In Dreams we come
In Dreams we fight
In Dreams you run
In Dreams you die

Jan jerked awake. Mrs. Brown tapped her foot impatiently in front of his desk.
“Asleep again were we Mr. Kyubinski?”
“Sorry Ma’am.” He intoned rubbing his eyes.
“Dreamland must really be a paradise if you sleep all the time in my class.” She turned and stalked back to the board where she continued with the grammar problem. Jan muttered under his breath, “Dreamland is no paradise.”
Nightmares seemed to plague him every night, and not just night but when ever he fell asleep. Jan was blessed with two talents or abilities. One, when ever he wished to fall asleep he could, and two it didn’t matter how much sleep he got when he woke he would always feel refreshed as if he had gotten a full eight hours. There were drawbacks. Sometimes he would fall asleep for no reason. One moment he would be talking, the next moment he would be sleeping. He was terrified of getting his driver’s license. Thankfully he never seemed to fall asleep when he was standing. The second drawback was the nightmares. Nightmares that were so real, he could feel it happening to him even as he entered the waking world. The fear and adrenalin would always be coursing through him when his eyes opened. He fell asleep at school far more often then he wished, it didn’t help that some topics were just so boring. This last dream he had been bound and gagged so that he couldn’t talk or move. Flimsy swords with large spider fangs on the end were stabbed into him repeatedly. Right as one was coming towards his face he had woken up. He had long learned to control his screaming when he woke from these nightmares. A lifetime was a long time to train. He rubbed his eyes to try to clear some of the memories, at least he felt wide awake. Class ended and they moved on to eat lunch. Once again he was sitting and eating quietly, he had just finished packing his things up when he slumped forward and fell asleep again. This nightmare he was running though dark and damp streets. He didn’t know what was chasing him but he could hear them. If they caught him he would die. He carried a tiny pistol in his hand. He stopped and looked down at it, how had it gotten there? A round of bullets slammed into the brick next to him causing him to take off running again. The adrenaline pounded in his heart, fear beat through his ears. His breath was short and ragged. He round a corner and saw the barrel of a gun pointed directly at his skull. The man behind it was in some strange uniform with boots gloves and a helmet. Jan tried to peer and look at the man’s face. It was blank of any features. He started to squint as the gun went off. He jerked awake with his head on the lunch table. The girls on the other side looked at him and started giggling amongst themselves. Jan rubbed his eyes again trying to remember the soldier’s face. He was used to people laughing at him these days. He had endured it throughout middle school. At least he never snored when he slept. School ended. Thank goodness it was the weekend. He wasn’t sure he could bare another day of stupid lessons surrounded by mostly stupid people. He quashed the thought, they weren’t all stupid, they just didn’t understand him and it was their nature to scorn all that was different. He started walking home, while many of his classmates laughed as they sped off in their flashy and trendy sports cars. He sat down on a bench most of the way home. He felt tired, emotionally. Just a few more years before he was out of high school and could go and try and get a real education or get a formalized training, something where he stood up a lot. He folded his hands and stared out into the street watching cars and people go by. He wondered to himself why he seemed to be the only person who ever had these problems. Admittedly the ability to fall asleep at will was a blessing to many, but the nightmares that came certainly couldn’t be called a blessing. Someone slumped down on the bench next to him. He turned and glanced to see who it was. Katie Gerard sighed and looked back at him.
“You don’t drive home?” Jan asked sarcastically as a classmate and his girlfriend blazed down the street in his maroon convertible going fifty over the speed limit.
“I don’t have a car,” she responded neutrally, “Besides with gas costing as much as it does, walking is worth it.”
Jan nodded in agreement. Katie wasn’t as ‘hot’ as some girls in the school, but she had a good head on her shoulders, and that counted for a lot in Jan’s mind. She had been going to the same school as Jan for as long as he could remember, yet they had never been in the same class. She was tall, willowy with long graceful arms, long blond hair, gray eyes and a soft voice that always reminded Jan of dandelions for some reason.
“So how’s school coming for you?” she asked.
“Meh, so-so I guess.” He replied unenthusiastically.
“Still have those sleeping spells?”
“Yeah, had two today, you didn’t see me at lunch?”
