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Fermius Firefly

A Dream Log, whenever I remember the dreams I've had.

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Location: San Marcos, United States

Fermius is a pen name drawn from a series of short fiction I wrote when I published the small press magazine Stellanova (on paper.) I play RPG games to escape from my daily grind as a technology wage slave for the state of California. I eat out a lot in order to do my part in supporting our increasingly service level economy. I am butler to 2 feline masters. If you ask them they will tell you I'm not very good at it, late with dinner, don't have enough hands with brushes in them, and sometimes I even lock them out of their office.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

More Zombie Invasion

        Last night I dreamed that N and I were in a small town, one with a classic fifties storefront lined main street. We were eating lunch in a corner diner when N suddenly shouted theyre stealing our car!

        I ran out of the restaurant to see if I could at least get a description, but the car was all ready rounding a corner and I couldnt make anything out other than there were at least four people in the car.

        When I got back to the restaurant, N was on the phone, angry, when a zombie jumped at her from behind. I managed to kick him away and pull N out of the restaurant. The zombie stopped at the edge of the doorway, throwing its arms up to block the sunlight.

        We need to get out of here by dark.

        Someone stole our car!

        An elderly gentleman approached us and told us he had a place where wed be safe for the night, and in the morning they would be able to get transportation out of town. I doubted that the night would go smoothly.

        I was correct to doubt. A brunette sitting across from me lost her appetite in the middle of dinner, and every attempt at conversation with her resulted in shorter and shorter answers, until finally she was just grunting. I noticed that her eyes had taken on a filmy silver appearance. Apparently shed had gotten scratched by a zombie, she turned at the dinner table, but not before getting the man next to her. We managed to lock the two of them in a small room. It wasnt long before I could hear the zombies outside trying to get to them. They apparently had a kind of herd sense and were coming to rescue the woman, or at least share the meal shed found.

        Wed barricaded the doors and windows, but it didnt look like that was going to hold, so we retreated upstairs, filling the stairwell with random furniture. It only took an hour or so for the zombies to break into the lower floors of the house. While people tried to take turns napping, I scouted out the third floor, just in case we had to retreat again. I discovered an armoire with sturdy hardwood doors that were tall enough to reach across the little window sitting balcony to the roof of the building  next door. That building seemed to be empty. At least I couldnt hear anything moving around.

        I told everyone what Id found, but only a few people wanted to risk the trip over to the other building. I suggested we wait until dawn when we would be protected by the sun.  (Later we saw that the sun didnt kill the zombies, just seemed to completely blind them.) We got some calls out, and the local car dealer agreed to let us use his courtesy shuttle to get out, telling one of the men on the phone where the keys were kept.

        A group of men made Molotov cocktails and tossed them into the buildings across the street, hoping the fire would scare the zombies off, or something. It didnt, they just milled about downstairs, breaking things, and hitting the stuff on the stairwell. Good thing they werent smart enough to try pulling, except accidentally when they got a handful of something.

        The zombies didnt managed to clear the stair well by morning, but they were still working on it, even after the sun came up. I dont know why I expected them to stop and rest. We got everyone over to the roof of the other building and a few of us ran to the car dealership to get the courtesy van. It really wasnt a van, more of a SUV. I didnt think that all ten of us survivors were going to fit. We loaded it with the elderly, children and women. Except N, it was obvious that as the strangers in town, we werent on the priority save list. N was very angry, but I asked her to stop yelling at them. We were going back to the car dealership. All the keys were on a board in an office and we had time to break it open and get a car and get out.

        The other two locals who got voted out chased the van down the street, shouting obscenities after their fellows.

        Bad idea.

        The Zombies couldnt see, but they could hear, and they came boiling out of the house, swarming after their lunch bell. A woman stood up in the SUV, through the sun roof, and shouted at them to go back. Then saw that was hopeless and yelled at the driver to stop. He didnt, but floored it instead, almost toppling the woman out of the SUV. If people in the van hadnt grabbed her she would have become Zombie chow as well.

While the zombies were distracted. I helped N down the ladder from the roof and we ran as quietly across the street to the car dealership as we could. The building was locked up, and breaking the showroom glass looked like the only easy way in. I didnt want to do it, because of the noise. But before I could make that clear, N tossed a metal garbage can through the window.

        Most of the zombies continued to gnaw on their screaming prey, but a couple at the back of the pack turned to follow the sound of the breaking glass. Two more glass walls went down before we reached the managers office with the board of keys. Only, there were no keys on it, just a small safe below the board. Next to the safe was a shotgun. With a trigger lock in it.

