Foreverland Is Dead

stands over him.
    Mr. Williams is unfazed. Miranda steps back. She never should’ve trusted that thing in his pocket. The girls might be starved, but desperation can be dangerous.
    Sid stands near the door.
    “It is a dream, Ms. Kat.” He leans forward, using his momentum to stand. “And the dream is ending. We need to be out before it does.”
    He walks to the stove and warms his hands. Miranda follows him. Kat tells her she looks pretty. She doesn’t mean it.
    “There’s an exit out there,” Mr. Williams announces. “I don’t know what it looks like. Where I came from it was a sundial, but it could be anything. Whatever it is, it’ll be located in the center of this world.”
    “You mean dream, ” Kat says.
    “I don’t have time for this.” Mr. Williams’s eyebrows lower. “You can believe me or not, you can stay here when it all comes to halt. I don’t really care. But what you will do is help me find the gate. I would assume these cabins are in the center of this world but I have my doubts. That means it’s out there. Somewhere.”
    He sweeps his crooked finger around the room.
    “We’ll need to find it. All of us.”
    “Ain’t going out in this weather,” Kat says.
    “Yes, in this weather, Ms. Kat. You will go out and so will the rest of you.” He nods at Jen and Mad. “We’ll also untie the young lady in the back; the more feet on the ground, the better.”
    Miranda grabs the back of his coat. “I don’t…that’s not a good idea,” she whispers.
    “There will be five of you searching. You will go in five directions, walk for an hour, and return.”
    “You’re not going?” Kat asks.
    “I’m far too old to be out there.” A dangerous edge sharpens his tone.
    “If it’s a dream,” Kat says, “why do you care how old you are?”
    He stares at her until it’s uncomfortable, his hand working inside his pocket.
    “You’ll look for something interesting, like a sculpture or waterfall. I don’t know. More importantly, you will feel it when you get near it. It will vibrate inside you, a tingling sensation at the very core of your existence. Do not touch it.”
    He takes a long moment to look at each of them.
    “If you encounter it, do not touch it. Come back for the rest of us and we’ll all leave this dream together. That’s how it works.”
    He walks to the back of the cabin, Miranda attached to his coat. His footsteps clop on the wood floor. Roc is a dark lump in the corner. Miranda closes her eyes, both hands grasping his coat. She wishes Sid was with them.
    “Miranda and I will bring all the food out of the house,” he says. “We’ll eat until our bellies are full, give us strength.”
    Roc rolls over at the mention of food.
    He nods at her. “Can you behave yourself?”
    She doesn’t answer.
    “If you can’t, you will never leave this place. Answer me.”
    She nods. Miranda isn’t convinced.
    “This isn’t a dream,” Jen whimpers. “I can feel and see and hear. I hurt. This is real, Mr. Williams.”
    He walks over.
    Mr. Williams kneels next to her with much effort. He reaches out, runs his hand over Jen’s black scrub of hair, cups her cheek. Her eyes are big, imploring. And they roll back.
    She slides out of the chair.
    Mr. Williams places her on the floor.
    “What’d you do?” Kat says.
    “I’m in charge, girls.” He looks down at Jen, brushing something off of her lips. “There is a device imbedded in your neck. It will deliver a jolt to your nervous system if I want. It will render you unconscious. I have this control.”
    He holds up a fob and hands it to Miranda. It fits nicely in her hand, her thumb snug in the button’s indention.
    “And so does Miranda.”
    He reaches up. Sid is there to help him.
    Mr. Williams’s knee has stiffened. He limps to the door and waves Sid and Miranda to his side.
    “I’m trying to help all of you, you understand. Without me, you would rot inside this dream for eternity. I don’t ask for thanks, just a little help so that we all can escape.”
    “Bastard,” Kat mutters.
    Mr. Williams doesn’t hear it, or chooses not to acknowledge it.
    “We’ll eat in an hour,” he says. “Be dressed and ready. We’ll plan our search.”
    “What about me?” Roc says.
    Mr. Williams doesn’t bother smiling. “Sid will come for you.”
    She mutters something, too.
    Miranda holds the fob. Both hands shaking.
    Sid opens the door for Mr. Williams. She hurries after him.

41

    She can hear the weather battering