I am almost in a dream, when I feel my girlfriend cuddle up close to me. Frustrated, I try to shake her off. I am too rough, and she wakes up. She gets angry, and starts yelling at me to wake up. I realize this is part of the WILD, and that I am hallucinating. The dream is close, so I mumble through the paralysis, "Fuck off, I'm trying to dream." I concentrate harder, blocking out the hallucination. My mind's eye sees nothing but darkness. I look harder, trying to look past my imagination and use my real dream eyes. The darkness takes on a swirling texture. I realize it is asphalt, seen close up and at high speed. Like riding in the car with your head out the window, looking directly down at the road. I see yellow striping on the road as I zoom my vision out. Focusing on really using my eyes to see, everything becomes super vivid and sharp. I can't believe that just moments ago, this was all just my hazy, distant imagination.
I am flying along a city street, trying to remember what I wanted to do with this dream. I decide to go to the mall to track down some hot young women. I haven't had a good sex dream in a while. Before I get too far, I snap out of the dream, and find myself back in bed, lying on my side. I lie still, and feel a wave of vibration take me again. Repeating the hallucination from earlier, I feel my girlfriend cuddle up to me from behind. She starts kissing my neck, and tickling my side. I know this is a hallucination, so I try to ignore it. Her kissing becomes painful, as she sucks hard on my neck. Her tickling turns to pinching, as she starts digging her fingers painfully into my side. I know this is not my girlfriend. A monster is in my bed. She starts to bite and chew on my neck and shoulder, tearing into my skin. I feel her ripping chunks away from my bloody neck, as she sucks my life energy from my veins. I open my eyes, and see a terrible monster atop me. Its hideous face fills my vision, all teeth, fangs, and gore. Calm. Stay calm.
I see the ground zooming along below me again, as I leave the nightmare behind. This time, I am in my back yard, flying along my stone wall. I worry I will never be able to get to the mall in time before I wake up. An outdoor coffee counter is in the distance, run by a beautiful young woman. I land, push my way to the front of the line, and order her to undress. I give her specific instructions as she strips off her apron and overalls. The manager is yelling at me, but I explain to him this is all a dream. The woman gets really into the exhibition of undressing in front of her coworkers. She leads us all upstairs to her apartment. Looking through her record collection, I realize this was a setup. She is actually a prostitute, and the manager is her pimp. He pulls a knife on me, and attacks. I fend off his attacks easily with my super reflexes and strength. I scoop up the nude woman, and walk her downstairs. Her pimp follows me, stabbing and slashing at me wildly from behind. I laugh at him, telling him there is nothing he can do to hurt me.
Suddenly, the world changes, and I am alone and confused in a dense jungle. I wonder at the speed and suddenness of the transition.
The jungle is beautiful. It is a magical, prehistoric looking forest with exotic plants everywhere. A dense mist hangs high in the air, but it does nothing to stop the bright light. It only refracts it into rainbow colors that change as I wander through the trees. Strange insects, like butterflies dance around me in groups. I remember that I have been to this place before. I have been wanting to come back here.
Before I can think about it too much, the ground shakes, and I look up just in time to see four huge legs stomping directly over me. It must be some sort of dinosaur, in this prehistoric land. The only thing I can see are its four gigantic legs, leading unimaginably high into the mist. Now scared, I run to the nearest tree, and start to climb. I imagine the tree will give me some protection from any predatory dinosaur. I scramble into the branches, and look out over the landscape. I see hazy shapes walking upright, moving through the mist. Just in time! They must be T-Rex dinosaurs stalking the large 4-legged one I saw earlier. I climb higher, hoping to get above their reach.
As I climb higher, I see the landscape has changed. It looks drier. Sparse with only scattered trees. It looks more like the Australian or African bush. This tree is on the edge of a clearing. Standing alone in the middle of the clearing is a single majestic tree. It is seated in an intricately decorated wooden pot, raised on a solitary island of red rock. The tree is so large, I can't comprehend its scale. The pot alone must be the size of a city block. Its roots spill out of the pot, and climb down the cliffs to the ground below. Its trunk stretches tall and straight to the sky above. Resembling bamboo, a palm, or tall grass, it is like no tree I have ever seen.
Still high in the canopy of my own tree, I climb out along a branch that stretches into the clearing. It bends precariously. I lean my weight back and forth, swinging the branch further and further into the clearing. As it comes close to the solitary tree, I time my jump, then leap out towards its trunk. More a flight than a leap, the lonely tree seems to pull me towards it with a magnetic force. I embrace its trunk with my arms and legs, feeling its powerful energy radiating into me. It empowers me, and I climb easily up the straight trunk.
Either I begin to grow, or the tree begins to shrink. It soon seems too small for me. It feels like I am climbing the pole of a tall stand lamp. The lamp shade blocks my way, but I can see the glow of the bulb just beyond. I press myself tight against the trunk/pole, and squeeze through the barrier to the open sky above. The tree is thin beneath me, as I balance on its peak. I feel like I am standing on a blade of grass.
I look back at the forest. I see the creatures I mistook for Dinosaurs are actually giants. They stand waist high in the canopy of trees, wading through carefully. There are two of them, walking arm in arm. They remind me of businessmen, with neatly kept shoulder length hair. One is incredibly beautiful, but silent. The other is balding and overweight. He is talking nonstop, chuckling at his own jokes. I call to them, "Hello?! I have some questions!"
The silent one looks directly at me, surprise in his beautiful green eyes. I feel absolutely hypnotized by his gaze, as if one of his eyes fills my entire vision. I lose myself, staring into the endless depths of the green ocean. "Oh, hello." Surprised, he greets me like an old friend, by name.
I remember myself, and reply, "I have some questions. What am I supposed to be doing with my life? What is the point of all this?" I want to explain my question further, but his easy answer silences me. His green eye sparkles around me as he says, "Aren't you enjoying it? Hopefully you will have a chance to learn and grow from the experience."
Before I can ask any more questions, his balding friend starts to laugh dismissively, returning to his endless stream of babble. He reminds me of a salesman, trying to maintain a hold on the conversation. I get the feeling he does not like me much. He makes me uneasy in the same way the beautiful one makes me comfortable.
(I wake up. Later, when I wake for the morning, I wander into the bathroom in a haze. I see a new mole has grown on my neck. The skin around it looks red, like I was scratching it. I ask my girlfriend about it, surprised it could have appeared overnight. It is only later, that I read back through my journal and realize the mole is in the exact spot where the nightmare creature was biting me
)
