10-28-2013, 11:37 PM
Continued From "Stages"
Dreams and fantasies innumerable flashed behind closed eyes, never to be remembered. Strange, then, that a sudden feeling of awareness crept into his slumbering mind.
"Nick, I need to talk to you. You're in trouble."
He couldn't remember what he'd been doing... Jon? What's he doing here?
Despite Nicholas not uttering a word, the question hung in the air.
Jon descended through the ceiling and came to rest with his feet on the floor between Trano and Reed. He had no idea what she was doing there either. "You are dreaming, Nick Trano. But I am really talking to you. I can't explain more at the monent."
"I'm dreaming."
Trano repeated back flatly.
Jon took a stride toward Nick. "Yes, you are dreaming. Look at your hand. Do you recognize the whirls and ridges of your own fingerprints?"
Trano raised an eyebrow, and looked down. His hands were misshapen, warped. The only thing more strange was how little that bothered him.
It was enough to make him laugh, bitterness drowning out the mirth. "So, I am crazy."
He searched for the source of magical power and drew on it. Yellow tendrils spiraled outwards, towards Jon. "Strange outfit for a nurse."
Jon stared at Nick with an intense gaze and the room throbbed with a pulsing sensation, like a sound just below the threshold of human hearing. The yellow wires shriveled and died even as they appeared. "You are not crazy, Nick. But you are in trouble."
Trano's eyes narrowed. "He sent you then, didn't he?"
Even as he spoke the words he prepared a new assault. "He wants to break me. I won't let him."
The wires nearly formed a solid wall, red and silver and yellow interwoven together.
Jon waved a hand, and again the pulsing sensation shook the room. The wires simply dissipated before they could touch their intended target. A vein appeared on his forehead, as if he'd been concentrating hard enough to raise his blood pressure. "This is a dream, Nick, but I am really in it and trying to speak to you. Do you want more proof?"
A scowl formed on Jon's face as he turned to the bookshelf to his left. Something flew from it and landed in Nick's lap. "Try to read that."
We the people...
the words melted away before his eyes, even as the long-memorized passage echoed in his mind. Once again he was brought to laughter. "So, this is a dream. Not to be rude, Jon, but why are you here?"
Jon nodded to him. "I am here to warn you. Somebody traced our call between us the other day. You are being followed."
Trano leaned back in a chair, and a glass of whiskey materialized in his hand. "You're a little late on that warning, Jon. Brandon already had one of his people killed in my suite."
His brows wrinkled. "The CCD is onto you -- a guest? This is not good for you, Nick. You should know that someone traced your call to a club expecting you to be there."
He paused, before a look crossed his face as if something dawned on him. "And what was up with those threads you sent at me?"
He swirled the whiskey around before taking a sip. The best part about dreaming was that the glass never emptied. "Threads... that's what you call them? I always thought they looked more like wires."
Another sip, dream liquor really was the best. "Of course the Custody's after me--Brandon can do it too. He knows."
Jon blinked. "Are you telling me...you can...and the Ascendancy can..."
Trano blinked back. "We can what?"
Jon shut his eyes, and for a moment seemed to stop breathing. Then wires tinged yellow, green, blue and red sprung from him, curling throughout the room, intertwining before evaporating into nothing.
Trano thought he'd never run out, but somehow the glass was empty. "You're... you can do it too?"
Jon seemed to tense. "I should find it little surprise to find another so soon. It seems those with the ability to touch the Great Spirit are popping up everywhere these days. But to answer your question...yes. I can 'do it' too."
Trano was incredulous. "Popping up everywhere?"
Another drink materialized in his hand. "Do you realize... this changes everything!
" He took a gulp from the glass, then chuckled. "Assuming we're not both insane."
Jon took a step forward, and a glass materialized in his hand. A thick red liquid. Tomato juice, perhaps? What, did the guy think he was short on his vitamins? "I have always known who I am, Nick. The question is, do you know who you are?"
