Drifting through Dreamscapes [.open, 1x1.]

Miller began to tilt his head in many different manners as he tried to get a better angle on the thing that hid behind the barricade of trees. It wasn’t easy to look pass them as it was a large cluster that only had a few gaps to look through. It wasn’t enough to identify what was hidden, but it was enough for Miller to make an assumption that was probably unlikely in his mind. The first thing that came to mind was possibly a scientist’s lab coat, but it didn’t look like fabric and after that his mind leapt to Margaret even though the description of it didn’t match her appearance in the slightest.

The dream man suggested that he should check it out, but in any case of what it truly was Miller had to be the one to investigate it. He didn’t like it, but if it was the dead woman again he would have to hide her. Fictional dream character or not, no one was supposed to know about her. “I think I know what it might be. I’ll go check it out first” Miller spoke quite seriously in tone. He pulled his left elbow back keeping his blade directly at his side as his head hunched down and he began leaping in large strides keeping his movements silent. It was a skill he hadn’t used in a long time, but then again it wasn’t often that he had to sneak around silently and swiftly.

Miller continued his awkward skip until he reached the hideout of the being. The bladed man finally relieved himself to the being and he was stunned by what he saw. “It’s a cow!” he shouted excitedly back to the dream man. “I’ve never seen one this close up before” he thought aloud as he investigated the nearly spotless cow. The farm animal gave no real reaction to Miller and continued to chew the grass in front of its face as it had always been. “If there’s a cow here, what else could be?” he openly questioned not expecting a real answer from the other guy.

Jeremy was not sure what to think of this new development. With his usual grace, he accepted the cow without a second thought. He'd followed Miller at a good distance, not wanting to be left behind in a landscape that could very well change in a heartbeat.

He emerged next to Miller shortly after the guy's shout about the identity of the mystery animal. Unlike Miller, he had seen one up close. He'd grown up in America's heartland. While his house had been in a suburb, it had been close to farmland. Several of his friends had been learning to take over the farms their parents ran.

Jeremy touched the cow on the neck, then let his hand dropped. "If it's a farm," he started, answering Miller's rhetorical question, "There might be chickens. Or horses. More cows, maybe?" He shrugged. It would depend on several factors. He smiled a little at Miller's excitement. "What sorts of things would you like to see?"

Miller placed his one hand on the hide of the cow and slid it down the spine of the creature feeling the soft prickles of the animal’s hair. It was a strange feeling, one completely new to Miller. He eyed around the forest in search for any other life forms in the area. He didn’t see any, but he only found the cow after a close examination of his surroundings so it could be the same for others if there were any.

“There’s plenty I would like to see, not a single thing stands out right now…” His mind was more so on the dangerous types of animals since those were the ones he knew the best, but they weren’t exactly the type he would want to encounter. Maybe a shark since there wasn’t much water around them, but given their environment that probably wouldn’t be an issue for the shark.

Miller stared idly into the distance hoping to catch a glimpse of another animal that could possibly be hiding within the jungle. “23B” a feminine voice whispered eerily into his ear. His heart sunk as his expression quickly changed into a form of frightened concern. “Don’t let them find my body” she continued as Miller slowly twisted his body so that he could see behind him. Luckily there wasn’t a female corpse behind him. In fact, Margaret was nowhere to be seen which unsettled him even more.

When Miller convinced himself everything was safe he turned back to his proper position still trying to observe anything behind him with a series of fast paced glares. Though, once he was facing forward again he was greeted with the cow’s deadpanned face starring straight into his deep dark eyes. Miller leapt backwards in a horrid sense of surprise and began to lightly chatter his teeth. “I’ve… I’ve got to get out of here” he spoke as calmly as he could which still kept an overbearing tone of fear followed by a couple of deep exhales.

The tops of the forest’s trees began to blur as the ability to distinguish leaves apart from each other was becoming more difficult by the second. Miller was becoming unstable and the dream world was beginning to crumble, which was an indication that he was nearly about to wake.

Jeremy could pick up on Miller's unease and it only rose as the stillness around them was made more obvious. A whisper suddenly arose, somehow audible though he was certain it wasn't meant for him.

His stomach dropped as she (whoever, or whatever she was) asked Miller not to let 'them' find her body. He took a step backwards as Miller looked for the origin of the voice.

The dream-traveler could only agree with Miller when the other said that he needed to get out of there. "Stay safe, Miller." He was trying not to sound too nervous, nor did he want to give off any impression that his trust for Miller had fallen a couple notches.

The dream itself was destabilizing fast and the last thing he wanted was to show up in another student's room. Especially if there were bodies or something. While that part could have been chalked down to dream-logic, it spoke volumes about something Miller was probably hiding. And, whatever it was, Jeremy did not want to know about it.

So, after his well-wishing, he darted into the underbrush to hide his own exit from the dreaming. Following the ley-lines of his own consciousness, he emerged into the real world outside his room.

In Miller’s panic he felt the intense gravity return causing his body to lower significantly. He continued to run backwards, but didn’t make it too far before the dream person left him. Miller wasn’t certain if that was good or bad because that left him to fend for himself instead of having backup if he needed it and it also meant that the other boy would be left out of whatever was going on, ergo he wouldn’t learn anything about Margaret. Though it was possible that he could have been a figment of his dream, but he wouldn’t even want anything to learn of that.

All that surrounded him eventually blurred and a bright flash of light transitioned Miller from his dream world back into his dorm room. The night was not finished just yet; in fact it was still quite dark out. When Miller’s dark eyes struck open, his left arm flung from his side and tore through his blanket (which had similar tears in it already) on impulse. His upper body rose as his head quickly turned from side to side. Eventually his one hand covered his face.

Miller began to wonder why Margaret reminded him of the body. It was no doubt something his mind created out of paranoia since he hadn’t checked on the body in a long time, In fact he’d never checked on the body after he placed it in the basement of the library. He stared at his door as he thought that he should check on it to make sure that it was still where he left it. No doubt someone had found something wrong since the library was closed. He had to see, even if someone was standing guard, he was taught stealth since creation. Although, he hadn’t trained his technique in years.