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2019, 09-27

Dark Tower: Parting of the Ways

Regular Dream - Video Game / Semi-lucid - Lucid Dream - Notes

It is night, I am standing near a campfire with Roland, Susanna, Eddie, and Jake from the Dark Tower books. Eddie and Jake are transparent. Susanna is holding Eddie’s hand and Roland is holding Jake’s. There is a young man there I don’t know. He is drawing on a pad of paper. He shows his drawing, which is a work of art. The drawing is of Eddie and Jake. As if by seeing the drawing Eddie and Jake become solid. Susanna and Roland reluctantly let go of Eddie and Jake. As they let go Eddie and Jake start fading again. I look at the drawing and I see that is also fading… but why? Roland says it’s because they’re not really supposed to be here, that’s why. Susanna grabs Eddie, Roland grabs Jake, and they stop fading. But they don’t become solid again…

I ask what is going on with Eddie and Jake. Roland says ka is trying to reassert itself. If Jake and Eddie don’t go to the world they belong in soon they might completely fade. So far they have only been able to remain in this world because of their connections. I realize that is why Susanna is holding on to Eddie and Roland to Jake, to try to anchor them in this world. Roland says there really is only one answer, Eddie and Jake have to go to the world they were meant to be in. And Patrick (indicating the man with the drawing) is the only one who can make it happen. Susanna goes over and whispers to Patrick for a bit, then Patrick starts drawing.

I hear something out in the darkness, it sounds like something is creeping about out there. I feel a sensation of being watched. Roland sees me and says Mordrid is out there, and Mordrid’s a-hungry. I say no, it can’t be Mordrid, MoSh killed Mordrid. I am sure of that. Roland says something is lurking out there. I stare out into the darkness, trying to see what’s out there. I see something is reflecting the firelight. I slip into the darkness, ignoring Roland saying I shouldn’t. I use my night vision and I find the thing. It looks like a cross between a giant beetle the size of a large dog and a praying mantis. It attacks me, but I form my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and slice it in two. The thing melts into a strange black fluid that flows off into the darkness.

I return to the camp and now there is a door standing near the edge of the campsite. Susanna is looking at the door, still holding Eddie’s hand. She opens it and lets go of Eddie. When Eddie and Jake get near the door they are solid, but they start fading when they move away. Eddie says that must be the place. He is reluctant to leave because he wants to reach the Dark Tower, but he knows if he stays here he won’t make it anyhow. He and Jake will fade. After some debate it is decided that Susanna will go through the door with Eddie and Jake. Roland seems worried that the door is a trap that leads to toedash space. I say if it does I will get them out. I think Roland just doesn’t want them to leave. Susanna, Eddie, and Jake go through the door. After a brief hesitation Oy follows Jake. Patrick stays behind even though Susanna tries to get him to follow.

The door closes with a resounding thud. Now there is only Roland, Patrick, and me at the campsite. Roland looks depressed. Patrick curls up and appears to go to sleep. Roland sits by the fire and stares into it. He says maybe I should have gone, too. I say it would make no difference, I will wake up back in my prison dimension where I have no skills, no talents, and no abilities. Roland says he doesn’t believe that. I say yes, I always end up there. He said no, he meant he doesn’t believe I have no skills, talents, or abilities there. I don’t answer. He looks more depressed so I put my arm around him and give him a hug. I say I’ll probably wake soon, but I will be back, I am sure of that. I want to see the tower… if the roses around the Dark Tower have the healing properties of the one in the vacant lot then maybe it can even overpower my depression. Maybe both Roland and I can be free. I wake up here.

2019, 09-26

The Dark Tower: The Laughter Vampire

Regular Dream - Video Game / Semi-lucid - Lucid Dream - Notes

I am in a strange place. It is snowy all around, but I don’t feel the cold. I draw the conclusion that I am playing Skyrim VR since I can see the snow and feel a breeze but I’m not cold. It is getting dark out and the snow is starting to fall. I see a plowed street and a small house with smoke coming from the chimney. I head in that direction. I hear roars of laughter from inside. I look in the window and I see Roland, Eddie, Susanna, and Jake all laughing their asses off. There is also another man there that I don’t recognize. Something about him looks fake, though… like he was an illusion. This feels off, so I try the door. It is unlocked so I let myself in, hoping to not be seen as too rude… after all, no one would hear me knock over the laughter and for any normal person it would be bitterly cold out.

