The Drifter

Dream 7/30/2015

I want to make some extra money so I look for a second job.

I start working at a store that sells sports equipment. I know some of the other employees from school. The job isn't too hard but some of the other employees laugh at me for my lack of sports knowledge. At the end of my first day, I tell the manager, a sweet old lady, that I won't be coming back as an employee.

When leaving, I see limousines and paparazzi spilling into the parking lot. I see many famous people. I think I see Gene Simmons, from KISS. They enter the store that I just left. Part of me wishes I had put off quitting until later.

I then get a job at a clothing store. I work there for a while but there is too much heavy lifting. So once again, I quit.

I join a Basic Algebra class. I never did well at math but I want a second chance at it. I notice everyone around me cheating left and right. I tune in to hear their answers but then I have a thought. If I depend on them now, I'll never be able to depend on myself. Dream ends.

I wake up.

"Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul." -Douglas MacArthur

Redding, California

Dream 7/28/2015

My mom gets remarried to Bill Johnson, the pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, CA.

      I move to Redding. They live in a nice house and he treats her well. I go to a night service at the church. I see Bill. His hair has grown very long so now he keeps it in a pony tail. It hits me that he is my stepdad. I have a seat about three rows back on the right side of the auditorium. I sit next to a few jokesters.

     The worship service begins. Suddenly, I am holding a Fender Telecaster. I start to play it and notice the sound coming through the church speakers. The guys next to me take the guitar and start messing with the band on stage. I move a row back and sit next to a guy named Robert Graff.

     When the service ends, I need a ride back to my stepdads office. Robert offers to give me a ride. As I sit in his car, I notice that he looks like a blind man. He tells me that he is. How is he driving a car? We're going the wrong way. I ask him where he's taking me. He thought I wanted to go to London Town. I correct him and he takes me back to Bill Johnson's house.

I mention to a lady in the house that Robert Graff gave me a ride home. She looks confused.

"Robert Graff is dead," she says. "He's been dead for years."
"Are you sure?"
"I can show you where he's buried."

I am in shock.

     I am asked to help some of the churchgoers build a deck and some diving boards for the lake. On the way to the lake, I am met by a young, black boy. Their is something familiar about him. He tells me that his name is Robert Graff. Maybe he's just a ghost who needs a friend, like Casper.

     We make it to the lake. Much of the work is already done. We relax and have fun under the summer sun. I climb to the high dive where everyone is hanging out. It's really just a wooden dock ten feet in the air. One by one people take turns jumping into the lake. I love living in this town. Dream ends.

I wake up

Behind The Chaos

Dream 7/26/2015

My mom, both my sisters and I are at a football game but we're all sitting in different areas.

     I see a friend of mine, Seth, and I go down to sit with him. My brother is playing in the game and at one point scored more points than all the other players. My family is proud of him.

     Suddenly, all of the stands and bleachers begin to collapse. I watch as the crowds of people disperse in every direction. Chaos ensues. I search quickly for my family members. I find my mom and one of my sisters, but Kristen, the other sister is still missing.

     We stop by the gift shop. I tell my mom, "at least my brother had a good moment," I hold in my hands a t-shirt with my brothers face on it and the score that he accumulated during the game. In the sky, near the field is a spaceship. I know that it's behind the chaos. I wonder if that is where my sister is being held. I fly up to the ship. I search it but I don't find her. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Hocus Pocus

Dream 7/23/2015

I am watching a magic show on TV.

     Two people stand on a stage, the magician and his assistant. The magician announces his next trick. He then presumes to grapple the assistant's neck. They wrestle on stage. Then, out of nowhere, the magician rips the assistant's head from his body. I am in shock and have a strong feeling of fear. The assistant then grows another head in a matter of seconds. Dream ends

I wake up.

Highway To Hell

Dream 7/21/2015

My friends and I are relaxing in a green field on Halloween.

     A beautiful but strange lady comes out of nowhere and asks for two volunteers for a dangerous mission. She makes it sound like we are running guns. She asks each of us if we are fans of AC/DC. She picks my friend, Jordan, and me. Jordan is the leader of the dangerous mission. Our assignment is to sell illegal copies of AC/DC's album, "Highway To Hell."

