May Hawaii and the Dreamhunters

Sotopeña was a village of Andalusian houses built on a cliff. From there you could see the immensity of the Sombraverde Jungle. A sea of palm trees, cedars and giant ferns framed by a wide river. The tropical forest, according to the most accepted consensus, had emerged from the dreams of mankind with the great jungles of the Earth. The sun bathed the lushness intensely, causing the leaves to emit yellowish glints that contrasted with the many shades of emerald. The heat was sticky and humid, producing a shimmering haze from the effect of evapotranspiration. The crystalline reflections in the river gave it a peaceful feeling, although the Sotopeña explorers knew well that it was not an easy river. A few small canoes navigated it, using poles and paddles to guide them when going downstream, and motors when going upstream.

The small village, composed of less than two hundred houses, stood on a bare crag against which the jungle crashed like waves. From the bluff it was possible to descend to the entrance of the jungle, and a small jetty allowed access to the river to enter or leave the thicket. The explorers had not yet determined where the river flowed or its source.

May Hawaii had forgotten her binoculars in her haste, so she used her hand as a visor to scan the jungle from a ledge on the outskirts of town. Among the thickness a few points stood out that could be used for reference.

The first of these was the Sombraverde River itself. It looked like a giant olive-colored python with large meanders. Next to the jetty there was a wooden bridge and another one forty kiloneirons away. The oneiron was the standardized distance measurement in Oniria. It corresponded to the measurement of the shaft of Tiberius’ Patron Trident. Most people instinctively associated it with a meter.

The second bridge, made of stone filled with vines and moss, connected two parts of the jungle. On the left bank from May’s point of view, a giant bare mountain suddenly emerged from the vegetation. At the top was an observatory, and at various heights flew and built their nests a plethora of toucans, macaws, birds of paradise, hornbills and a host of birds of all colors and sizes. There were also pterodactyls and some explorers claimed to have seen a firebird.

On the other side of the bridge, equidistant from the observatory, was the Ziggurat of Sombraverde. May had been there before. So had many other explorers. The pyramidal structure was sunken in the jungle, as if it were a ship about to be wrecked. The scarlet red stone contrasted with the green of the jungle, giving it that dreamlike distinction so characteristic of the ancient Nirmana civilization.

After establishing visual confirmation of the route to follow, May approached the center of Sotopeña. The streets were cobblestone and there were all kinds of vehicles driving through them. The inhabitants of the village were onironauts who had taken up residence there for various reasons. Most of them were from the guilds of the Searchers, the Stairmakers and the Collectors, as the jungle offered a wealth of opportunities for the more enterprising dreamers.

The center of Sotopeña consisted of a rectangular square where the town council presided. The Church of the Circle was on the opposite side, and restaurants and bars could be found on the sides. In the center of the square, a five-meter statue of Tiberius looked proudly at passers-by. The flag of the Triple Star, the ruling guild of Humanity in the dream world, hung from the cabildo. Two large fountains flanked the statue. The square was quite crowded.

May walked to the fountain closest to the cabildo. It had a sculpture of a triton, very much in the Renaissance style. A stream of water gushed from its mouth and fell into several stone shells that channeled it into the basin. May took some water with her left hand and drank. Then she walked to the other fountain, where the figure was of a mermaid. Not the kind with wings on its ears, but the kind with a fish tail. The mermaid had a lyre and a stream of water came out of her mouth. May took some with her right hand and drank.

Then she went to sit on one of the four benches surrounding the statue. But the one she wanted, the one in front of the statue, was occupied by three children eating ice cream. May walked around the square while she made a phone call to Minerva.

-I’m in Sotopeña -May said when Minerva Perez answered.
-We are at the train station. Not all of us have your jumping skills. -Minerva was referring to the ability to translocate using willpower within Oniria. It was a risky technique that could take you somewhere unwanted. It also consumed quite a high dose of aerena, so only experienced or wealthy Onironauts could afford it.- Any clues?
-I’ve asked at the Cabildo and a couple of bars. It’s confirmed that Marcus stopped by. Although he didn’t reveal his plans or destination to anyone. I’m hoping to find out more at the pier,- May lied. -How long will it take?
-Today’s route from the Wish Palace to Sotopeña is between five and seven hours. Apparently there’s a herd of kabu antelope blocking the passage on the Plains.
-I still have a few things to do, but I think I’ll go ahead. See you at the ziggurat.
-Be careful, please.
-As always.

The children were gone. May walked over to the bench as she finished the conversation and sat down to file her nails. A few minutes later, a blonde woman with big sunglasses and a flowered dress sat down next to her.

-Which water is cooler, the newt’s or the mermaid’s? -he asked without looking at her.

-The truth is that I prefer beer,- May answered, completing the secret code.

-You are May Hawaii, if I’m not mistaken.

-I need the help of the Rounders.

-Of course, you have safe conduct. As does your associate Marcus Blake, who I imagine you’re looking for.

-Is it true he hasn’t left the ziggurat?

-If he did get out, it wasn’t by conventional means. He went inside a week ago, a day after she arrived. Seeing him here, I realize that you were expecting him to return earlier. Am I wrong?

-Was it alone? -May asked without answering the woman. If she cared, she didn’t seem to show it.

-Yes. He took the same route as last time, when he came with you, and entered the ziggurat. Since then, he hasn’t come out. I thought it was strange that it took so long, but you know I can’t go far from the urban center.