“No, but I heard from some of the girls who saw you. Why are people so dumb about things? It seems obvious to me that you don’t fall asleep because you want to.”
Jan shrugged, “I don’t, in fact if I fall asleep while you are talking my apologies. I’ve learned to live with their remarks. There’s nothing they can do against me.”
“Still that doesn’t make it proper or correct. Have you gone to see a doctor about it?”
“Several times when I was younger, they can’t find anything wrong with me. It’s like it is magic or something. Someone throws the sleep switch and boom, I’m out like a light.”
Katie nodded, and they fell into silence. Jan thought about leaving but he didn’t feel like getting up just yet.
“Do you live nearby?” Katie asked.
“I’m over that, way,” he said waving in the general direction of his house, “It’s about a five minute walk from here.”
“Oh really? I’m over that way. It’s not much farther. Have you always lived so close?”
Her question fell on deaf ears as Jan’s head slumped forward with his eyes asleep. Katie leaned down and peered into his face. Instead of a relaxed tranquil expression his face seemed pinched as if he were under a great amount of stress. She reached over and felt his forehead. He did not have a fever but his pulse seemed unusually fast. She sighed in resignation, well what had to be done had to be done. She pulled her bag around and propped her foot on it. If anyone tried to take it she’d know. She pulled Jan closer and leaned her head against his. She closed her eyes and forced herself to fall asleep.

This time Jan dreamed he was on a sinking ship. He had run from the front end to the back end. There were no lifeboats to be found, and strange creatures chased after him. They were large piles of bio sludge that could travel very fast despite their looks. The water was ice cold and he knew that if he jumped in he would die. In the back of his mind he knew that he was on a bench somewhere near home, but he couldn’t wake himself up. The corridors were dark and slimy. Water dripped from many places causing him to slip many a time. This dream seemed to drag on longer then normally. A goo pile rounded a corner in front of him and squealed in delight as seeing him. Jan turned and stared running the other way. He was almost to the engine room when another goo oozed into his path. He tried to stop and slipped almost sliding into it. A fleshy tentacle lunged for him. He rolled out of the way and turned around running back the way he came. Maybe there was a ladder to a level up. A door opened in front of him. Had there been a door there when he ran by. Katie stuck her head around the corner, “Good I found you. Hurry you are in helland. She held pointed a strange gun around the corner and shot at one of the goo piles. It squealed but dodged. Jan ran through the door. It turned out to be a tight spaced maintenance room. Katie closed the door and bolted it and dropped the gun in her hand. She began searching the walls for something. The gun hit the ground with a loud clang and disappeared. Something big and heavy slammed into the door. Jan jumped a bit.
“Don’t worry,” Katie said still searching for something, “They won’t be able to break through in time.”
“Don’t worry! This is the first time someone I’ve known has appeared in one of my dreams before and you are telling me to NOT worry?” Jan stated trying to not yell.
“Aha! Found it.” What she had found was a wheel to seal a valve that was planted directly in a wall instead of a pipe. She gave the wheel several turns before the wall opened up.
“After you,” she said waving him on. The door was banged again several times and Jan was starting to notice dents forming. He turned and jumped through the hole in the wall. Katie followed right behind him closing the door as she came. The door disappeared as soon as it was closed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. “Common. You aren’t safe yet.”
“Where am I?” Jan asked looking around the long tunnel they had spilled into.
“We are in your dream,” she replied.
“Inside my dream?”
“Well actually this is dreamland. There is too much to explain now common we gotta get to safety first.”
She pulled him along through the tunnel. It seemed endless and quite safe yet whenever Jan would start to ask a question she would order him to wait until they were safe. It seemed like hours had gone by yet he was sure that he was still sleeping on the bench back there. The tunnel came to an abrupt end with a simple wooden door jammed in the wall. Katie knocked three times before opening the door. The sun was shining outside and there was a huge castle in front of him. Katie pulled him through and closed the door, which happened to be part of the trunk of a huge oak tree.
“This is as safe as you will get for now.” She glanced down her wrist where a watch appeared, “We are short on time as well. I’ll see you in the waking world.”
“How do I wake up?” Jan asked.
“You mean you don’t know how to?” she looked aghast, “How have you always waken up?”
Jan shrugged, “Whenever I’m about ready to die in my dreams I wake up.”
