Cairus

Non-dreamnon-lucidlucid

Kit had described to me a nightmare she had in which there was a family who lived in a home in the middle of the woods. She described that the family overall behaved normally, but that something seemed Very Very Wrong about them. I asked her if, upon waking, she had pinpointed any of the subtleties that might explain the undercurrent of malaise. She mentions that there was melted snow on the lawn, and in the distance the forest is covered in snow, even though it's autumn. They also keep the fire roaring constantly even though the house is sweltering, and the mother is constantly swaddled in down comforters. The bright young daughter repeatedly reminds everyone to 'keep your shoes by the door, just in case!' It's implied that 'something' will come into the house if the place isn't kept very hot. I ask her if she's ever considered revisiting the dream to find out what It is. She says no. I joke about finding out for myself.

My father and I are driving down a long road. As it progresses, we begin weaving through trees. It becomes snowier and snowier, until the veil of white is so encompassing that we can't see where we're going. He stops the car, and we're barely able to see a house off in the distance. He says he's going to go and ask them for help, possibly use their phone, stay right here. When he opens the door to get out, he zones staring into the snowstorm. I ask him 'What's up?' and he says, 'I just... Got a really bad feeling. Bah, nevermind... Hey. Just. Keep the heat running in here, okay? I'll be right back.' I agree and turn the heat on high.

He vanishes into the snow. Inside the car, the heat begins to die. My breath steams up inside. It grows darker, I notice the snow looks less like snow, and more like a blizzard of frozen ash. I hear something moving; the sound of footsteps echoing like stones thrown to the bottom of a deep dry well. They begin circling the vehicle, getting closer. I squint out the window and notice that all around the house, up on the hill, the snow is melted. I realize I'm in Kit's dream.

I pull out my father's business laptop and log on to AIM and start freaking out and asking her what I'm supposed to do to fend off the creature. 'DUDE. I'M IN THE FUCKING ICE PLACE. WHAT DO I DO?' 'wut' 'GOD DAMNIT IT'S COMING FUCK' I hear a strong wind blowing at the door, reaching out for the handle to open it. I slam the lock down. Realize there are three other doors, all still unlocked. It goes for the one behind me, I lock it- but as I'm pushing the lock down, it's already circling around the front and going for the front left. I push that one down, it's already going for the far rear. I hurl my body across the backseat to reach the lock, push it down, landing with my face inches from the window.

What the fuck ARE YOU? A face SLAMS against the window and smears across it. It looks like Ambi(girl who has been behaving like a stalker toward me), but it's more like her corpse, inhabited and puppeted by the ice, partially frozen, blue and wet with rot. Her eye contorts as it smears across the window. I begin to sob. 'There you go, Kit. There you fucking go, it's a SHAPE SHIFTER. It manifests in the form of whatever you're most afraid of, whatever you're most paranoid of, in the moment you see it.' Now that I know what it is, I'm scared thoroughly shitless. Realizing I'm scared has a snowball effect because it means I'm going to lose lucidity, and my ability to steer the dream before I go under.

I have to get out and face the blizzard, and 'fix it' so I stop having this nightmare before my chance is up and I go under. I'm getting rapidly distracted by fear. I open the car door and step out into it, and in a split second I feel my will being whisked away by the blizzard. 'ohfuck ohfuck I have to turn it into something else... Turn into a... a... shit! TURN INTO A BAR OF SOAP!'

I lose control right as the transformation happens. And for a moment actually can't remember why or how the monster turned into a bar of soap, or even that it was a monster. For a few moments I'm terribly confused and start to cry, because 'Oh my god, something is turning people into bars of soap... What the fuck is going on?!!' (note: my non-lucid dream self is usually a blithering idiot) I then remember that 'I'm the one who did this, I turned Ambi into a bar of soap!' despaaairrr, whiiiine! I start beating myself up over how stupid I am, how could I do such a thing- also, I am 'an idiot for choosing a bar of soap, because when the snow melts it will activate the soap, creating liquid soap and suds, the melt will carry it into the gutters and it will travel out to sea and HURT THE ECOSYSTEM OMG'. I bawl on my hands and knees in the snow like a moron. The dream ends.