A Dreaming Journey

Gabrielle slid down the hill, saber in her hand. A pair of troiks who had been running past stopped to face her. The brown skinned beasts had tulwars drawn and ready. She charged the left-hand one. It tried a clumsy riposte, but she slid under its guard and disemboweled it. The second made a wild swing in an effort to smash her. She easily dived under it, slashing its belly. She got up from the dust and wiped her blade off on the beast. She felt euphoria as she always did after a successful battle.

* * *

Andrea woke with a start. She felt sweat drip from her forehead. It had felt so real, the dream. ‘Was it real?’ She slid her hands along the folds of her blanket. Her eyes wondered along the line of the walls. Everything looked the same. She sighed and lay back down to sleep.

The next morning she went to her office as usual. She spent the balance of the morning with paperwork. At 10 she went to the planning meeting with the rest of her group. As usual Mr. Foster, the planning director, droned on in his utterly bland voice. Andrea felt herself bobbing off.

* * *

Gabrielle started awake from the mass of straw that served as her bed. She groaned and put a hand to her head, "Damn, what a dream." She looked out over the countryside. The farmer’s wagon trundled at a prosaic speed. Seeing woods approaching to her left she leaped off the wagon and sprinted for the trees.

She entered the trees along a hunter’s path. She estimated it would take about three days to reach the swamp. A brief rustle stopped her in her tracks. ‘Come on scum! I’m ready for you.’ In a burst of leaves three troiks jumped up around her.

Gabrielle leaped back, trying to give herself distance. The three monsters didn’t give her the opportunity. She was able to block their strikes, but they attacked too fast for her to strike back.

One of the troiks gasped in shock, blood poring from its mouth. The right-hand troik spun around, the third distracted. Gabrielle took advantage to stab it to the heart. The last troik was cut down at the same time. Gabrielle look past it to see her two friends Donnor and Frund standing there. "About time you guys showed up."

Donnor, the taller and more personable, said, "But we did get here. You weren’t in any danger."

"Don’t think that let’s you off the hook. We were hired for a job and it’s bad form for you to show up late."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

* * *

"Andrea!"

Her head shot up in surprise. Everyone in the room was staring at her. "Wha-?"

"Are you all right?" The speaker was Mr. Foster.

"Oh, I’m sorry. I must have nodded off."

"Please Ms Lone, it is your obligation to get enough rest at night."

Her friend Sara sat across from her and gave her a small smile. Andrea said in a guardedly mocking tone, "Of course Mr. Foster. I understand."

Later that afternoon the two women sat at lunch. Sara asked her, "What happened to you? You usually are able to stay awake in spite of Mr. Sleeping Pill."

"Did I say anything?" She had an absurd idea that she was becoming delirious.

"No, it’s just that he had to yell several times to wake you up."

"That’s odd."

"What’s the matter girl? Why are you so sleepy all of the sudden?"