Katie shuddered, “You are lucky to still be alive. I’ll wake you up. Hang on a minute.”
She slowly turned transparent and faded from sight. Jan looked around at the beautiful countryside and castle. Many great banners flew from its ramparts. Sighing he sat down and waited. After a few minutes he felt a gentle pull on his body and watched as his sight turned white. He blinked and saw himself sitting on the bench leaning on Katie. He sat up, “Oh sorry I fell asleep.”
Katie shrugged, “It happens.” She reached around behind her neck and undid her necklace and showed it to him, “Wear this when you sleep next, it will help you. I can’t promise I’ll see you when you sleep next, but someone at the castle will be able to help you.” She leaned forward and tied the pendant around his neck. Her arm brushed his face. Part of Jan felt a little angry, it was not like he couldn’t put on a necklace on himself. Another part of him noticed just how pretty she was. She finished trying off the pendant and stood up.
“I have to get home. I’ll talk to you Monday at school if not sooner.” She grabbed her bags and was off before Jan could say anything.

At home Jan sat down and tried to do his homework. His mind kept wondering back to Katie and the pendant. He glanced down at the intricate looking brass design at the end of its long black cord. Annoyed with his inability to concentrate Jan went downstairs to get a drink and clear his mind. He got talked into playing a game with his family before dinner and helped clean up after dinner. The whole time he didn’t fall asleep. He found this to be a little odd, but not unwelcome. The day came to and end and he walked back upstairs to sleep. He was starting to feel tired as if he had worked the entire day. He prepared himself for bed but still felt uneasy about sleeping. After years of nightmares he had learned to just accept what was coming and go to sleep. This time, the strange events of the afternoon had caused him to be apprehensive. He felt the brass locket around his neck. He decided to stop being worried so he flopped down on his bed, blinked once and was asleep.

He stood next to a large oak tree facing the same grand castle with banners fluttering in the breeze. Jan took a deep breath, it felt nice to not be afraid while he slept. He glanced around hoping that Katie would show up. It got boring quickly just staying in the same place. He glanced down and hoped to see a watch on his wrist the same as Katie but one didn’t seem to appear. He sighed and started walking towards the castle for it seemed the most interesting. The walls were made from thick gray stone with a tan mortar gluing them together. There was a moat around the walls and a great iron drawbridge in front of the gate. He stopped and admired it and the huge chains that held it up. Each link was the size and thickness of his arm. A head stuck over the ramparts and looked at him, “By golly. Hey Dan we got a stray, lower the gate! Quickly, ‘they’ could be back any minute,” the young man turned to him, “Sit tight lad, we’ll have you inside and safe shortly.”
The great drawbridge lowered to reveal two iron doors and multiple portcullises. Jan decided that this was one very well defended castle gate. He crossed as soon as the gates opened. As soon as he was inside the gate closed and the bridge came back up. A girl a little younger than him in chailmail and a brigandine met him with a circle of guards.
“State your name!” she snapped.
“Jan”
“Your purpose here at Castle Haven?”
“I don’t have a purpose. I was brought here and told that it was safe.”
“Who brought you?”
“Katie.”
One of the guards, a graying bearded man, snapped, “He lies! Katie doesn’t go searching in the wilds. He’s one of ‘they’ we should dispose of him.”
The girl waved her hand, “He’s certainly very suspicious. We won’t know if Katie truly brought him here until she returns from the Persephone. But until then, take him to the prison for safe keeping.”
Jan felt the guards grab his arms and drag him inside the keep. He considered resisting, but being outnumbered it would be a futile effort so he went willingly. The prison was a classic stone alcove with iron bars on one side. They tossed him in and locked the door before vanishing from sight. A supremely old man with white hair sat at a table facing his cell.
“How are ya laddie?” he said in a thick Scottish accent.
“I’ve been better. I’m terribly confused. I’m supposed to be asleep and instead I’m here.”
“Aye, it takes some getting used to when you realize you are a walker.”
“Pardon, but what do you mean by a walker?”
“A walker is what we call someone who walks in Dreamland. On and don’t try any funny tricks you might have picked up. We’ve shielded the cells so you can’t apply other rules.”