When I get inside and close the door behind me I see that none of the people laughing have even noticed me enter. The man I don’t recognize sees me and makes a lame-ass joke about my arrival. I don’t remember the joke, just that I found it about as funny as vomiting. I am the only one who finds it unfunny, though, as everyone else in the room roars with renewed gales of laughter. Susanna slaps her own face while laughing and a sore at the corner of her mouth starts bleeding profusely. This puts an immediate damper on Eddie’s laughter, and as the others look over they also stop laughing. The man telling the bad jokes, they call him Joe, looks annoyed. How dare Susanna interrupt his jokes with her bleeding!

Susanna gets up and excuses herself. Eddie wants to go with her, but she insists she’s fine and just wants to clean up in the bathroom. Eddie nervously watches Susanna as she goes. He mutters something to Roland about that sore not being a pimple, and he and Susanna should stop bullshitting a bullshitter. Joe tells a joke about bullshit. Eddie gets mad at Joe, saying his wife is bleeding, this is no time for jokes. Joe makes a joke out of that, too. Eddie laughs in spite of himself, Roland laughs, and Jake is on the floor laughing. I still find nothing funny. I think I will go check on Susanna, but then Jake looks like he’s choking so I go to him and try to get him to stop laughing. Joe tells another bad joke, making the laughter worse. I tell Joe if he wants to see something funny, watch this… and I fus him in the face. FUS-RO-DAH! Joe flies across the room into the far wall, falling to the floor in a mess of objects caught in the fus.

I am trying to help Jake and Joe makes a joke out of my fus’ing him. This especially gets Roland laughing and now Roland looks like he’s choking. Joe is clearly an energy vampire and he’s stealing energy from their uncontrolled laughter! I am about to do something a bit more permanent than a fus when Susanna comes back from the bathroom. She has her Witchblade formed into a sword which she uses to remove Joe’s head. The headless body doesn’t die. It stays on its feet and starts transforming onto something that looks more insectile than human. The strange thing blunders around for a bit before collapsing into the fireplace and catching fire and finally dying.

Susanna and Eddie embrace but then I notice Eddie is semi-transparent. What is happening? Jake is also semi-transparent. I do a double-take. I ask what is going on. Susanna holds on more tightly to Eddie and Roland embraces Jake as if they can physically keep them from fading. And maybe it works, as they become solid again. Roland tells me that ever since Thunderclap both Eddie and Jake have been fading in and out of existence. He says he thinks ka doesn’t like being foiled like I did. He says I saved them both, but now ka is trying to set things back to the way they were meant to be, and that means no Eddie and no Jake. Susanna says she has been having dreams that indicate there is a world where they are supposed to be right now, and they will be taken there one way or another. I wonder how to counter this unexpected effect when I wake.

2019, 09-12

Regular Dream - Video Game / Semi-lucid - Lucid Dream - Notes

Dark Tower: Algul Siento

I am in Thunderclap from the Dark Tower books. Roland, Eddie, Jake, and Susanna are all gathered in preparation for their assault on Algul Siento, which is where the breakers are being held while they work on breaking one of the remaining beams supporting the Dark Tower. I tell Roland that I can use a song to remove the brainwashing on the breakers, increasing the chances of them helping. Roland says no, that may help after but for now he didn't want the breakers helping, it would make it too hard to determine who the enemies are. Right now there are only a few people on our side, and anyone else coming at them with a weapon could be assumed to be an enemy. I agree to go along with that plan.

