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DreamState Part I 
Written by Michael A. Brunacini 
 
When I was young I used to have this dream. It was so vivid, so perfectly clear that I remember it as if it really happened. Obviously, as you’ll soon find out, that isn’t possible. So many things about the dream jump out in three dimensions, but at the end of the day, it is just another story written down on a flat piece paper. 
 
It begins at Asbury Forest. This was a real location outside of the dream. I used to play there when I was a kid. I’d run around and explore. I guess by the time I was nearing high school I assumed that I’d seen every inch of that forest. I didn’t think there was a trail left unexplored. In my dream however, I saw things that I never saw in my previous expeditions. 
 
I met up with a friend named Orion. It’s funny, I never actually knew anybody named Orion, but to this day, I feel as though he was real. He seemed so important in the dream. 
 
Orion was a leader. He had quite an imagination. I, Jonah, had lost my sense of wonder. At the time I was in late middle school. My imagination was running dry, what with video games, television, girls, and homework piling high. I didn’t have the time nor desire to play outside anymore. That’s why I went to the forest, I suppose. I was trying to escape it all and enjoy that magic feeling one last time. Orion was looking for an adventure. He wanted to find something new.  
 
He led me deep into the forest. We ended up leaving the trail and following a creek. Something about the water seemed to draw him in. We were jumping from stone to stone trying not to get wet. Every twist and turn of the creek seemed like a new level, each with increasingly difficult obstacles, until we reached the final boss! 
 
The creek had opened up to a wide river. There was no way we could keep going without swimming, so we climbed up the rock wall on the side of the new-formed river. As we reached the summit of the wall, we noticed how dark it was getting. How long had we been in the forest? How far had we followed that creek? I didn’t remember seeing that river before.  
 
We had to make a choice; did we turn back or did we stay in the forest until sunrise? It was certainly too dark to see anything and we didn’t even know which direction to go. It was only then that Orion noticed them. Fireflies. Thousands of fireflies started blinking all around us. At first they seemed natural in their appearance, but soon they began to form into two parallel lines. These lines formed a path through the forest. There were so many fireflies that they actually lit the ground around us. Although I had reservations, Orion knew immediately that we had to follow them; that they were guiding us out of the darkness. 
 
They did guide us somewhere. A large iron wall stood before us and spanned as far as we could see. It was far too large to go over, so we followed alongside the wall looking for a way in. We eventually spotted the gate, but that’s when the Guard saw us! 
 
The guard was an older looking man with white hair on the back and sides of his otherwise bald head. He seemed alarmed seeing us there and immediately told us that we weren’t allowed inside. There had to have been some mistake, we weren’t supposed to be there… or more specifically, I wasn’t supposed to be there. He didn’t seem nearly as bothered by Orion as he did by me. I felt unwanted, but I didn’t know why. 
 
The Guard explained that another man, by the name of Constantine, had torn down the Iron Gate. His greed for power and wealth led him to his decision to overthrow the Guard and claim the forest for himself. He broke down the barrier between his world and whatever laid beyond the gate. Constantine’s world flooded into the forest like a disease, destroying everything in its path… but some of the forest flooded out into Constantine’s world too. 
 
The Guard concluded that the land beyond the Iron Gate was mine, but Constantine took it from me. Somehow Constantine had evicted me from my own kingdom. I didn’t know what to make of this, as I had no prior knowledge of the Iron Gate or Constantine. 
 
I needed to find out what was taken from me. I needed to know what I had lost. At this point, Orion had become the follower. I thrust myself into the leadership position. Orion was a little hesitant moving forward… possibly because he hadn’t been banished.  
 
I needed to find a way behind the wall. The quickest way would be underneath! I searched along the perimeter of the wall for any weak spots or openings, but I ended up finding a small trap door in the soil. I opened it up to find a deep hole in the earth with a wooden ladder built into one side. Orion and I climbed down into a pit of darkness. We felt along the dirt walls until my fingers happened upon a wooden door built into the earthy wall. I opened up the door and we walked through. The ground dropped beneath my feet and I fell into a stream of running water. The water was moving fast, whipping us around. It kept pulling me under, but each time I’d surface I noticed green flares lighting up the inside of the chamber. I was pulled deeper and deeper underwater until I fell out feet first onto land. 
 
I looked up to find that somehow the water was running above me. It was glowing brightly with a bluish-green hue. The aura of light danced across the blades of grass in the field we were now standing in. I led Orion in the same direction as the water flowing above us. As long as we could follow that water, I assumed we’d find our way in. 
 
The further we traveled, the more I began to wonder what was beyond the gate. I wondered why I was forbidden from going, why I didn’t remember it in the first place. I got lost in thought for a while, but remembered that I needed to follow the suspended river! I looked up and found that the water that ran above me had turned into a fine mist that began to descend onto the field. With reduced visibility, we now relied on our other senses as we traversed the alien terrain, but they weren’t much help. Not even our footsteps seemed to make any noise in this place. It was like we were walking on air. 
 