The Rounders were a secret organization that few onironauts knew about. Although they were not affiliated with the government, they routinely collaborated on law enforcement and criminal hunting missions, so many people mistook them for a secret police force. But the purpose of the Rounders went beyond that. Their mission was to observe and protect the dream society. That’s why they had liaisons in every settlement.

-I’ll need a canoe to the stone bridge. From there I can get there on foot.

Give this pass to the red-haired man at the wharf. He will take you without charge. -May prepared to get up. But be careful. The jungle is restless. There has been a great increase in kabu attacks. Coincidentally, since your friend entered the ziggurat. Some have even dared to enter Sotopeña. Fortunately, there have been no disasters.

May was surprised by the revelation. Kabu activity had been stable since Tiberius had established the Aegis, something like a protective dome over human settlements. Actually more akin to anti-mosquito systems that work by emitting a specific frequency that the bugs can’t stand. The scarlet statue in the center of the village served as a miniature repeater and its range reached out to cover both the ziggurat and the observatory.

May headed for the pier without wasting any more time. She wanted to reach the ziggurat on the same day, before waking up.

-Is it true that the kabus are restless? -she asked the red-haired man after giving him the tiket. He was a dreamer dressed in a shirt with small colored squares, stocky and with a baseball cap that did not hide his red hair.

-The other day I had to go rescue the researchers from the observatory,- he said as he steered the small canoe, taking advantage of the driving force of the river. They told me the birds had gone crazy. They were colliding with each other in mid-flight and where there were two, suddenly there was only one. They said it looked like a merging process they had never seen before. However, the resulting being was sometimes completely different from the predecessors. Sometimes it wasn’t even a bird and it would rush into the jungle, where it would crash. The researchers began to feel uneasy and opted to leave the site before falling into the nightmare.

During the trip, the boatman told May some other anecdotes. Ferns that melted like ice cream, fish that popped up to sing folk songs, or openly hostile creatures that were not usually hostile. It was chaotic and nightmarish behavior that suggested there was something wrong with Tiberius’ Aegis repeater.

As they entered the jungle, they experienced the ghostly effect that gave the rainforest its name. All the shadows cast by the sun had a pine green hue. It made May feel like she was in an old comic book. The heat was stifling, so May was toweling off the sweat.

After a couple of hours, the sounds of the jungle were so deafening that they had to shout to understand each other. It was as if all the animals in the jungle were clamoring for attention instead of hiding to hunt. Birds, monkeys, panthers, rodents… even the ants seemed to be making noise. In addition, there was a lot of agitation in the vegetation. The feeling of uneasiness grew as they approached the stone bridge where they could see a small beach and some boats.

They disembarked, and quickly approached the group on the shore. They were fishermen who used to fish downstream past the bridge. Their boats were damaged, with cuts and scrapes on the hull. They said that the crocodiles had gone crazy and had gone after them, biting and jumping on the boats. Several people were missing. The fishermen were part of May’s guild. In the meanders beyond the stone bridge they could find white sturgeon, a highly prized species among the best restaurants in the Palace of Wishes. They told May and the red-haired boatman that they came every morning and then hauled the cargo upriver. The crocodiles had never been hostile. In fact, most of them didn’t even know there were crocodiles in the area. Just two hours ago they had begun their attack and half of the group had either fallen into the water or fled downstream. The remaining four fishermen were exhausted on the shore and some of their boats had not counted. Most were soaked, having jumped ashore as soon as they set foot.

As they told their story, May couldn’t help but notice that the river was becoming turbulent. The guide noticed it too, and pulled his boat to shore.

-It might be better to stay here until it calms down,- he said.

But the turbulence of the waters gave way to a boil The river had begun to boil! Wisps of smoke began to rise and the heat increased dramatically.

-Quick, to the ziggurat! -May shouted as she drew her pistol.

The warning seemed to take the fishermen by surprise, and they froze. But the boatman did react in time, jumping on top of them as a large bubble the size of the bridge burst. From its interior emerged a humanoid creature whose underside was snake-like. Its bright orange color contrasted with the greenish shadows of the jungle.

-They are nagas! Run! -said the boatman, pushing the fishermen. Their quick reaction after May’s warning had saved their lives, as a hail of spears had crossed the space they were occupying seconds before.

May fired twice and knocked one of them down, but apparently it was a hunting party. She covered the retreating fishermen, looking longingly at the red-haired man, whose cap had fallen off revealing his bright ruby mane. He had a spear stuck in his shoulder, which had torn his plaid shirt. He ripped it off and threw it back, delivering a killing blow to a second naga. Then they ran after the fishermen. The nightmarish creatures chased after them, ignoring their fallen comrades. They crawled like snakes but kept their torso upright. One of the spears pierced the chest of another fisherman as they ran. May was turning to fire some more shots, but his revolver had a capacity of six bullets, so it ran out quickly. However, it bought them enough time to spot the ziggurat. It was a gigantic structure, made of gleaming scarlet stone and covered with vines and creepers and moss. It was half-buried, so it was not necessary to climb a long flight of stairs to reach the entrance.

-They’re not following us! -said someone.

Then the group rested at the entrance. The nagas had stopped the chase when they saw that their prey were heading for the pyramid. The red-haired man sat down next to the huge jamb engraved with animal patterns. Sweat glistened on his face. The torn shirt no longer hid his powerful musculature. Even the red of the blood pouring from his wound seemed to match his hair and the stone of the ziggurat. For the first time he looked into May’s eyes. She had square pupils and red irises. That’s when he realized that his ferryman was something else. He was half kabu.