Chapter 2: The Dreamscape Dancer

'I must have been out of my mind when I signed up for this class.'

As much as Trio joked and daydreamed of the variety of ways he could escape, the degree of truthfulness to the statement was all too much. All the wishing in the world couldn't remove him from his early morning academic marathon from hell, better known as Molecular Biology. Not only did he constantly have to decode the cryptic scientific language and understand it enough to recite it on exams, but he constantly fought the blissful lull of sleep while doing so. Often times he would find himself drifting in and out of consciousness while taking notes, causing him to write out partial or completely unrecognizable sentences. On more than one occasion he had slept through entire lectures, much to his embarrassment. He was already on thin ice as it was with his professor.

One week had passed since the strange phone call. With more important things to concern himself with, Trio pushed the incident to the back of his mind and made nothing of it. More pressing matters, such as making it through another mind-numbing two hours of torture, were his top priority at the moment. Looking up towards the clock hanging above the blackboard, he made a mental note of the time and groaned internally.

'It's only eight-fifteen!? It already feels like I've been here forever!'

Much to his dismay, he felt his eyelids growing heavy and his head begin to droop. Long nights of studying and irregular sleep patterns had been slowly chipping away at his body for some time now. At some point in time, he vaguely remembered jolting his eyes open in a show of defiance to the fatigue overcoming him. However, before he fully realized what had happened, he slumped over in his chair, lost to a subconscious realm.

The first thing he became aware of was the vague sensation of floating. Looking around, he noticed that he was surrounded on all sides by only empty darkness. As though an unknown entity within his deepest consciousness understood his confusion, the darkness began to dissolve into a white and silver fog. Although he couldn't feel in the physical sense, he understood that his feet were now planted on solid ground.

Making his way through the haze, he came upon what appeared to be a circular pool of water surrounded by a series of large rocks around the perimeter. Walking to the edge of the shoreline he noticed how the water flowed off the edge through a gap in between two of the large rocks, creating a fall. Approaching the edge, his gaze followed the current of the sapphire colored liquid and noticed that beyond the confines of the pool there lay only a dark abyss below. He observed that though the water was running off the edge at a fairly substantial rate, there seemed to be no outlet that resupplied the pool. It was as though the falls were part of an infinite cycle without a beginning or end. Looking up from the pool's hypnotic trance, his eyes widened as he discovered that the ground behind him had vanished into thin air, revealing only a few feet separating him from tumbling into the unknown. Off on the horizon, he spied dozens of pools similar to the one he was on, each one supported by an unknown force as the waters cascaded downward from one to the next until they reached oblivion.

Taking in the vibrant sensations and bizarre landscape, Trio felt as though he had seen this strange land before. He racked his deepest memories for any vague indicator, but only came up blank. As he stared off into the mysterious horizon contemplating where this recollection came from, a warm sensation ran from his shoulders down his spine, as though a hand had trailed its way along his back. Spinning around rapidly, he gazed, awestruck at the source of the touch.

'Who is that?'

Perched upon the rocks no more than twenty feet from him was a woman clad in only a thin white dress. Clinging loosely to her petite body, the garment exposed her slim shoulders and seemed to give her an almost angelic aura. Standing with her back to him, the radiant being lifted her arms outwards by her sides so they were parallel to the ground. Trio could see that along the right side of her body ran a tattoo that resembled a floral stem, beginning in the middle of her back and climbing upwards towards her shoulder, where it spiraled down the length of her smooth arm and onto her wrist. Atop her right hand was a portrait of what appeared to be a rose in bloom. Trio couldn't stand to look anywhere else but the beauty before him.

Rising onto the tips of her toes, she began to dance and twirl with astounding grace. Although she wore no shoes, the jagged edges of the stones didn't seem to harm her as she twisted effortlessly, somehow avoiding falling over the edge. Her long chocolate hair would rise and fall with each spin causing it to mask her face.

The more she danced, the more Trio's curiosity grew. Taking a few cautious steps, he silently made his way closer and closer to the stranger who had invaded his mind. Unaware to his closing proximity, the girl kept moving her body with elegance. As he made his way within arm's length, she suddenly stopped abruptly, turning her back to him once more. Crouching down, she buried her face in her knees and began to tremble and sob quietly.

