May Hawaii and the Dreamhunters

Although inexperienced onironauts might think that the red sand pouring from the sarcophagus might be the magical aerena of which dreams are composed, the lack of that intrinsic glow betrayed that it was nothing more than common red sand, such as that which covered a large part of the deserts of the Sphere.

The hissing sound produced by the movement of the millions of tiny grains rapidly flooding the large room made it hard for May to concentrate. Ember was trying to lift the heavy slab that cut off the exit through the corridor. But the sand was beginning to cover her knees and if she didn’t get out of there quickly she would end up buried. May had dragged Barreto out of the corridor. The fisherwoman was doing nothing to help, as she was still in a state of shock.

-Barreto has lost consciousness and is in a nightmare! -We won’t be able to get out of here until she wakes up!

Ember gave up on the slab and swept back to the big room. Sand finished filling the hallway. Ember pulled out a hunting knife looking at Barreto.

-Not like that! She could die.
-Better her than us.

May was having trouble keeping Barreto afloat. The sand was slipping between his legs and the weight was sinking them downward. With one hand she held the torch, and with her elbow she used the wall moldings to propel herself upward. With the other hand he held the dreamer. She moved her legs as if she were swimming, to find support. Ember, also holding on to the wall, advanced towards them with the knife still in her hand. Her eyes still had that sparkling gleam in them.

-It doesn’t work like that, animal! If she doesn’t wake up on her own, the nightmare won’t dissolve.

It was a lie. Nightmares could be maintained even if the dreamer awoke, but the likelihood of it happening didn’t depend on whether or not he died in his sleep. It was an effect that seemed random and no one had managed to find a pattern so far. But May was confident that Ember, being half kabu, didn’t really understand what “waking up” meant and would believe her words. Ember hesitated. She paused. For May it might be a dangerous matter, but for him it was a life and death situation. The sand was still rising.

-Is this whole situation being generated by her? -Ember asked.
-More or less since Romulus blew himself up.
-The trap in the backpack, right?

May was going to shake her head, but suddenly her eyes wide open. “How did I not notice until now?” she said to herself. She stuck the torch in the sand and drew the gun. She kissed Barreto on the forehead and whispered, “Easy, darling.” Then she looked at Ember, pointing the pistol at him. He frowned.

-You have no bullets left- he said. But he casually holstered the knife.
-It’s nothing personal- May winked and fired the pistol.

The bang and a scarlet glow flooded the room. The torch went out. Ember screamed in pain. The hissing of the sand stopped. Barreto gasped and began to breathe heavily. In the darkness, May helped her sit up with her back against the wall. Barreto gradually calmed down, however, she would not regain lucidity. For her, everything she was experiencing from now on was a normal, ordinary dream.

-Barreto, everything is all right, you can wake up now. Romulo is waiting for you.

Barreto’s expression softened. Her body began to become transparent as she blurred and dissolved into free aerena, which floated faintly illuminating the room. May crawled over to Ember, who was lying on the sand. He was still playing dead.

-Are you all right?
-It’s like I’ve been hit by a cramp all over my body- he said in a calm voice-. Wasn’t there any other way?
-I couldn’t think of anything better. When did you realize that Barreto’s nightmare was your kabu half?
-When you winked at me.

Ember had one shoulder bandaged from the triton’s spear and now the other shoulder wounded by the aerena bullet May had created at the cost of not keeping power to the torch. Despite this he kept his cool and allowed himself to flirt. May was grateful for the darkness, because the smile and perhaps the blush would have made her too embarrassed had the half-kabu seen it. Then she remembered that he could see her and covered her face with her hat, pretending to fan herself.

-Let’s see how we get out of here- she said to change the conversation.

In the meantime, she took out the canteen and washed Ember’s wound. Although May wasn’t a crack shot, at that distance she didn’t miss. Her bullet had only grazed Ember’s shoulder. It would leave a scar, but it wasn’t serious. Ember took the canteen from his hand and drank until the water was gone.

-I wish I could see that “vigil” you guys talk about sometime. Sometimes I think you sound like religious fanatics- they both laughed.
-Faith has nothing to do with it… the other side is very real. Didn’t your father tell you about it?
-I didn’t know my father. But my mother told me stories. She said that when we die, we go to the Vigil too, but I don’t believe it.
-That does sound like religion- they laughed again-. I’m sorry it’s so unfair.
-I don’t think so. I’m a little envious, but in return I get to live here all the time. From what you say, that vigil seems more like hell than heaven.
-For most people it is- May replied sadly.

Then they spent some time quietly in the darkness. Only their breathing could be heard.

-I won’t be able to light the torch again. I’ve run dry. I’ve spent all I have left on the bullet.
-I can guide you, but we still have to find a way out of here.
-If the nightmare had been generated by Barreto from the beginning, then even the trap in the backpack was his doing. She was driven by fear of you. Even if she didn’t know you were half kabu, her subconscious sensed it. Anxiety and fear did the rest.
-So it didn’t start when Romulus…?
-No, it started before. Before we got to this room. Probably in the corridors.
-But knowing that doesn’t help us to get out either.
-No… but the aerena that we spend when we are under the influence of a kabu is very unstable… it will eventually unravel. It is very rare for a nightmare to leave permanent effects. Sealing aerena, like what I have done with the bullet, requires concentration. The state of mind when we go through a nightmare doesn’t allow it, so it’s actually free aerena… or rather, it’s something like an intermediate state.
-So we just have to wait?
-Yes. -Look at your backpack.

Ember picked up the backpack that had been the bait for the trap. It looked as if the leather had worn out, as if a hundred years had passed. He pulled out the notebook. It was falling apart.

-The Sphere is so weird sometimes…..
-No one set us up. That backpack isn’t Marcus’. We need to go back to the dried blood room. That blood is sealed aerena and it hasn’t dissolved. Marcus is still here.