text: [Themes: fantasy, fantasy, action]
  
  Sleep. It pulled me in like a current, enticing me with comfort and relaxation. I was always eager to explore the unbelievable worlds in my dreams - sometimes I found myself in the middle of Atlantis. Other times, I created vast planets simply with the power of my mind. Yet, as work got more demanding, it became a place of escape and solitude. But now, things were different...
  
  Sleep still tried to lure me into its grasp, but I knew better. This time, there were no rewards on the other side. Just horror, and terror, and nights of fear. I only slept when I absolutely had to.
  
  It was the same thing every time. The sand was burning. The sun was scorching. I was in the middle of it all. Then, from within the chaos, a monster. It emerged from the flames, gold specks settling on its head like the crown of a victor. Fitting, because the beast always won. Perhaps it was not the appearance of the beast that unsettled me. It usually changed - sometimes the same, sometimes different. When I thought about it, it was not that scary. But in my mind, it was, and that was enough for the fear to enter my veins.
  
  I stumbled, and ran. Ah, the pond... better not to enter it unless I wanted to meet the Sea Deadlies. However, I could check my reflection if I wanted to.
  
  > check your reflection
  I peered into the murky waters. My image was warped. My head looked as if it were bitten out in chunks, my hair ripped from its roots. The creature always took the best parts of me - my joy, the twinkle in my eyes, my optimism. Sunken eyes, hollow shell - that's exactly what I felt like. Worse of all, I radiated an aura of trepidation and weakness. The helpless prey, unable to do anything but run. And I could not even run fast enough. I turned away, not wanting to look at my hands. They were horrifying - decaying meat on a milky white skeleton. A warning of what I could be.
  
  The surface of the lake rippled, and I quickly leapt back. They were here. Failure was the leader - a dark, miserable version of me that I could not bear to face. Evil was pretty bad too, with his nasty, malicious grin and bloodshot eyes. As for Fear, he was the worst. He constantly reminded me of what a coward I was, being unable to face the fear that was my nightmares. These were all versions of me, doomed to haunt my dreams every night. Perhaps, if I spent enough time with them, I would start to believe that I was worthless, condemned to a fate of endless suffering in this miserable world. Then the beast re-emerged, and in true Fear fashion, they all took off running.
  
  > Run
  I ran. It was all a blur. It was just me, and the monster, and the unending curtain of darkness. When would the curtains fall and allow me to leave the stage? It was truly a tragic tale, an enemy I was doomed to fight for eternity... if only fight were the right word. I knew that even in this dream, I could not fight forever. It was stupid to delay the inevitable. But my fight or flight response kicked it, and even the rational part of my mind decided I should run. While it was just a dream, getting torn apart by the monster was no fun. The excruciating pain was not triggered by my nerves, but when I could see it so clearly in my mind's eye, my brain needed no help in filling in the gaps. The blood. The plea of help. The feeling that the world was doomed and desolate... because it was. At least, this world of my nightmare was.
  
  That was what I thought.
  
  Perhaps it was not empty as long as I was there. And the beast. Suddenly, a bit more consciousness slipped in. What bad timing, as the beast had caught up with me and was seconds away from devouring me.
  
  > wake up, wake up, wake up!
  I willed myself to wake, but I needed a lot more consciousness to do that. Waking up required at least 8 consciousness points... I was not sure how I knew that. Somehow, the information just slipped in my mind. Probably more dream nonsense. Then the beast opened its mighty jaws to trap its prey before crunching its bones. My bones. Then I saw it - a consciousness point. I jumped right into the beast's mouth.
  
  #Gained a new dreampower: Consciousness point
  
  Slowly, I became aware of a few things - my breathing, the air conditioner being left on (I had completely forgot to turn it off), and... a voice? Tethered between the dream world and the real world, I chose to listen and remain in the dream a little longer.
  
  "That's new," someone was saying. "How did the man gain consciousness? He woke up before the beast attacked."
  
  "Doesn't matter." There was another voice. This dream was getting weirder by the minute. "He's probably awake now. We'd better get going. Next one's in a gummy castle - race you there!"
  
  The first person sighed. "Why do kids have so cliched dreams nowadays? Anyway, let's turn off the lights."
  
  I found myself awake, and for the first time, not drowning in a puddle of my own sweat.
  
  > The real world
  For the first time in a very long time, I arrived at work early. The sign 'Dream Corps' flashed in my weary eyes, with the slogan 'We make the dreams your reality'.
  
