Dark Day Dreams, page 1
Dark Day Dreams
By James Hawthorne
This book is dedicated to Sarah Shapiro, Tom Price and Keith Mabry.
Thanks to Harlan Ellison (among others) for teaching me how powerful short stories can be.
Thanks to my sexy copy editor/beta reader Rosemary for all her help.
“Strange how paranoia and reality can link up now and again.”- Philip K. Dick
Other books by James Hawthorne:
Nothing Happens For a Reason (2010)
We All Have Our Heaven (2012)
The Visionary (2014)
Contents:
The Midnight Kid Rides Again…10
A Holy Amputation…45
Beast in Show…68
Escalation…106
Lonely Side of the Sky…120
Hungry Women…144
The Cost of Caring…166
Remember…185
Harrison Examines the Great Machine…213
The Summer of Our Discontent…224
Glitch…248
The New World…280
Sunset…306
Dark Day Dreams (Notes)…316
The Midnight Kid Rides Again
It was a miserably frigid December night in Seattle. The natives are used to dampness in December but this was more of a frosty, take your breath away upper Midwest cold.
Paul Robinson actually didn’t mind this kind of weather so much. He knew that if it got this cold at night it was likely the sky tomorrow would be cloudless and lit up by a sun that at least looked warm. He loved those kind of days.
He took a shortcut across a playfield near his apartment building. The grass looked like thesilver crew cut on a retired Marine drill instructor’s head and made a crunching sound as he walked on it.
It was the shortest day of the year. The sun rose around seven-thirty in the morning and then set a few minutes after four in the afternoon. Daytime almost seemed like one of God’s afterthoughts. This had not been a good day for Paul. He was twenty-four and had been working in the graphics department of a local alternative newspaper for the past year. The money wasn’t great but it was the kind of work he really liked and he knew spending time there would look good on his resume.
Unfortunately, he’d screwed up the main illustration for one of the lead news articles today. His boss got truly pissed and called him into her office. She slammed her hand on a desk and said, “Paul, you need to get your head in the game here. I know you’re young but we don’t have the time or resources to fix a lot of mistakes…especially big ones like this.”
She didn’t come right out and threaten to fire him but he could definitely feel the possibility floating around in the room like a small toxic cloud. There were a lot of talented people out there would could replace him in roughly five minutes.
And when he was at lunch with his co-worker Cynthia Diaz, her cell phone wouldn’t stop ringing. He had been working up the nerve to ask her out on a date but it seemed like the whole world was out there dialing her number. He just wanted her undivided attention for five minutes, was that too much to ask?
So, it had not been a great day for his self-esteem. To be honest, he wasn’t completely surprised. His depressive tendencies always bloomed like black flowers during this time of year. And it seemed like when he didn’t feel well, things in his life didn’t go well.
There were a few cold, gray weeks back during his senior year in high school when he was seriously thinking maybe suicide would be a good way to solve all his problems simultaneously. That was a really dark time and it scared him to dwell on it for very long. Since then he’d figured out some mental exercises that effectively prevented him from getting to that point again.
He suddenly thought he saw some bushes move over by the fence at the south end of the playfield. He stepped up his pace, worried it might be a mugger out prowling around.
************
The demon watched Paul hurriedly walk by and whispered, “Run along, human. I can’t do anything to you here anyway.”
Which was ironic because on this day of the year and in this place (the Northern Hemisphere), Sarnathan felt immensely powerful. The cold darkness filled him up, gave him a sense of not only strength and confidence but also intoxication. These mortals just seemed so vulnerable on the Winter Solstice, like defenseless infants left alone in a dark house.
But the way he felt now wouldn’t last. The moment the hands of the clock moved past midnight, the days would incrementally begin getting longer again. And Sarnathan’s strength would begin to fade. Just a little at first but then more and more as the days progressed. On the longest day of the year, he would be no more dangerous than a shadow or an echo.
But then again, how much or how little strength he had really didn’t matter here in the physical world. All he could do here was spy a bit and gather information. The real action took place after the humans turned off their lights, closed their eyes and walked down the road to HIS world.
************
Of course, it wasn’t just Sarnathan’s world. There were many other sleep demons, monsters, villains and other dark citizens residing there…as well as heroes.
In this modern age we generally say the beings you meet in dreams are often nothing more than psychic stand-ins for people we interact with in the real world. And many times that’s true. But there are also supernatural entities residing in the dark corners of our minds, some good and some bad.
One of the good ones referred to himself as The Midnight Kid. He wore cowboy boots, a leather vest over his blue denim shirt, jeans, a black cowboy hat and a black mask like the Lone Ranger’s. He was about six feet tall, handsome and had wavy blonde hair. His friends just called him Rex.
He also wore a gun belt that carried two pearl handled six shooters and extra ammunition. A large whip was tied to his saddle.