We continued on like that, walking aimlessly for hours. I silently wondered if we’d ever get out. It was then that I noticed something several feet in front of us… a light! It was moving in the mist just ahead! We stood in disbelief as we followed the light’s hypnotic lime-green hue. The Luna Moth, like a beacon in the night beckoned us to follow, and so we did.  
 
After walking in the darkness for some time, my eyes were still unable to adjust. The only thing I could see was the Luna Moth in front of me. I began to notice some odd details as I studied the unbelievable site before me. There was a pair of eyes on the back of the moth’s wings and I swore I saw them blink. 
 
I began to feel the sensation that I was being watched… by those eyes, but how could it be? And with that, the Luna Moth stopped! I stood face to face with the eyes on the back of its wings. I noticed how the wings came down to form two thin tails on either side and in between them a mouth had formed! 
 
“I know it’s so hard to believe, but I wouldn’t deceive you.” The Luna Moth spoke in a soft and soothing voice, “If you decide to follow me, I will lead you out of here.” 
 
Orion immediately said that we shouldn’t listen to the Luna Moth. He said that it was too good to be true, that the Luna Moth was not to be trusted. I wasn’t having any of that. We followed the fireflies in here, so why should the Luna Moth be any different? This was our way out of the darkness. This was our way home! 
 
I was wrong. The Luna Moth led us even further into the darkness and then it disappeared. I could hear it laughing as it flew away.  
 
We were in serious trouble. It was dark. I couldn’t see the hand in front of my face. I asked Orion what we should do, but he didn’t respond. I yelled into the darkness and felt around for my only friend, the only ally I had, but he was gone. I started running. I bolted as fast as I could through the brush and through the trees. I couldn’t see anything, but I ran just the same, my hands outstretched to feel ahead of me. I don’t think I’ve ever run that far. I thought I’d never get out. 
 
I had to slow down to catch my breath, still lost in complete darkness. I reflected on how I ended up in that position. I wondered if I’d ever see home again. I barely remembered what home looked like. I didn’t even know if I was still on the same planet anymore. Everything felt so strange. As I wandered aimlessly, I noticed a light in the distance! I ran to it as fast as I could! I didn’t care if it was the Luna Moth, the Fireflies, or the Moon! It could be my only way out! I approached the source of the light and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the streetlamp right at the entrance of Asbury Forest. Somehow I managed to find my way back to the beginning of this nightmare… it was only then that I remembered that I left Orion in there. I abandoned him. 
 
The next thing I remember is going back to the forest the next day to look for Orion. It was different though. The Iron Gate had been reduced to a rusted fence. There were broken stones, old cement foundations, and a dilapidated gazebo beyond the fence. I saw him! Orion was sitting in the gazebo! He looked up at me with these sad, hollow eyes and just like that, he was gone.  
 
I never saw him again after that. 
 
It’s funny, every time I tell that dream, I start to remember other little details about my real life at the time of the dream. I remember actually going back to the forest after having that dream. I remember looking for Orion. I remember going back to the forest after dark hoping that the fireflies would appear one night and lead me back there. Lead me back to the Gate and the Guardian would let me through, just like he used to… and I’d trade places with Orion, just like we had done when all of this started… 
 
But it never happened. To this day, it seems so real, but it was just a childhood dream. 






DreamState Part II 
Written By: Michael A. Brunacini 
 
"Has it always been this dark? Where am I? What am I doing here?" With these thoughts buzzing through his head, Orion tries to pin down his last memory, but he doesn’t remember anything. "Am I dead?" 
 
All of a sudden visions begin to flood Orion's mind. People, places, things he’d never seen before… or had he? Either way, he doesn’t remember them. These visions… they aren’t visions at all. These things are actually flashing before his very eyes! He can see them all around him, in every direction. What was once a vast dark void is now filled with light and misplaced memories. However, one of these memories is unlike the rest. It appears to be sentient! All of the other people in this space are flashing like projected images on an invisible screen, but this one person is standing in the same void Orion is standing in… and he’s looking for something. 
 
"Maybe this is his dream and I’m only a part of it!" Orion thought. It’s as good a guess as any. He tries to move in closer to meet his maker, but as he moves the terrain around him changes drastically from blank white space to a forest of trees! The ground below him begins to rise up above the trees and into the sky. The plain white floor crumbles into sand and now Orion is standing atop the dune. He looks out at the trees, hoping to get his bearings in this strange world, when a massive wave comes crashing down all around him.  
 
