One Way Ticket To Talenthar – Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ludger finally got out of bed. He felt disoriented as if he was suffering from jet lag. He could feel a faint rumbling sensation in the floor. The electrical service was not back yet, thus the generator was still on. He undressed and walked into the shower stall, letting the cold water beat some sense back into him.

After dressing in a rumpled sweat suit, he went downstairs. From the living room he noticed, through the window, that dense fog was engulfing the house. He opened a sliding glass door and took in a deep breath of fresh, cool, morning air.

At the sound of the opening door, Bacchus came running in from the kitchen. She rushed outside to the deck where she started to run in circles, growling at the fog. Intrigued, Ludger followed his dog outside. The coldness of the deck’s planking against his bare feet startled him. Strangely enough there was no moisture in the air and on the deck, as was to be expected of a foggy morning.

The dog was barking at shapeless forms that were moving through the fog. You could barely discern shapes by looking straight at them, but could catch their movements out of the corner of your eyes. Ludger decided that it was probably a freak meteorological incident brought on by the updraughts from the cliff’s face. He had trouble getting Bacchus back into the house. When she finally relented, she paced the floor of the living-room restlessly.

He decided to check the morning new and turned on the radio. He only managed to get some loud static and howling noises. He turned on the TV and only snow and moving shadows appeared on the screen. He could not get a signal from any of the satellite channels.

Ludger went to his office and tried to get a data link on the computer, but the lines were down. He tried the phone. Both his lines were dead. He was getting more puzzled by the minute. He only got static from the short wave radio. He ran out through the front door, to his truck. On his way he caught his big toe on a sharp rock, plunging head first to the ground. He sat on the gravel driveway massaging his smarting toe. While he was sitting, he noticed that the fog was sharply defined, like a wall around the main compound of the property. It left the area between the building and the edge of the forest free of any vapours. He finally got up and limped to the Suzuki. He reached inside to take the radiotelephone handset. Static, again, was the result.

Possibly, Ludger thought, it was the northern lights from last night that were disturbing radio reception. It did not explain why the telephones were dead, but it was a start.

He went back inside to put on a pair of shoes. As he was tying his shoelaces his stomach started to grumble loudly. It was time for breakfast. He went to the kitchen and fed the dog first. He then fixed himself a hearty breakfast. As he was eating, he was thinking about the events of the previous few hours. He could not find a plausible explanation beside solar flares or the aurora. He decided to forget it for now and to plan his day. First and foremost he would finish his breakfast. Then he would go and walk the dog. After his return he would pack his off-road truck and go hunting, deep in the bush, for a few days. He would be ready to face the world again, monday morning, after a few days of relaxation.

Ludger got up from the table and put his empty plate in the sink. He went to the refrigerator and poured himself a tall glass of orange juice. He turned toward the living room and called loudly.

“Bacchus…. Its time for your walk.”

The dog slowly came trotting into the kitchen.

“What’s the matter.” Said Ludger. “You don’t look like you want to go out.”

He quickly drank his juice and left the house. As the dog was not following he said.

“Come on, lets get going.”

With hesitation and her head held low, Bacchus grudgingly walked out of the house. Ludger locked the door behind her and quickly followed the main path out of the compound. The dog was still sitting on the porch when he reached the fog. He turned around and sharply said.

“Bacchus, come over here and lets get this under way.”

When the dog reached him, she started to growl at the fog. Ludger said.

“There his nothing wrong, it’s only fog. See….”

As he said that, he walked into the thick mist. The first sensation was that of a sweet, slightly sickening smell. Suddenly a feeling of sheer terror came over him without any warning. He felt like he had a ball in his throat that was choking him.

There they were in front of him. a group of slimy green creatures that looked like large circular mouths full off teeth with spindly legs under them. He instantly recognized them. These creatures had haunted his nightmares when he was a kid. He started to run and they followed him. He ran as fast as he could. Every time that he stopped to catch his breath, they were upon him. His fear was palpable. He felt as if he was running in circles and could not escape the fog.

He noticed, in front of him, a circle of large rocks. He ran toward it, and collapsed totally exhausted amongst them. With his face against the cool rocks, he struggled to catch his breath. The coolness of the rock against his temple made him regain part of his composure. If he could only stop the pounding of his heart, who was trying to escape through his chest wall, Ludger would feel a little better.

He finally noticed that the noise from the pursuit had subsided. He wondered why the creatures that had haunted his childhood’s nightmares were trying to attack him. Maybe he was still in his own nightmare and had not awaken yet. He remembered the fears that had left him paralysed after he had nightmares, when he was a child.

Suddenly a small noise startled him and he ran for his life.

The gaping maws could run surprisingly fast on their spindly legs. They were catching up to him. He could feel their breath on his back. The stench was revolting. If this was a nightmare, it was in technicolour, senssurround, and smellorama.