He walked out of The Golden Lady saloon, located in a dream version of an eighteen seventy-two Dodge City and looked up at the red clouds churning up in the gray sky. He knew right away this would be a busy day…the nightmare makers were always busy this time of year, at least in places located north of the real world’s Equator. This was the slow season for his brother and the other dream rangers who took care of the Southern Hemisphere, lucky bastards. Rex had spent the night with Doreen, one of the girls who worked at the saloon. He took a couple seconds to think about her long blonde hair, creamy skin and luscious lips. Man, he was just so addicted to kissing those lips.
He paid her because a girl’s got to make a living. But for some time now their hours together had felt special. As a matter of fact, they had grown so comfortable being together they’d even talked a little about what it might be like if she quit the business and became his and his only. The idea appealed to him but he still felt conflicted… his was not an easy existence by any stretch of the imagination.
He fed and watered his trusty palomino, Dreamer. He knew it might be a while before the horse had a chance to eat again.
A couple hours later, Rex and Dreamer stopped at a hillside cavern that contained a secret healing pool. He got some water for his horse and then called out, “Anybody home?”
His friend Sweetness stepped out into the light and replied, “Well, nice to see you. What’s up, cowboy?”
Sweetness was a sleep fairy. She could change her size at will and generally when Rex stopped by to visit, she grew large enough to tempt him a bit. She’d pretty much had a crush on him since the first time they’d met. She had shiny black hair and a sexy, voluptuous figure.
Today she was wearing a small, very revealing dress made of gossamer and canary feathers. Hewas quite aware how she felt about him and was always tempted to take advantage of the offer. But he held back because he’d heard through the grapevine she had a mad jealous temper. There was a story floating around that an old boyfriend had cheated on her and ten different pieces of him showed up in separate parts of the dream world.
He looked her up and down and said, “Nice getup, Sweets. Who’s the lucky fella?”
She gave him her best come over here smile and replied, “Could be you, handsome.”
He gulped. “Oh, that would be nice but I’m on duty…”
“I think it would be more fun if you were on me.” He started thinking about the disadvantages of dealing with immortals. This female’s patience was never going to run out because her life was never going to end!
Another figure walked out and joined them in the light. It was Morella, a very wise slumber guide. She was scarily thin, had gray hair and wore a purple hooded robe. She was bent over and had to use a walking stick. She and the Midnight Kid had been friends longer than either of them could remember.
Rex smiled and walked over to give her a hug. He said, “How’s it going, my dear?”
She pulled down her hood and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Better now, Rex. It’s good to see you.”
Morella and Rex had often discussed their work over the years. He saw most situations as a battle to be won and she took a gentler, more consoling approach.
He considered her methods fine if the human was merely troubled but not truly thinking about ending it all. On the other hand, if there were demons or other dark forces pulling the poor sap toward a dirt nap, no amount of gentle prodding or whispered affirmations could ever take the place of his pistols and the lightning whip.
************
Paul made something to eat and tried to give himself a pep talk. He knew if he wasn’t careful the voice inside his head would step on th
He watched some television and then decided to turn in early. He wanted to be especially sharp at work during the next few days and hopefully get back on his boss’s good side.
He was tired. He got deep down under the covers and within a few minutes was gently snoring, his consciousness floating off into the world where all the sleeping minds go.
************
Sarnathan was waiting for the young human’s arrival. As soon as Paul’s consciousness was dispatched to the dream world., the demon activated a special portal. When Paul stepped through it, he felt a net of some sort dropdown over him.
The demon leaned in close and said, “Welcome, you pathetic loser.”
They were in a desert of some kind. No plant life except some sagebrush and a few large cacti.
Paul struggled to escape. He was feeling a terrible panic…he didn’t know if he’d ever experienced a dream this intense and frightening before. This creature had horrible looking skin, yellow teeth, two small horns sticking up and eyes that were black and shiny, darker than a starless night.
He said, “What do you want with me?”
Sarnathan laughed loudly and then replied, “Well, I want you to be very, very scared. And then I want you to die back in your world.”
Paul looked off in the distance and saw a dozen more of these horrible beings sitting around a campfire, drinking and laughing grotesquely. They were roasting something on a spit and he definitely didn’t want to know what it was.
He had no idea what to do. Should he try to escape his captors or just wait things out and hope he woke up soon?
Suddenly, there was a storm of bullets and the demons all scrambled away from where they were sitting. A voice called out, “Let him go, Sarnathan.”
A look of red hot rage crossed over the demon’s face. He hissed, “Go away, cowboy. I’ve claimed him and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
The Midnight Kid jumped down off a boulder and snapped his whip. A strong electrical charge fried the net but left Paul completely unharmed.
The masked man said, “Come on, son. Let’s get out of here before they regroup.”