        N and I started rummaging through the drawers looking for a key to the trigger lock. I gave up and let N continue. I ran over to the small service bay and found a pry bar. One good whack and the trigger lock was off. The shotgun was loaded. Our first good break.

        I took the shotgun out into the street and blasted the zombies who were coming for us. Unfortunately, that sound drew the attention of several more. I continued across the street. The fire smell was strong, but there were no flames in this shop yet. Breaking into the small shop. I found a couple of long extension cords and wrapped them around some display cases. I went to the end of the wire, moving as quietly as possible back out towards the street. I gave it a yank.

        Display cases full of glass knick knacks toppled in the shop. The zombies turned towards the sound and entered the shop. Seeing no more zombies paying attention to me, I ran back to the dealership in time to see N trying out different remotes on a bright yellow sports car. I scooped up the remotes at her feet and ran around until I found a car with keyless entry printed over the door latch.  I pulled the door open just as N started the other car.

        I hear her yell something and ran over, not bothering to open the door but diving through the sun roof as she pulled out of the show room. Zombies started to follow us, but I resisted the urge to shoot.

        Gas Station, this one is almost empty!

        We headed out of town towards the freeway and the gas station there. Wed gone by it the previous day, but didnt think it would be safe to stop in town to fill up. I just hoped we had enough gas to get there. N accelerated to high speed, figuring we could coast in if we had to. Hopefully there would be no zombies there. As we rolled I checked the shotgun, only 6 rounds left.

        We did run out of gas, and as we coasted up to the gas station we saw the SUV, it was parked, doors open, canted up onto the sidewalk. No sign of the occupants. There was smoke at the front of the gas station. I told N to stop at the pump farthest from the fire. I jumped out and checked for zombies while N fished around for a credit card. I saw one of the women from the group in the SUV, she was in the burning gas station clutching her child, and the child was gnawing on her. She looked out the window, past me, past pain, nothing left but horrible sorrow.

        I looked behind me. N was holding her credit card out of the sun roof. I ran back to pump gas, one handed, I wasnt letting go of the shotgun.

        Figures ran towards us from behind the burning gas station, one of them had a flaming bottle in his hand. I heard the car struggle to start up.

        Stop right there! I shouted.

        The man threw the bottle. Unbelievably, I shot it out of the air, but flaming liquid splashed towards us. I shut off the fill nozzle and closed the door to the tank, tossing the gas cap into the car. N had pushed the door open so I jumped in as she continued to try to start the car. I  fired a round from the lower barrel, more bird shot, but it slowed the men down.

        From the way some of them were moving I figured they were all turning. I hoped N and I werent infected.

        The car started and we drove off over the curb and out into the street.

        I dont know how they were all infected. We need to hole up somewhere, just in case.

        N wasnt happy, she wanted to go to a military base, but I convinced her that we needed to isolate ourselves for a day or so, at least;  in case we were infected. I was actually more worried about food and water at this point. Until we came upon our car by the side of the road. It had been abandoned, and in the same fashion as the SUV, all the doors were open and it was just sitting there. N didnt want to take it, though, so I got out and got our water and snacks, the ones that were still sealed, from the back of the car. I didnt know if it would help, but I wiped everything down with the sanitizer gel N handed me when I got back to the car.

        Neither of us wanted to be the first to try anything, though.

               

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tower Escape.

        I was driving a woman and a couple of  children to a large building shaped like the Atari Logo. When we arrived the kids asked if I have ever been there before and I nodded, pointing to the photos on a wall in the lobby. It was a review of a failed terrorist attack on the tower just about one year ago.

        I had a flashback to that day. I was in one of the three towers, and there were explosions below. I helped evacuate three kids to a safe room, and then we were told the floors below were blocked off. I, for some reason, had a backpack with me. I cut out the central panel that split the top from the bottom and had the little girl climb in. Then I swung out onto the balcony and had the two boys follow. I sent them down to the next balcony below using a pair of  emergency ladders I had made. (Apparently I was guest teaching a rope tying/pioneering class and happened to have the materials with me.)

The three of us made our way down, moving from balcony to balcony, with me staying behind to un-hook the ladders and then jump after the boys. When we reached the sloped part of the building the boys slid down and I made my way more carefully, not wanting to bump the girl around too much.

        After we made it to ground level I put the emergency ladders in the backpack and climbed back up to help others trapped in the tower. For a little bit of time I was just evacuating just a floor ahead of the terrorists, only moving people a couple of floors down, into areas the terrorists had all ready searched.

        There were a couple of times we had to swing out as I could see men in black masks searching the rooms Id cleared.

        We cleared a dozen floors that way and the National Guard were able to trap the terrorists on the top floor.

