Lucid (20 page)

****

Elis led us down the main street for a couple of blocks and then turned off onto one of the many side streets. I had only been to New York City once before, and navigating through Woodinville brought back vivid memories of my trip to the Big Apple. The buildings were like massive trees, shading the valley even more than the actual trees above us. The Dreamers fixed this problem by lighting the branches of the highest treetops. Since it was early morning, the lights steadily grew brighter as we followed Elis deeper into the city
.

“It's like an artificial skyline,” Mitch commented, momentarily craning his neck to get a better view of the lights
.

“Yeah, shining above weirdo
s,” Kyle muttered, choosing to stare at the Dreamers on the streets. I had to admit we were getting a lot of funny stares. Maybe it was because we were dressed strangely
. W
e all had gym-like clothes on; comfortable enough to sleep in, but good enough for fighting off Chimera, or at least escaping.

Not glowing like the Dreamers probably had more to do with the stares, though. I had a feeling that if Kyle, Mitch, and I weren't with powerful Dreamers, we'd have a tougher time walking in the village
.

Thankfully, Elis made a few turns, and we ended up on completely deserted streets. Usually empty alleyways sported dumpsters, stray cats, and neighborhood hobos. The alleyways of Woodinville looked like a hospital; everything was pristine, and the ground was empty
.

“I have heard that human civilizations are quite different from our Woodinville,” Sophia commented, looking at our expressions
.

“Just a bit
.
” Kyle stared around at the empty space. I couldn't even remember the last time I saw him actually clean something. I was sure the cleanliness and emptiness was scaring him a bit
.

“Anyway, we are here
.
” Elis stopped in front of a blank stretch of wall that belonged to a pastry shop
.

At first glance there seemed to be nothing exciting about the metal wall. Then I saw faint scratches three feet from the ground. Elis placed his thumb and two fingers onto the marking and muttered something under his breath. The scratches began to glow bright blue, and I finally saw that they were a small sketch of a wolf, not unlike the talisman carved into Reverie's hilt
.

“Look out!” Viv pulled Mitch and me away as a trapdoor opened from under our feet. As I caught my breath and calmed my heartbeats I saw the new, gaping hole was actually the entrance to a spiral stairwell. Viv summoned her flashlights again and led the way down. She practically ran down the steps, and we had to fumble after her
.

“Slow down, Viv!” Sophia protested, hobbling along with us the best he could
.

“Or you can speed up,” Viv called playfully. Sophia shrugged
.

“Very well
.” H
e closed his eyes for a minute and summoned white vapor that floated to his feet. The wisps wrapped around his ankles, and he was suddenly floating alongside Viv
.

“Um, can you make me some of those?” Kyle panted, tripping on a few steps
.

“Clearly, you need it
,
” Elis commented, eyeing my brother. Kyle glared at the Dreamer but didn't say anything. My brother had to really dislike someone to not even bother talking back
.

I started feeling a little anxious as I clambered after the Dreamers. The most dangerous people I had ever encountered before this were Kyle's friends, and I wouldn't classify them as a super-secret rebellion group (although they all seemed to protest bathing.) If you couldn't tell, my regular friends were, although quirky, fairly normal. They didn't plot against anything more important than a homework assignment, and we never had to hide away from anyone
.

I tried shaking fear from my thoughts. This group of Dreamers — Deem — Viv called it, wanted the same thing I did. Together we could defeat Leona, free the souls, and help the Dreamers to get their lives back. If they were anything like Viv, Sophia, and Elis, I had a hopeful feeling that we could actually do it
.

“Stand back,” Elis warned as we reached a narrow metal door. He knocked five times: three light knocks and two very hard ones. We waited for a few moments, the silence around us thickening with each second. I thought I heard some loud buzzing sound from behind the door, but I couldn't be sure. Finally, Viv stamped her foot impatiently
.

“Really, he is useless!” She groaned
, folding her arms
.

“Allow me.
” Sophia muttered something under his breath. Suddenly, the metal door silently swung open
.

It took me awhile to adjust to the bright room, but once my pupils coped with the change, I was very surprised
.

There was only one Dreamer in the room
.

He was a young man about Viv and Elis' age with light brown hair that framed his face. The rest of his hair was tied back with a ribbon. He vaguely reminded me of a colonial guy in a history book, because he wore a loose-fitting whit
e blouse with a tarnished brown leather vest over it. The sleeves were rumpled and pushed above his skinny elbows, and his brown trousers were bound to his slim waist by a black utility belt. The strangest thing about him was the fact that he wore glasses. I assumed that since the Dreamers had such bright eyes, they didn't have vision impairments. Apparently this Dreamer's vivid blue eyes didn't give him 20/20 vision
.

He crowded over a small, yet loud object that looked sort of like a car engine. It whirred as the metal bits on top gave off sparks. The new Dreamer was so enthralled in the contraption that he only noticed us after Elis reached over and hit him on the back of the head
.

“Idiot!” Elis shouted angrily. “You were supposed to stand guard! Any
one could've come right on in!”

“I think I finished it!”
t
he new Dreamer announced happily while completely ignoring Elis' threat. The frames of his glasses made his blue eyes look twice as large. They also glinted like a mad scientist's would in a horror film after revealing his monstrous creation
.

“Oh great
.
” Viv rolled her eyes as she crossed the room
, “a
nd what are you working on now, Iven?”

