Dream Killing (4 page)

Drew lay in his bed, listening to the
sounds of the city as he drifted off to sleep.

*****

CHAPTER FIVE

Birds
were chirping and the sun was softly shining through the open window. Drew
opened his eyes, expecting to be in the game, but instead he was still in his
bed.
Huh,
Drew thought as he sat up and put his feet on the floor. He
found it quite weird that he didn’t wind up in the game. He found it even more
bizarre that he didn’t remember dreaming at all. He couldn’t remember a
dreamless night since before becoming an agent for the CIA.

He walked into the kitchen, looked at
his coffee pot, and then decided that The Bean had way better coffee. He got
dressed and headed over to the coffee shop.
Maybe I will run into T or Max,
Drew
thought as he turned the corner.

When he walked in, he noticed that Adam
was finally not working. He was greeted by an older woman who reminded Drew of
his old Aunt Dottie. He ordered his coffee, but this time decided to try
something new. Walking over to the window area of the shop, he placed his iced
coffee on the table and picked the couch that had the best view of the street.
He drank his coffee as he watched the people of the city walk by.

After about an hour, Drew decided to
head out. He went to put his hand on the door to push it open, but at the same
time somebody else was pulling it open.

“Drew!” It was Max. A smile spread
across Drew’s face.

“Hey, Max! Long time no see,” Drew
joked.

“I know!”

“How’s your sister doing?”

“She’s fine, for now anyway. She decided
to give him another chance, so we’ll see what happens.”

“I was just heading out, but I thought
maybe I would have myself a little cook out tonight. You free?” Drew wasn’t
sure where that came from, but, hey, sounded pretty good.

“Sure, that would be nice. You want me
to bring anything?”

“Nah, well, if you want to bring some
wine, that would be great.”

“Oh, I don’t drink wine. You okay with
beer?” Max surprised Drew with the offer to bring beer. Most women he came in
contact with preferred wine.

“Beer works great for me.” Drew looked
at his watch and said, “My place, 6:00?”

“Sounds great to me.”

“Good. I live right around the corner
from here.” Drew wrote down the address on a napkin that was lying on the
counter by the cash register and handed it to her. He put his phone number on
it, too, just in case she wanted to cancel.

“Alright, Drew, I will see you at 6:00.”
She took the napkin and put it in the pocket of her jeans.

“See you tonight,” Drew said and walked
out of the coffee shop.
A cook out? Where did that come from? Now I guess I
need to go to the store and get some steaks.

Glad that he cleaned the house
yesterday, Drew walked the 6 blocks to the little grocery store he loved and
picked up a couple of steaks. He also grabbed some chips and a couple bags of
ice.

When Drew got home, he threw the ice in
the freezer and the steaks in the fridge. He had plenty of time, so he decided
to take a shower and check his email. As it got closer to 6:00, Drew started to
wonder if this was a good idea. It had been quite some time since he had anyone
over to his house. He wasn’t sure if he would be a good host.

As Drew was logging off of his laptop,
the doorbell rang.
Well, here goes!
Drew was nervous as he walked down
the stairs to let Max in.
Why are you so nervous, you are just having a
friend over for a cook out?
Drew thought he was being silly, so he
confidently opened the door and invited Max inside.

“This is a beautiful building, Drew!
I’ve always wanted to live in one of these old Greystones.”

“Thanks. I love it here. We’re going to
go up top to cook. Wanna help me carry some stuff up?”

“Up top?” Max looked confused.

“Yeah. Since the folks downstairs have
kids, they use the yard more, so I use the roof as my deck. It has a great view
of the lake.”

“Wow! Sure, what would you like me to
carry?”

“If you can grab the beer you
brought…good choice, by the way…and the chips, I can grab the ice and the
cooler.”

As they climbed the stairs to the roof,
Drew realized that he was actually quite comfortable with Max; not nervous at
all. They reached the roof and Max took a long look around. “Wow, Drew, this is
awesome.”

They set everything up, Max sat down
with a beer and Drew started the grill. The sun was low in the sky making the
light of the day quite dim. Drew walked over to the pole that stood alongside
the stairs and flipped a switch. Strings of white lights lit up and he looked
over at Max. She was now standing, turning in slow circles enjoying the view
and the lights.

“Drew, this is so great!”

“The trellises were here from the people
who lived here before me, so I decided that some lighting and comfortable patio
furniture would make this a great place to hang out.”

“It is amazing! I bet you are up here
all the time!

“Nah, it’s no fun being up here alone.”
Drew hoped that last statement didn’t sound too pathetic or needy.

“Speaking of alone,” Max started, “where
were you last night? I looked everywhere for you.”

“Last night? I was here. I thought you
had to go eat dinner with your sister.”

“No, in the game. I couldn’t find you
anywhere. I figured that since it was your first time in the big game I would
find you and show you around, but I couldn’t find you.”

“Oh, I didn’t play last night. I woke up
and realized that I had no dreams and didn’t play the game.”

“I wish! I am so tired of the game,
Drew.”