As though guided only by instinct, the young man walked up behind her and placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder. Though he was only dreaming, he could still feel the warmth of her body radiate through his hand. Before he was able to find out what was troubling the angelic young woman, the fantasy collapsed into darkness once more as he was dragged back into reality.

Jolting upright out of his seat with an audible yelp, Trio awoke to numerous stares from his fellow classmates.

"So glad you could join the world of the living," the professor of the class commented sarcastically.

Regaining his composure, Trio looked back at the clock. It read eight-twenty six. Cupping his head in his hands, he let out a heaving sigh.

'This is going to be one long day.'

Upon the conclusion of the class, Trio made the long walk from the far end of the campus back to his dorm room. With his head held down, he stared in silence as the sidewalk passed beneath his feet. His thoughts were traveling at a mile a second, pondering about what he had just experienced.

'That dream was so real. It wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. It was more vivid than my usual dreams. And who was that girl? Why did she start crying?'

As he made his way past the center of campus, his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of running feet coming up fast behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know who was coming to catch up with him. When the clapping of the feet against the pavement grew closer, they slowed down and were replaced by heavy panting.

"Hey Trio… why did you… take off… so quick?"

The young man who looked like he had just run the world's fastest marathon was none other than Trio's roommate, Erri Sveinsonn.

When Trio moved away from home to attend university classes, his secludedness and reserved demeanor created problems with making new friends. But by some stroke of fate, when Erri was assigned to be his roommate, Trio found one of the few people who would become part of his inner circle.

Erri looked much like Croix's long lost brother; tall and muscular with a sharp jaw line. The only physical difference between the two was really their hair color; dirty blonde compared to black. And that was where the similarities ended. Though Trio and Erri were physically on opposite ends of the spectrum, it was the connectivity between the two's minds that solidified their friendship. The two shared very similar interests and viewpoints about numerous topics, including music, art, spirituality, women, and life. Coincidentally, they had many of the same classes together.

"I'm just really tired, that's all," Trio replied with a slight yawn. Though it wasn't the complete truth, it wasn't a flat out lie either.

"You're still tired after that nap you took in class?" Erri joked, giving Trio a light jab in the arm.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go sleep before my next class…" Trio trailed off.

The two walked in silence back to their dormitory. Erri could sense that something wasn't quite right with his friend. Trio was being too quiet, even for him.

"Something eating at you, man?" he asked quizzically.

Trio knew that he could talk to Erri about anything in the world, but something deep inside convinced him to refrain from talking about the dream.

"Nah, I'm fine," he lied.

Erri raised an eyebrow. It was fairly obvious that something was troubling Trio, but he decided against heckling for an answer. It was better to just let it go. If he wanted to talk about it, he would.

"You know, Ry is having a get together tonight. You should join us," he said in an attempt to change the subject.

Anybody who knew Ry Silesia was aware of his amazing cutlery skills and his ability to turn basic groceries into five star cuisines. The two roommates had met him when he lived in the same dormitory before he moved off campus. Turning away from an offer to go to one of his cookouts was turning down the best free meal you would ever have. It was an offer Erri knew Trio wouldn't walk away from.

"And Ry didn't bother to tell me about it?" Trio questioned.

"He did," Erri defended. "You were just off in your own little world. One of these days we're gonna have to work on that selective hearing of yours."

"Yeah, I guess that sounds pretty good," the young man replied with a slight grin. It was hard to be deep in thought about dreams when the offer of free food was on the table.

As the sun slipped over the horizon and night fell, the two roommates made their way over to Ry's apartment complex. Climbing the staircase that led to his suite, they let themselves in unannounced. From first glance, it appeared there were already a good number of people mingling about the small one bedroom apartment. They automatically spotted Andreo and Croix off in a corner chatting to a young blonde. Neither Trio nor Erri had ever seen her before, but she seemed slightly uncomfortable with the two males trying to put on their charm.

Moving deeper into the apartment, the aroma of something grilling on the stove wetted their appetites. Spotting the lanky mastermind behind the feast, they stepped into the tiny kitchen area that served as the source of the evening's delicacies.