        The kids looked at the pictures and looked at me, both of them with a fearful expression on their faces.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Flooding, Now With More Alien Invaders

            N and I were climbing up a hill overlooking San Marcos and Escondido. I had the .30-06 in a padded hard case, and my telescope in its soft case. N had her brass collapsing telescope and her cell phone. We stopped and visited S and C on the way, but they were too tired to join us.
            When we reached the top of the hill, we set up the telescopes and watched the tide come in, filling in the low parts of the San Marcos Valley. The levies seemed to be holding and our house, now below the high tide level seemed to be safe for now. I was relieved, we'd left the cats there.
            N spotted the alien craft first, it was coming in behind the large waves that drove the waters inland. I swung the large telescope around and managed to spot it, a hideous thing that I couldn't tell if it was machine or living being. It had four major limbs with green scales and mossy protruberences dangling from them. They were webbed between the limbs, and a large mouth with bone colored teeth around its circumference. Near the mouth were four smaller tentacles, curled up in tight spirals as if being held out of the way. The creature, or vehicle banked away from us, revealing the top side. Much lighter green and sandy colored, with a bulbous central structure. There were no sign of eyes or windows. The base of the bulbous structure was surrounded by fleshy green bumps and smaller tentacles, the whole ship/creature was thickly veined.
            At one point I very strongly felt it was watching us, but it continued to veer away on whatever mission it was on. I found myself hoping it was severely disappointed that our defenses had held. N shuddered and told me, “That was just a small one.”

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Friday, October 15, 2010

Ghostly Time Slip

Dreamed again of the house on the hill. It is being rebuilt and the grand staircase was framed up over the stone foyer (that main part of the house that seems to be able to change into any sort of space as needed.) Some of the ghosts were also back.

One very sad little ghost  hovered around the common landing above the stone foyer. I managed to speak to the boy. It seems he was tortured to death by a military officer well over a century ago. It made me very angry, so much so that I was able to bend time and warp myself back to when the house on the hill was a hotel.

The stairs were carpeted with red and black patterned carpet, the stone foyer was open all the way up to the glass cupula above the head of the double staircase. There were hallways off the common landing with suites to either side. There was the sounds of cannon outside, and the chandelier which hung from the center of the glass cupula tinkled as it rocked to the booms from the cannon.  The railing on the landing was riddled with shrapnel and bullet holes. The place reeked of gunpowder smoke, lemon oil and damp wool. The glass in the windows facing down the hill into the town was somehow still mostly intact. The glass over the view to the front of the hotel was riddled with holes and gaps, long shards hung pointed dangerously at the entry way far below. (The landing was three stories up.)

The boy was playing on the landing, using a small brass scope to try to see out the great front window to where soldiers lay on their back clutching their rifles to their chests hidden behind a makeshift sandbag wall.

An officer, from a nearby suite, still putting himself together, spotted the boy and shouted at him. Spy!

The boy stood up, shocked, No, sir!

Come here, Ill teach you! The officer reached the boy in two swift steps and had him by the front of his shirt.

As the officers hand raised a thick baton to strike I stepped in and pushed them apart.

Who the devil are you! The truncheon swung down and glanced off my shoulder, instantly numbing my arm along the outside down to my ring finger and pinky.

The boy shouted for his mother, tottered across the landing, and striking the far railing, broke through it. I knew in that instant that hed fall to his death amongst the shattered marble and wood furnishings below. The officer hadnt seen that, but laughed.

Your mommy cant help you, now, he laughed and I noticed that his face was bloody around where he licked his lips and there were scratches along his face. Still standing? What are you looking at? He raised the truncheon again.

I dropped my right leg back, bracing it, and with both hands thrust him through the remaining glass window out towards the gray gravel drive of the hotel. The remaining glass of the front window shattered. I leaped after him, aiming to land on his chest, but I warped back to the present before I even cleared the shower of glass.

The little ghost was there, with the ghost of his mother. They thanked me silently and vanished, leaving me feeling guilty about pushing the kid so hard hed fallen to his death.

Work on the stairs continued around me as though nothing had happened.

I now know the identity (of sorts) of the mysogynistic ghost that used to haunt the shuttered hall of my old house, but now that presense was gone. By saving the boy from torture, Id apparently prevented the death of the officer.

I hung on to the shattered tatters of the dream, hoping to go back and save the boy, and perhaps his mother, after all, hadnt I warped back once? But it didnt happen and I finally had to respond to the light in the window. This dream has stuck with me for four days now. I seem unable to remember any others, though I know Ive had them. Hopefully writing it down here will get it out of my head.