The glass disappeared. "I'm who I need to be. Someone has to stop Brandon."
Jon cocked an eyebrow, and another glass appeared in his hand. "It doesn't really nourish you, here, anything you eat or drink. But the taste still lingers on the memory."
He took another sip. "If you're someone who has to stop Brandon, are you really who you need to be?"
He leaned back, suddenly very weary. "That's a very good question, Jon."
He sighed. "I guess it's going to be awhile before we find out."
Jon folded his arms as he regarded Nick in the chair. "I think...I think I can help you. But we can't talk on the phone, and there are limitations to this place. We're going to have to meet in person."
It was almost as though he didn't hear Jon's words. "You know, for a long time I thought we wouldn't have to fight him."
He looked at Jon. "Brandon, I mean. But I'm starting to see what she was trying to tell me--he won't stop until we're all under his thumb."
Jon shook his head. "You never made much a study of Native American history, have you? I'll tell you this much -- every time the native tribes decided to fight the western expansion, it was already too late."
Jon wasn't wrong. "They're already expanding--am I going to be Sitting Bull or Red Cloud?"
The Custody's inexorable march towards world domination wouldn't be stopped by old age.
"You could be Sitting Bull -- you could be Red Cloud -- you could be Geronimo."
Jon paused. Or you could be someone who acted when the time was right, when you still had the strength to resist the demands of others."
Trano had the feeling if it weren't for Jon, he'd have ended up doing something very stupid. "Thankfully you're Little Bird. Wise words, Jon."
He smiled. "I'm in suite 15-C. Ritz-Carlton. If you're not just a figment of my imagination, come find me."
Jon nodded. "I'll find you there. Pleasant dreams until then."
Before Trano could blink, Jon was gone. Nicholas had many more dreams that night, but none held their place in his memory. When he woke, all he remembered was an extremely vivid conversation with Jon Little Bird. It's a little weird that I'm dreaming about the guy.
He'd barely crawled out of bed when he heard a knock at the door.
Edited by Nick Trano, Nov 5 2013, 01:32 AM.
Dreams and fantasies innumerable flashed behind closed eyes, never to be remembered. Strange, then, that a sudden feeling of awareness crept into his slumbering mind.
"Nick, I need to talk to you. You're in trouble."
He couldn't remember what he'd been doing... Jon? What's he doing here?
Despite Nicholas not uttering a word, the question hung in the air.
Jon descended through the ceiling and came to rest with his feet on the floor between Trano and Reed. He had no idea what she was doing there either. "You are dreaming, Nick Trano. But I am really talking to you. I can't explain more at the monent."
"I'm dreaming."
Trano repeated back flatly.
Jon took a stride toward Nick. "Yes, you are dreaming. Look at your hand. Do you recognize the whirls and ridges of your own fingerprints?"
Trano raised an eyebrow, and looked down. His hands were misshapen, warped. The only thing more strange was how little that bothered him.
It was enough to make him laugh, bitterness drowning out the mirth. "So, I am crazy."
He searched for the source of magical power and drew on it. Yellow tendrils spiraled outwards, towards Jon. "Strange outfit for a nurse."
Jon stared at Nick with an intense gaze and the room throbbed with a pulsing sensation, like a sound just below the threshold of human hearing. The yellow wires shriveled and died even as they appeared. "You are not crazy, Nick. But you are in trouble."
Trano's eyes narrowed. "He sent you then, didn't he?"
Even as he spoke the words he prepared a new assault. "He wants to break me. I won't let him."
The wires nearly formed a solid wall, red and silver and yellow interwoven together.
Jon waved a hand, and again the pulsing sensation shook the room. The wires simply dissipated before they could touch their intended target. A vein appeared on his forehead, as if he'd been concentrating hard enough to raise his blood pressure. "This is a dream, Nick, but I am really in it and trying to speak to you. Do you want more proof?"
A scowl formed on Jon's face as he turned to the bookshelf to his left. Something flew from it and landed in Nick's lap. "Try to read that."
