looking at us.'
'What makes you say that?'
She shrugged. 'I don't know. Mick said the creatures were joined by another…race. This one didn't have tails. Maybe those are the ones in charge.'
'Wasn't Mick supposed to be tracking that one down?'
'Yes.'
'Uh…be nice if he showed up, right now,' said Nung. 'I think I can pretty confidently state that I'm done hanging around here.'
'Man, what is this place?' Wilkins looked around the room and shook his head. 'This place looks like something out of a bad sci-fi movie.'
'Maybe it's a flying saucer,' said Nung.
Julia looked at him.
Wilkins looked at him.
Wilkins looked at Julia. 'You think?'
She shook her head. 'Nah.'
But the thought intrigued her. What if these were some type of bizarre alien species? What if they were responsible for kidnapping everyone?
But for what reason? Why take them? Why…abduct…
She turned to Wilkins. 'You remember your dreams? The both of you?'
'You mean about coming here?'
Julia nodded. 'Yes.'
Wilkins nodded. 'Sure.'
'Yeah,' said Nung.
Julia recalled her own dreams and tried hard to pull out more details. 'I can't recall mine in any real detail except that I always see this mountain. The one we're in now.'
'So?'
'Well, what if there's a reason we all had the same dream? What if we're all connected somehow?'
'Connected?' Nung shook his head. 'I never knew you before this trip.'
'Maybe we knew each other and didn't even realize it.'
'You saying we connected in our dreams?'
'Maybe not even that,' said Julia. 'What if we connected somehow in real life? Down here.'
'I've never been here before,' said Wilkins.
'That you remember,' said Julia. 'But what if you have been here before? What if we all have?'
'You're really freaking me out,' said Nung. 'How the hell could something like that even happen?'
'I think you know,' said Julia.
Wilkins sighed. 'You're talking about alien abductions?'
Julia shrugged. 'What if?'
'Sure the accounts of other abductees would confirm similar experiences. And some of them have said it felt like they were dreaming. But don't they also say something about incredibly bright lights? I don't remember there being any in my dreams.'
'But you remember snow,' said Julia.
'Yeah, well I was dreaming about this place.'
'And snow when it is in the sunlight can be blindingly white, can't it?'
'Yeah.'
'So it makes sense.'
'Still seems a bit of a reach for my taste,' said Wilkins.
Nung didn't say anything.
Julia took a breath. 'Look, I'm just trying to make some sense of what's going on here. I mean, we're trapped in a mountain with a jungle inside it. We're in some high-tech room no one can figure out. There appear to be a race of weird dinocreatures wandering around the jungle. And God knows what else. If you guys have any other explanations, I'd love to hear them.'
'Maybe we're still dreaming,' said Nung. 'Maybe this is all part of one big hallucination. We'll wake up soon, each in our own warm beds and think about how strange it felt but then that will be it.'
Wilkins smiled. 'Nung, that's the biggest load of horse shit I've ever heard. If I thought I could wake up, I'd be screaming my ass off right now.'
'Just a thought.'
Julia looked at one wall in the room. A smooth gray metallic sheen covered the expanse but there was nothing else on the wall itself. Was that the door?
She heard a vague hissing sound.
'What was that?'
Wilkins turned. 'What?'
'I hear something.'
Nung turned. 'I hear it, too.'
'Wish I had my gun,' said Wilkins.
Julia heard another hiss. Was it another door opening? Were they coming for them now? God, she wished Mick was here!
The wall slid up suddenly. For a moment she couldn't see anything beyond because the corridor outside was draped in darkness.
But then she saw the eyes.
The head.
The body.
Oh my God, she thought. He looks just like all the pictures she'd ever seen. Except for his head which was flattened and jutted out behind his back.
Was this what they'd stumbled on to?
Mick had been right. Two species. This one didn't resemble the dinocreature except a bit in the skull structure.
Nung whimpered slightly as the creature approached. He stood perhaps five feet tall in total. He walked past them without looking at any of them and went straight to one of the computer consoles and worked several knobs.
Julia watched him. Was he going to communicate with them? Was he going to talk? He had a very small mouth. Perhaps he couldn't.
Where was Mick?
The creature turned and stared at her. Julia's mind went blank and then a rush of images surged through her. She could see her dream now. She could see the bright lights outside her bedroom window. She could feel her body go weightless and drift through her window.
Outside.
Up.
Higher and higher.
She was surrounded by some yellow haze that acted like protection for her.
And then she was aboard the craft.
She felt the cold metal table press into her back. She was naked. Lying there exposed. She glanced around and saw other bodies laying nearby. All races. All creeds. All naked.
Then they came for her. More just like the creature standing in the room now. They approached the table and peered at her closely.
Then she saw the metal instruments.
And screamed.
Beside her, Wilkins and Nung screamed at the same time.
The images vanished.
Julia's head dropped to her chest. She tried to suck in as much oxygen as she could. She was sweating