“I know next to nothing. I just wanted to get away from the nightmares,” Jan said sitting down on the cot that was supposed to be his bed. The thought of sleeping while inside his dream seemed truly ironic to Jan. An irony that was not lost on the jail keeper either, “I know having a cot seems a little bizarre here in dreamland, but we like authenticity. And you can rest on it if nothing else.”
Jan lay down and stared up at the ceiling and tried to figure out what to do.
“What’s your name laddie?”
“Jan.”
“I’m Baldric, can I interests you in a game of cards?”
“I’d be happy for any entertainment.”
They sat and played for hours several different cards game. Baldric suddenly sat up strait as if hearing something, “My alarm is going off back home in Edinburgh. Sit tight I need to go get a replacement. And shouldn’t you be waking up soon?”
“I don’t know how to wake up.”
“Oh my…. Laddie you are lucky to still be alive.”
“You are the second person to tell me that.”
Think back to your body and try to move it from here. That’s what I always does.” With that Baldric ran off and returned with a middle-aged woman. He handed her the deck of cards, whispered a few things and slowly faded from sight. The woman set the cards down and sat down at the table and started working on some paperwork without so much as a glance in his direction. Jan lay down on the cot and tried to follow Baldric’s advice. He knew in the back of his mind that his body was sleeping on his bead in his room. He tried shifting to the position he had fallen asleep in. He focused on his left foot and tried to move it. He felt it move but his dreamland body didn’t move. He tried again and this time tried to move more. It took effort. He focused on making his eyes open and was rewarded by his vision turning white and dreamland fading.

It was nearing dawn but still early. He got up and started eating breakfast. It was the weekend so his family was going to sleep in, a pleasure he had never had before. At about eleven he went for a walk around the neighborhood hoping to run into Katie. He walked around for several hours but with no luck. Part of him knew that if he had done some research at home he would have found her address with no trouble but it didn’t feel right to do that for some reason. He went to the library and checked out some books on castle construction during the medieval age. At least he would be well informed next time he visited the castle. He got home opened one of the books and slumped forward asleep.

He was still in the cell in the basement of the castle. There was minimal lighting and no guard. Annoyed at having fallen asleep, Jan tried to wake himself up and realized that he couldn’t. Frustrated he sat down on the cot and waited. He tried counting the minutes and trying to wake himself up every five. Eventually he did manage to wake himself up. Well at least he was safe even if dreamland had been incredibly boring this time. He finished up his homework and ate dinner. It was getting time to go back to sleep. This time instead of being worried about what he was going to find on the other side he just hoped he wouldn’t spend the entire time in his cell. A full eight hours of in there doing nothing seemed extreme. When the time came he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Baldric was their waiting for him this time, “How was yer day laddie?”
“Meh, could have been better.”
“The young lass is upstairs trying to break you out.”
“Who? Katie?”
“Aye, seems you were right and she did lead you here. But Mandy didn’t want you running loose, especially not this close to choosing a new master. Sorry laddie you’ve gotten swept up in the politics of the matter.”
Jan rolled his eyes, “There’s politics even here in dream land.”
“Laddie, along with taxes and death, politics are inevitable.”
Their talk was interrupted as Katie and an older man with a graying beard came down the stairs. Each was in uniform and carried a long dagger at their hips.
“Baldric open the cell if you would,” the man said. Baldric pulled out his keys and hastily opened the cell. Katie was there giving him a hug and pulling him out before he could react.
“I’m sorry, I got called away to one of our ships the Persephone. I hope they didn’t mistreat you.”
“No, not too badly, just got very bored for a few hours.”
Katie led him out of the dungeon and took him to the walls of the castle and began giving him a tour as well as explaining how dreamland worked.
“Dreamland is a chaotic place. Enemies roam everywhere. There are spots of order that we have managed to establish. This castle is one of those few. We have some ships that roam the seas and fortresses on the land, but that is it. There are many walkers just like you and me. Some die before we can get to them. Most people can only catch a glimpse inside dreamland. But walkers can live inside of it. In fact we are forced to live inside it. It’s not all that bad though. The chaotic forces that normally reside in dreamland are always seeking to restore the natural environment to the way it was.”
“So they want to make everything chaotic and dangerous for a human to live in basically?” Jan asked.
