Monday, July 28, 2008

XE : Enter the Dream Master (An excerpt)

This is a little sample of the next project that I am working on, the story all together is completely based off the dreams I have been having all throughout my life and has been switched around to make it flow more. The complete story will be continual which means that I will just be writing with no real end to it. Right now this first chapter is about the times of the Dream Master which takes place during ages 5-8 when I would have many bad dreams, and this is what I could come up with so far as part of the first chapter. I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what I could improve on it to make it better or worse. Thank you. - Jon-o


There I was watching as the rain begin to fall on the Earth's surface as I drove in a single pickup truck through the vast wasteland of the desert on an old abandoned highway. The sky was gloomy filed with grey and darkness which really set the mood of the entire ride. Inside the truck driving was a girl helping me get from one side of the map, to the other. Her name was Christina and during the times I was walking along side the roads, she was always there as if I had a tracker device strapped on me at all times. So far as it may appear, I have seen many things and faced death far too many times. Still, at night when I look up at the stars or the red moon, I begin to wonder, what purpose am I alive for? Why has God spared my life so many times that it has brought me to the conclusion that there might actually not be one.
As I sit here looking out the window watching the rain drops fall one by one, witnessing their last moments free falling until they splatter on the ground, brings me to the conclusion that life at times can be that small rain drop, death hits you very hard, and when it does, you are shattered into millions of pieces.
Continuing to day dream, out of the blue, Christina asks, "Jon-o, I want to know, how does a person like you end up in this world exactly?"
After hearing such a question, you start to try and understand the meaning behind your own adventures. Doing what any typical would say while being interviewed, "I simply nodded my head and said, "Well... I hope you know Christina, this can be a long story that might drag on and cause you to fall asleep."
Dear little ol' Christina smiled and told me, "Hope you know, I asked because I am very interested in your life you know. The things I have heard you do and say have just seem unreal to me, and I truly want to understand a deeper side. The world is a strange place you know, too much happens without any recognition or knowledge of the reason why."
The only thing I could really say was, "You are right you know, we do have a long ride ahead of us, why not just tell you then."
So I gave into her demand because hey, I guess I do want to tell people my story and what I have been through in the many years of my life. Here it goes, the first chapter of my life as I will tell you in a third person perspective to keep anyone from getting confused. Prepare for the story of the dream child and my perpetual prison with the dream master Spike.

