Dreamweavers: Awakening

all his favourite foods were fed to him in quick succession. He writhed around on the floor of the truck in a fit of ecstasy, while Daisy looked on, not knowing whether to laugh or scream.

  All too quickly the sensation passed and Ryan was left panting and heaving, his face in a bed of wood shavings and a chewed up rag dangling over the back of his neck.

  ‘Oh… my… God,’ he panted.

  ‘Ryan? Are you okay?’ asked Daisy nervously.

  ‘I wanna do that again,’ he said, grinning stupidly as a stream of drool collected on the bedding beneath his head.

  ‘You just chewed through that disgusting rag. I’m not sure that it’s going to agree with you.’

  ‘It tasted good enough on the way in,’ said Ryan, trying to right himself but finding the effort all a little too much after such a meal. ‘I’m going to have to remember that one.’ He settled into a resigned slouch.

  ‘Are you saying that was a ‘weave?’ asked Daisy incredulously.

  ‘Yup,’ he nodded.

  ‘Ryan that’s amazing…’

  ‘… it tasted amazing…’

  ‘… and clever too. Full marks for thinking that up. It would never have occurred to me.’

  ‘Clearly you need to spend more time thinking with your stomach. You want some?’

  He eyed the moist, ragged piece of cloth that was sitting forlornly on his shoulder.

  ‘No thanks,’ Daisy smiled. ‘After watching that display there’s no way I could possibly eat.’

  ‘Suit yourself. I might save it for later then.’

  ‘Ryan, seriously now, what are we going to do? We’re supposed to be finding Sophie, or at least following Tristram. We don’t know where we’re being taken or anything.’

  ‘Or where Billy is, the gutless deserter. But Dizz, listen; we’ve been taken captive by a group of giant hamsters. Hamsters, Dizz! I really don’t think we’ve got much to worry about. Captain Nibbles? Come on, I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous in my life!’

  Daisy gave a small laugh.

  ‘It is quite funny, isn’t it? I could barely keep myself together with you making all those faces. But Ryan, they’ve got guns. And Captain… err… Nibbles has given you a nasty scratch on your face. Maybe they really do mean business.’

  ‘Maybe,’ shrugged Ryan. ‘But I’d be pretty ashamed if I couldn’t deal with a bunch of over-sized rodents.’

  ‘I hope you’re right. And I’m sure Billy didn’t mean to leave us behind. He was up ahead, after all. He may not have realised that we had stopped.’

  ‘Think what you want. In my opinion, we’re better off without the miserable git.’

  The truck trundled along a heavily rutted track for a while, providing its occupants with a less than comfortable ride. They felt grateful for the thin layer of bedding beneath them, without which the journey would have been almost unbearable. Occasionally they got the sensation that they were turning corners, but without any windows to provide them with a reference this just made the whole experience even more disorientating.

  One thing they did become aware of, however, was the fact that they were not the only truck on the track. There was a brighter light than that of the moon filtering through the slots in the walls, indicating that there was at least one other vehicle following them. Above the thrum of their own truck’s engine they could hear other distinct tones, hinting that it could be at least two. That aside, there was nothing they could discern from their surroundings so they simply had to wait until something happened.

  ‘Ryan, I’ve been thinking,’ said Daisy after a while.

  ‘Uh oh. Sounds dangerous,’ he replied, not moving from the deep slouch he had found to be the most comfortable position for him.

  ‘I hope it isn’t,’ she smiled. ‘It’s just that I was wondering whether us sitting here is very productive. I mean, we’ve no idea whether we’re getting nearer to Sophie and I’m sure if we put our minds to it we could work out a way of getting out of here. What do you think?’

  Ryan continued to lie there staring vacantly up at the ceiling while he considered his reply. He had actually been pondering the exact same thing.

  ‘Okay, here’s what I think,’ he said after a few moments. ‘We’re in a dream, right?’

  Daisy nodded.

  ‘So basically there’s this whole story going on around us and we’ve just hitched along for the ride. Now, if Soph’s in the story as well, the chances are she’ll come into it at some point. So I think that all we need to do is just play along and wait until she does.’

  Through the gloom in the back of the truck, Daisy gave him an admiring look.

  ‘You are really getting into this, aren’t you?’ she said happily. ‘You’re really trying to figure out how it all works.’

  Ryan shrugged.

