Basil woke up looking down at his body laying prone on the couch. It was disorienting to say the least. He walked over to his sister, who was sleeping comfortably in Larue’s lounge chair. Basil shook her shoulder hoping to wake her up. But nothing happened. Her body didn’t even move when he touched her. He tried and tried to get her attention, but it was no use. However, the longer he held her arm the more he saw flashes of images. He saw his mother and himself. He saw the man from the gas station. He saw teeth and bones and fear. He also saw the illustrated image of a golden fox repeatedly. Basil removed his hand from Birdie’s shoulder and the images slowly fell away. He wondered what he just saw. Did he just see his sister’s memories? Her dreams?

Basil slowly backed away from his sister. This wasn’t right. He went back to his body, still prone on the couch, and touched his own shoulder. He thought that if he could make physical contact with his body he might be able to fall back into it or merge with it or something. It didn’t work. Basil felt like an idiot. He walked around the cabin passing Larue’s work bench, the kitchen, and back into the living room. He paced back and forth for a while. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he thought that Larue might have some idea. He walked back to her bedroom and went to open the door. His hand fell straight through the door when he tried to grab the doorknob. He pulled his hand back in shock, staring at it. Then he tried to put his whole arm through the door. It passed through without issue, so Basil took a chance and stepped through the closed door. Basil looked around the bedroom. It was very plain and sparkly furnished with just the basics: a bed, dresser, and nightstand. The only thing interesting about the room was the skull that hung on the wall above Larue’s bed. Basil couldn’t tell what type of animal it might belong to. It was large with two eye sockets on each side and massive horns. He shivered. Whatever it used to be was probably deadly.

He took his eyes off the skull and walked over to where Larue buried beneath her sheets. She was breathing deeply and had a slight snore that made him smirk. She looked so much more peaceful when she slept. He felt an urge to watch her sleep longer, but he dismissed the thought because he thought it might creepy. Instead he grabbed her arm to shake her like he did his sister. As soon as he touched Larue he felt a tug at his center, like he was drawn in towards her. He found the pull somewhat painful, but the pain lessened the closer he got to her. He felt like he was falling. Basil closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, he was no longer in Larue’s room. He was standing in an open plane with a storm pouring buckets of water onto him. Basil was drenched in moments, causing him to shiver. He might not be in his body, but he still felt the cold. He spotted a copse of trees up ahead and ran towards it, hoping that there would be enough cover. The wind slapped him in the face as he ran. Lightning lit up the night.

The trees offered him some relief from the rain, but Basil was still soaking wet. He shirt and pants clung to his body. Basil couldn’t feel his feet. They had gone numb in the cold. When lightning struck again it illuminated an opened patch of land and what looked to be a person. Basil figured it was probably Larue, so he walked forward, hugging himself for warmth. As he got closer his suspicions were confirmed. Larue was sitting with her back towards him. She was wet too. Her loose nightshirt hung off one shoulder and did little to cover or warm her. Basil saw the wing of a Thunderbird tattoo on her exposed shoulder, but hers was larger and more ornate than his. Hers was also marred by jagged scars that looked to be caused by claws or talons.

He approached Larue cautiously, not wanting to startle her. He knew that if he did she might accidentally attack him. He wanted to call out to her but didn’t know if she would hear him or notice. He walked around so that he was in front of her. Larue’s eyes were closed but her ears twitched at his approach. She didn’t say anything. Basil could tell that her focus was on the rain that fell on her face. When he was standing almost directly over her Basil noticed to two black tar-like streaks running from her eyes down her face. They looked like tear tracks. He guessed that fairies cried black tears, or at least she did. She looked so small and vulnerable in that moment. Basil cautious reached out to her with his mind, sitting on his haunches so that he was at eye-level.

“Larue,” he called, placing his large hand on her exposed shoulder. Her skin was deathly cold despite its warm hue. Her pointed ears twitched again, but she neither opened her eyes or responded. She was catatonic. Basil wondered if a person could fall into a coma in their own dreams or memories.

“Larue,” he projected louder while shaking her shoulder. This time her eyes opened. She looked at Basil, but there was no light behind her eyes. It was more like she was staring through him than at him. Fresh tears fell from her eyes. They were as dark and glossy as crude oil, staining her white eyelashes and some of her dreads.

It took a flash of lighting touching down not 20 feet from them for Larue to react. She jumped straight into Basil arms at its impact. She was breathing so hard that Basil could feel her heartbeat in his chest. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he held her close. Basil wasn’t sure how long he held her. It could have been minutes, hours, or days. He didn’t mind. Her woodsy amber scent filled his nose and her black tears left stains on his white shirt despite the rain. Occasionally he would run his hand along her back, feeling the scars that ran diagonally along it as he did. Eventually her warm quite voice graced his mind.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she told him, wiping a hand across her face. It made the black staining worse. “This nightmare is very personal. You need to learn how to control your gift."

“I’m sorry, I didn’t come on purpose,” Basil whispered in her mind. “I woke standing over my body. I thought you could help, but when I touched you I wound up here.”

“I figured,” she told him. She moved to stand up, but Basil tightened his grip around her.

“You can stay,” Basil said. “I know you’re cold. You felt like ice up until about two minutes ago.”

Larue protested lightly, but gave in. Basil was, in fact, very warm and comforting. The pair fell in silence again. Eventually, the rain started to let up. It was now only a trickle.

“So…” Basil started. “Where are we right now?”

“Somewhere in Nebraska,” Larue replied. Her voice resounded with a pang of sadness in his mind.

“Why Nebraska?” Basil asked. His thoughts had a calming effect on Larue. She found them to be warm and strong.

“It's where I spent the worse night of my life,” she concluded, refusing to say anything else on the subject.

“Is that where you got these?” He asked, lightly touching the top of her shoulder where the scars started.

Larue stood up rather than answer. This time Basil let her. He didn’t want to make her any more uncomfortable than his last question probably made her. She sighed and took a deep breath. Her normal composure was starting to take over again. The vulnerable Larue he had held minutes before was disappearing before his eyes. She was once again strong and confident, even with an ink stained face and soaked clothes. She pulled him to stand up too.

“You need to learn how to control this,” she said. “So, I am going to give you your first lesson.”

Basil nodded. He couldn’t rely on Larue to sucker-punch him every time he need to leave.

“Dream walking is all about intent and focus,” she explained. “When you want to go to someone or someplace, you must focus all of your energy on that person or thing. For example, if you want to go to your mother, you must think of her. Her physical features, her quirks, her likes and dislikes. Understand.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Basil confirmed.

“Good. Now, getting somewhere is the easy part,” Larue continued. “Going back to yourself is the hard part. If you stay separated from your body for too long you will not be able to go back. You would basically spend your life like a ghost. The general rule of thumb is that you have five hours max before you must return.”

Basil let out a breath. If nothing else, he would remember to always get back to his body on time.

Larue looked into his storm gray eyes, forcing him to focus back on her. “To get back to your body you think about and know yourself. What do you look like? Who do you love? What are your likes and dislikes? What are your quirks?”

Basil nodded again. “Okay.”

“Now try it,” Larue told him. “Don’t stop thinking about yourself until you wake up.”

Basil took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He thought hard about himself, his family, his interests, and his quirks. All the sudden he felt an extreme heaviness settle on him.

Basil opened his eyes to find that he was laying on the couch in Larue’s living room. The soft dawn light filtered through the windows. His body was a bit numb and his limbs were heavy, but his clothes were dry, and he was no longer cold. The only indication that he had were the black streaks on his t-shirt.