Day5
Underworlders
Ayumu looked to his right, looking at a figured in the shape of a human silhouetted into the background of his closet. A light amber glow shined near the mouth of the shadow.
“Is that you?” he asked.
“Do you believe me now?” he asked, moving forward to illuminated his face and then leaning onto the nightstand to the side of Ayumu’s bed.
“Yeah…,” he replied with hesitation, “but I’m still not totally convinced that this isn’t just a dream.” Ayumu sat up in his bed, only his body stayed planted on the pillow.
The man raised an eyebrow. “Well, you are in the dream world, my friend.”
“So I am dreaming?” He leaned forward, energetically.
“You said it, not me.” the man chuckled slightly, moving towards the door. “You up for some food?”
Ayumu got out of his bed, walking slowly over to the man. “I mean, what’s there to harm. It’s just a dream…”
The two moved through the door. The man looked to Ayumu. “You’re only partially right there.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Yes, you’re in the dream world, but you’re not dreaming in the sense that you’re experiencing something you have no control over…” The two of them walk down the stairs with swiftness, not making a sound. “But rather in another, separate, world. One that your mind goes to for rest.”
“I don’t think I understand…”
“I’ll explain when we get to the cafe.”
Ayumu and the man walked out of the house and into the night. A cool fall breeze fell moved through them, their hair waving in the wind. Ayumu looked to the man. “In my dreams, sometimes I can go from one place to another in an instant. Can we do that here too?”
The man looked back to Ayumu, taking a long puff of air from the cigarette that lay in his mouth. “Well, of course, we can.” In almost an instant, the two were standing in front of a cafe, a light shining down on them from the street lamp.
Ayumu almost felt like throwing up. It was almost surreal. He started to lean back and forth some before placing out his hand to lean on the stone wall in front of him. “I think I’m going to be sick,” he said.
Quickly, the man moved in, placing his hand on Ayumu’s back. “You don’t want to do that. Trust me.”
Ayumu tried to keep his guts from ejecting. He sat there for a few moments, crouching into a fetal position, his hand still resting on the textured surface. After a couple seconds, he looked up to the man, only one of his eyes open. “Why?” he asks, the words barely making it out of his mouth.
“There’s a couple reasons. The only one that’s important to you right now is that you’ll wake up in a mess of whatever food you ate this evening.
“You’re kidding,” Ayumu replied. He took in a breath and coughed a few times, now stepping up and using the wall beside him to guide him.
“Let’s take our seats, shall we?” He helped Ayumu up and walked through the two glass doors at the entrance of the building.
When the two of them took their seats, two glasses, filled to the brim with a clear liquid, appeared in front of them.
“What’s this?” asked Ayumu.
“That is a Lemon Lime soda,” said the man. “I figured the carbonation of the drink should help with your little episode there,” Ayumu looked at him for a few seconds. “... and plus, it tastes good.”
Ayumu chuckled a bit, picking up the glass in front of him and taking a sip from the glass. The drink was actually pretty cold and fizzed in his mouth for a bit before he swallowed it down. He put the glass back down on the table.
“That is very refreshing, as you stated.”
“I know, right? I love this drink.” the man took the glass and brought it up to his mouth. He lifted the bottom of his glass up high, and the liquid was practically swallowed into his mouth as if funneling into a drain. “Ahhhh!” he slouched back in his chair.
Ayumu got up from the table and bowed down to the man. “I’m sorry, by the way.”
The man eyed up Ayumu, curiously. “Why?”
“Last time we were here, I laughed at you and didn’t take this seriously. That’s why.”
“Please,” he said, taking his hand and placing it on Ayumu’s forehead, pushing him back to his seat. “I did the same thing when I was told for the first time.”
“Still, I feel bad.” he sat back into the cushion of the booth seat. “Well, I’m ready to listen this time.”
The man nodded, leaning forward into the table. “Ok, so where did we leave off,” he asked to himself. It took him a few moments to remember. “Ah, that’s right. The creatures feast off of our dreams. It sounds weird, I know, but it all has to do with energy.” he looked at the table, trying to think of the best way to explain it to Ayumu. “When you dream, your mind is reacting off of the energy in your body. It’s because of this energy that you have dreams.”
Ayumu picked up his glass of soda and took in a large gulp. “Mhmm..”
“That energy radiates off of you, like waves in a pool. The creatures, or Underworlders, see these waves and follow it to its source. That’s when the feast begins. They suck your mind dry of the energy, but…” he paused for a moment. “It’s not as easy as you think. Your mind will fight back with its willpower. You actually get to experience this fight, like the experience you had just last night.”
“So, a nightmare?”
“Exactly. A nightmare is essentially the fight between your mind and the Underworlder. Of course, you don’t get nightmares every night. Underworders usually tend to go to the most radiant energy source. With most people, their energy radiates at variable rates, depending on many different factors.”
“... And so my energy radiant was pretty high yesterday”
“Very high, indeed.” the man placed his hand up and out to his side. Within an instant, a bag of chips appeared in his hand. “You increased it by eating junk food before you went to bed. Your body reacted on that and your mind used that energy.”
Ayumu laid back in his chair some. “I think I understand.” he crossed his hands. “But there’s one thing I don’t understand.” he looked at the man in his eyes. “Why did you show up in my dream?”