Rounding up a boulder, Ludger came face to face with a large, ugly, bare-chested man wearing a leather apron. He was swinging an impressive looking battle axe at him.

He instinctively jumped sideways. He slipped. His head hit a protruding rock. Darkness engulfed him.

*

Ludger came back to consciousness a few minutes later. He was lying on the ground amidst the foggy rocks. His neck was stiff, his head was pounding. He had a nasty bump on the back of his skull. There was no trace of his attackers.

The first thought that came to his mind was; that dreams should not be painful. He palpated the back of his head and found a wet sticky lump. He looked at his fingers. they were covered with blood.
He wiped his hand on his sweat pants, while he slowly stood up. Ludger wondered where his attackers were and why he was still alive. Fear slowly crept back into him. With the fear came the creatures. He started running again.

Shortly after, he collapsed, exhausted. Ludger noticed that as the fear left him, because he was resigned to die, the noises of his pursuers became less. Maybe there was a connection there.

The pounding in his head was making his eyes water. he decided to stay where he was and accept his fate. Everything was still and quiet around him.

An eerie feeling of serenity came over Ludger. He suddenly got the urge to meditate. This was something that he had not done since his last session with Master Yakumi, earlier in the week.

He sat cross-legged on a flat rock. He slowly let the tension flow out of his body. As he started to relax, the pain in his head abated. He focused his mind on complete relaxation.

After un uncertain amount of time, Ludger felt at one with himself. At this moment, a consciousness that was not his, intruded into his mind.

It asked in a shy tone. “Humph…, I hope you did not scare yourself too much?”

Ludger responded aloud. “Who are you and where am I? And what is going on? And…”

“Hold it, hold it….” The disembodied voice in his head said. “One question at a time.”

After a short pause it continued, without letting Ludger object.

“First, I am the guardian.

Second, you are in the Mist of Dreams.

Third, I am not exactly sure what is going on, because I am new at this job and I have been sleeping for an eternity, or two.”

“Where are you?” Shouted Ludger.

“I am everywhere around you, and nowhere in particular.”

“You’re not very helpful.”

“I answer with as much clarity as I can. Its not easy being the Guardian.” Said the voice in a hurt tone.
Ludger annoyingly replied. “OK. OK. Lets start all over again. What are you?”

The voice answered in the same tone. “I’m the Guardian, of course.”

Ludger noticing that the conversation was quickly going nowhere, closed his eyes and sighed. His head was hurting from the obtuse dialogue. Also it was difficult to walk away from a conversation with a being that his everywhere.

After a few minutes of silence he murmured in a soft voice.

“Are you still there?”

The answer was quick to return. “Of course, I am always here.”

Ludger slowly stood up while massaging his stiff neck, cautiously avoiding the lump at the back of his head. He said matter-of-factly.

“Where is here?”

“Well…” The Guardian answered in a doctoral tone. “…Technically you are at the interdimensional boundary between the fragment of the dimensional reality that was removed from your former world and the reality of the new world you have been brought to.”

Flabbergasted, Ludger asked in an angry voice.

“Why have you brought me here?”

“Tsk…, tsk….” Replied the Guardian. “Don’t be bitchy with me. I had nothing to do about bringing you here. I am only a fragment of the interdimensional consciousness. I am here to prevent anybody but you, or the persons you wish, from crossing the boundary between the realities. Also I preserve and maintain the continuity of your reality, in the way that it was when it was imported.”

Ludger sat himself hard on a rock. With a shaky voice he said.

“What you are telling me, is that you are the doorman, janitor, and security guard, between a chunk of my world and another world.”

“Yea….”

“What is the other world and why have I been brought here?”

“I do not know.” Replied the Guardian. “You will have to find out for yourself.”

“Why did you attack me when I came in?”

“I was still organizing myself after awakening. What you experienced were part of my automatic defence mechanisms. If somebody not belonging to the boundary walks in, his worst fears become realities and will pursue him with no possible escape.”

To himself Ludger mumbled.

“That’s why the creatures from my childhood’s nightmares attacked me.”

The voice said in an apologetic tone.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through this. But, as you can see, it is very effective.”

“Yes, very.”

“Do you wish to go see this new world?” Asked the Guardian.

“Yes, please. I might as well see it since I will have to be here for a while.” Answered Ludger.

“You just have to walk straight ahead and… good luck.”

“Thanks…, I think.”

Ludger stood up and started walking. After a few steps the mist shimmered in front of him. As it dissolved, he was standing at the edge of an enormous meteor crater full of mist. He was in the middle of a large desert plain on which shone two suns, that were in the process of rising.

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From 1990: One Way Ticket To Talenthar

The Sass