     We jump into a school bus and drive down the road to where my Jeep Wrangler is parked. Jordan drops me off. He then drives through a small pond to get to the parking lot on the other side. I meet him over there. We sell the albums to a group of kids.

     Jordan tells me to take my Jeep and get back to the lady as fast as I can. I take off. I get onto the highway but discover I am on the wrong side of the road. I quickly correct my mistake. I make it back to the green field.

     When Jordan returns, the lady pays us. She pays Jordan $100,000. She pays me a stack of food stamps. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Rebel Rebel

Dream 7/20/2015

My senior class takes a field trip to the middle east.

     Many schools have come from America to watch David Bowie perform. Hundreds of kids pile into the auditorium. I notice everyone holding a paper. I ask a friend what it is. They tell me that it is the ticket to get into the concert. I don't have one. I panic. I stand close to a group of people and sneak in. The chairs are full and many of us have to stand in the back. David Bowie performs.

     After we leave the auditorium, we head toward the Titanic, a ship in the harbor where we will take a guided tour. When we get there, a gentleman tells us that the tour is cancelled but we can stand in one room of the ship just so that we can say we did.

     After we leave the Titanic, every one of my classmates disappears. I find myself alone in a strange country. I notice many Islamic men giving me the stare of death. One of them tries to shoot me with an automatic rifle. I find a gun. I shoot back and kill him. The moral argument plays through my mind; Is it wrong to kill in defense or should I just let them murder me. I eventually throw the rule book out the window and walk around shooting anyone who seems like they want to do me harm. Dream ends.

I wake up.

The Rooftop

Dream 7/14/2015

I am given a job at my school to walk the rooftop and watch for pirates in the distance.

     I walk on one side of the roof and follow the edge all the way around. The roof is shaped like a horseshoe. Some of my friends join me in the walk. It becomes clear to me that the roof has become a storage area for the school. There is stuff everywhere.

     We wander over to one of the more lonely parts of the roof and find an elevator. We don't remember an elevator in our school. Just past the elevator is a door, kind of hidden, kind of not. You could find it if you were looking. We open it. We walk through. We come to a section of the roof that hasn't been touched for years but just like the other side, it is full of stuff. Stuff from years ago. We find a beautiful leather sectional pushed up against the wall, a pole with endless Halloween costumes strung across, strange machines that make lemonade in odd ways. We even find a canopy with gold and diamonds and rare jewels hidden away. I think that this section of the roof belonged to the senior class years ago and its been forgotten.

     On the other side of the roof, the normal not-so secret side, we find hidden in the corner many molotov cocktails. My friends and I get a sneaking suspician that the pirates have been here before and they have stashed weapons for the war. A noise catches our attention. A pirate ship is docking next to the roof. The ship is full of battle-thirsty men ready to kill. I tell my friends to grab the cocktails and light them. Before the ship is completely docked, we launch the molotovs into the boat. The men have nowhere to run. If they jump they will die. If they stay they will die. I guess you can figure out the outcome.

     We win the battle over the pirates. Perhaps they were coming for that secret stashed treasure over in the old senior wing. We celebrate. My friend, Tim, tries out one of the those strange lemonade machines. He follows the instructions. He takes a clear glass bowl, and puts it under the first spout and some ice falls into it. The second spout drops sugar, the third must be flavoring or something and finally the fourth is lemonade. I don't want to try it because it's been there for years, everything in it is old but Tim tries it and is pleased. Another friend, Kelso, comes over and tries it and likes it as well.

     My shift is over for the day. As we head for the exit, Tim finds a fridge full of drinks. I look at the expiration date for a Mountain Dew. It's only a few months old. Have at it, Tim. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Cult Fiction

Dream 6/13/2015

My mom and I take a drive into town. We lose track of time. We find ourselves in Chicago five hours away from where we started.

We search for the Willis Tower.

We end up in a room with many familiar faces: People we’ve known much of our lives--from church, from school etc. They are holding a christian conference.