Out in the farmlands of Vermont lived a little boy named Jon-o who was living with his family that produced dairy and other products that were to be shipped out all across the world. Every morning, Jon-o would put on his overalls and go out into the fields where he would run and play in the fields and hiding in the corn fields acting like he was lost in some mysterious maze. At the age of eight, school was no concept for the young boy because his parents never put him in it since they did not find it necessary.
Guiding himself through the long fields of corn, ran his hands against the grainy feeling the leaves of husk had on them. Raising is head into the air, he smiled as he stared straight into the sun and closing his eyes.
'We got a long way to go but the journey has not been sought out. If we keep going forward, then who is exactly guiding the path?' sang Jon-o to a song that he really enjoyed since it reminded him of freedom of the farmland. Turning his head, he heard a barking in the distance which to him meant that it was dinner time and he should head home.
After a long and grueling day of play, Jon-o retired himself into his house where he entered his cozy farm home which was two stories and had a very nice porch where his mother would always sit out front and knit watching the sun set into the distance.
Putting down her kit, Jon-o's mom stood up and said to him, "I am glad you made it home safely today. Pops' night for making dinner, he is stirring up some roast beef stew with corn we picked from the fields today."
Jon-o took off his red hat and decided to sit down in the chair right next to his mother and said, "You wouldn't believe all the mystical adventures I ran into today, I played in the corn fields and acted like I was in search for my friends which were lost out there."
"Friends you say?" said Jon-o's mother, "There is nobody out there that needs any type of assistance, out here in the farm land, everyone is perfectly safe and protected. In the world, everyone is safe and never gets lost, we live in a time where peace exists and there is no war."
"Really mother?" asked Jon-o, "No war at all? Then what is the explosions I hear at night and the yelling that you and father make in the middle of the night saying that the end is coming? Is it like what Grandma talks about when she comes over about the book of Revelation and the second coming?"
Jon-o's mother dropped her knitting supplies and said, "No! That is not true at all my dear, we are simply yelling because we are worried about this year's crop and Grandma is only saying what she is because she is getting old. There is a lot of misunderstandment and questions you must have, but let me tell you this Jon-o, you cannot dwell on so many different things. You see, you are very young, enjoy your childhood while you can, you are very blessed to be here and for you shall be for the days of your life. Do you understand?"
Walking over to the railing, Jon-o looked over at the setting sun and then back at his mother, "I guess I do, there are many strange things that I feel have been happing to me but apparently I cannot understand, I feel like that my brain is the same as you and father's, I feel like a grownup."
Sliding through the door was Jon-o's dog Spike who came up to him and looked up like he was very worried about him. As he looked down at Spike, Jon-o smiled and petted him on the head.
Before Jon-o's mother could say anything, a voice came inside from the house, "Dinner is ready everyone!" said Jon-o's father. Without anything else said, the two went inside and sat at the table.
Inside the dining room, the room was lit with candles and the blinds were opened to reflect the twilight glare of the setting sun which gave the whole room a very bright color. On the table for dinner was Jon-o's father's favorite dish, roast beef soup and corn where the meat came from a local farmer a couple of miles down and the corn was all home grown. Even though the table was fitted for eight people, there was only three at the table, and Spike sat down in the corner on his mat where he waited to see if any food was to be thrown to the ground below.
The family of three consisted of Jon-o's father, who was the cheese and corn producer in the community and also worked on many large farming equipment such as repairs. Jon-o's mother, was the one who took care of many business transactions and usually went into town to pick up supplies for the family. She was the one who always taught Jon-o because he was home schooled.
"So who wants to pray tonight?" asked Jon-o's father. After no one answered, he said, "Jon-o? Can you lead us?"
"OK." said Jon-o, "Dear lord, keep us safe God and I pray for those who are in need in the world and help them out. Amen."
"Good job Jon-o." said his father, and he asked, "I really think that we are going to produce a good crop this year, I can tell by the abundance of corn we have and the high demand for cheese, that things are going according to plan."
"Well righty do," said Jon-o's mother, "Today I went into town and checked out the things we could possibly sell next week for the fair and I thought that there would be a couple of things that might go quite well on the market."
"Aye." said Jon-o's father.
As the two were talking, Jon-o started to just look down at his soup and started to eat it not paying any attention what they had to say. Talk about farmland seem to really bore him and all he really cared about was the world that existed outside of Vermont. For he had no clue of what existed except from what his grandma had told him so a lot mystery loomed over what could and what couldn't be out there. If the world was filled with peace and happiness, couldn't there at least be so much safety that his mother would be able to share about the places that exist or was there another reason why she wasn't saying anything.
Looking over at Spike, Jon-o nodded his head and said, 'You know Spike, there are just times where I could just leave this all and disappear.'
Right then after he got done saying that, he blacked out as if it felt like a large rock hit him on the side of the head.