“A force field!” T
he mad scientist called Iven shouted triumphantly. “One that is much more powerful than our own magic. By using water from the Lucid River, I was able to power my device to create a much stronger barricade. Watch
.
” He bit his lip as he twisted a knob on the side of his engine
.

Suddenly, yellow light filled the room. Before I could shield my eyes, I felt a powerful force push me against the wall. The two grunts next to me told me that Mitch and Kyle also felt the machine's attack. Almost as soon as it had happened, the lighting dimmed, and we slumped to the ground
.

“Great, I always wanted a bad back,” Kyle muttered, struggling to his feet. Mitch got up first and offered me his hand to pull me up. I watched him glance at Iven with respect. The Dreamer, finally noticing our presence, was now staring at us with deep interest
.

“It works on anybody but Dreamers,” he mumbled vaguely while staring at us. “So you surely aren't Dreamers, but who are you?”

“Seriously?” Viv looked at Iven incredulously. “They're
humans. With that big brain of yours, Iven, you cannot tell?”

“Humans!” Iven leapt to his feet. “Then you are Lucids?”

“Uh oh,” Kyle muttered, instinctively backing up. I followed suit; from what I saw, most Dreamers didn't like Lucids very much. If this Iven guy could push me by using a scrap of metal, I didn't want to see what else he could do
.

“Excellent!” Iven rushed towards us. “How did you find our village? Did you use your powers in the Lucid River? No human has used it in ages, but I'v
e heard awe-inspiring stories!”

“Erm-, Kyle did,” Mitch blurted out, ducking away from the crazy inventor. “He created
two ships. One fired cannons.”

“Really?” Iven rounded onto my brother, his bespectacled eyes sparking. “S
o you also create many things?”

“Um
—
”

“Kyle is the only true Lucid here
.
” Viv stepped between them. I thought I saw my brother look away with some disappointment. He probably liked the attention
.

“Then the other two…” Iven
's voice trailed off as he studied Mitch and me. Surprisingly, he only mildly acknowledged Reverie hanging at Mitch's hilt. He nodded as if expecting something like this to happen. When he looked at me, to my embarrassment, he gasped
.

“So it is true!” Iven rounded onto the other Dreamers. “We have found our champions?”

“Hopefully
.
” Elis looked at me skeptically
.

“With proper training
.
” Sophia finally spoke up. “I have high hopes for all of our human friends. Already they have escaped from the evil Lucid's fortress and have saved us from certain doom. We owe them our approval, at least.”

“We will see
.
” Elis folded his arms. Viv shot him an angry glance, even though just hours ago she had questioned our abilities
.

“They already have my approval
.
” Iven pushed his glasses further up his nose. “I al
ready know one of your names
—
” h
e nodded in Kyle's direction, “
—b
ut I have not introduced myself. I am Invenire, but most people call me Iven. I invent things that are hopefully useful for Deem.”

Mitch and I introduced ourselves. We just said our names, though. I wasn't sure what role I played in our little human group. One that summons white balls didn't really sound cool enough to repeat
.

“And we have our weapon to defeat the Nightmares,” Iven commented, now giving Reverie full attention. “May I?” He stretched out his hands.

Mitch, though somewhat reluctantly, handed it over. Iven turned it around several times while pacing the room and muttering to himself. Viv and Elis didn't seem too impressed by his antics, but Sophia studied the younger Dreamer with amusement
.

“Yes,” Iven finally said. “It is powerful, but I can make it better if you want. I'm thinking lasers of pure light to stun Nightmares
—
”

“Y
ou cannot make it more powerful.
” Sophia cut him off. “It needs its brother talisman in order to gain strength.”

“Brother?” Viv looked at the old Dreamer skeptically. “What do you mean? Our tribe only has one talisman, as the books say
—
”

“And what of the other books?” Sophia interrupted
. “True, I have kept my knowledge secret, but I did not think the Nightmares would ever grow so powerful that we'd need both tribes at the same time.”

“What are you saying?” Elis
asked harshly
. “
T
hat we must seek out the other tribe after how many years? We've restored the balance between us and the Nightmares before, and we can do it again on our own
—
”

“The enemy is stronger than before, Elis
,
” Sophia reminded him
. “Surely you know that. And your little resistance group is not enough to stop them. What would three young,
foolish Dreamers do against an army of Nightmares?”

I looked around at the room and at the Dreamers standing in it, and then it hit me. Viv, Elis, and Iven were the only members of Deem. Suddenly, Iven's workbench looked like a child's plaything, and the large table with assorted chairs looked like something from a youth group rec room
.

Sophia didn't keep Viv from joining Deem because it was a gang of dangerous people; he kept her from it because it was a small club of Dreamer teenagers asking for trouble. My hope from earlier quickly died; there was no way we could defeat Leona with just us
.

“What else would you have us do?” Viv spoke up, noticing the change in mood. “There's only one thing Dreamers are truly good at, and it's rebuilding. When the Nightmares destroyed Fantasm, what did we do? We built this little village, hidden away. That is why the Nightmares do not fear us. We never stand up for ourselves. They can attack us, destroy everything we've worked so hard for, and they do it because they know we will not retaliate. We will simply rebuild and hide away. And when the Nightmares do it again, will we have the strength to keep rebuilding? I'd much rather save my strength for a fight
—
”