It was then that Max told Drew about her
time in the game. She told him about how low she had gotten in lives, how she
found her place in the library, how T found her and how he saved her. They
continued to talk about not just her role in the game, but T’s role and his own
role. Dinner flew by and darkness settled in all around them.

After about three hours the decided that
they had talked about the game long enough and the subject was changed. Soon
the two were laughing about favorite movies and childhood stories. It seemed as
though they could talk forever, but as it hit midnight the church bells rang
down the street and signaled that it was time for Max to leave.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s midnight
already! I have class in the morning. I really need to get home,” Max said, a
slight hint of disappointment in her voice.

“I understand. This was nice. We’ll have
to do it again soon. Maybe we can get T to join us.” Drew threw in the part
about T hoping not to sound too eager.

“That would be fun.”

Max helped Drew clean up and then they
walked down the front steps to the street. As Max climbed into her car, Drew
leaned in and thanked her again for coming.

“Thanks for having me! See you
tomorrow.” Max slowly pulled away, leaving Drew smiling slightly and content
with how the night went.

Making his way back to the roof to turn
off the lights and make sure the grill and furniture get covered, Drew felt
good. He was happy to be making friends. He knew it was late, so he didn’t
linger up top. Drew put everything away, locked up the house washed the few
dishes from dinner and then made his way to bed. He set his alarm for a little
earlier so he had time to shower and stop in at The Bean.

As Drew settled back against his
pillows, the cool breeze blowing in through the bedroom window, he hoped that
if he wound up back in the game he could find Max and T.

*****

CHAPTER SIX

Drew
opened his eyes and found himself back in the safe room. As T had said, the
screen was back and instructions were given. He was on his own. Drew took a
deep breath and opened the door. What he saw was not what he had expected; not
that he really knew what to expect.

Drew figured he would be thrown into a
dark world, but as he stepped through the door of the safe room for the last
time, he found himself looking at the sun. It was low in the sky, but without
his bearings, Drew couldn’t tell if it was sunrise or sunset. He turned back to
close the door only to find that the door was gone; in its place stood a tall
oak tree. Stepping back towards the tree, Drew tried to figure out exactly
where he was.

Near the tree, Drew saw a narrow
blacktop path no wider than his arm-span. Leary about stepping out into the
open, he followed the direction of the path from the safety of the trees and
shrubs alongside it. It curved to the right and from the cover of the shrubs
Drew could see that it led to a fenced area. He crept slowly towards the iron
bars to get a closer look.
That looks like an animal enclosure. I’m at the
zoo!
Drew knew he had to find his way out of the zoo so that he could try
to find Max at the library.

The path led around the enclosure, but
now Drew would have to expose himself because there were no trees on the other
side of the path. He stepped out into the light of what now appeared to be a
setting sun. Instantly he heard the gunfire. Running as fast as he can and
staying low, Drew reached the other side of the enclosure. He ducked behind a
garbage can and listened. The gun shots had stopped, but he could hear
footsteps coming closer. He readied his gun, peeked around the can and fired on
the person. He went down fast. Drew thought it best to get out of there; it was
likely that others heard the shots and wouldn’t be far behind.

Drew grabbed the man’s gun, checked him
for other weapons and ammo, and then took off down the path. After a couple of
slight twists and turns he came to a fork in the path. Looking to his left,
Drew could see buildings through a stone and iron archway.
That’s gotta lead
me out of here,
Drew thought to himself. He took the left turn and headed
towards the exit. While running, he tucked his new gun in his waistband and
kept his firearm in his right hand. Drew hated having to look over his
shoulder, but in this game, that’s all he seemed to do.

The exit led Drew to a wide street
filled with empty cars and abandoned city busses. Zig-zagging across the
street, ducking low between cars to avoid being seen, he reached the other side
without incident. He had no idea which way he should go, but he could hear
voices nearby. With nowhere to truly conceal himself, Drew was forced to walk
along the side of a building where shadows were his only real cover. The voices
were getting closer, and as he reached the end of the building, he found
himself at an alley. He peeked his head around the corner and saw a group of
men, and one really large figure. It was almost as if he were watching a sci-fi
movie because the largest of the men was robot-like and stood about 3 feet
taller than the others.

Drew couldn’t hear what was being said,
but as he stood there he wondered who these people were. Just as Drew decided
it was better to be safe and head back in the other direction, the “robot”
lifted his head and saw him. He lifted his metal clad arm over the heads of the
other men and let out a roar of machine gun fire. The others turned and started
towards Drew.

Drew turned and ran, not thinking about
any other people he may encounter; he just needed to get away from this thing
and its men. He rounded the corner and headed to the next street where he
turned right. As he ran, he could see a huge, old building with a giant set of
stairs that led to a bank of doors. He was determined to make it to this
building and he had no idea why. It would be risky because the stairs offered
no cover, but he felt that once inside, he would be safe.

Crossing the street and ducking behind
an abandoned police car, Drew could see the group of men rounding the corner.
They stopped and looked around. Hearing the frustration in their voices as they
tried to figure out where he went, Drew knew that he was safe for now. He
stayed in that spot, watching all around him, until the group was out of sight.