As we are talking I see MoSh arrive. He looks at me and says that Algul Siento has some serious giant spider problems, but don't worry about it... giant spider went squish. I am wondering if he means Mordred. If Mordred is dead that’s one fewer problems to deal with. I ask MoSh what happened with the giant spider but Roland says the horn will blow soon, signaling the change in shifts. He says we have to be in position by then. It seems MoSh and I don’t have a part in the plan since no one knew that we would be there, so we decide that MoSh and I will just do whatever we can to cause as much chaos among the guards, Can-Toi, and Taheen that we can. And try to keep the breakers safe.

I think I will stay with MoSh, but I see he has already gone off towards Algul Siento. I try to catch up with him but a couple of guards with guns get in my way. One of them has the head of a rat, the other looks to be human. The human says he doesn’t recognize me, the rat says he’s sure I’m not one of the breakers. I tell them I’m not a breaker, I’m a fus’er. They look confused, the human asks what a fus’er is. I say I’m glad he asked… FUS-RO-DAH! With a sound like thunder the two guards are thrown backwards and they slam into an electric fence, getting electrocution added to the fus’ing. I change my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and cut through the three electric fences that surround Algul Siento.

Now the chaos begins. The horn sounds, signaling the changing of the shift. There are explosions from opposite sides of the small settlement. There is the sound of gunfire and someone is sending out a telepathic message to go South with your hands up and you won’t be hurt. I ignore that message, putting up a block so I won’t have to hear it so loud. I have my Alex Mercer blade formed, so I put it to use as some of the Taheen guards are going past me towards the sound of the gunfire. I don’t have a clear memory of the fight, but when it is ending I see the warden of this prison camp, Pimli Prentiss, lying on the ground, wounded. I see Susanna and Eddie celebrating. Then I see Pimli Prentiss raising a gun. This is where he shoots Eddie! I go and step on the hand raising the gun before he can lift it. I say he’s not going to shoot Eddie this time before using my Alex Mercer blade to remove his head.

I watch Susanna and Eddie embracing for a bit more and then I hear Sheemie running through the streets yelling at the top of his lungs that the beam says thank you, the beam says it’s not too late, all may still be well! This seems to have made Sheemie unbelievably happy. I see he is limping. I go to him and ask if he is hurt. He says his foot hurts a little, but not too bad, and the beam says thank you, all may yet be well! I tell him I want to look at his foot. He says there’s no need, but I insist. He takes off his slipper and I see a nasty cut on his foot. I focus healing energy on that injury, I remember in the book it became infected and Sheemie died from it. Now he won’t be dying from that at least. I wonder where MoSh has gone to. I look around for him for a bit but then I wake up.

2019, 08-13

Regular Dream - Semi-lucid Dream - Lucid Dream - Notes

The Dark Tower: Ulfric Dreaming

I am playing Skyrim VR, I have a Dark Tower mod. I am standing on a dirt road outside of Calla Bryn Sturges. Jake and three other kids leave before I get a chance to approach them. They are creating a false trail for the wolves to follow. I approach Roland, Eddie, and Susanna. I see Susanna is using a Witchblade for legs. Roland says he’s glad I could make it. He asks who my friend is. My first thought is that MoSh is here, but when I turn around I see Ulfric Stormcloak. That was silly for me to think… how would MoSh get in my modded Skyrim VR game? But Ulfric is not supposed to show up in this mod! I am now thinking I’ll be unable to use this mod because it’s broken, including characters that don’t belong here. Well I’ll give it a try anyhow.

Roland says there’s no time for introductions, they’re coming. He points towards the horizon where there is a cloud of dust indicating the approach of the wolves. Ulfric wants to know what that is. I tell him they’re evil robots… think Dwemer constructs… who are coming to kidnap the children of Calla Bryn Sturges and use them to try to destroy the tower that holds space-time together… it’s the same ultimate goal that the Thalmor have in wanting to break the tower on top of the Throat of the World. That must be another aspect of the Dark Tower, just like the rose in New York is…

I see Susanna, Eddie, and the others have gotten into a trench to ambush the wolves. Roland is watching for Jake and the other kids. Something is wrong. I tell Roland I’ll check on them. Ulfric is just looking at me, probably when trying to explain things I said both too much and not enough, just enough to sound confusing and more than a bit nuts. I quickly say those enemies are attacking a peaceful town and I’m helping defend that town, so he can either help or just get out of the way. I head in the direction Jake and the three other children went. After a brief pause I hear Ulfric coming behind me.

