something familiar … a little bird …
Fade out, fade in, fade out again. The dream slipped away.
In his bed, Bryan turned once, opened his eyes and wondered where he was. The room’s darkness seemed a living thing, ready to sting him with blackened barbs. Sweat dripped from his face, soaked into his sheets.
His
sheets.
His
bed. He was in his own apartment.
He’d left the dream, but the fear of the monster that hunted him came along for the ride. His chest hurt, far worse than it had on the stairs. Was that ache from dream-terror, or from the flu that made him burn and sweat?
Bryan reached out and turned on his nightstand lamp. He winced at the sudden light, but not for long.
He had to find some paper, find a pen.
He had to draw.
Rex Wakes Up
R ex Deprovdechuk woke up hot and sweating.
Excited.
Terrified
.
For a brief moment he remained lost in the dream’s power, his heart hammering, his breath short and fast. Then the aches faded back in like a vise slowly squeezing every part of his body. The pain, the fever … he’d never been this sick before.
His pants felt funny. He reached down and touched, felt something
stiff
. He pulled his hand back — what was that down there? Embarrassment swept over him, making his skin feel even hotter.
He had a
boner
.
He knew what boners were, of course. Kids at school talked about them all the time. People talked about them on TV. He’d even seen them in Internet porn. Seen them, sure, but he’d never
had
one. Watching porn hadn’t given him one. Neither had the girls at school. Rex had always known he was
supposed
to have them, yet they had never come. Nothing had ever turned him on before.
But the dream had.
He had been stalking Alex Panos, the biggest of the bullies who made Rex’s life hell. Stalking him, like a lion would stalk a zebra. The dream-smells still filled Rex’s nose — rotting cloth, garbage — and those conflicting feelings: burning rage against the bully, and mind-numbing fear of the thing lurking in the shadows.
One womb
.
What a great dream. He’d almost jumped down from some building to attack that asshole Alex. Wouldn’t that have been great?
There had been other people in the dream, people who were hunting side by side with him. Two people … two people with strange faces. Dreams were crazy like that.
His dick throbbed so bad it hurt. It was a different kind of hurt than the sickness that overwhelmed his body.
Growing pains
, Roberta had told him. He still didn’t know about that. The pains had come out of nowhere just a couple of days ago. But maybe she was right — he’d just had his first boner ever, so maybe he was growing. Maybe he’d grow a
lot
and wouldn’t be the smallest freshman in the school anymore.
Maybe … maybe he’d get big enough to beat up the bullies.
The boner brought with it a huge wave of relief. In that way, at least, he was like the other boys.
Rex climbed out of bed, careful to move quietly lest the squeaky floorboards wake his mother. If Roberta woke up at this hour, it would be real bad.
He reached up and tenderly touched his nose. Still sore. That wasn’t from the body aches, it was from where Alex had punched him in the face yesterday. Just a little punch, and it had put Rex down. If Alex ever hit Rex as hard as he could …
Rex didn’t want to think about that. He walked to his desk and turned on his lamp. He had to draw a symbol he’d seen in the dream, something that he knew would make the fear fade away. He’d draw the symbol, and then something else — one of those strange faces he’d seen in the dream, a face that should have frightened him but did not.
Finally, Rex would draw Alex. Alex, and all the things Rex wished he could do to him.
The sketch pad waited.
Rex drew.
Aggie James, Duckies and Bunnies
A ggie James pulled the dirty sleeping bag tighter around his body. Even the two cardboard boxes underneath him couldn’t keep away the ground’s chill. He’d
Fade out, fade in, fade out again. The dream slipped away.
In his bed, Bryan turned once, opened his eyes and wondered where he was. The room’s darkness seemed a living thing, ready to sting him with blackened barbs. Sweat dripped from his face, soaked into his sheets.
His
sheets.
His
bed. He was in his own apartment.
He’d left the dream, but the fear of the monster that hunted him came along for the ride. His chest hurt, far worse than it had on the stairs. Was that ache from dream-terror, or from the flu that made him burn and sweat?
Bryan reached out and turned on his nightstand lamp. He winced at the sudden light, but not for long.
He had to find some paper, find a pen.
He had to draw.
Rex Wakes Up
R ex Deprovdechuk woke up hot and sweating.
Excited.
Terrified
.
For a brief moment he remained lost in the dream’s power, his heart hammering, his breath short and fast. Then the aches faded back in like a vise slowly squeezing every part of his body. The pain, the fever … he’d never been this sick before.
His pants felt funny. He reached down and touched, felt something
stiff
. He pulled his hand back — what was that down there? Embarrassment swept over him, making his skin feel even hotter.
He had a
boner
.
He knew what boners were, of course. Kids at school talked about them all the time. People talked about them on TV. He’d even seen them in Internet porn. Seen them, sure, but he’d never
had
one. Watching porn hadn’t given him one. Neither had the girls at school. Rex had always known he was
supposed
to have them, yet they had never come. Nothing had ever turned him on before.
But the dream had.
He had been stalking Alex Panos, the biggest of the bullies who made Rex’s life hell. Stalking him, like a lion would stalk a zebra. The dream-smells still filled Rex’s nose — rotting cloth, garbage — and those conflicting feelings: burning rage against the bully, and mind-numbing fear of the thing lurking in the shadows.
One womb
.
What a great dream. He’d almost jumped down from some building to attack that asshole Alex. Wouldn’t that have been great?
There had been other people in the dream, people who were hunting side by side with him. Two people … two people with strange faces. Dreams were crazy like that.
His dick throbbed so bad it hurt. It was a different kind of hurt than the sickness that overwhelmed his body.
Growing pains
, Roberta had told him. He still didn’t know about that. The pains had come out of nowhere just a couple of days ago. But maybe she was right — he’d just had his first boner ever, so maybe he was growing. Maybe he’d grow a
lot
and wouldn’t be the smallest freshman in the school anymore.
Maybe … maybe he’d get big enough to beat up the bullies.
The boner brought with it a huge wave of relief. In that way, at least, he was like the other boys.
Rex climbed out of bed, careful to move quietly lest the squeaky floorboards wake his mother. If Roberta woke up at this hour, it would be real bad.
He reached up and tenderly touched his nose. Still sore. That wasn’t from the body aches, it was from where Alex had punched him in the face yesterday. Just a little punch, and it had put Rex down. If Alex ever hit Rex as hard as he could …
Rex didn’t want to think about that. He walked to his desk and turned on his lamp. He had to draw a symbol he’d seen in the dream, something that he knew would make the fear fade away. He’d draw the symbol, and then something else — one of those strange faces he’d seen in the dream, a face that should have frightened him but did not.
Finally, Rex would draw Alex. Alex, and all the things Rex wished he could do to him.
The sketch pad waited.
Rex drew.
Aggie James, Duckies and Bunnies
A ggie James pulled the dirty sleeping bag tighter around his body. Even the two cardboard boxes underneath him couldn’t keep away the ground’s chill. He’d
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