 One issue with this location is it’s problem with tarantulas. Every now and then you’ll find one crawling on the floor below you, someone will scream across the room and you figure they found a big, hairy friend. A small Asian boy sees one and tries to pick it up. He gets bitten and let’s out a scream. 

The leader of the conference asks us to split off into groups for discussion. I end up in a group that I don’t care for.

Within a matter of seconds, the conference turns from a good-hearted, christian conference into a macabre, Occultish meeting of horrors. The leader (who looks suspiciously like Meryl Streep) is now in the crowd and her daughter (looks like Rachel McAdams) has taken the reigns up front. 

In a chant-like way, the mother says, “I don’t know where the children are but I’m sure you do,” pointing at her daughter. Streep let’s out a series of “whoos.” Some are longer (Whoo-hoo) and some are short (Whoo). Cheering and applauding, she screams out, “I just got married to a man yesterday,” and then she turns to where nobody can see her face, when she turns back, her face is old, as if it has aged thirty years. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Monster

Nightmare 4/8/2015

My friends and I come to school on a Saturday.

     We hang out and play games together. Their is about ten of us. A guy from our school is here. We didn't invite him. We think he's weird. His name is Joe. He tries to hang out with us at times during the day and other times he wonders off by himself. Every once in a while we can hear him down the halls talking to himself.

     Joe walks into the room that we are hanging out in. He demands out attention. He tells us that at 6:00 PM he is going to murder every one of us. Then he exits the room. His statement surprises us but Joe's a weird guy, it's what you'd expect from a weird guy. As the day goes on, Joe reminds us several more times about our fate at six o'clock. We become uneasy about him. It wasn't just an offhanded comment, he really is going to do something. All of us try to leave the school but the doors won't budge. We try all of them. The windows won't open either. It's as if a spell has been cast over the school and we have no say in the matter.

     Six o'clock is approaching fast and we feel that we have to do something about Joe. We find a pair of handcuffs and throw them around Joe's wrists. I start to feel uncomfortable about the situation. Joe is too calm. It scares me. I make a call to my sister. She comes and opens one of the windows. I climb out. We leave the area. Many of the others call people and inform them of the situation. Lots of people come to the school but not before six o'clock happens.

     All I know is what I hear through the grapevine. Four people dead. Two of them were good friends of mine. Their bodies, unrecognizable. They didn't even look human when he was done with them. He did it with his mouth. Dream ends.

I wake up

Misery Loves Company

Dream 4/7/2015

My family and I go on vacation to West Virginia, only it looks more like Dubai in the U.A.E.

     I see many tall skyscrapers and lots of fun things to do. We decide to live here. My cousin DJ lives with us. We get by in a humble mobile home. One of our next door neighbors has a 747 Jet. The ceiling is missing from it. We watch him take off, knocking down trees with the wings. He takes people up into the sky, barely strapped in. It gives you a feeling of no gravity. He takes me up free of charge. The adrenaline rush is intense.

     When we land, my family is missing. I search for them. I find my cousin, DJ, floating on a raft in a hidden river, a stale look on his face. He takes me back to where my family has been living for months. Was I up in the plane that long? Upstream is a shell of a house. Another mobile home. I walk into a dark space. My family is shaking, most of them in a fetal position rocking back and forth, half starved. They look miserable. What happened to them? My mind wonders but I can't find any answers. Dream ends.

I wake up.

The Dropout

Dream 4/2/2015

I drop out of school. Now, my friend Garrek and me are home schooled by a strange lady.

     She shows us a stairwell that leads ten stories down into the earth. She tells us to go down and dig out ten large rooms into the earth. Garrek says he's not doing it. I won't either. Besides, it's haunted down there.

     I go home. My backyard is filled with exotic animals; Gorillas, lions, tigers, bears, oh my! My family is sitting around these animals as if they are tame. A tiger walks up to us. He acts aggressive. I wrestle him but it's no use. He goes after my family. I run inside to get a revolver. I run back out and shoot the animal dead but it's too late. My family is dead.