Eventually, Jon-o woke up in his bed where he leaned over and saw that the time was 9:00 AM in the morning. Not understanding at all what happened, he simply sat at the edge of his bed where he looked down to see Spike still what it seem to be sleeping on the ground.
"Spike." said Jon-o. "For some reason I ended up here not knowing how I got here."
Spike gave no response except moving his ears up, the doberman pincher was only just a ball of sleeping mass on the floor below.
Jumping onto the ground, Jon-o put on a shirt and walked into the hallway where he looked back and forth seeing if anything mysteriously changed. He had no idea on why he blacked out at the dinner table. One thing he had on his mind was to ask his parents exactly what happened to him. Stepping down the stairs and into the living room, Jon-o saw his father sitting down at the couch smoking a cigarette and watching television. Deciding to stand right next to him, Jon-o had no time to ask his father what was doing.
"Are you ready to go to the fair today to help us sell some corn and milk?" asked Jon-o's father. "Your mother has been prepping the booth all this morning, all we need to do is go down and give our helping hands and get the ball rolling."
Jon-o scratched his head and looked over at the wall where he was at a lost of words from what his dad said. Going to the fair seem like a really confusing task to him, but in the end, he just went along with going.
Following his father, they left the house and into the station wagon where they would drive off the farm and downtown to the county fair where every summer, all of the farmers gather and display their best crops.
Inside the car, Jon-o held his hands behind his head and looked outside the window as the corn fields were blowing in the wind. Behind Jon-o and his father was Spike in the wagon part with his mouth opened looking too and the passing crops as he was in awe from the ride itself.
Deciding it was a good time to ask his father, Jon-o said, "Father, do you remember what happened to me last night?"
"What do you mean son?" said Jon-o's father, "You were with us eating dinner and afterwards you went to bed."
"Bed you say? I believe that I blacked out for some reason, I ended up in my bed without knowing how I got there."
Still glaring out the window, Jon-o kept focus on the outside world and kept thinking too himself what could exactly exist out there and if there were things worth exploring, he wanted to see it.
"Father, I really don't understand." said Jon-o, "Last thing I really remember was that I said disappear..."
A loud bark came from the back of the car and before Jon-o could think of anything, the next thing that came into his vision was standing there at the county fair looking around with a box of corn in his hands.
Walking up to Jon-o was his father, "Hey Jon-o! Are you going to just hold that corn all day or what? We gotta get it over to the other side of the fair so they can start grilling and selling it!"
"What?" asked Jon-o, "Do you remember on how exactly we got here? I don't understand what is going on, one thing I saw was us driving in the car and the next thing that happened was me standing here with this corn."
"I don't understand what you are trying to say Jon-o, you drove with me to the fair and helped me take everything out." said his father, "I don't understand why you seem so confused about everything."
Looking down at the ground below him, he said, "You're right, I really don't understand myself father. If you don't mind, I am going to wonder off."
Jon-o's father took off his hat and nodded his head, "Go on ahead, I am going to keep the fort down. The carnival rides are always fun you know, go check those out."
Taking the advise that his father had, Jon-o made his way down the fairgrounds to explore what they had going on there.
There were all types of attractions at the fairgrounds such as a ferris wheel, a petting zoo, and all assortments of games. The summer heat of Vermont really started to show as the air felt like if one was to walk through hundreds of wet spider webs. People were dressed up in their usual attire such as white hats with glasses and a polo shirt.
"I wonder where I should go?" asked Jon-o, "So many things but I must choose wisely."
Deciding to check out the house of mirrors, Jon-o was filled with excitement as he wanted to see himself transform into a different shape and size from the distortion that the mirrors have. The building had a very carnival look to it as there was a large clown with rolling eyes on top the roof with mirrors reflecting off of his smile. Not scared from the weird clown, Jon-o went inside and started to explore around the mirror building. Located in the house of mirrors was basically what anyone expected to be located inside, a bunch of mirrors. Jon-o enjoyed himself as he went to one altering mirror to another. Sticking his tongue out, he liked messing around with how fat or skinny he got in size. After a good ten minutes, Jon-o sat cross-legged on the floor with his eyes glazed on his own image.
Closer and closer he got to the mirror and saw that his figure was slowly changing into a person he did not recognize. Jon-o decided to stand up and he put his face up to the reflection that didn't look like him at all, but an older man with brown hair and a 5 o'clock beard.
"Whoa." said Jon-o, "I didn't know these mirrors made me look so old and scruffy like that."
To his surprise, the person in the mirror spoke, "Disappear Jon-o! You must disappear! You are not safe here, you do not belong here."
Jon-o shook his head, "I don't understand what you are trying to say to me."
"Hold on my boy." said the older man, "The world outside awaits you."
"You still don't make any sense, what do you mean that I have to disappear?" After Jon-o said that, a sound of barking came from the distance.
The mirrored older person said, "Run Jon-o! The Dream Master is coming, he understands you are slowly finding your powers. Run!"
Shaking his head, he did not know what to do at all because he was in complete shock. Right before Jon-o, the glass mirror shattered and the person on the other side of the mirror vanished.
The barking became louder and louder and Jon-o only had one choice but to run as fast as he could because he was scared to death. Rushing past after person by person, he made his way out of the house of mirrors.
Outside, Jon-o ran past all the booths and the faster he ran, it seem like he was being lifted off of the ground. A throbbing pain sensation came into his head and Jon-o's sight slowly became distorted and black. Hopping one of the fences, Jon-o hobbled into the perimeter of the petting zoo where he fell to his knees and held his head.
"Oh wow my head hurts!" yelled Jon-o. Bark after bark, Jon-o clearly sensed that the dog scaled the fence and was standing right next to him. His sight slowly recovered and as he was able to open his eyes, Jon-o noticed it was his own dog Spike.
Now able to stand up, Jon-o was in relief to see his dog, "Spike! I am glad you are here. Protect me against what ever is trying to get me. I was in the house of mirrors where this man told me to disappear..."
Right before Jon-o could finish his sentence, his dog Spike lunged up and bit him on the arm pulling him down and not letting go.
Screaming in pain, Jon-o yelled, "Spike! What are you doing? You are hurting me!"
A deep voice came from Spike, "How many times must I tell you, do not utter the word disappear! Now you shall be an example to the community!"
All around the petting zoo, people gathered around the fence and started to laugh at Jon-o like if he was a spectacle to enjoy. Kicking Spike in the chest, he got him off of his arm and started to flee in fear.
"Help! Help me someone! This dog is trying to kill me. HELP!"
Jon-o tried to climb over the fence, but every time he attempted to do so, the people surrounding it pushed him off so he wouldn't escape.
Slowly, Jon-o became filled with fatigue and his sight slowly became clouded and foggy where he couldn't see. It was as if Spike was playing game with him so he was an example to the whole crowd.
Awkwardly stumbling around blind, Jon-o started to whisper to himself, "Disappear... Disappear... Disappear..."
Trying to say that, Jon-o felt Spike tackle him to the ground where all he could feel was excruciating pain all around him because Spike was biting him.
Now yelling the word disappear a lot, Jon-o kept fighting as he was barely hanging on until one instant it felt like Spike bit his neck and all became black and lifeless.
Instantly, Jon-o woke up in his bed breathing and sweating very heavily from what he thought was a bad nightmare he had. Grabbing himself all over, he looked for any traces of bite marks that could of possibly been made from his dog Spike. Not seeing that he was unscratched, Jon-o laid back on his pillow and said, "Phew... Only a bad dream."

