Events from “What Dreams May Come”
Notes by Anthony
“Desirée opened the car door opposite her and Asa leapt in. He slammed the door shut behind him and curled up like he was expecting a hail of bullets to follow him. The back of his hoodie was torn, exposing the skin of his upper back. Pink burns marred the skin, like someone had chucked a fireball at his head and just missed. The driver, one of Desirée’s ghouls, put pedal to metal, and we peeled off. I don’t think he had a destination in mind, just knew that we had to get as far away as possible from whoever, or whatever, had been chasing poor Asa.
“Asa stayed curled up, breathing heavily and trembling. He must still be new enough that breathing comes naturally to him. I reached my hand over the car seat and waved it in front of his face, introducing myself as Zachary. Asa blinked at my hand for a moment before reaching out to cautiously shake it. Desirée announced that she didn’t think we were being followed, and introductions were made all around. Asa told his that he and his teacher, Diane, had been found by a tall, British Tremere in a suit calling himself ‘Agent Four’ like some knockoff James Bond. Agent Four worked some magic to take control of Asa’s body, but Diane was able to distract Four long enough for Asa to break free. Asa pleaded for us to help save her, saying she was the best and kindest person he’d ever known. We said we’d try, but we needed to get someone safe first and regroup.
“We debated between Desirée’s Tower and Thaïs’ ranch and settled on the latter. It was close to the Wall, well-defended, and no one had yet been spotted spying or scrying on us there. We arrived about half an hour later, 12:30 AM on December 10th for the folks at home keeping track. Normandin was speaking with one of the neighbors and we left the car once she departed. Thaïs asked Normandin to sweep the property line while she pulled out her weapons cache. She laid out shotguns, pistols, hunting rifles, and even wooden stakes. Asa confidently loaded a pistol and fiddled with something I assumed was the safety. I picked up a pistol.
“I’ve seen plenty of action movies, dear listeners, but none of them prepared me for the weight of the gun in my mind. My inexperience must have shown, as Asa quickly tried to show me how to use it and not blow my own hand off. Keep the safety on. Point it at the ground. Finger off the trigger. Only raise the gun if I intend to shoot. That’s when we heard a car drive up. Ben and I panicked and tried to hide while ‘covering’ the door with our guns before we all realized it was Normandin returning from his patrol. By the time my undead heart stopped trying to claw its way out of my throat, the five of us — Desirée, Thaïs, Ben, Asa, and I — sat down to talk.
“It was funny, dear listeners. Despite everything we’d been through so far, it was Asa who asked us to suspend our disbelief at the story he was about to share. He’d been staying at the YMCA with his teacher, Diane, after she ‘educated’ him in early November. I assumed that was a euphemism for draining all of his human blood and filling him with her own regurgitated vampire blood. There had been seven of their ‘kind’ and with Asa there were now eight. Their goal was to stop the Apocalypse. Diane’s last words to Asa were ‘Find the Malkavian.’ She had ‘faith that he would help save the world.’ No pressure, right, listeners?
“I wasn’t sure whether or not to volunteer that he’d succeeded, but Desirée pointed at me, and I raised my hand. I told Asa that I was the one he was looking for, and yes, we were on a mission to stop the apocalypses. Plural. I promised that we’d try to help Diane, but if Agent Four was a Tremere that would be difficult, since the Tremere controlled the Alexandria Camarilla and maintained the Bubble trapping us here. Thaïs excused herself for a few minutes, saying she was working on a way to get us out.
“She had just returned when Desirée and I sat bolt upright. We’d heard something moving through the trees. At least four on all sides of the Ranch, including outside the Bubble. Asa helped convince Ben to stay in the basement. Desirée and I hid behind the couch as someone approached the door. He had a sinister, nasally Italian accent like he was auditioning for Consigliere in a Godfather sequel. Somehow familiar. He asked Thaïs if she were harboring someone on the Camarilla’s ‘red list.’ I held my breath and cloaked myself in Obfuscation while Thaïs politely but firmly told him that he wasn’t welcome in her Domain and needed to leave her property.
“To my great surprise and relief, he did. We waited in complete silence as the dozen men surrounding the Ranch got into their cars and drove away. I can’t tell you why he left, dear listeners. He had overwhelming numbers and firepower. I assume he had the law on his side. But then I remembered that we were trapped in the Bubble with him. Time was on his side unless we could get out soon
“Desirée identified the man as Vittorio, the Seneschal. Like the Vice President to the Alexandria Prince. I remembered his voice then from Desirée’s club. I had hidden in the VIP bathroom, trying to contact Joan through the mirror, while Vittorio had told Desirée and Thaïs to be on the lookout for a trickster Malkavian before taking George away in his government van. My head swam. Maybe Vittorio was part of the secret government agency George had been working for all along? Did that mean George was aligned with the Tremere? Had everything he’d told me been a lie?
“Apologies, dear listeners. Sun is up in a few minutes, and I find my thoughts spiraling into dark places with the growing light. When we were sure that Vittorio had left, Desirée called her security team on a satellite phone. Alexander and a group of four armed men arrived around 6 AM. Desirée and Thaïs grew concerned that the Tremere could have worked some kind of mind magic on them, turning them into a sleeper agent. I tried to think. I knew I could use my Voice to command people to do something immediately. But could I make them reject some hypothetical future action without damaging their minds? I had to improvise.
