Dream - What Starts With "Megan" and Ends With "Charlotte"
I've been waiting a while for this.
I was in one of [hmmm-hmm-hm]'s drama classes taking notes in the back of the auditorium when something walked through the lattice-brick walls, pushing a baby carriage. It walked up to me and said, "The babies are yours. They're twins."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Megan." It hardly looked like any "Megan"s I knew, or anyone else I knew, for that matter. I looked down at the sheets. The babies were both deformed; one had a completely circular head and the other's was diamond-shaped.
"Those aren't mine."
"But they are, I have chosen you...it doesn't matter anyway, they are going to find you in the next minute and lock you up."
"Where?" But Megan had vanished, along with the babies and carriage.
"Excuse me," [hmmm-hmm-hm] interjected. I looked back at the class, most of which was staring at me. Both sets of doors opened and janitors poured in, making a bee-line for me. Three or so were enough to subdue me.
"Where are you taking me?" I yelled at the janitors.
"The Cage!" They blindfolded me, spun me around, and carried me off, and eventually dropped me into something that echoed. When I opened my eyes, I understood that they were being honest, though I couldn't tell from which side they had dropped me in, since each face of the cube felt like 'down' once I put my feet on it. There were bars on all six sides of the decently-sized cube, and beyond, all I could see were concrete walls. I also saw someone else on the floor, "R's'.
"Hey, what's goin' on?" I asked. "How long have you been here?"
"Time's not really a good way of measuring a stay in the cage," she said.
"Oh. Well...how are you planning on getting out?"
"The tricky thing in here is that every way to move is opposite from normal, you know. So, jump up, and the cage moves down, fall down, and the cage moves up. It'll pro'ly be easier to get out now. The joints in the concrete cross over there," she said, pointing 'down' from where she was standing. "I think if we jump up, then the whole thing will sink down, and if you grab onto the bars on top, then I'll have enough time to push the spot. Then we'll see what happens."
We practiced a couple of times, and finally figured out the choreography. When "R's'" touched the spot, the junction moved across the "base", "up" one of the "sides", and centered itself at the "top". From there, the four corners of the "ceiling" split open to show gray daylight. We both fell on the "floor", and the cage rose out of the chamber, and split open. We stood overlooking trees, a town, and farmland way below. We walked around the perimeter, but there was no way down. On one side of the platform was a narrow ladder that was attached somewhere above. We climbed.
When I could barely see the cube through the layers of clouds, I reached up and found that I was holding onto the edge of another platform.
"Find her. She knows."
"OK, who is "She"?" I yelled back toward the direction of the voice. "R's'" climbed up behind me. I followed her through the door on the far side of the platform, which led to a catwalk. I assumed it would be dark on the other side, but it was bright, and crowded.
The catwalk stretched into the distance, but at the far side, it connected with ramps that led up into what looked like a shopping mall. People on the upper floors were busy looking at racks of clothes, displays of long, colorful vacuum tubes, and grocery products. Rigth in front of me, though, was "David".
"Can I get around you?"
"No," "David" said.
"Well, I need to."
"No."
"Why are you doing this, "David"?"
"Zeke told me to."
I finally climbed over "David", and sprinted toward the landing, picking up candy bars along the way. The aisles were packed, mostly with strangers. My middle school librarian stopped me to ask why I had been accepted to Governor's Scholars while more deserving people hadn't been. I told her that all of the people she had mentioned hadn't turned in an application.
"I'm looking for her," "Mason. K" muttered, walking behind me toward the dairy section. I broke off my conversation with the librarian, realizing what he was talking about. I caught up with him several levels up and ran into the last room in the building. It was dark, but the light from the door was enough to show that there were several people inside. One was standing and the rest were sitting on the floor, writing something.
"You're about two minutes late, Stephan. But I don't mind starting over." The speaker came to the entrance. She was wearing a hooded cloak, but I instantly realized that it was "Charlotte".
"Oh, Charlotte, hey."
"That's not my name. I'm Moody Ye. You have twenty minutes to answer my question, and you don't need a calculator. What do things that spins, things that swim, and things that float have in common?"
