...from the dark corners of my mind...

DJ Log: February 12, 2011 – Morning, 8:15AM (USA Eastern)
Text color legend: · NON-DREAM · NOTES · DREAM · LUCID ·

I am entering a large parking garage through a doorway from an airport. The warm humid air stinks of car exhaust and tire smoke. The sound of the buzzing ballasts in the putrid yellow high-pressure sodium light fixtures drown out my footsteps. The walls are dingy gray and there are many rusty pipes along the ceiling. I walk down the main aisle and approach the railing on the ramp where I can see the levels above and below the level I am walking on.

There is a guy walking on the lower level who is looking under and between cars as he walks toward the ramp. He has medium-length dark hair and is wearing a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt, black jeans, and black boots. He is carrying a large pistol, and has another pistol in a side holster. Before he spots me, I quickly move away from the railing and walk briskly up the ramp and toward the central stairway and elevator shaft.

As I approach the elevator, I see a guy who appears to have been shot in the leg. He is tying a t-shirt around his wounded leg and gives me a distressed look as I approach. He has long dirty-blond hair and blue eyes, and is wearing a long-sleeve gray striped shirt, torn blue jeans, and black shoes. There is some blood on the ground, and what looks to be the bullet he was shot with. There are several brown cloth shopping bags and a light gray case sitting on the ground. The case has a broken latch and is partially open, revealing that it is full of bright green pills. I ask him, “Are you OK?” As he is cleaning off his hands in a water fountain, he replies, “I am being hunted and it is not safe to stay here.” I say, “I think I saw your hunter on the way over here and he's walking up the ramp to this level right now.” I ask, “Are you OK to walk?” He replies, “My leg is OK, but I could use some help.” I ask, “Would you like me to help you carry anything?” He replies, “Sure, if you could grab the case, it is more important than any of these bags.” I pick up the case, holding it closed to keep any the pills from falling out. He picks up a couple of the bags and puts them into a trash can, then picks up the rest of the bags and walks with me to the stairs.

We walk down the stairs for a couple of floors, then decide to try the elevator. We walk around to the elevator and press the down button. The door opens immediately, and when we get in, the door closes quickly behind us. The control panel has only one button, so I push it. The elevator is making no noise and I cannot feel any movement at all. I can see my blurry reflection in the door, so I move closer and see that I have really large ears and a third eye in the middle of my forehead. I immediately become lucid and take a brief moment to stabilize by rubbing my hands together while looking up at the ceiling of the elevator. The ceiling is a typical medium fake wood-grain laminate with some brass panels in the corners. There are three white porcelain pull-chain sockets, two of which have a clear light bulb in them. The third socket has the broken remains of a bulb. There is a rusty metal fan grille with a logo plate that looks like it's in Russian, having an inverted 'N' and some other letters on it. I look down again and see that my reflection is gone and the control panel has hundreds of buttons on it now.

Realizing that I am dreaming now, I really want to strike up a half-intelligent conversation with the DC I just met. I look at the guy and ask, “What's your name?” He replies, “I'm Joe.” I put out my hand and say, “I'm Jim, glad I can help you out.” He gives me a firm handshake and says, “Thank you.” While giving Joe a good looking over, I say, “I love your hair, it's my favorite color.” He says, “Thanks, I like yours as well.” I ask, “Wouldn't it be awesome if we could trade hair for a day?” Joe looks at me for a moment, slightly puzzled, then asks, “Does it seem like this elevator is not going anywhere?” I reply, “I'm not sure. I haven't felt it move yet.” I look at the control panel and now there are no buttons at all. Becoming impatient with the elevator, I grab the door and force it open, only to discover that we are on the same level of the garage. I say, “Shit! Let's go back to the stairs. At least they seem to work properly in here.” We walk around the elevator and start heading down the stairs.

There is a female attendant standing behind a podium on the first landing of the stairs. She is collecting a cash payment for a ticket to access the last section of the stairway. A couple of rough-looking guards are checking ticket stubs as people pass through. Some people in front of us pay, receive a ticket and walk through. Both Joe and I pull out some cash and pay the attendant, but before we receive our tickets, I see the hunter walking toward the other side of the elevator shaft on the floor below. Joe's back is toward the hunter, and I am facing his direction. The hunter is looking the opposite direction as he approaches the elevator area.

I grab Joe and move in close to him to avoid being seen, saying softly, “Don't move and don't look to your left, the hunter is right there below us.” He looks at me with an absolutely terrified look. I say, “Just play along and blend in, or he will see us. Let's act like we're just some random tourists and kiss on the stairway.” The expression on his face changes from terrified, to a blank stare, then to a 'come and get me' grin. I drop the case on the ground, throw my arms around him, and start kissing him. He puts his arms around me and kisses me back very intently. His hands slowly massage their way up my back, then he grabs a handful of my hair and pulls me in slightly closer. I close my eyes and run my hands up his back, then grab his hair and pull him even deeper into the kiss. I could feel his heart pounding together with mine as our tongues got together and we kiss even more intensely. After a moment, I open my eyes and see that we are standing in an entirely white space with nothing and nobody around. I close my eyes again, and this was the dream's exit.