Story: Oneiromancy, XX

(Part O , XIX , XXI)

It was a timeless fall across the Dreamline. The patterns became hypnotic after a while, and it was only the touch of Helen's hand in his that kept Stanley from drifting off into a total reverie. Swirls and clouds, ribbons and storms. What strange phenomena might all the colours represent, if they represented anything at all?

Helen knew, as they plummeted, that it might go on forever. There might be no floor to eventually reach, just a huge empty void. 'Empty void': A ludicrous thing to say, she thought, as if there were any voids that weren't empty. Gripping on to Stanley, she watched the alternative world all around them, and thought about her body, as far away as it was and yet just a moment away.

Splat.

They found themselves in a shallow sea of water, stretching as far as their eyes could see. Standing upright, Stanley could breathe fairly easily, while Helen had to tilt her head back just to stop from getting a mouthful of water.

"What do you think?" Stanley asked of his companion.

"It could be anything, but if I had to guess then we're far enough away from our hostile friend that we're beginning to influence it ourselves. This is our own unconscious at work." Helen tried to sound confident at her own baseless speculation.

"Or it could be her work."

"Yes, it could be her work. She's starting to remind me of my Aunt Mabel. She was barmy and collected Austrian Polka records."

Stanley smiled, while trying to not take a mouthful of water. "Sounds like my uncle Edwin. He liked jazz, but he wouldn't try to kill us or trap us in that cage."

"There's something over there in the distance. Do you fancy a swim?"

The two paddled to the 'something in the distance', which turned out to be a faintly familiar island. On the beach, scrawled in the sand, was the long ago missed message: "Help me."

Stanley and Helen looked at each other apprehensively. Was it possible that they weren't the only ones loose and hunted in the Dreamline after all?

More? Of course!