Colin's posts

"Oh, I'm not." it replied.

"But my eyes have been opened." it told her.

"I am no longer content to stay in the shadows of the Order. I will NOT be subservient to them. I will not be denied what I WANT in life. Or... afterlife. Whatever one calls this." it muttered.

"She helped me see that." it continued.

"If not for her, I would have never realised what I was missing."

Aly was silent, and returned the embrace.

"I know, I know." she said, rubbing his back.

"But listen, we'll worry about that when the time comes." she told him.

"For now, you're feverish, and you're shaking." she continued.

"You need rest, medication, and fluids."

The creature responded by wrapping its fingers around her neck, but it wasn't squeezing. Not yet, anyway.

"Agony." it replied.

"The agony that people feel before they die is... intoxicating." it told her.

"Plus, I'm doing them a favour." it then went on.

"They're having the best dreams of their lives... and then they turn to nightmares... and when I eat them, they'll never have any of the dream again." it informed her.

"In a way, dying is a mercy for them, seeing as they'll never have that dream again, good OR bad." it said further.

That's when Hollie realised it; if this dream was eaten, she would never be able to dream about Juliusz again.

The creature was silent for a moment, as the man stood up as well.

"Hollie..." he said quietly.

"Hollie, let me help." he told her.

The creature seemed to laugh at this, before it lunged forward, faster than either of them could react to, and threw the man against one of the walls, cracking it slightly.

The man cried out in pain, as the creature looked at Hollie hungrily.

"You... you will be tasty." it said.

"You dream... your essence... the sweetest of wines..." it went on, as it reached forward and started to trace her chin with a gangly finger.

He sighed again.

"I know." he replied.

"But let's enjoy this while we can." he told her.

And so they did. They lost track of time, as they spent her dream together, and eventually, Hollie started to forget about the looming and inevitable threat.

However... just as she DID forget about it, that's when they heard it. A loud thumping and banging at the door. That's when the door was broken down, and a dark and shadowy figure stood there. It was bipedal, but it looked... almost feral and primal.

Again, the man sighed.

"I know why this is happening." he told her.

"I know why I'm here, and why this dream is happening." he continued. Hollie guessed that this was because she was having a lucid dream. He was aware of what was happening, and what was going on, and such.

But he didn't seem to be too bothered by it.

"Please. Have faith in your friends." he told her, gently placing a hand against her cheek.

"And know that the real me is watching you from up above."

The man wrapped his arms around her in response, and held her close.

"Yes, Hollie, it's me." he said.

"...well, not really." he then lamented with a small sigh.

"I'm nothing more than a figment of your memory, brought to life by your subconscious." he went on, loosening the embrace and meeting her eyes.

"But for now? I'm as real as anything around you." he told her, leaning in and giving her a kiss on her lips.

"And I've missed you."

Chronos accepted the pouch, before going over to Hollie. He withdrew another pouch from his pocket, and opened it, letting some special glittering sand fall from it, dancing around Hollie's face, and seemingly seeping into her head.

"Now..." he said.

"Just let your subconscious take over." he told her.

"Let your mind show you what you want to see-" he continued, before his voice became muted and distorted, quickly turning to silence, as blackness surrounded her.

"...llie... Hollie?" she then heard in an almost ethereal voice, before she opened her eyes.

When she did, she found herself in a cabin-like building. It was made of wooden logs, and decorated like it was a mountain retreat of sorts. The snow falling outside the nearby window, and the roaring fire even closer towards her helped confirm that suspicion.

"Did you nod off again?" she then heard a warm and very familiar voice ask her with a small chuckle.

Chronos, Leo, and Sierra followed, with Chronos bringing up the rear and closing the door behind them, causing it to disappear into thin air afterwards.

"First, you need to get comfortable." Chronos told her.

"Once you are, I will administer special sand to you." he went on. "This sand is specially designed to make you fall asleep immediately, and will cause you to have the best dream your subconscious can imagine up." he continued.

"This kind of dream is the sweetest of bait for a somnovore. It will enter your dream, and when it does, there will be a distinct tonal shift in your dream." he went on.

"I will be monitoring this, and once I detect it, I will have Leonard enter your dream, and bring the banshee along with him." he continued, before handing a VERY small bag to Sierra.

"Dust yourself with this." he instructed her. "It will allow Leonard to pull you into the dream realm with him." he said further, before looking back towards Hollie.

"Once they're inside, the banshee will deal with the somnovore, and Leonard will be there to make sure things don't get TOO out of hand, and essentially protect you from being collateral damage." he finished.

"I can get anywhere." Chronos replied.

"It's true." Leo replied. "There's nowhere in this realm or the afterlife that he can't get to." he confirmed.

"...technically speaking, I DO have the capabilities to reach further beyond, but... well, out there are horrors that would keep ME up at night." Chronos then admitted, before coughing lightly and causing a door to form on the wall.

"This will lead straight to Hal Sharp's house." he declared.

"Good luck..." Hal said to Hollie, Sierra, and Leo.

Hal returned the embrace, and when she pulled back, she saw the pain in his eyes.

".....I know." was all he said.

"I will." he told her, pain in his tone as well. It was slight, but Hollie could tell it was there.

"All right then." Chronos said, clapping his hands together.

"If everything's settled, then let's get to work." he commented.

Leo just sighed, and made his way towards Hollie.

"I'm sorry it has to come to this." he apologised to her.

Aly placed her palm on Eke's cheek, genrly cupping it, but didn't force him to look at her. Instead, she merely leaned in and gave him a light kiss on his other cheek.

"I will." she said.

"I promise." she whispered.

"I love you, Eke." she then said.

"Always remember that. No matter what, I'll always love you."

"You will be expected to sleep." Chronos responded.

"And your dream... and you, yourself, by extension, will be used as bait." he said.

"You'll get to choose your dream, and it will be a lucid dream. Leo will make sure of it." he continued.

"Your dream will be interrupted by the somnovore, which is when these two will interject." he went on, gesturing to Leo and Sierra.

"Just... let them do their thing." he finished.

Hal just sighed deeply when Hollie said what she did.

"I see." he said.

"Then there's no changing your mind." he lamented.

"Where do want to do this?" Leo asked her.

"At the very least, you should be somewhere comfortable, where you feel safe." he said further.

"....if it's better for her to remain here in San Diego, then she can use my home." Hal interjected.