“Mostly, we get attacked by the forces from the most chaotic parts of dreamland, we call it helland. Most walkers can influence the things they touch and feel to make weapons to defend themselves, materials to build strongholds with, or influence the chaos to travel through.”
“Is that what you did the day you pulled me from the ship?”
“Yes, that was it exactly. We normally have parties of people roaming the wilds of helland to pick up stray walkers.”
A gong started sounding from one of the towers.
Katie looked around and noticed the commotion on the far side of the wall.
“Looks like ‘they’ are here. You better make yourself some armor and give yourself a weapon. The ordering of this place is old world so don’t try and make any firearms for yourself.”
“I don’t know how to make things for myself in dreamland.”
Katie held his hand while looking into his eyes. Her hand felt warm and neither dry nor moist. Suddenly a cold and heavy weight replaced her hand. Jan looked down to see a long sheathed dagger in his hand. He looked up at Katie who smiled at him, “Try, it’s not that hard, you’ll get the knack of it soon enough.” She ran off towards to other side of the battlements to look at whatever was coming. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail as she ran. She certainly is pretty, Jan thought to himself before closing his eyes and imagining a set of armor to wear. When he opened his eyes he was wearing full brigandine mail with a tunic over it. It was not heavy at all, a byproduct of dreamland he guess. He stuffed the dagger into his belt and looked at his right hand willing a weapon into it. A long halberd materialized with a hooked and bladed top. He ran over to where Katie had gone. She glanced at him and smiled, “See it didn’t take much work.”
Jan managed a weak smile and looked out at the frontier. A hoard of the bio goo piles was racing towards the castle walls.
“Aren’t those the same from on the ship?” he whispered to Katie.
“Yes, they probably found a way to follow us back here, just took them some time.”
The young woman in armor that had met Jan at the castle gate was issuing orders to some other people in arms. “What is he doing here?” she demanded, “He’s supposed to be locked up in the dungeon.”
“He’s with me and mine,” Katie replied defiantly.
“He’s one of ‘them’ and I’ll not have him standing to stab me in the back.” She turned and stared Jan in the eye, “You fall, my blade will not come to save you.” She turned and stormed away.
Katie sighed, “Mandy is always a little hot tempered, she actually saw someone die in one of our battles. Which reminds me, if you get in trouble wake yourself up and take a rest before dreaming back here.”
“Why do you stay here and defend this?” Jan asked, “Why doesn’t everyone just wake up and then try to come back in a few hours.”
“We have to have safe havens to pick up stray walkers like you. Otherwise more people will die. Very few die defending our strongholds, and the ones who do are fewer in number then the strays that would die if we didn’t exist in an organized fashion. Now that you know of this place you can always dream your way here.”
“But what about…”
“No more questions for now, they are coming!”
Jan looked and watched as scaling ladders were hoisted. People with long poles and sticks fended the ladders off. A large caravan of wagons hauling dirt began to make a bridge across the moat. A hail of arrows and stones rained from the walls. The goo piles just died and fell helping to make the bridge wider. Their comrades trampled the bodies squishing them into mortar. Jan turned his face from the gruesome sight. One of the goo piles launched himself at the wall from a catapult.
“Here they come.” Katie muttered and drew her sword. Jan turned and saw a goo flying at him. He brought his halberd down with a yell cutting it in two. It oozed off the wall with a squeal before dissolving in the moat.
“Look out,” Katie warned next to him. He looked up and raised his halberd to impale another goo. Katie slashed back and forth keeping two goo at bay. Jan noticed how their numbers were falling yet there were no bodies. People must be waking themselves up to stay alive he thought. He stuck one of the goo with his halberd and turned back to shove a scaling ladder off. Mandy fought on ferociously with her two swords slashing goo where ever they appeared. The dirt bridge across the moat was nearly complete. A large siege tower was being rolled forward with frightening haste.
“What do we do about that?” Jan asked pointed at the thing.
Katie dropped here sword where it vanished and materialized a bow out of thin air. A fire arrow appeared in her other hand as she pulled it across the bow, “You keep the goo off of me. I’ll see what I can do.” Jan spun his halberd around. He noticed any hit on the goo seemed to work regardless of if he hit them with the blade or not. The tower continued to get closer with not effect to the burning arrows.