"Sup, Ry? What's cooking?" Erri asked the chef with an intended pun.

Ry looked up from the vegetables he was chopping and set the cutting knife aside. It often surprised people that he was so skilled with a blade considering his reputation as being the clumsiest and goofiest of their group of friends. He was also undoubtedly the tallest, standing on the brink of around six and a half feet.

"Smoked barbeque, salad, biscuits, and iced tea." he answered with a proud smirk. It wasn't the fanciest of dishes, but it was a southern tradition.

"It smells good, man," Erri said as he drooled over the food.

"Well, you'll have to wait a little while longer. I'm not quite done yet." Ry replied with a chuckle. Without looking in the general area, Ry swiftly picked up a spatula and swatted away a greedy hand trying to get a taste.

"No freebies in my kitchen." he said, turning to Erri.

While Erri tended to his empty stomach and wounded pride, Trio made his way to the corner towards the seventh occupant of the apartment.

"Hey Kiela, how's it going?" he greeted with a friendly hug.

Kiela Nahaltin was Trio's longest friend and one of the few females he could talk to comfortably about anything. Her mix of Hispanic and Native American roots showed in her long jet black hair and caramel skin. She stood about a head above her shorter friend and was always wearing a smile. She had managed to transfer to the same university as Trio and was still getting to know his group of friends, disregarding their constant joking about them being a couple. In reality they considered each other more of the brother and sister they never had than anything else.

"It's going pretty good," she replied. "Just trying to survive my classes."

"I feel you," the man replied. "O-chem is killing me right now."

"Falling asleep in class again?" the woman teased with a smile.

"You know it."

The next couple of minutes were filled with the sounds of laughter and everyone enjoying themselves. It wasn't often that the group of friends managed to get together to relax and rewind due to their busy schedules. At long last the occupants finally heard what they had been waiting for.

"Dinner's ready!" Ry shouted from the kitchen.

With those words, the entire dinner table exploded into a free-for-all, no holds bar struggle for everyone to get the best of each dish.

"Hey, that biscuit was mine!"

"Ha! You snooze, you lose!"

"Who took all the barbeque?!"

"Andreo, quit hogging everything!"

As forks and knives stabbed for whatever morsels of food they could get, nobody seemed to notice Kiela's brow begin to furrow in rage. Finally she snapped.

"Quiet!"

Everyone turned their heads, wide-eyed in shock as the typically calm girl regained her composure.

"We need to pray for our food first," she explained with an innocent smile on her face.

Everyone around the table placed their utensils down and held hands as Kiela led a quick prayer, upon the conclusion of which they continued stuffing their faces. Throughout the course of the meal, the friends had come to learn that the mystery blonde girl was a classmate of Ry's named Lona Ruger. She seemed shy at first, but began to warm up as the evening progressed. Within twenty minutes, the mountain of food at the center of the table had disappeared.

"Too…much… food…" Croix groaned, patting his swollen stomach.

"I hear you, man," Andreo replied.

The gang had shifted from the dinner table and were now lounging in the living area on an assortment of couches, chairs, and bean bags. Nobody had the energy or the will to do anything but digest. Ry managed to reach the TV controller and flipped through the channels, looking for a movie for them to enjoy.

For a good hour, they all sat in silence watching the television screen. Trio looked around the room and noticed that Andreo and Croix had fallen asleep in their chairs, while a few others looked like they had weights attached to their eyes. As he turned to look back at the movie, he noticed the television screen begin to become full of static. Without warning, the picture was lost and the screen began to buzz with an eerie blue glow. Getting up from his seat, Ry pounded a few times on the television with his fist, but to no avail.

"Stupid cable company. They're always having trouble with my connection." he muttered angrily.

Ry began to pound harder on the screen in a fruitless effort. In fact, it only seemed to make the screen glow brighter. Everyone was now transfixed on the screen, including Andreo and Croix who had woken up from their naps.

"Stupid thing," Ry grunted with one last defiant blow to the screen.

In a flash, the eerie blue light reached through the screen and bathed the entire room in its glow. Within an instant, the occupants of the room were sucked in through the television and vanished along with the light.