He couldn’t understand why this city was
so empty and lifeless. Where had all of the people gone, and why did they leave
their cars behind? Thankful that he at least had the cars as protection, he
began to creep along them until he reached the stairs. Drew paused. In all his
time as an agent, he never felt truly scared. Now, scared was an
understatement. He was going to have to expose himself again as he ran up the stairs.
He took a deep breath, held a gun in each hand and went for it.

When he reached the top of the stairs
and barreled through one set of double doors, he realized that nobody had seen
him; or at least nobody had fired on him. Looking around, Drew realized why he
was so drawn to the building. An information desk sat directly in front of him,
and behind that sat banks and banks of bookshelves. He had made it to the
library. He had never realized it before, but the smell of the old books had a
comforting effect.

Knowing that he had to get away from the
openness of the entrance, Drew dipped into the main room of the library and
found the directory on the back counter of the reception area. He found the
children’s section on the map and slowly worked his way there, watching every
corner of the areas he passed through. Drew knows better than to get
comfortable with his surroundings.

The sun had set low enough that only a
small amount of residual light was shining through the narrow windows at the
top of the two-story high walls. He knew he had to make his way quickly or the
darkness would take over. Drew passed through a few sections of the library
before coming to the children’s area. He panned the room, looking for the
cardboard playhouse; the one where T had found Max weeks ago.

There it is!
Drew’s inner excitement
diminished when he reached the playhouse and found that Max was nowhere in
sight. He moved behind the playhouse and crouched low.
I will just have to
wait for a bit and see if she shows up.
Just as Drew finished his thought,
a shot rang out and the plaster next to Drew’s head exploded into a million
pieces. Trapped behind the house with nowhere to go, Drew lifted his gun and
shot into the darkness surrounding him. What he heard next chilled him to his
core.

I know that voice. I…
Drew stopped mid thought and
slid along the floor over to where the soft groaning was coming from. Lying on
the floor in front of him he could barely make out the face. He had shot Max.

“Max? Oh, my God, I am so sorry,” Drew
said as he tried to find the wound.

“I shot at you first, Drew. I didn’t
know it was you.”

“You’re gonna be fine, just hold on.”
Drew’s voice sounded desperate as he tried to save Max.

“It’s no use, I won’t make it. Take my
gun. I don’t know where I will wind up, but we will see each other again. I
always come back here.” As her voice trailed off, Drew’s heart sank. He did as
he was told, and also took her flashlight. His only hope was to find T. Being
alone out here was crazy.

Before Drew left, he tucked her body
into the cardboard playhouse, not wanting to just leave her out in the open. He
had no clue how long it would take for her to re-enter the game, and he didn’t
feel right walking away. Knowing he had no choice, he moved back through the
library, but took a back exit to avoid the openness of the main entry and
staircase.

Now darkness had completely fallen,
leaving everything in shadows. The streetlights flickered, but never stayed
completely on. As Drew worked his way down the alley, he knew he would have to
be more aggressive if he planned to get anywhere on his own. Guns in both
hands, Drew looked over his shoulder one last time and then walked the half
block to the next street. Looking both ways, he decided that going left was his
best option.

The street was completely deserted, or
so he thought. He continued walking past a row of small shops and cafés. As he
reached the end of the block, all hell broke loose. Shots rang out and it
sounded as if Drew was in a war. Drew began to fire back, not really knowing
who or where he was shooting. It was then that the streetlights flickered
enough for him to see the robot. He had no time to think. Instantly he felt a
searing heat rip through is torso, just above his left hip, then another just
below his left shoulder. Darkness spread over him and he slowly grew cold. For
a brief moment, he was able to open his eyes. Standing over him was the robot.
Drew saw a flash, but silence was all he heard.

***

Drew opened his eyes and looked around.
Nothing seemed familiar. He sat up, rubbed his eyes with his hands and took
another look around. He was no longer outside, but couldn’t quite figure out
where he was. Pulling himself to his feet, he realized that he wasn’t alone.
The faint light from the window was just enough to allow Drew to see a hand
reach out to him and hand him a gun. The man stepped closer to the light and
Drew could see that it was T.

“Thank God!” Drew had never been happier
to see somebody than he was at that moment. “How did I get here?”

“It’s the game, man. You never know
where you will wind up.” T’s response was more casual than normal. It was
almost as if T was more comfortable in the game than out of it.

“How did you find me?”

“I was already here when you appeared.
You got lucky. If I had been anybody else, you would have been dead again!”

“I killed her. I found Max, but I killed
her. She shot at me not knowing who I was and I shot back. I didn’t mean to
kill her.” Drew was on the verge of a total breakdown.

“Drew, it’s okay. I’m sure you didn’t know.
She has enough lives, she’ll be fine.”

“It just doesn’t seem right. I shouldn’t
have left her there.”

“Drew, really, there was nothing you
could do. She would have vanished anyway. It’s just how this game goes. We have
to get out of here. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this game, it’s that
you can’t stay in one place too long.”

Drew closed his eyes, hoping to gain a
little clarity, and get his mind back to where it needed to be.

*****