May Hawaii and the Dreamhunters

“In calm lies strength, and in strength, control.” Those were the words Don Gregorio had taught him when he found him lost in the alleys of the Palace of Desires, trapped in a nightmare born from his childhood memories. Back then, Valdés was like a rabid dog. He had learned the Lock Method in refugee camps and used it recklessly to unleash his anger in Oniria.

“Two on your right, one ahead.”

The one in front had seen him. He turned to the right. Two skeletal-headed attack dogs burst through the council hall windows. The noise of shattering glass drowned out the sound of the outside. One of the dogs stumbled as it landed. The other lunged directly for his throat. With a sidestep, Valdés turned just enough to dodge the skeletal head’s bite. He kicked, sending the nightmare crashing into the one coming at him from the front, buying time to claw his hand and deliver a blow so powerful to the dog that it shattered it from the inside. He turned around and charged at the other two. The one that had been kicked was still recovering. The other had lost its momentum but managed to leap at the dreamhunter. Valdés headbutted the dog’s skull. He heard the bones crack. The teeth scraped his face, but there was only one left. The kabu seemed to be coughing—Valdés had broken something inside it. He took advantage of its inability to move well to bring down a hammer blow with his joined hands.

One of Minerva’s mini quadcopters flew over his head towards the corridor. Valdés followed it at full speed.

“Up the stairs,” he heard the girl’s voice through the earpiece. “Two above.”

He climbed a flight of stairs. After a turn to access the upper floor, he encountered two creatures devouring the body of a Triple Star soldier. They had humanoid bodies, but their heads were skeletal like the dogs’, and their skin looked like old, cut-up leather. One of them grabbed the hoplite’s spear. The other stood up slowly.

“The era of Tiberius is over,” it said in a guttural voice.

Valdés climbed the carpeted steps one by one. The one with the spear leaped at him like lightning, faster than the dog. Valdés had to step back, dodging spear thrusts with precision. The other creature also descended the stairs.

“Careful, it has a knife.”

Valdés grabbed one of the pictures hanging on the wall, which depicted the governor of Sotopeña, and threw it at the one with the long weapon, who raised his arm to shield himself, leaving his guard open. The dreamhunter took the opportunity to grab the spear with his powerful left arm. But the other was waiting for such a moment and swung its knife towards the dreamer’s heart. Thanks to Minerva’s warning, Valdés ducked, avoiding a fatal wound, though not a nasty cut on his shoulder. It was enough for him to launch a powerful attack, which wasn’t light, and smash the creature against the wall, without letting go of the spear from the other, who still struggled to free itself. With both enemies off balance, within seconds he unleashed a rain of blows as hard as bricks, leaving his enemies defeated and unconscious on the stairs. He kept the spear and the knife. He finished climbing the flight of stairs until he reached the upper floor that opened into a cloister. In the courtyard, he could see the aftermath of the battle between the Triple Star and the kabus, with numerous casualties on both sides.

“You need to cross that courtyard and go through the door ahead. Three are coming up the stairs behind you. Two to your right, one to your left, very close.”

Valdés saw the one approaching was another of the cadaverous humanoids. He threw the knife but missed. Damn.

“In calm lies strength, and in strength, control.” Valdés took a deep breath and prepared to face the attack, but Minerva’s drone crashed into the creature’s head, causing a small explosion, disassembling the threat.

“Don’t worry, I have more.”

Sure enough, the buzzing of the drones’ rotors could be heard in several parts of the hall. So could the footsteps of his pursuers. Valdés ran towards the railing and used it as a step to leap across the courtyard. He had made an Aerena Boost, leaving a scarlet red residue in the shape of a footprint where he had pushed off. He landed with a heavy thud and crossed the double bronze door that led to the noble area of the Council Hall. He closed the heavy leaves and used the spear to block the entrance. Two small quadcopters had entered with him and turned on their lights since the area was dark.

“We need to go back down. The Hall of Time is only accessible from here.”

Valdés let Minerva guide him through a labyrinthine route that didn’t seem to match the real layout of the Council Hall. After several turns and flights of stairs, he heard voices. The drones turned off their lights, and the burly Seeker approached stealthily. Three figures cloaked in black and wearing Venetian masks were in front of a large door engraved with an hourglass. One of them seemed to be trying to force the lock. Another held an LED torch. They were talking to each other.

“Is this guy trustworthy?” asked the one with the black mask.

“Don’t be fooled by appearances. He’s definitely someone exceptional,” replied the one fiddling with the lock.

“If Mr. Malvera trusts him, so do I,” reflected the one holding the torch. “I admit his sudden appearance put me on guard, but Malvera didn’t seem surprised. I think it’s all part of the plan.”

“I thought that despite the resemblance to Marcus Blake, it’s not him.”

“I agree with you. He reeked too much of kabu.”

“Whether he is or isn’t, if he’s on our side, it’ll be easier to bring down Tiberius’s regime. Using the rumors of Marcus awakening something in the jungle to attack the aegis was a good idea. The confusion and the scattering of security is what’s brought us here. But we have to finish the job by destroying the clock. How’s that lock coming along, sir?”

“It’s trickier than I expected, honestly. But it’s just a matter of time, be patient.”

Valdés’s earpiece let him hear Minerva’s whispered voice:

“We were right in anticipating the Devotees would come to destroy the clock as they did with the statue. If they succeed, the time of all dreamers in the area will be thrown off, and oniric civilization in Sotopeña will be over. We’d have to start over. We have to take it out of here and hide it somewhere. Ah!”

Minerva let out a scream, and the two drones fell to the ground, alerting the masked figures.

“Who’s there?”

Valdés stepped into view of the terrorists.

“In calm lies strength, and in strength, control.” When Don Gregorio taught him that, Valdés still couldn’t get his sister out of his mind. She had been kidnapped by a biker gang, and everyone knew what they were going to do to her. He couldn’t prevent it. Valdés went from place to place, threatening and hitting those who didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear. Minerva reminded him of her. Over time, he learned to control his anger and focus his strength. In strength lay control. The masked figures turned towards him. One of their right fists glowed with a golden light. The glowing one had drawn a gun. The one with the black mask merely observed.

Valdés ignored the warnings they gave him and began running towards them while letting out a war cry. His skin hardened like stone. His body began to grow. The one with the gun opened fire, but the bullets bounced off. Valdés ripped his head off with a swipe. He had turned into a vengeful monster. The one with the glowing fist landed a blow on his chest, forcing him to step back. The Seeker swung again at the one in the black mask, but he vanished in front of him as if he were just a shadow. Then Valdés felt the cold metal of a knife in his back.

“Let us do our job, hideous beast. The era of Tiberius is over.”

Another glowing blow hit him in the jaw, and Valdés dropped to one knee.

“Sorry, old man,” Valdés said to himself. “But sometimes strength isn’t found in calm.” Then he let out another scream and unleashed all his aerena. The corridor lit up in a reddish hue. He lunged at the two masked men, who thought he was dead, and embraced them with bear-like strength. The masked men struggled to break free, but the heat radiating was so intense that they could only scream. In a chorus of anger and fear, the three of them began to burn in a scarlet pyre.