     I run out to the road and call the police. I struggle through my words but somehow get them out. The man on the other line says he is a talk radio host and that he knows who I am. I walk down the road a ways and see a large 'Acquire the Fire' Bus in a field. Apparently, Ron Luce and his family are my neighbors. He invites me into his family. I now have forty brothers and sisters.

     The children keep getting murdered one by one but no one knows by whom. One day, I walk into the bathroom and find one of the girls dead and one of the boys wiping blood from his hand. A nonchalant look on his face. I know who the killer is. I live my life with caution, not to cause the killer any suspicion, after all, I don't want to be next. I eventually tell the mom. Everything goes haywire.

     While a bunch of the kids are playing around that large stairwell that leads ten stories into the earth, the killer pushes three of the other boys in. They fall ten stories. The bottom is filled with water. I jump down into it. I pull the guys from the water. One of them is alright but the other two need medical attention. I start to pray for them in an authoritative manner, commanding their injuries to be healed. They come to. They are alright. We climb the staircase to the top. The killer is trying to close us in with a large covering. We make it out. We fight him. I take out my revolver and shoot. He falls over the edge and ten stories down. I don't want to take any chances that he'll come back in the sequel. I unload my gun on his downed body. Blood mixes in with the water making it a muddy, pink color.

     The family is happy again. We play instruments on a roof top until the mom says it's time for bed. We all run to our house, which is situated inside a large clothing store. I find a pair of shoes that are Coca-Cola brand. They're tennis shoes that run halfway up your leg. I run toward the house. Dream ends

I wake up.

The Office: After Hours

Dream 3/25/2015

Michael is sitting in his dark office, after hours.

     All the lights of the office are down. He gets excited, picks up the phone and calls Pam. She picks up. Michael asks her how to see the Moon Lady. She tells him he has to open up all the window blinds and let the light from the moon inside. He follows her instructions.

     The door opens. Pam, Jim, Andy, Erin, Dwight, and Angela walk in. They just got back from having drinks. All of them crowd around Pam's desk to watch her play Solitaire. The rest of the office workers come in for a late night work shift.

     A lady from corporate shows up. She starts yelling at Michael. He tells her he loves her. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Sex and Things

Dream 3/22/2015

My family and me are walking through a store before church.

     We get into a disagreement. They say something like you don't deserve to go to church. They leave me at the store. I tell the cashier that my family left me and then I leave myself.

     I go down to a camp. It's mixed genders and ages. I start dating three girls at the same time. One I think is brunette, another is tall and has red hair, a bit on the quirky side. The last one has dark, blonde hair, she defines the word 'sexy.' Beautiful, she moves slow and cool like a wild cat on a hunt.

     I walk into one of the cabin bedrooms and there she is waiting for me. The blonde lies on the bed naked. Her bare breasts staring back at me, her bottom half covered up by the blanket. I crawl into bed with her. We kiss. We do things that you're not allowed to do at camp.

     Later that day, the leadership of the camp is in an uproar at how all the campers are having sex with each other. They hold a meeting at the cafeteria. I pass my old friend Adam on the way. He very proudly says he convinced them of just giving him fifteen minutes in detention. Once I get into the cafeteria, I find my lawyer, a thirteen year old kid. I ask him where we can meet. He says at the flower shop. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Clean Side

Dream 3/21/2015

I'm spending the day at my aunts house.

     Everyone is here. Everywhere you walk, there are people. I suddenly get the urge to clean my aunts house. I ask my cousin, Wendy, if she can get me some cleaning supplies. I follow her into the house where more of my cousins are. While I wait for her to bring the supplies, my other cousin, Danny, who lives here, asks me if he can watch the game on TV. I tell him that it's his house and he can do whatever he wants. He turns on the Cubs game. Wendy returns with the supplies. I thank her.

     I walk to the front of the house which looks out to a beautiful lake. I start cleaning the front window panels. Each panel of glass is mixed with a picture. There are many of them. I find one of me. When I am finished, I walk to the front porch where it seems everyone is hanging out. My mom is making a birthday cake for someone. My friend Jack is helping. Jack is on house arrest so every five minutes he has to run back to the house so that the police don't show up. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Ice Cold

Dream 3/20/2015

My friends and me are playing a pickup game of Ice Hockey.