I get a short way down the road when I see the four kids. One of them has stepped in a hole and they can’t get him out! I go over to them and try to help. But then the wolves are on us! It’s too soon! The cloaked robots are coming on their robot horses, and they have seen all of us standing out in the open on the road. I tell the kids to keep trying to get the boy free, I have to deal with the wolves. As several are heading straight for us, they are wielding something that looks like light sabers, I fus them. FUS-RO-DAH! The horses don’t go down, but it is effective in blasting the riders off.

Now the fight starts. There is a lot of gunfire. I think if Ulfric is helping I should tell him to target the dish on the top of their heads, but his axe is charged with electricity so I figure that should short the things out as if they were struck by lightning. Speaking of lightning… I use a lightning spell to strike some of the wolves with bolts of lightning. Their “thinking caps” are like lightning rods! The lightning is also drawn directly to the sneetches. Three of the kids have gotten to safety, Jake is still out and firing at enemies. I hear the whistle of the plates as they’re thrown and I see a couple cut through the top of the hoods of the enemies, severing the “thinking cap” right off. I hear a fus from off to my right.

It doesn’t take long before all of the wolves are nothing more than scrap metal… with no losses on our side! My lightning struck down the sneetch that had been about to explode Jake’s friend Benny and the wolf that had been about to cut the woman’s head off found itself getting fus’d by Ulfric and then shot by Roland. I see Ulfric is still here. It looks like he is about to say something but then he fades from existence right before my eyes. Roland sees it, too. Roland asks if that’s normal? I say not really, but I think I’m about to do it as well. Then I wake up.

2017, 11-20

The Dark Tower – The Final Drawing

I am in a grassy area with a couple of other people I recognize. Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, and Susanna Dean are all there. They seem surprised as if I have just appeared out of nowhere. I in a Dark Tower dream. I wonder if MoSh is around somewhere. I don’t see him. We are following a very old road. I see Susanna has learned to use her Witchblade legs well. She is walking with confidence. Eddie is walking beside her holding her arm, but it is not to help her keep balance. It’s because they are in love. We keep going and come to a grassy hill. There are stones standing around it. Roland says this is a speaking circle. He says there will be a demon there and it will be either male or female. He says if it is a female, he will have to keep it distracted while Eddie does what he has to do. He says if it’s male, then Detta Walker would be better suited to it… or me. He says he doesn’t know whether I would be able to deal with a demon or not. I tell him I can kick the demon’s ass. He says it’s not that simple. He says the demons only weakness is sex. He says that is both its strength and it weakness. I tell him that if the demon is a male I’ll rip his dick off and shove it so far up his ass that he’ll be giving himself a blowjob. Roland seems to think I’m not quite understanding correctly.

We soon come to the circle. We enter into it, and Eddie takes out what looks like a sharp stick. I’m thinking that he is going to stake the demon through the heart as if it was a vampire. I blurt that I didn’t realize we were dealing with vampires. Then I can’t help but laugh. Roland thinks I’m losing it. Eddie goes over to a spot slightly up the side of the hill. He starts drawing in the ground. His stick is sharp enough to cut through the grass and into the dirt. Roland is insisting that the only way to keep the demon off of Eddie will be for one of us to have sex with it. I’m sitting there thinking there will be nothing gained by Eddie drawing pictures in the dirt while the rest of us fuck demons. I sense that there is something approaching. I wonder if it is the demon? We wait for a bit as Eddie draws. Something is approaching us from beyond the circle of stones. Many somethings. Was Roland wrong in thinking there is only one demon? Perhaps we will all have demons to fuck. But these are not demons, or not as far as I can tell. These are those cloaked things from earlier. It looks like masses of darkness concealed in cloaks. Shadow demons, though they are not actual demons.

