Nightmare

Then the room came to life. The rug he was standing on ripped itself out from under him and Kendi flew sprawling into a pile of cushions. Instantly they molded themselves around him, piling about him and suffocating him. Kendi clawed at them ineffectually and wished for a knife, glittering and sharp. In that moment, he had one in his hand. Kendi cut and slashed until the stuffing flew and he came free, though he was still on the floor.

The man loomed over him. Kendi lashed out with the knife. The man leaped back. A table rushed at Kendi like a battering ram. Kendi ducked, and it slid over him. While he was still underneath it, Kendi stood up and flung the table at the man. It caught him squarely in the chest. Without looking to see more, Kendi dove for one of the windows. It shattered around him. Flying glass slashed his face and forearms as he landed on hard, flat ground, but Kendi scarcely noticed. He had to get out of the Dream, get back to his body, but he needed time to concentrate. Should he take the time now or try to get away?

The man appeared at the window, face still in shadow. He was holding a needle gun. Kendi shut his eyes and yanked his thoughts together.

If it be in my best interested and in the best interest of all life everywhere, he pleaded, let me leave the Dream.

The gun went off with a phut. Kendi braced himself for pain and felt none. He opened his eyes and found himself on his own bed in his own room. Pain scored his face, arms, and most of the rest of his body. He tried to sit up, but the room spun dizzily and he fell back. Blood stained his pillow and blanket and slicked his hands. Kendi felt dazed, as if he were only half there. He should call someone for help. But who? The room darkened around him.

'Baran,' Kendi croaked. 'Baran, call Mother Ara. Emergency!'

The computer connected the call and a moment later Mother Ara’s face appeared on Kendi’s white wall. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood. 'Kendi! What-?'

He passed out.

The ceiling was made of beige tile. That wasn’t right. The ceiling was supposed to be white plaster. Kendi blinked, trying to figure out why it looked wrong. He put up a hand and saw it was swathed in soft bandages. Other bandages covered parts of his face and upper body. He was lying on a bed, but it wasn’t his own. How had he gotten here? He tried to sit up. A gentle hand came down on his shoulder to stop him, and Kendi looked up into Mother Ara’s concerned face.

'How do you feel?' she asked. 'Are you in pain?'

Kendi checked. 'No. Where am I?'

'Medical center. I called an ambulance. Can you talk? Can you tell me what happened?'

'Just a moment now.' A man whose hair was as white as his coat bent over Kendi. His name tag proclaimed him Dr. Benjamin Yarmul, and Kendi immediately thought of Ben. 'Can you follow my finger?'

Kendi tracked Dr. Yarmul’s finger, wiggled various bandaged appendages, and assured the doctor that he felt no pain anywhere. Another person was in the room, an Asian woman Mother Ara’s height with a carefully-woven black braid trailing down her back. She didn’t speak as the doctor examined Kendi.

'The damage was superficial,' Dr. Yarmul said. 'All of it psychosomatic, but still damaging nonetheless. We’ve closed your wounds and there won’t be any scars, but you’ll need to keep the bandages on until tomorrow morning just to make sure, all right? We’ll have to keep you here overnight for observation anyway.'

Kendi and Mother Ara thanked the doctor, who then left. The Asian woman came forward and took his place next to Kendi’s bed.

'This is Inspector Lewa Tan,' Mother Ara said. 'She’s from the Guardians.'

'Can you tell us what happened?' Tan asked. Her voice was gravelly, odd for a woman.

'I was attacked. In the Dream.' Kendi tried to sit up again. This time the bed tilted upward with him until he was in a reclining position.

'Did you see who attacked you?' Tan asked.

Kendi shook his head. 'Not really. He wore a hat that kept his face all shadowy.'

'But it was definitely a man,' Tan said.

'Yeah.'

'Are you up to telling the entire story,' Mother Ara said, 'or do you want to rest?'

'I can talk.' Kendi shifted position beneath the crisp white hospital sheets and explained what had happened to him. Tan held what Kendi assumed was a recording device. Mother Ara listened attentively. Kendi had thought he was fine, but by the end of it he was sweating and his heart pounded as if it had happened to him again as he told it. The bandages reminded him of the suffocating couch cushions, and he had the sudden urge to tear them off. The man was pointing a needle pistol at him, and the hospital room felt small and confining, with no place to run. He forced himself to take deep breaths and continue talking, though the sweat turned cold on his body.

'And then I called you, Mother,' he finished. 'That was pretty much it.'

Tan leaned forward. 'Kendi, you saw the killer write a number on the woman’s forehead. What was the number again?'

'Fourteen.'

Tan and Mother Ara exchanged glances. 'You’re sure it was fourteen and not thirteen?' Mother Ara asked.

'Positive,' Kendi said. 'Why?'

'Just making sure,' Tan said.

'So how long was I out?' Kendi asked.

'About four hours,' Mother Ara told him. 'You scared me out of my wits. Ben’s outside. You scared him, too, and he insisted on coming down.'

'Ben?' Kendi’s heart leaped. 'Ben’s outside? Can he come in?'

'In a moment.' Tan leaned closer. 'I need you to answer a few more questions. If you’re up to it.'

Kendi leaned back against the pillows. 'Yeah, okay. Go ahead.'

Tan went back over parts of his story, gently asking for more detail here, a simple retelling there. More details surfaced as Kendi spoke, and he reported them to Tan and Mother Ara.

'We still don’t know who the victim is,' Tan said. 'Though if she was wearing a gold medallion, she was probably a Child. Did you recognize her from the description, Ara?'

Mother Ara shook her head. 'There are thousands of Children.'

'Then I guess we’ll have to do it through old-fashioned detective work,' Tan said grimly.

'Any more questions?' Kendi felt tired now, and his eyelids drooped.

'Not for the moment,' Tan said. 'Though I’ll want to go over it with you one more time a little later, when you’re rested.'

'You should sleep now, Kendi.' Mother Ara patted his shoulder. 'Inspector?'

'Wait,' Kendi said. 'I wanna see Ben.'

'I’ll bring him by in the morning,' Mother Ara said.

'No.' Kendi roused himself. 'I want to see him now.'

Mother Ara looked at the Inspector, who shrugged and opened door. She gestured into the hallway, and Ben rushed into the room, his face even paler than usual.

'Kendi!' he said. 'Are you all right? You look like shit. I mean-you didn’t-you-'

'I’m okay,' Kendi said. 'I’m glad you came by.'

'What happened to you?' he demanded. 'Mom said she thought you were hurt in the Dream, but we didn’t know for sure and they wouldn’t let me in to see you and-'

Mother Ara put a hand on Ben’s arm. 'He’s fine, Ben. Don’t tire him out. I’ll tell you about it when we get home.'

Ben flushed. 'Sorry. I was just-you know.'

'Yeah.' Kendi’s head drooped. ' ‘S okay. I’m glad you …you were …'

'Let’s leave him now,' Mother Ara murmured. But Kendi was already asleep.

In the hallway outside Kendi’s room, Ara gave Ben some money and asked him to go get her some juice. The moment he was out of earshot, she turned to Inspector Tan.

'Number fourteen,' Ara said. 'Did he skip a number?'