“I stared into Alexander’s eyes and let the power inside fill my lungs and throat. ‘If you feel an overwhelming urge to attack or betray anyone in this room, ignore it, and continue to fight our enemies.’ I don’t know if it worked, dear listeners, but I could feel my words sinking into his mind. Reshaping his brain like putty. It got even easier as I moved from one ghoul to the next, repeating my orders. Were all mortals this simple to manipulate? Limp puppets, waiting for the right conductor to pull their strings? I tried to shake these thoughts off as Asa asked Normandin if someone could check the YMCA for his bag. Normandin reluctantly agreed.
“We headed off to bed, which is where I’m recording this now. And by bed, I mean, the bathtub in the basement. Don’t want to impose on Thaïs’ hospitality by ruining her sheets. I’m wearing the muslin robe to capture any bloody prophetic marks I leave behind. Ben got into one of the beds, but I could see him eyeing the bathroom door. I suspect I’ll wake up with him curled in a pile of pillows at my side once more. I think the Beast is satiated enough that I won’t be a danger to him, no matter what nightmares dawn brings. I didn’t want to order him to stay in his bed. Maybe it is my blood inside him, compelling Ben to remain at my side. But wouldn’t it be worse to use the blood bond, or my Voice, to take away the choice from him, if this is what he wants? I don’t know listeners. I don’t know.”
* * *
“I awoke at the edge of Thaïs’ ranch, just before the Wall. It still glowed with that eerie pink light, but it was more translucent now. Like a membrane. Remembering Thaïs had lost her toes to it, I tentatively touched it with my pinkie finger. To my surprise, it passed through with no resistance or pain. My hand moved through with the same result. Third time was not the charm, however, and as I walked through my flesh burned and peeled away from my chest and face. Fire roared through my body. I screamed even as my tongue and jaw turned to ash.
“I fell through the wall and into the cornfield. I rolled over and patted myself down, but the fire was only a memory. I stood up and saw the farmhouse on my lefthand side. Remembering the dreams that started this so long ago, I oriented myself to find the Temple. Sure enough, there it stood. Flickering between black onyx and light blue. Like the TARDIS transporting between time periods. Remember that the Temple in the ancient, Second City had been black, I tried to touch the blue version. My hand burned white hot as I exploded in fire once more.
“I screamed as I woke up again, drenching the muslin and bathtub in blood. Ben comforted me until I calmed down and then tried to remove the muslin robe so he could draw the symbols in his notebook. I could feel the Blood rush to my skin. Was I blushing? Could I still blush? Hopefully the blood smeared on my skin covered it up. I kicked Ben out of the bathroom and handed him the muslin robe through the nearly closed door before showering off the blood. I tried not to think about the dream and my own reaction to Ben’s hands on my chest, disrobing me. I finished showering and put on the t-shirt and jeans Ben had thoughtfully put next to the sink. I went upstairs and saw the group gathered in the living room. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had a restless night.
“Desirée had dreamt of a beautiful woman in Ancient Greece or Rome as she made a sculpture of herself. Asa dreamt of Diane, already dead, being dissected by the Tremere. Asa had tried to save her but was unable to interact with anything. Thaïs seemed angry and shared little, only that the magic salt had burned her. I shared my dream but left out the Temple. Asa seemed trustworthy, but then again, I had trusted George too.
“We packed our bags and headed out to the Wall. Desirée offered me a car, satellite phone, and a hug. Thaïs brought over one of her horses, Petra. She seemed sad but determined. She gave us a knife, and Asa and I sliced our arms. Apparently, her ritual needed our blood to work. Ben also sliced his arm, forgetting that humans could just walk through the Wall. Without thinking, I grabbed his arm and pressed my lips to his wrist, licking the wound closed. I didn’t want to see him hurt. I had to protect him. Thaïs took the knife and cut into the wall, leaving a hissing, black hole. I reached out to hold Asa and Ben’s hands. Maybe it was just the remnants of my dream, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something awful would happen as we passed through the Wall. Just before we reached it, a Voice spoke in my head. The one that had recognized the tablet in OTCAL, telling me that wasn’t what he said.
Normally, I don’t like to hear other people chit chat. But in this case, I’ll just watch.
“Before I could even process what that meant, we stepped through into total darkness. I activated my auspex and could tell from the echoes that we were in a small, stone room. People spoke outside. I could feel Asa and Ben begin to panic. For some reason, listeners, I took charge. I told them to not let go, no matter what. First, we would step forward together until we found a wall. Once we bumped into it, I told Asa to run his free hand along the wall until he found the outline of a door. I felt bad, asking Asa to do something potentially dangerous, but my hands were occupied keeping the three of us together, and I couldn’t risk Ben.
“Asa hissed as his hand hit something. The night sky blinded me for a moment as we tumbled out into a field. A cornfield. I blinked up into a gentle snowfall. The Temple was invisible, though I could still feel the stone floor under my shoe. And before us stood two women, looking as puzzled as I felt. We stared at each other for a long, long moment.”