“My turn,” Jan said to Katie, “You cover me I’ll see what I can do.”
Her swords reappeared and she started fending off the attacks. Jan dropped his halberd where it hit the stone with a clang. He ignored it and thought of the small catapult he wanted. It appeared, after he concentrated on the details enough. He pulled the catch back and imagined a pot of Greek fire to load it with. An amphora full of the solution appeared. He lit it and fired it from the catapult. The first pot missed but spewed fire across the ground burning many enemies. The second one hit his desired target lighting parts of it on fire. The battle raged on. People came and went as their sleep cycles changed. Others woke themselves up to avoid getting stuck with a weapon before dreaming themselves back into the battle. Jan managed to avoid waking himself up. The goo seemed endless until they finally just stopped and disappeared.
Katie sighed, “It may seem like they have infinite numbers and energy but they don’t. They just never look weary.”
Jan nodded, he felt weary regardless of what happened, “Do they attack often?”
“Not always, about once a month, on average, sometimes their attacks carry on for days, and we have to call in reinforcements from some of our ships or other fortresses. Maybe one day you will be put in charge of a fortress or ship. But for now, welcome to Castle Haven.”

It was Sunday, a few weeks after the battle. Jan dreaded going back to school. He had stopped falling asleep as often. Katie said it was due to the stabilizing influence of being outside the chaos of helland. Jan didn’t know if that was true, he was just happy to be in control of his life a little more. He wanted to get his drivers license but not be one of those people who fall asleep at the wheel. Summer was rapidly approaching. He stopped by the little café, for tea. Fifteen minutes later Katie joined him with her own cup of tea. They sat in silence enjoying their drinks.
“Did you go exploring a bit last night?” Katie asked.
“A little. With Mandy’s election as Master of Castle Haven I don’t feel terrible well liked.”
Katie nodded. Politics shouldn’t get in the way of fighting chaos or saving people, but the best way of doing those things was a matter of debate, and so politics would live forever.
“What did you find?” she asked.
“I found a nice empty field barren of everything except grass.”
“Sounds peaceful, but not very useful?”
“I dream built an airship for myself there. Something that can go over land and sea.”
“You built an entire airship with no help?”
“Well yes, I just dreamed it and it appeared, I had to modify something after I got inside and looked it over. But it wasn’t that hard, no harder then armor was for me the first time.”
Katie’s mouth was hanging open, “Did you build it piece by piece or just dream it all in one go?”
“Just all in one go.”
Katie thought for a moment, “You may be more then just a walker, you might actually be a dreamer, someone who can manipulate dream land more then others. Castle Haven was build by a dreamer. We just maintain and sustain it. You’ve built a full airship by yourself.”
Jan nodded, “Yes, it’s got guns and turrets, storage facilities, hangers, engines and reactors.”
“You will have to show me some time. Maybe tonight.”
“I’d love to. I hope I can help save others, they way you saved me. Which reminds me,” Jan said pulling her pendant out from under his shirt, “Did you want this back?”
Katie smiled, “No you keep it. Think of it as a gift from me.”
Jan nodded, and tucked the pendant back into his shirt, “Got any plans for the summer?”
She shrugged, “Not really, you?”
“Not really.”
There was a long awkward silence that Jan wanted to fill but didn’t know what he should say.
“Hey we should do something other then just plan out battles in dream land and do school work,” Katie said moving her tea aside and leaning forward with her head resting on her hands to talk quieter.
“Did you have something in mind?” Jan asked looking at her face. She was so pretty, and so intelligent. She must be the best girl in school.
Katie shrugged, “Didn’t have anything particular in mind. You got any ideas?”
He leaned forward until his face was only a few inches from her own, “I… I…”
“What are you trying to say?” she asked, her mouth was open slightly and her eyes sparkled. Her breath was sweet and soft on his face. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, leaned forward a little more and kissed her.
She stiffened in shock at first but then relaxed. After what seemed either a few seconds or a few years Katie pulled back and let out a ragged breath, “Well, that wasn’t what I had in mind when I was suggesting we do something. I was thinking a movie or music or shopping or something else.” Jan felt himself blush slightly.
Katie smiled and leaned forward again, “But this is much better then what I had in mind.”
“Wanna go for a walk?” Jan asked.
“Yeah.”