     Thousands of people have come to watch. Instead of playing with hockey sticks, we're playing with axes. By the end of the second period, my team is ahead 8-4.

     Right before the third and final period begins, my friends on the team, the good players, wave goodbye and say they other obligations at this time. They are replaced by less than mediocre players.

We start to lose the game. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Beer Run

Dream 3/18/2015

I'm having a get together at my house.

My sisters and my brother-in-law, ask my mom and me to run out and get a 24 pack of Bud Light. puts in a special request for a few Miller Lights.

We run into town.

We end up picking up a six pack of Bud and bringing it back to the party. Everyone is a little disappointed in our ability to follow instructions.

We really dropped the ball. Dream ends

I wake up.

This River Is Wild

Dream 3/17/2015

Today is my birthday.

I decide to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Although it's a place for kids, I do enjoy the atmosphere. I talk to my friends about how somebody needs to create a place for adults that has the games and the tubes that you crawl through. Somebody says that there is such a place. It's called 'Dave and Busters.'

The next day, my mother takes me to her work. (I guess it's take your child to work day.) She works at a Brokerage firm where people buy stocks. She takes me upstairs, sits me down, hands me a piece of paper full of different companies to invest in, and tells me to buy some stocks. I pick the companies that I want to invest in but when I turn around, my mom is gone. I search all over the building but cannot find her. I know she is hiding from me.

I leave.

I walk into a neighborhood that I don't recognize. An SUV full of gangbangers pulls up. I hide in the bushes. They have a dog. It comes right to me. I push it away. They go into the house and then walk back out. They get into their car and drive away. 

I get out of the bush and walk behind the house. There is a river. I jump in and start to swim downstream but then I see the rapids up ahead. I swim back against the flow. On the banks of the river are a bunch of flotation devices. I grab an inner tube. I brace myself for a ride. I fly down the rapids. I'm surprised I didn't fall off. I come to a clearing. I jump off and make my way to land. I'm on a mountain. I can see an entire city in front of me. There are roller coasters all around me. One roller coaster has a gap in its track. The coaster jumps off one track and lands on the other. I think about my mother. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Jon

Dream 3/10/2015

I'm walking to my mom's house with my girlfriend.

Along the way I run into Jon Stewart. He's standing outside my mother's door. He asks me to turn my mom on to the idea of Nazism. I ask my girlfriend to stay outside while I go in. I walk inside, tell my mom what happened, pet my persian, go for a swim in the pool out back, and leave just as quickly as I came. 

I walk out the door and can't find my girlfriend. She is missing. Somehow I think that Jon had something to do with this. Dream ends.

I wake up

Dark Hallways

Nightmare 3/6/2015

     It's night. I'm at my old high school. Other than the two friends with me, there is nobody here. I think.

     Inside the dark hallways of the school is an elevated tram. We step onto the tram and it begins to move. A loud noise from below frightens us. We look over the tram bars and see a demonic man dressed as a clown with a circular saw as a hand.

     He chases the tram. He reaches up with his saw hand to hurt us. Several of us get slashed and cut. I tell my friends that I don't want to be here anymore. I take out my smartphone and push exit. A loading bar appears. It takes way too long.

     I jump from the tram and make a run for the exit. I make it out of the school. My friends don't. Dream ends.

I wake up.

A Night In Walmart

Dream 3/6/2015

I'm working night security at a Walmart.

One half of the store has it's lights out. On the other end of the lit half of the store are a bunch of drama school students working on a play that they are performing for their school.

I'm riding a bike up and down the aisles of the darkened half. I stop when I see in front of me a fat boy pushing a grocery cart. When he sees my eyes catching his, he takes off. I chase him. He makes it out the doors and to a light, purple mini-van. It takes off. I go back into the store to inform the drama club of the break-in. The continue their practice.

They're talking about how they will enter the stage on motorcycles. I try to impress the girls by telling them that I have a motorcycle. They don't believe me.

All of us leave the store. I follow them to the theater. Dream ends.

I wake up.