The trees are gone, now replaced by an endless sea in all directions. He begins to notice that the waves are not crashing on the surface of the water, but they are flowing underneath a glassy barrier. The waves slowly begin changing colors until they appear as pixels on a television screen. The pixels of color begin to form into a discernable image: "That same person I saw earlier!" he exclaimed, "He’s still looking for something…" 
 
It was only as Orion stared face to face with this person that he realized that he was looking at himself. 
 
"Am I asleep? Am I the one dreaming? How do I wake up?" 
 
It certainly doesn’t feel like a dream. Orion doesn’t feel like he has any control of this ever-changing nightmare, despite feeling incredibly lucid.  
 
The screen cracks and implodes, condensing into a single point just below him. All of the light is now spinning around like water down the drain. It’s dark again. 
 
In fact, it is so dark that Orion didn’t even realize he was falling until he hit the ground. Though still dark, he can see something above him. It looks like a floating face on the back of wings. Whatever this thing is says “Orion, I am the Luna Moth. It’s time for you to meet him.” 
 
“Who? Who am I meeting?” Orion asks. 
 
“Constantine.” Replies the Luna Moth. 
 
And with that, the Luna Moth was on its way. Orion quickly follows so as to not be left alone again. 
 
Despite the light emitted from the Luna Moth, it is still impossible to see anything else in this darkness. "I hope this moth knows where it’s going, because I wouldn’t even be able to tell if it was leading me around in circles all this time." Despite this doubt, Orion continues to move his feet. 
 
LIGHT. 
 
In the blink of an eye, Orion finds himself walking through a forest in broad daylight. The sun is shining down and the Luna Moth is nowhere to be seen. He stands before a rusted iron gate with dilapidated ruins behind it. Curiosity raging, he climbs over the remains of the gate and into an old gazebo. Then he freezes in his tracks. 
 
Behind the gazebo are a series of buildings that appear to have been abandoned years ago. The forest has begun reclaiming its territory as vegetation creeps up from within the structures and out through broken windows. There is something else in one of the windows. A dark figure stands, looking out at Orion. Its eyes, two angry, white-hot dots amid the dark shroud surrounding its head. Although he can't make out the rest, Orion still feels a strong sense of foreboding.  
 
A deep and sinister voice carries across the wind, "Orion, I am Constantine. I've been expecting you. You've come so far, but you still haven't the faintest idea where you stand." He continues, "Take a look around. This was all yours. You dreamed all of this up, but now your kingdom has become your prison."  
 
"What do you mean?" Orion manages to blurt out through quivering lips. 
 
Constantine replies, "The old Guard had grown old and weak and I finally overpowered him. With him out of the way, I was able to free Jonah from your mind and imprison you in his. Your fate was sealed once Jonah took your place outside. I let him out and now you are trapped deep within his mind. You're nothing but a fading memory now. Once you are forgotten, you will cease to exist at all!" 
 
With that, Constantine disappears. 
 
Orion turns back toward the gate and sees Jonah standing there! Jonah appears to be looking directly at Orion. Orion tries to call out to tell Jonah to remember him, but Jonah fades into the background. 
 
Memories begin to return from the back of Orion's mind. Jonah... the forest... the gate... the streetlamp. "I know what I need to do." Orion says as he starts running. "I need to make it to the edge of the forest. The entrance to this place. That streetlamp just outside the woods, there was a road! That will lead me back outside! I need to make Jonah remember me before it's too late!" 
 
Orion darts through the forest, dodging tree limbs and brush. He realizes it is a race against time, for not only could Jonah forget him at any moment, but the sun is slowly sinking towards the horizon.  
 
As the sun sets, a deep twilight blue blankets the forest in darkness. Orion witnesses the crescent moon rising over the horizon. With each step he takes, the moon appears to grow larger until he reaches up and plucks the crescent moon right out of the sky. As he moves it, a line of light forms in the sky. Orion uses the moon to draw a doorway into the horizon and as he walks through it, all light disappears.  
The doorway behind him is gone... in fact, everything is gone. This isn't just darkness, there is nothing in this space. Orion feels as if he's floating in a pool of numbness. "I can't even hear my own breath anymore." his thoughts echo in his mind. "My body is just an empty vessel floating through an endless void." He drifts off into a deep slumber. 
 
Orion wakes up to a bright light… a streetlamp hanging over him. He looks up to the sky and sees nothing. No clouds, no stars, no crescent moon looming overhead. There is no wind, no noise. He is left with nothing but the streetlight. "This must be it! The entrance to the forest and my exit from this nightmare!" Orion's inner voice says as he attempts to walk to the other side. But the streetlight never leaves his side. No matter which way he moves, the streetlamp follows, almost as if it were alive. Orion looks up at the streetlamp. He was so close. He looks off into the distance beyond the streetlamp. His hollow gaze interrupted by a blink. As Orion's eyes close, he too disappears into the blackness. The only thing left is the streetlight.