There are many of the cloaked figures. They are circling around the speaking circle. I wonder what they are doing here. I step out of the circle and ask one of them what they want here? The one that I spoke to says they want for Roland to turn ‘it’ over. I asked what ‘it’ is? The cloaked figure says Roland knows. I tell the cloaked figure I have something that I will give it… but it won’t like it. The figure says there are too many of them here, this time there is no way we can win. We should just hand over what they want or everyone here will face a fate far worse than death. Before I can answer this, Roland answers for me. He pulls out his gun and blows the thing’s head off. That seems surprisingly effective for something that looks like a shadow demon. I tell the next one I am in full agreement with Roland’s answer. If they don’t want to be destroyed they had better leave. The only response I get is a hollow laughter. I notice absently that it started pouring rain, but I am barely noticing the wet. It is time to kick some ass.

The cloaked to figure had been right… There are too many of them. So I will even the odds a bit. Divide by Disturbed will have to do the trick. “I’m going to tear a big hole in what is to be, to end all this infatuation with unity. I’m seeking my salvation alone again, I never needed to be one if you anyway. Don’t want to be another player losing in this game, I’m trying to impress upon you that we’re not the same. My own individuality is so unique, I am one impressive motherfucker now wouldn’t you say?“ then with each repetition of the word divide in the chorus I split in two. So it goes from 2 to 4 to 8 to 16… “You might say that I’m the last one standing! And though you try you’ll never find a way to break me! You might say that I’m sick of being stuck in the crowd, I hear the sirens but they’re never going to take me!“ Now that there are 16 of me I form my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade. All of my duplicates do the same. We now have the entire speaking ring surrounded, and there’s no way the cloaked figures can approach Eddie, Roland, or Susanna. Then I hear Roland say the demon is coming as well. I’m a little busy though. Susanna says it is a male, then calls out to someone I can’t see that the pussy is over here. I kind of tuned him out for now. I remember they were able to handle the demon in the book, but these clocked figures aren’t supposed to be here. So all 16 of me start cutting down the cloaked figures where ever they stand.

I take a glance over towards Eddie. He has completely drawn a door in the ground and is drawing a knob. The door knob becomes three-dimensional, and there is a keyhole. He sticks his wooden key in and tries to turn. It won’t budge. It looks like he’s about to freak out. It looks like Susanna is having some pretty wild sex. Although I think she may be the one in command of it. I can sense something on her that seems to be trying to pull away. Eddie pulls out a knife and makes a very delicate cut on the key. There are a couple more cloaked things left, and they seem to be trying to get away. I am thinking that this should not be allowed. Before they can get very far I use the tendrils of Alex Mercer to impale both of them and tear them apart. With all of the cloaked figures gone, all 16 of me merge back into one. Eddie has turned the key, and the door is opening. Roland pulls Susanna over near the door. He says that when he tells her, she should let go of the demon. I look through the door, and I see MoSh. He is coming up a hallway with a boy. That must be Jake. It looks like the house has come to life around them. There is a monster with several large holes in its face, and it looks pissed. It has a huge gaping mouth that looks like it’s ready to eat anything can get a hold of. That’s when Roland tells Susanna to let go of the demon. He tells MoSh to duck, and then he grabs something invisible from Susanna and throws it into the hallway. MoSh ducks down and the demon goes straight the monster’s gaping mouth.

MoSh and Jake come up and out of the door. This point the door slams shut. And then it turns back into a drawing. The rain is quickly washing that drawing away. MoSh has been helping Jake along, and it looks like Jake got hurt somewhere. His leg is pretty messed up. It doesn’t look difficult to heal however. I focus healing energy through Jake’s leg. We are all getting hopelessly soaked. It is pouring rain, though this seems to be the first time I’ve noticed how wet I am. MoSh is wanting to know who the fuck these cloaked things are anyway? Maybe I should’ve kept one of them alive so that we could find something out from it… but dead shadow demons tell no tales. Maybe I’ll be able to keep that in mind next time. I’m feeling a little strange, right now I am wanting to get mad at Roland and tell him that he needs to open up another door so that I can get out of my prison. Whatever cause that reaction, I don’t know. But I don’t get to find out because everything fades and I wake up.

