Prey

Havel put down his mug of coffee. "I too, have dreamed of coming here before this day."

Julia smiled at him. She felt good the team was rallying around her idea. Maybe they really did believe in her after all. "Thanks Havel."

He shook his head. "It's not…agreement. The same thing happened to me. When I was a boy. A dream. And ever since I also dream of coming to this place. Now, I am here. At last."

"A nice coincidence," said Julia.

"Must be contagious then," said Darren. "Because I dreamed of Antarctica a long time ago, too."

"When?"

"In college." Darren grinned. "Must have been after one of those late night drink-fests. I stumbled home and had the funkiest dream of my life. I couldn't really tell you what it was all about, but the thing ended with me being surrounded by snow and ice and cold and shivering like a damned hypothermic case. And somehow, I just knew it was Antarctica that I was at."

"What was the dream like?" Nung’s voice sounded quiet over the din of noise outside.

Darren frowned. "It's not important-"

"It IS important!" Nung slammed his hand on to the tabletop. Dishes jumped and clattered back against the steel.

Wilkins came alive and grabbed Nung by the shoulders. "Calm down, buddy. Calm down. We're just talking."

But Julia could see Nung's eyes. She could see the intensity of his outburst. The pounded-down memories prying their way out of his subconscious. She could sense the fear. Her fear. She'd had dreams, too.

Nung slumped back down in his seat. "Sorry."

Darren leaned back. "Hey, man, it's cool. If you want me to talk about the frickin' thing, I will. I just didn't think anybody'd be interested."

"I'm interested," said Nung.

Julia nodded. "Me too."

"And me," said Havel.

Wilkins and Vikorsky agreed. Julia looked at Mick who was staring at the ceiling his eyes half-closed as if deep in thought. What makes him tick, she wondered? What's his story?

Darren got up and refilled his coffee, stirring in a heaping pile of sugar before sitting back down. He took a sip, sighed and leaned back. "Okay. Just don't think me totally freaked out or anything when I finish, okay? I mean, this is some pretty freaky shit, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, I haven't even discussed this with anyone before tonight, that's how freaky this shit is. I shit you not."

"That's three shit in a row," said Wilkins. "You shit any more and you'll dehydrate yourself."

A small chorus of chuckles filled the room. Havel smiled. "I like this. Is like a ghost story around the campfire, yes?"

"Well, except for the campfire bit," said Julia. "Our stove here will have to do."

Darren took another sip. "The dream starts out with a mess of bright lights. All sorts of colors. It was sort of like being in some funky dance club with all those swirling strobes flashing and blinding you. Almost like those old stop-animation films. A million lights. Blinding stuff.

"The fucked up thing is that I think I'm awake while the dream's going on. I'm convinced that I'm in my dorm room. That I'm under the covers and the lights are all around me. I mean one minute they're outside my window and the next they're surrounding me.

"I never felt as scared as I did that night, you know. It wasn't like there was some kind of monster attacking me. Dracula wasn't sinking his fangs into my jugular. But there was something…ominous about the lights. They weren't friendly. There was no warmth." He looked into his coffee mug. "They were cold. Cold lights."

"What happened after the lights?" asked Wilkins.

"The lights never left. I couldn't see. But then my body felt really light. Like I was flying. I read somewhere about astral travel and how people think it's like the sensation of flying or being really light. I don't think I astral traveled that night. Because I didn't really get the feeling like I went anywhere until the end when I was suddenly standing in the middle of all this ice and snow and somehow just knowing it was down here."

He sighed and took a long deep drag on the coffee. "I woke up the next morning with the worst fucking headache I ever had in my life. I swore off tequila after that night. I've never had another glass of the stuff."

"So, you think it was just the alcohol?" asked Julia.

Darren grinned. "Sure."

"You ever have any other dreams like that again?"

"Never as bad as that first one, no."

"But you've had others?"

"Sure. Every few years or so since then. I think I've had probably five in total since that first time. I'm never really as scared by them. I feel more like I'm observing something."

Darren looked up and frowned. "Shit, see? You're all looking at me like I'm some sort of psycho case. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned anything. Thanks a lot Nung."

Nung looked at him. "I don't think you're a psycho case, buddy."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm being serious. I don't think you are."

"Why so?"

Nung frowned. "Because you just described the exact same dream I had as a teenager."