and the blue whales had gone up a fjord out of sight, so I trudged back to the bar.
As I looked down from the balcony to the street below, I saw my mom and my sister were outside waiting, but before I could go down to them, I saw my dad coming through the crowd to get me. He’d been worried about me, and he took me in his arms, and it felt so amazing to be loved and cherished by someone who wanted to take care of and protect me, and it felt so good to smell the cigarette smoke and motor oil in his clothes again, and hear his voice, and I began crying and I said, “Thank you, God, so much, for letting me have him back.”
They took me back to the French Quarter where I looked around for one of my tour guide friends as I walked home from Jackson Square, since I thought it was after 10:30, and he might be done with his tour. But it was actually only just after 8:30, and I didn’t see him. Then I woke up.
I dreamed that Summer and I kept sneaking off, and my family thought we were doing something bad, like working for a Hooters-like place in skimpy clothes. But really, we were on a sports team sort of thing, and finally my mom came out to watch us, and it turns out that we wore these soccer uniforms, but what we *did* was a sort of two person competitive karaoke/DDR team event, where one person sang to a track, and the other danced, and the score was based on accuracy.
My mom had brought Kerri and Erik’s youngest two sons (they’d had a third), so she had to go early to take them home. So I left to hang out in a bar with a college boyfriend and his roommate while he was at Rice. A girl across the bar was making eyes at my ex, so he pretended I was with him, and she said some really cutting things about me, but whatever.
Then those guys turned out to be two of my guy friends from New Orleans, and both of them were there to keep eyes on their sisters. My sister was there, too, and we were all talking about how protective we were of our sisters, and I realized no one felt that way about me.
The bar was on the coast and some blue whales were going by, so I left and walked down the beach and followed them. I swam for a while, until I realized that the orcas and other predatory whales that were also there might think I was food, so I swam back to the bank, which was loaded with penguins, and a dead Beluga. I was sad, and the blue whales had gone up a fjord out of sight, so I trudged back to the bar.
As I looked down from the balcony to the street below, I saw my mom and my sister were outside waiting, but before I could go down to them, I saw my dad coming through the crowd to get me. He’d been worried about me, and he took me in his arms, and it felt so amazing to be loved and cherished by someone who wanted to take care of and protect me, and it felt so good to smell the cigarette smoke and motor oil in his clothes again, and hear his voice, and I began crying and I said, “Thank you, God, so much, for letting me have him back.”
They took me back to the French Quarter where I looked around for one of my tour guide friends as I walked home from Jackson Square, since I thought it was after 10:30, and he might be done with his tour. But it was actually only just after 8:30, and I didn’t see him. Then I woke up.
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