Free Lucid by L. E. Fred

my bed and scrambled to open my door. I was halfway down the stairs before I realized I wasn’t dreaming any more. Sweat dripped off my chin, and my side was hurting. I slowly returned to my room and assessed the damage. Two small, yet deep, puncture wounds rested between my ribs and my right hip; bruises already form ing around them. Although they were painful, I breathed a sigh of relief. They weren’t tinged with green poison like they were last night.
    * ***
    At first I hadn't realize d I was dreaming again. I had spent a few nights without visiting the ship, and being back on it was a surreal experience. It wasn’t until Mitch reached me that I realized where I was .
    â€œDevon . ” F ear replaced Mitch’s usual confident look. He had dark circles under his eyes. “We’re back.”
    â€œYeah, I know.” I tried not to let his fear get to me, even though my hands were already trembling as they clutched my baseball bat. At least the bat was still with me. “I didn’t even meditate this time.”
    â€œI was at a party,” Mitch said it like it was the worst mistake he could make. “And I went to bed really late. I let my guard down. And now I’m back.” He kept looking around as if Serpentine would turn up.
    â€œL et’s get to the back of the bus, ” I suggested. “We’ll draw the least a mount of attention from there.”
    Mitch nodded and followed my lead. I have to admit it was pretty nice to have him listen to my ideas. Then again he was so scared I bet he would have done anything to avoid confronting Leona or Serpentine again. I felt really bad for Mitch. This was my first time back on the ship. I didn’t really know what to expect. Mitch had visited this place only last night. I looked at his shoulder and saw, despite being heavily bandaged, he was still bleeding .
    â€œShe did that to you?” I asked him. Mitch realized where I was looking.
    â€œYeah . ” Mitch winced as he adjusted the bandages. “Doctor thinks I got into a fight with a large cat. It should heal up in a couple of days, if we do n’t run into Serpentine again.”
    Thankfully, neither Serpentine nor Leona showed up on the ship. The bus ride was just as smooth as I remembered. The other passengers, the souls, chatted merrily amongst themselves. They thought they were on their way to a resort on the moon .
    The ride was a lot longer than I remembered. Then again, I had never ridden it this far before touching the ball of light and waking up. I looked for the light; it was hanging out at the front of the bus by the driver-less bus .
    At least if we didn’t like where we landed, Mitch and I could leave. It seemed a bit unfair that the souls couldn’t do the same. I wondered what would happen if I made one of them touch the light. Would it save them?
    I jumped about a mile when the ship suddenly landed .
    â€œWe’re here , ” Mitch announced, taking a deep breath. He stood up when it was our turn to line up in the center aisle. I noticed he was clutching a rowing oar .
    â€œOh this?” Mitch grinned when he realized what I was looking at . “I didn’t have anything else. Nice job with the bat.”
    â€œThanks , ” I said. We filed out of the bus in silence, careful to not cause a scene .
    Finally, I stepped out of the ship and got my first glimpse of the dream world .
    It looked exactly how I had imagined it. No vegetation grew, and the sky above was pitch black. The thick darkness made me feel like I was at the bottom of the ocean , alone and insignificant in a vast amount of space. Despite trying my hardest to be brave, I began shaking with fear. Even the souls chattered nervously as they walked in a single file between dim lanterns that formed the only path .
    â€œThis is the stuff of nightmares, isn’t it?” Mitch muttered behind me as we followed the souls. I silently nodded as I tried to see