  ‘I guess so. Though all I’m really doing is trying to be logical about it. I mean, take this whole Dreamweaver thing we’ve signed up for; we barely know anything about it, do we? A week ago dreams were just dreams to me. Sometimes they were cool, other times not. I really didn’t think any more about them. Now we’re told there’s this set of rules governing how we dream and we only know a tiny part of it.’

  ‘And yet here we are trying to save Sophie from who-knows-what,’ smiled Daisy.

  ‘Well, my dad always says that there’s no substitute for experience. Besides, what would we be doing otherwise? Hanging out on a hilltop with those other freaks, trying to turn sticks into hair dryers or whatever.’

  ‘Ryan, they’re not freaks. They’re just like us.’

  ‘Well, Isabella’s all right, I’ll give you that.’

  ‘All the boys like her,’ nodded Daisy.

  ‘That’s because she’s fit. The others, though; I could take or leave them.’

  ‘Really? I think they are all lovely. Earl’s sweet, and Teemu too; he’s adorable.’

  ‘Biggest freak of the lot if you ask me.’

  ‘Ryan stop it! He’s just a little nervous around others, that’s all. You would be too if you had been through what he’s been through.’

  ‘What’s that?’ asked Ryan, perking up.

  ‘Oh, whoops, no that’s personal stuff. I couldn’t possibly say.’

  ‘No, go on. If he saw fit to tell you…’

  ‘No Ryan, don’t. I shouldn’t have said anything. Just be nice to him, okay? He feels like enough of an outcast already.’

  ‘Suit yourself. Sounds to me as if you like him a little more than you are letting on.’

  Daisy flushed slightly.

  ‘I… err… don’t really know,’ she said awkwardly. ‘He certainly doesn’t argue like all you other boys.’

  ‘That’s because he doesn’t speak to anyone. And I only argue with Billy because he’s arrogant and needs to be taken down a peg or two.’

  ‘I think you’re as bad as each other, although sometimes it is quite funny watching you squabble.’

  ‘We don’t argue that much. It’s just when he opens his mouth that I have a problem. Anyway, we don’t bicker nearly as much as girls do. They’re far worse.’

  ‘No they’re not. I don’t disagree with everyone all the time.’

  ‘Dizz, you’re not exactly a normal girl…’

  Daisy’s face dropped and Ryan quickly fought to recover the situation.

  ‘That’s not a bad thing,’ he hastened to add. ‘Honestly, if more girls were like you the world would be a better place.’

  Daisy’s expression sprang back into a beaming smile.

  ‘That’s so sweet Ryan, thank you,’ she said.

  ‘That’s okay,’ he replied, scratching his head and feeling somewhat flustered. ‘You do see what I mean though? Half the girls at school want to scratch the other half’s eyes out. It’s pretty nasty really.’

  ‘Isn’t it the same for boys?’

  ‘A bit. But guys get over stuff very quickly. I think it’s to do with our short attention spans. A quick fight and it’s all forgotten. Girls bitch about the same th
ing for weeks.’

  ‘I guess they do. You know me though, Ryan. I never pay much attention to that sort of thing.’

  ‘Make sure you keep it that way. I tell you, girls are nice to look at and stuff, but I’m damned if I can figure them out. You’re the only one who makes any kind of sense.’

  ‘That’s because I’m a loony,’ Daisy smiled.

  Eventually the truck crunched to a halt on what sounded like a patch of gravelly ground. There had been no let-up in the harsh ride, which led them to assume that they were still out in the middle of nowhere. There was now more light filtering into the cramped space Ryan and Daisy were occupying, and as the engine was switched off they became aware of a general hubbub outside.

  They waited, listening intently for the inevitable moment when the rear doors would open and they would find out, perhaps, what they had gotten themselves into. The minutes passed and the sounds of activity outside rose, not least the voice of Captain Nibbles, who was barking – or perhaps squeaking – orders left, right and centre. Eventually his voice drew round to the back of the truck and the doors were flung open, bathing the interior in a sallow light.

  Ryan and Daisy gave no resistance as they were hauled out of the vehicle, their expressions curious rather than fearful. They were in a wide clearing that had been turned into a makeshift outpost of some sort, with a ring of tents around the perimeter and a large quantity of light vehicles, arms and supplies in the centre. Powerful spotlights running off vehicle engines illuminated the area, showing thick vegetation all the way round. The only obvious way into the clearing was down the track they had come in on.

  ‘They’ve got enough hamsters here to power