We the people...
the words melted away before his eyes, even as the long-memorized passage echoed in his mind. Once again he was brought to laughter. "So, this is a dream. Not to be rude, Jon, but why are you here?"
Jon nodded to him. "I am here to warn you. Somebody traced our call between us the other day. You are being followed."
Trano leaned back in a chair, and a glass of whiskey materialized in his hand. "You're a little late on that warning, Jon. Brandon already had one of his people killed in my suite."
His brows wrinkled. "The CCD is onto you -- a guest? This is not good for you, Nick. You should know that someone traced your call to a club expecting you to be there."
He paused, before a look crossed his face as if something dawned on him. "And what was up with those threads you sent at me?"
He swirled the whiskey around before taking a sip. The best part about dreaming was that the glass never emptied. "Threads... that's what you call them? I always thought they looked more like wires."
Another sip, dream liquor really was the best. "Of course the Custody's after me--Brandon can do it too. He knows."
Jon blinked. "Are you telling me...you can...and the Ascendancy can..."
Trano blinked back. "We can what?"
Jon shut his eyes, and for a moment seemed to stop breathing. Then wires tinged yellow, green, blue and red sprung from him, curling throughout the room, intertwining before evaporating into nothing.
Trano thought he'd never run out, but somehow the glass was empty. "You're... you can do it too?"
Jon seemed to tense. "I should find it little surprise to find another so soon. It seems those with the ability to touch the Great Spirit are popping up everywhere these days. But to answer your question...yes. I can 'do it' too."
Trano was incredulous. "Popping up everywhere?"
Another drink materialized in his hand. "Do you realize... this changes everything!
" He took a gulp from the glass, then chuckled. "Assuming we're not both insane."
Jon took a step forward, and a glass materialized in his hand. A thick red liquid. Tomato juice, perhaps? What, did the guy think he was short on his vitamins? "I have always known who I am, Nick. The question is, do you know who you are?"
The glass disappeared. "I'm who I need to be. Someone has to stop Brandon."
Jon cocked an eyebrow, and another glass appeared in his hand. "It doesn't really nourish you, here, anything you eat or drink. But the taste still lingers on the memory."
He took another sip. "If you're someone who has to stop Brandon, are you really who you need to be?"
He leaned back, suddenly very weary. "That's a very good question, Jon."
He sighed. "I guess it's going to be awhile before we find out."
Jon folded his arms as he regarded Nick in the chair. "I think...I think I can help you. But we can't talk on the phone, and there are limitations to this place. We're going to have to meet in person."
It was almost as though he didn't hear Jon's words. "You know, for a long time I thought we wouldn't have to fight him."
He looked at Jon. "Brandon, I mean. But I'm starting to see what she was trying to tell me--he won't stop until we're all under his thumb."
Jon shook his head. "You never made much a study of Native American history, have you? I'll tell you this much -- every time the native tribes decided to fight the western expansion, it was already too late."
Jon wasn't wrong. "They're already expanding--am I going to be Sitting Bull or Red Cloud?"
The Custody's inexorable march towards world domination wouldn't be stopped by old age.
"You could be Sitting Bull -- you could be Red Cloud -- you could be Geronimo."
Jon paused. Or you could be someone who acted when the time was right, when you still had the strength to resist the demands of others."
Trano had the feeling if it weren't for Jon, he'd have ended up doing something very stupid. "Thankfully you're Little Bird. Wise words, Jon."
He smiled. "I'm in suite 15-C. Ritz-Carlton. If you're not just a figment of my imagination, come find me."
Jon nodded. "I'll find you there. Pleasant dreams until then."
Before Trano could blink, Jon was gone. Nicholas had many more dreams that night, but none held their place in his memory. When he woke, all he remembered was an extremely vivid conversation with Jon Little Bird. It's a little weird that I'm dreaming about the guy.
He'd barely crawled out of bed when he heard a knock at the door.
Edited by Nick Trano, Nov 5 2013, 01:32 AM.