Paul stood there stunned for a few seconds. This felt different than any dream he’d ever experienced before. But then he ran toward Rex, instinctively knowing it was the right thing to do. Sarnathan roared. To Paul’s ears, it wasn’t a sound any being that walks on two legs should be able to make…it was more like an avalanche or the crack of giant trees crashing to the ground during a forest fire. Rex grabbed Paul’s arm and said, “Move now.” They ran up behind the boulder where Dreamer and another saddled horse were waiting.
Paul hadn’t been on a horse for many years. But since this was the dream world, he didn’t hesitate to jump right up and escape alongside his masked savior.
By this time, the sleep demons had figured out what was going on and began to chase the escaping pair. Sarnathan was leading them, bellowing out threats and orders to his troops. He yelled, “I want you in the air NOW!”
There were just a few that could grow wings when necessary and they immediately responded to Sarnathan’s order, hoping to spot the escaping pair before they were able to get too far. But the Midnight Kid knew where every cave and secret tunnel in this part of the world was located. As he and Paul were heading toward a rock wall, he took out one of his pistols and fired a shot.
A passageway appeared. The two of them rode in and then the wall reappeared behind them. Rex took a mystical light out of his saddle bag so they could see what was ahead of them.
Paul looked at Rex and said, “So, are we safe now?”
“For the moment. This tunnel will allow us to ride through the mountain and then hopefully escape into the forest located on the other side.”
“Thanks for saving me, by the way. Who are you and where are we?”
“My official title is the Midnight Kid but you can call me Rex. And we’re in one of your dreams.”
Paul started to say how ridiculous the second part seemed but then something stopped him. He had a strong feeling his companion was telling the truth, the same feeling he had many previous times when something strange happened in a dream but his mind just accepted it.
“What’s going on, Rex? How did you know I was in trouble?”
“I happened to be with my friend Morella. She sensed the demons were waiting for you.”
Paul just said, “Oh.” Far better to trust this masked man who obviously had a good idea how things worked in this neighborhood.
Rex explained, “This is the shortest day of the year in your world, Paul. There are a few humans that are especially vulnerable during that twenty-four-hour period and need our help. If you kill yourself in your world, Sarnathan grows that much stronger in this one.”
“You said our…are there more of you?”
“Oh, yeah. We have an old saying here, the universe creates accordingly.”
“But what about those demons?”
Rex smiled and replied, “It’s an unfortunate fact of life…when you have great good you also end up with great evil. That’s just the way things work, no way around it.”
They rode for a while and talked some more. When they were a quarter mile from the spot where they would exit the mountain, they heard a noise coming from behind them in the tunnel. Rex said, “They must have figured out where we got in. Come on, we need to hurry.”
The two of them galloped until they came to a rock wall and then Rex took out his pistol once again and took a shot at a particular spot. Suddenly, there was a large opening and a dense forest of pine trees ahead of them. They found a trail and sat low in their saddles, doing their best to avoid getting knocked off by low hanging branches.
It was a beautiful day out. Even though it was largely dark and cool in this large patch of trees, there were also sunbeams striking down to the ground here and there. Paul had the thought thatif he wasn’t busy running for his life this was a moment he would have actually savored. He took in a deep breath of fresh mountain air.
They gradually climbed upward and when they came to a meadow they stopped to let the horses rest a little. It was a large field full of tall grass and wildflowers, one of the most beautiful places Paul had ever encountered. Unfortunately, within five minutes six winged demons appeared in the sky above them. One of them was Sarnathan. He called out, “You can’t win, meddler. Give us the human.” The Midnight Kid smiled and yelled back, “Screw you, monstrosity. Go away and leave us alone!”
The evil beings swooped down. Rex was firing both pistols. He couldn’t kill them of course but he could injure them badly enough they would at least be out of the fight for a while. Then he stopped for a second and threw his whip to Paul. “Here, you can use this as a weapon.”
Just like with riding the horse, Paul instinctively knew what to do. He snapped the whip and a bolt of electrical energy shot toward one of the attackers, knocking it down out of the sky.
This made Sarnathan furious. “Do not fight us, human. I promise if you do I will only make your death that much more painful!”
Rex told Paul he was worried more demonic reinforcements would arrive soon and that they needed to make what he called “a big jump”. The young man was just about to ask what that meant when there was a loud bang and he found himself standing on the top of a building in what appeared to be New York City. Rex said, “I think we have a better chance of hiding here.”
Paul said, “What happened to the horses?”
“Oh, they’re fine. I sent them back to Morella.”
Paul looked out over the sprawling cityscape with a concerned look on his face. “What’s the endgame here, Rex? Are they going to be chasing me every night from now on when I go to sleep?”
Rex put his hand on Paul’s shoulder and said, “No, we just have to keep you out of their clutches for a few more hours. This was the only day of the year Sarnathan was strong enough to draw you directly into his portal. There are other times they might be able to hack into your dreams and annoy you but this is the only night of the year you’re in real danger.”