2017, 11-14

The Dark Tower – Missed Contact

I am with Roland, Eddie, and Susanna. I look around to see where we are. Roland, Eddie, and Susanna have been making a journey. I am not sure where they are going, but they’re following a path of distraction. I start remembering. This path of distruction was left by Bearzilla, the giant cyborg bear. They seem to be having difficulty with pushing Susanna in her wheelchair. I think maybe I have an idea. They stop, and I hear Roland talking about Susanna getting a piggyback ride. She really seems to hate that idea. I see Roland has a harness on his back that it looks like someone could ride in. I catch up to them and say I have a possible alternative. A sentient Witchblade can form into weapons and armor, why not legs? I reach into the pockets inside my robes and pull out a Witchblade. It looks like a simple bracelet right now. Everyone is wondering how I managed to get there without any of them knowing. Especially Roland. I hold out the Witchblade to Susanna. I tell her that can help. She says she doesn’t see how a bracelet can help her walk. I tell her to put it on, and it will show her.

While she is sitting in her wheelchair, Susanna slips the Witchblade onto her wrist. It tightens there so that it is firm but not uncomfortable. I tell it to give her legs. The Witchblade forms into armor. But the armor continues and forms complete legs where Susannah’s end in stumps. Everyone around is completely amazed. I tell her it might take some getting used to these new legs. She may need to learn to use them first. I’m not sure how it will feel. She sits there and looks at her legs for a minute, and then moves one of them. She lifts her right leg and stares at the Witchblade foot. She tries to get up from the wheelchair. It is clear that she’s not very stable on the Witchblade legs. Eddie comes over to steady her. With Eddie for support, Susanna takes the first few steps that she has taken for many years. I pull two more Witchblades from my pocket. I gave one to Eddie and one to Roland. I told them that they may not need assistance in walking, but it will still form armor or melee weapons if they need them. I think they’re about to ask some more questions, but the dream has been a pretty short one, and I wake up.

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It seems like it is later in the same dream, but I woke up a little bit in between. I am in a small area where Eddie and Susanna are huddled together on one side of a nearly extinguished campfire, and Roland is on the other. Roland seems very restless. Is tossing and turning, and talking in his sleep about Jake. He keeps calling to Jake as if he thinks the boy will answer somehow. He does not seem sane. I assume it is the paradox. Susanna asks if Eddie thinks they should wake him up to get him out of the nightmare? Eddie says he wouldn’t dare. He points over at gun that is lying on the ground not far from Roland’s hand. I told them that I will do it. They do a double take, looking up at me. I repeat I will help Roland, even if he shoots me it wouldn’t hurt me. So I quietly go over to Roland. I even levitate a little bit off of the ground so I won’t make even a sound. I get so close to him that I’m whispering in his ear. The song My Last Breath by Evanescence. “Hold on to me, love. You know I can’t stay long. All I wanted to say is I love you and I’m not afraid. Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your heart?” As the song continues, Roland seems to calm down. Finally as it is ending he relaxes completely. I believe his dreams are now gone. His sleep is dreamless. I tell Eddie and Susanna that he should be OK now for a while. And soon this paradox will be resolved. And then I wake up.

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I am with Roland and the others again. This time we‘re just sitting and talking. Some of the talk is about the Witchblades, where I try to explain some things about them. That they have minds of their own and will respond to unseen threats and they also respond to their wearer’s mental commands making them like an extension of the wearer’s body once they’re fully adapted to each other. Then Roland starts talking about MoSh. He asked if I know my friend was there earlier? He says that MoSh was there with them earlier, and he is certain that moSh has had formal training as a gunslinger. I tell him I did not realize that MoSh had been there. I ask him what happened? He said he and MoSh were talking, then they found a nest of weird mechanical things that attacked them. He says that even his old teacher Cort would have been impressed by MoSh’s shooting. I ask him for what details he can remember. I tell him that since this is a dream state for us, sometimes we have trouble remembering. Anything that I can tell MoSh might help him remember.

