This dream got really scary towards the end (when I was waking up).
One night in a certain neighbourhood, 10-year-old children are abducted from their beds and forced onto a moving train. It wasn’t long before the train slowed to a stop. The young, terrified children are dragged off the train and gathered in the central square of an abandoned theme park.
The masked kidnappers surrounded the defenseless children like predators taunting their prey. One kidnapper steps forth and tells us we are going to play a game; we have no choice if we want to have any chance of returning home. Even though their faces were masked, their sinister smiles were clearly visible. As he continued, the masked kidnapper made the game sound easy. We needed to complete a series of tasks while travelling through the eerie amusement park. It really was like a game; the tasks included finding hidden treasure, beating an arcade game, completing a quest and so on. All the tasks seemed surprisingly normal but the park did not.
To make the children as uncomfortable as possible, they are separated into groups of five. Each child found themselves in a group with four other children they never met before. It was clear the kidnappers enjoyed watching the innocent children panic, scream and cry.
Each group needed to complete the task as a team. No man should be left behind. To make things harder, the tasks were spread out across the park. The children’s little bodies would be pushed to the brink while completing the tasks. Their determination to return home was all that kept them going. While knowing how to complete the game, the children were never told what would happen should they fail a task.
A long time ago, strange and unexplainable events haunted the amusement park. When the bad rumours started spreading, less and less customers visited the theme park and eventually the park was closed down and left abandoned. The natural elements and creatures have taken ownership of the once bustling centre of games and entertainment. However, just like the park, the creatures inhabiting it were far from normal. They possessed abnormal abilities which could kill instantly. There were few artifacts that can rival their strength.
Like in a game, the players received rewards for completing certain tasks. One item was treats; these treats are some of the creature’s favorites. By feeding these treats to the animals, a group could distract the deadly beasts for a short period of time. This was something the players learned while playing the game.
In the dream, I still had narcolepsy so I would have a hard time helping my group play the game.
It goes to show what you can achieve in your dreams. Otherwise I never would have had the courage to do what I did. I explained to one of the snatchers that I had narcolepsy and cataplexy and how that would impact my team. I asked if there were any services or shortcuts available for people with disabilities.
While surprised at my question, the snatchers don’t seem unwilling. After several minutes of discussing things amongst themselves, one snatcher approaches and hands me five pieces of paper, each a different colour. The snatcher explained how the cards worked; they each had their own ability but could only be used once. One reduced the difficulty, another provided a clue, one attracted/summoned a helper animal to assist us in the game. I never found out what the other tickets were capable off and I felt it was a good idea to avoid asking anymore questions. I think one acted as a lifeline or get-out-of-danger tokens.
I’m surprised they actually gave me something but I wasn’t going to turn down free tokens.
At a later stage during the game (near the end)
We were almost at the finish line, a withering harbor where the aged ferry boats slept. The kids who successfully reached this point would be able to return home. Although they were dormant for many years, the humble ferry boats still had enough life left in them to bring the kidnapped children home.
In the dream I read the time as 09:10am, it was the next day. I have never read the time so clearly in a dream before.
Even with the cheat tickets we were still one of the last groups to arrive at the harbor. There weren’t many functioning ferries left. Exhausted both physically and mentally, we were ready to collapse and surrender to the temptation of sleep. With the harbor in sight, we summoned every ounce of energy that remained in our tiny bodies and pushed on to conquer the last hurdle. To reach the ferry boat, we needed to swim through a short but eerily dark lazy river. Unknown to us, a sinister sea creature had taken up residence in the manufactured river. The nocturnal creature only awoke at night to hunt. The other creatures living in the park were harmless compared to the evil being living in the river waters. The three eyed, snake-like giant eel was as black as tar, slimy and frighteningly large and stealthy; the creature was perfectly camouflaged in the darkness of the river.
As it was impossible to see through the thick, black water there have been unfortunate souls who entered the creature’s territory. They never seen it coming, only felt its fangs pierce their flesh and its impressive elastic body restrict their limbs and slowly crush their bones. The creature enjoyed nothing more than feasting on young and untainted humans. Once the eel dove beneath the surface of the murky waters, it essentially disappeared.
The ferry boat was so close, only a few metres away. It was so unfair to be facing such an overwhelming creature when their childish bodies were exhausted and bruised from the challenges they barely cleared. Out of all the ways to die, being eaten alive would be one of the most undesirable.
Wait!! There was still one token remaining, the only chance of escaping this deathly situation.
Dedicated Dreamer 