"Circles," I thought. But it was over before I could speak.
I was in one of [hmmm-hmm-hm]'s drama classes taking notes in the back of the auditorium when something walked through the lattice-brick walls, pushing a baby carriage. It walked up to me and said, "The babies are yours. They're twins."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Megan." It hardly looked like any "Megan"s I knew, or anyone else I knew, for that matter. I looked down at the sheets. The babies were both deformed; one had a completely circular head and the other's was diamond-shaped.
"Those aren't mine."
"But they are, I have chosen you...it doesn't matter anyway, they are going to find you in the next minute and lock you up."
"Where?" But Megan had vanished, along with the babies and carriage.
"Excuse me," [hmmm-hmm-hm] interjected. I looked back at the class, most of which was staring at me. Both sets of doors opened and janitors poured in, making a bee-line for me. Three or so were enough to subdue me.
"Where are you taking me?" I yelled at the janitors.
"The Cage!" They blindfolded me, spun me around, and carried me off, and eventually dropped me into something that echoed. When I opened my eyes, I understood that they were being honest, though I couldn't tell from which side they had dropped me in, since each face of the cube felt like 'down' once I put my feet on it. There were bars on all six sides of the decently-sized cube, and beyond, all I could see were concrete walls. I also saw someone else on the floor, "R's'.
"Hey, what's goin' on?" I asked. "How long have you been here?"
"Time's not really a good way of measuring a stay in the cage," she said.
"Oh. Well...how are you planning on getting out?"
"The tricky thing in here is that every way to move is opposite from normal, you know. So, jump up, and the cage moves down, fall down, and the cage moves up. It'll pro'ly be easier to get out now. The joints in the concrete cross over there," she said, pointing 'down' from where she was standing. "I think if we jump up, then the whole thing will sink down, and if you grab onto the bars on top, then I'll have enough time to push the spot. Then we'll see what happens."
We practiced a couple of times, and finally figured out the choreography. When "R's'" touched the spot, the junction moved across the "base", "up" one of the "sides", and centered itself at the "top". From there, the four corners of the "ceiling" split open to show gray daylight. We both fell on the "floor", and the cage rose out of the chamber, and split open. We stood overlooking trees, a town, and farmland way below. We walked around the perimeter, but there was no way down. On one side of the platform was a narrow ladder that was attached somewhere above. We climbed.
When I could barely see the cube through the layers of clouds, I reached up and found that I was holding onto the edge of another platform.
"Find her. She knows."
"OK, who is "She"?" I yelled back toward the direction of the voice. "R's'" climbed up behind me. I followed her through the door on the far side of the platform, which led to a catwalk. I assumed it would be dark on the other side, but it was bright, and crowded.
The catwalk stretched into the distance, but at the far side, it connected with ramps that led up into what looked like a shopping mall. People on the upper floors were busy looking at racks of clothes, displays of long, colorful vacuum tubes, and grocery products. Rigth in front of me, though, was "David".
"Can I get around you?"
"No," "David" said.
"Well, I need to."
"No."
"Why are you doing this, "David"?"
"Zeke told me to."
I finally climbed over "David", and sprinted toward the landing, picking up candy bars along the way. The aisles were packed, mostly with strangers. My middle school librarian stopped me to ask why I had been accepted to Governor's Scholars while more deserving people hadn't been. I told her that all of the people she had mentioned hadn't turned in an application.
"I'm looking for her," "Mason. K" muttered, walking behind me toward the dairy section. I broke off my conversation with the librarian, realizing what he was talking about. I caught up with him several levels up and ran into the last room in the building. It was dark, but the light from the door was enough to show that there were several people inside. One was standing and the rest were sitting on the floor, writing something.
"You're about two minutes late, Stephan. But I don't mind starting over." The speaker came to the entrance. She was wearing a hooded cloak, but I instantly realized that it was "Charlotte".
"Oh, Charlotte, hey."
"That's not my name. I'm Moody Ye. You have twenty minutes to answer my question, and you don't need a calculator. What do things that spins, things that swim, and things that float have in common?"
"Circles," I thought. But it was over before I could speak.