A Dream Inside A Dream

What happened? Why does it look like downtown Indianapolis has been abandoned for decades? There isn’t a life form to be found, no birds, no sound of a coming train. Nothing but dead silence. All the buildings and skyscrapers are in some level of decay. Spoilage and deterioration have found their home in places I once ventured through. Here I stand looking out over the horizon. If depression had a color, that is what the color of the sky is, a very bleak gray. There it hangs above the decaying landscape.

In disbelief, I look around my immediate surroundings. There isn’t a single blade of grass or foliage to be discovered. Tree’s stand nearby naked and broken. There are steel drums dressed in rust. They spew out fire from burning trash. I noticed nearby are people standing with sorrow deeply placed within their vacant eyes. Their clothing is make shift, drawn together by whatever material that they scavenged. Something is very wrong here. There is a deep urge to warn people of that which is soon to come.

I wake up. There I am standing outside of some local apartments I am familiar with. The sun is out, and I can see strong colors of green from freshly cut grass and trimmed bushes. They encamp the brick foundation before me. What is that approaching me from the left? Walking cadavers? Flesh eaters, that is what I will call them because they are coming to take out anyone that falls into their pathway. Despite their moderate speed, they carry obvious signs of death and decay. I rush up the nearest set of stairs. I must get to my loved ones so that I can protect them. I can hear my loved ones screaming out of fear. I need weapons. The hedge trimmers I have in my hand are not working. The black iron spear I have in my other hand is not creating enough damage and the surge is increasing. I am ducking and dodging to survive this madness myself. If I want to help salvage those around me, I am going to need guns and plenty of ammo. At least so I thought.

I head into downtown Indianapolis. It is where I am from, so it is where I go. I do not detect any flesh eaters. Life appears to be going on just as it has been. Nobody here is aware of the carnage taking place just blocks away. Before I even get a chance to blink, a large comet comes hurling in from the sky, smashing into the unsuspecting city people. I’m tossed to my right by the force of the impact!

The smoke dies down low enough and there she stands. The only person still standing who is willing to assist me in looking for weapons. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought she had walked right out of the 1980’s and into the 2000’s. Her hair stands tall, feathered, bleach blond, and married to a can of hair spray. Her make-up made to model for an Avon representative. Yet, she has no real expression on her face, unless numb carried an expression of it’s own. Since she is ready to ride out, I jump into the white Ford Focus she is driving, and we speed off with high velocity.

Into Fountain Square we enter, it’s a sub-city on the southern outskirts of Indianapolis. This isn’t what I had in mind. To this retched old brown house is where she is taking me? But why? I was expecting Don’s Guns which is a local shop, not rolling up into the vicinity I grew up in. It is where she led me, then leaves me at the back door. Same blank expression and, I didn’t think to get her name.

When my feet enter the doorway, the entire atmosphere changes. There is nothing old about the inside of this place. The room is modernized. It still has tall windows that are covered with dark velvet black out curtains. The floor has built in panels of light that shine brightly. Sleek modern lamps hang on the walls. Before me is a wraparound couch, black in color. Sitting on it are several beautiful beings, dressed to walk the red carpet. The word perfection cannot describe how flawless they were. Skin and hair of silk with such perfect bodies that even playboy magazine would commit heinous crimes in order to obtain photos.

The host guides me over to a room on my left. Stepping in, I see broken furniture, cobwebs, and dust on dust. This room looks like it’s been abandoned for centuries. Located in the furthest depths, under a broken side table, I reach down. This is where the real weapon I need will be located. This was the whole purpose for why I was brought here. The very second my skin contacts the unknown object; it breaks out in a bright golden light. I pull it out from among the rubles. In my hands is this lightweight pixilated ball of light. It is able to shine into the darkest parts of the darkest night exposing anything thought to be hidden.

The host of the house leads me back in towards the living room quarters. I pass by an oblong dinner table long forgotten by its owner. On it sits a box full of purple amethyst about 4 inches in length. They glow bright, sticking out like a sore thumb. I could not tell you what it was that motivated me to pick them up, but I did, and placed them into my pocket.

Out into the living room, I felt compelled to ask this unique group of stylish creatures why they were assisting me. One of them then approaches my right side, and into my ear it whispers, “Why don’t you just join us? Its so much easier.” At the same time, its long forked tongue emerges from its taunting smile and flicks it against my ear.

I shew away and yell, “No!” In unison they all begin to hackle at me in laughter.

“Be Prepared to die!” yells the host. That is when fear finally catches up to me.

“No!” my voice shakes as I yell back. “You be prepared to die!”

I wake up. Its 2012. My heart is pounding. What did I just encounter? Am I awake? Did I just experience a dream inside of a dream? My life has been changed and I do not even realize it yet.

I go on to carry this bizarre life altering experience with me, unable to know if I can share it without being looked at funny. For a while, I’m able to forget about it. That is until I fast forward to 2018. Her name is Lori, same 80’s blond hair. She is a beautiful woman but I’m still too afraid to ask her who her Avon rep is. She doesn’t look numb, especially when she smiles. Yet, it is clear she has a lot going on eternally. I tell her my life story, she shares hers. We pray together at work. That is where I met her, working a contract job for the US Army. We were data entry clerks. The job location is conveniently around the corner from a Don’s Guns shop. On the Northeast side of Indianapolis. Should I be alarmed that our supervisor drives a white Ford Focus? Oh, and I’ll just leave the purple amethyst out for you to research on your own.