There, after telling a long story, we were taking a break off the side of the road at an abandoned rest stop. Christina was looking forward outside the perimeter nodding her head with a very understanding look. Raising her finger, she said, "Seems like this character you tell me about appears to be one various carious young boy. How real did this dream seem to him, was it real?"
I reached into my pants where I pulled out my pocket watched and rested my foot on a rock where I looked off into the distance where all I saw was a mountain that was covered with trees as far the eye could see. "To him at the time, you could see that the boy was starting to gain a real consciousness of the world outside him. And when all of this started to happen, the concept of reality became more skewed and distorted. To myself, I really began to think how life was back then, how many years exactly did pass and how many times I have been reseted like that."
Christina took out a piece of jerky from her bag and started to chew on it. Offering a piece to me, I kindly declined because I am not the biggest fan of meat. There Christina looked over at me and said, "So Jon-o, I want to know more about this Dream Master guy called Spike who you think is your loving dog. What really doesn't make sense to me is that every time you are attacked, why don't you put together the pieces that something is clearly wrong in your life?"
A very smart question Christina asked, and the only thing I could respond with was, "Hey, take a seat Christina, I will continue on what happened next because it gets better you know. Clearly, seeing me here today, there is an ending to what happens, and still to this day I am surprised."
Christina slapped her knee and said to me with a very enthusiastic voice, "Shoot away! I am all ears."

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