Far away, that very night, there was pandemonium in the collective consciousness.
"We don't believe you!" shouted a disembodied voice in the darkness.
"But I saw her." a voice snarled back.
It was pitch blackness but everyone was aware of each others presence.
"Then why didn't you kill her, you worthless liar!"
"She got back to her body and woke up before I could."
"You let her get away? How worthless can you be?" Another hoarse voice called with putrid disdain.
"It's not as if I didn't try. Even I want to live like a flesher. They take their ability to live and breathe for granted. I would take all their lives for a single chance to truly live"
"Enough! You dare come before us to waste our time!"
This last voice was courser than the others.
The informant cowered as he listened hoping that the darkness would hide his fear but dream chasers were sensitive to fear even within their own kind.
"The course voice trembled with increasing anger, "We have waited for ages for the rise of our King. We can finally realize this desire and you failed to kill the one being prophesied to stop us. You are a complete disgrace. If it wasn't for our own pledge not to kill our own, I would devour you right now. Leave this place and don't appear before us again!"
To the others he commanded sternly and slowly, "Find her and kill her!"
Hundreds of dream chasers dashed off wildly leaving the dream.
The informant had to dip and dodge to avoid crossing another more powerful dream chaser. They may not kill their own but they can make it so a dream chaser can never enter another dream and that was a fate worse than death.
When they were all gone, he whispered to himself, "They don't know about the amulet she wears. I still have an advantage."
He attempted to disappear from the dream but couldn't. He tried several times but nothing was happening. His panic grew with each second. If he couldn't leave that means someone trapped him but who. Dream chasers were malicious but they knew each one, no matter how lowly, played a role in releasing this world for its human pests. He finally felt the sinister presence and saw a disfigured humanoid in the distance between the conscious and unconscious.
"A near-one. But why?" he wondered out loud.
It was non other than Scunta. He smirked wickedly in the darkness. Now, he too knew of Dari's amulet. He sealed the dream and returned to the conscious reality.
The trapped dream chaser slumped in the darkness. He could only leave and regain his power to enter and leave dreams if a dream chaser entered the subconsciousness of the same human and released him. However, They never meet in the same place twice. He wondered, not for the last time, if he would cease to exist with the eventual death of the old geezer whose dream his had used to call this meeting.
_________________________________________________
The next day, an uncanny atmosphere rested over a remote village to the west.
"I swear, I been having the strangest dream all this week" Puddock shared with two of his friends.
"Puddock, we are tired of your silly dreams." Dinger replied without looking up on him.
"You eat too late at night. That's why you keep dreaming crap," Fineek joked.
"I'm serious, man. I dreamed one time that a giant monster was rising from the sea, 'cept the sea was gone. Another time, I dreamed I was in a meeting wit monsters and they was planning to kill a girl..."
"Enough Puddock!" Dinger raised himself from the old stable that they were all leaning on. "Where's Twitch? I'm going to go find that lazy brute."
Dinger left Puddock and Fineek by the stable and headed down the street. They all lived in one of the villages on the outskirts of the city. Once a month the four old friends would meet to ride into the city. He was especially looking to today. He had met a woman on his last visit in the city and was excited to see her again. It was not easy to meet a pretty woman in his age group that was single and willing to spend time with a man. This was luck if he ever had any and Twitch was ruining his chance. It was just like Twitch to sleep late on an important day like this.
About half mile to Twitches house, he heard talk of some passers-by, "he died in his sleep I heard."
"He wasn't even that old," the woman gossiped. "Poor Enid."
Dinger did not know he was running until his sweat drenched body fell prostrate in front of Twitches door. The crowd by the door turned to look at him with pity. They knew they were close.
Dinger got up and bellowed, "Move!"
The crowd made a way for him and he squeezed his enormous body through Twitches little door and there he was. His friend was lying lifeless in his bed. Twitches wife Enid was sitting on the floor. Twitch was all she had left in this world.
At the sound of Dinger's entrance, Enid looked up with big teary eyes.
"He's gone, Dinger," she whispered before shouting. "He's gone!"
Dinger did not know what to do. He just stood in shock by the door.
He was close enough to hear one of the neighbour's whisper, "The doctor came. He couldn't tell what killed him."
"He might 'a' been old but he was way too strong to jis die in his sleep" another neighbour offered
"Same thing happened to my cuzin in Ryoka Village. She had only twelve cycles," added a young woman.
" He should a put water by his windows and doors," said an incredibly wrinkled old woman.
"How would that help?" asked someone annoyed.
The old woman was already gone.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Puddock and Fineek had rushed to Twitches house when a passerby told them about his death. At first they didn't believe but when they heard Endf's bawling, they knew it had to be true. By this time, the crowd had felt so guilty about bearing witness to Enid's breakdown that they left so she could grieve as loudly as she wanted. They walked in to see Enid sobbing violently on the floor in Dinger's arms. He looked lost to the world but he held her. Twitch was like a brother to him and Enid, like a sister.
Pudduck tried to call to the pair but both seemed lost to the world. Fineek lifted Enid from the floor and took her to the day bed in the other room. He laid slender frame on the day bed and she immediately burried her face in the closest cusion.
"Enid," he started with sorrow in his voice.
Enid responded by tensing her whole body and screaming into the cushion as she squeezed both sides till her hands darkened. Puddock backtracked into the bedroom where his friends were. Maybe she it was best that she be alone right now. He was never good at comforting women.
Fineek had gotten Dinger off the floor and they were both sitting on stools near the bed. Noone was speaking. Puddock took a seat on the bed beside his dead friend. The look of terror that was frozen on his face was unnerving. His eyes bulged open. Pudduck used one hand to close them before looking away.
"You could 'a' tol' us you didn't want ta go ta town, Twitch. You didn' a to go this far," Puddock was the first to speak.
Fineek looked up and forced a smile, "Wit' a name like you's, a shoulda known you was gonna go first."
The two men looked at each other when Dinger said, "And right when a foun' miself a woman."
Both Fineek and Puddock jumped up at the same time. " A woman!"
"Don' soun' so surprized," Dinger barked as he turned away a little self-conscious.
"You ol' basta'd. You been hol'ing out on your buddies?" Fineek accused.
"Is not like that, " Dinger defended. " Is just too early. I didn' wanna jinx it. Now my main fella is dead and..."
Dinger did not finish. He started to sob. Puddock had already walked back over to Twitch and held is cold hand growing stiff.
"We'll take care of your Enid for you," Puddock promised. "Gad kno'd you loved dat old gal."
When he said that, all three men looked at each other. They couldn't hear Enid crying anymore. They went to check on her and saw she was sleeping.
Dinger stood over her and brushed her hair and whispered, "You gon' be okay Enid. We here for you."
Her skin felt cold so he pulled up her blanket to tuck her in. She felt heavy. He searcher her face and there was no expression. Wait, she wasn't even breathing.
"Call zi docto'!" he screamed at the top of his longs. He looked at Fineek and Puddock. His eyes went glassy as they filled with tears and the howling in his heart contorted his aged face.
----------------------------------------------
When the doctor left with the coroner an hour and a half later.
"We had'nt had a double funeral in ages," Puddock drawled.
"Not the time," cautioned Fineek.
Dinger hadn't spoken a word since he realized she was dead. The doctor said they both died of a heart attack. Dinger was grieving over both losses. At the same time, he felt immense fear but he couldn't figure out why.