Roland says they were traveling along the path that the bear had left when they heard strange mechanical noisees. He said he and Eddie went to check it out. He said they saw was six little robots moving around in a circle. There were a lot more around them, but they all appeared to be dormant. He said that Eddie started shooting the little robots. He says Eddie shot all but one of them. The last one was coming at them, right as Susanna came over to see what was going on. Eddie took that one out as it was attacking Susanna. Eddie was getting pissed off at Roland because he thought Roland had left Susanna in danger. And while Eddie was getting pissed off, a couple of flying things attacked them. Roland says he shot those easily. Roland says MoSh came up to them and asked if there was a problem? Before Roland could answer, a whole flock of flying things attacked. There were so many of them that it took all four of them shooting to get them all before someone got attacked. He says he did not see MoSh miss even once. I tell him that that’s good, and I hope that MoSh will remember this when I tell him. I also hope I will remember this so that I can tell him. Roland says he is very interested in this method of travel we seem to have. This dream travel. I tell him that’s hard to explain. And I don’t have a chance to try before I wake up.

2017, 10-27

The Dark Tower – Split Timelines

I am at a campsite. It is dark out, and I am there with several other people. I see Roland, Eddie, Susanna, and MoSh. Roland seems to be having some difficulty. He says he’s going crazy. I remember in the books this is the result of a paradox orchestrated by the man in black. Roland is telling stories, one that he says is real and one that he says was supposed to be real. I do not interrupt his telling. Mosh also stays quiet during this time. Although he seems a bit distracted. I wonder if he sees something out in the darkness. Those strange cloaked figures maybe… After Roland has finished his story, Eddie gets part of the concept correct. He draws a line at the beginning for the timeline before Roland met Jake. Then he skips a space and draws a line after Roland parted ways from Jake. He draws a circle in the middle and says that that is what we’re going to has to just ignore. Roland says that won’t work. He can’t just ignore it. I tell Eddie I can add a bit more detail to this.

I set to drawing in the circle. I draw the two separate lines that represent the two separate timelines that now exist. I point to the one on top and say this is the timeline where you met Jake. I point to the one on the bottom and say this is the timeline where you did not meet Jake. Both of these things are true at the same time. The only thing that got it all fucked up was the man in black. I draw a few extra things on the timeline. I draw the door where he met Eddie, the door where he met Susanna, and last the door where he interfered with Jack Mort. I tell him at this point, the man in black created the paradox by arranging for him to save Jake. This is where Jake was transported to his world. But he prevented that. So then I draw a line backwards to where he had met Jake. And I don’t technically he’s on the wrong timeline right now. He has memories of the other timeline because he experienced it, but he’s on this one so he’s also got memories of this timeline now.

He says the only thing that keeps him arguing in his mind about this is the jawbone that he took from the man in black. He throws the jawbone into the fire. It flares up as if it was made of something flammable. Eddie stares into the fire, and I remember that he is now seeing the shape of the key that he will need to help properly draw Jake back into this world. That will fix the timeline. But that doesn’t seem to have eliminated Roland’s issue. I tell him that I think I can help with it, but the only way to fix it permanently will be to fix the timeline. He asked how to do that, and I said it is coming in the future. I feel that it is. I actually know that it is. So I use the song on Roland to help stabilize his mind which is the same one I taught Eddie to use on Susanna. My last breath by Evanescence.

“Hold on to me love, you know I can’t stay long. All I wanted to say is I love you and I’m not afraid.” I have taken a hold of Roland’s hand, and he seems now focused completely on me. “Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your heart?” Now Roland is holding onto me, he actually has tears coming from his eyes. Frustration? I’m not sure. “I know you hear me, I can taste it in your tears. Closing your eyes to disappear, you pray your dream won’t leave you here. And now you’ll wake to know the truth, he still there. Say good night, don’t be afraid. Call on me, call on me we can face the night. Say good night, don’t be afraid.” That seems to have Roland in a more focused state when the song is over. Now we can present him with facts. Eddie remembers Roland telling him about traveling through the mountains alone. Without Jake. But both MoSh and I remember Jake. So obviously he is real. Susanna can’t say either way, she hasn’t heard any of this before.