  'More like dream corpse,' I snickered. It was childish, but I couldn't resist. 'Killer of dreams. We make your nightmares a reality.' Yet, I knew that if my actual nightmare came through, the world was more than over.
  
  Years ago, eyes wide and bright, I entered this very same building. I was an hour early, my suit picked up two weeks in advance, and was going through notes to potential questions. In that time of naivety and being blinded by illusions of grandeur, I believed that this was the place where my dreams could come true. Now I knew that could not be further from the truth.
  
  Wearing a day old crumpled collar shirt and stained black trousers, I headed to the desk of doom. The same desk I had been sitting at for years. I had once asked for a promotion, but the boss's outrageous laughter and looks of cynicism told me all I needed to know. No one had been promoted for over three years now. Why, if it were not for all the bloody unemployment rates, I would have left the job ages ago.
  
  Just as I was about to make a cup of warm coffee, the emblem of arrogance walked up to my table.
  
  "Early for once, are we, Dramer?"
  
  "I suppose you have something for me to do, Mr. Reeter?" I said, with as much civility as I could muster.
  
  He took a long smoke, deliberately directing the putrid chemicals towards my face. "Ah, you've guessed it. Perhaps you are smarter than I thought you were." However, his look told me that he meant it as an insult.
  
  Trying to suppress the annoyance that was beginning to creep on me, I said "Do you mind if we get straight to the point? I'm a little pressed for time."
  
  He smiled the smile all my coworkers recognized as the 'smile of terror'. There was something up his sleeve.
  
  "A meeting is happening later. I would need someone to take notes. It's not as boring as... well, I can't think of anything at the moment. Perhaps a conversation with you."
  
  Being used to the insults, I just nodded. I had to bite back the retort I longed to say: 'At least the both of us agree on something. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll stop boring you.'
  
  Unfortunately, he kept blabbering on. "Or you could clean the old room. It's getting really dusty. Then again, because you were early today, I'm going to give you a third choice. The photocopy machine and printers are not working, so we need someone to copy out the meeting notes. By hand. So, what will your choice be?"
  
  > take notes at the meeting
  The meeting took place in the auditorium, and the turn up was surprisingly disappointing. Guess this talk was really boring. That was not much of a surprise, given that Reeter always gave me the worst jobs possible. I took my seat at the side, near the door and secluded from the rest of the audience. Somehow, with the company's stingy spending habits, that was the only spot in the auditorium where the acoustics were actually decent.
  
  With my laptop ready, I began listening to the speech. The speaker was a middle aged man, with a beard shaped like a...crescent moon? I was not sure, a tall member of the audience obscured my view of the stage.
  
  "Righty-ho! You're here to hear about dreams, huh? I mean, that's what this company's built upon. Now, you! What was the craziest dream you've had?"
  
  From the halfhearted mutters, I could already tell that his upbeat attitude did not sit well with the audience.
  
  "Anyhow, moving on, I'm sure you lot have already heard loads about lucid dreaming, and the sleep cycle, and stuff like that. Nope, I'm not here to bore you that way. Well, my colleague was, then he got sick last minute... eh, life happens. But more often, dreams happen. And I'm here to tell you about that. Ever heard of the jungle metaphor?"
  
  Judging from the confused stares and bewildered voices, I realized that nobody had a clue. I hastily scribbled it down - 'The Jungle metaphor'.
  
  "We know how jungles work - tough competition, full of unsuspected dangers and venomous vipers. Yet, we know what else they offer - natural resources, beautiful sceneries, and a sense of pride when we escape. It has been used to describe work, to describe life, but I'm going to use it to describe dreams.
  
  First off, the easy stage. Just like the sleep cycle, just like the first level of a game, it starts off relatively easy. Not too many thorns, the trees provide shelter and the path is clear. We begin by getting used to the atmosphere, the surrounding... it's a change of pace.
  
  Then, we come into the next part. It gets a little more challenging, but requires us to use the skills we've learnt. The dream gets a little deeper, a little scarier... for the aspiring writers, it's like building up suspense in a story. Applying newfound knowledge, and acquiring more."
  
  By now, most of the audience began to drift off. Yet the strange man persisted, and I had the strangest feeling that his speech was directed at me.
  
  "The third part is the... darkest. It can be considered the climax of a dream, and for some, is the worst. If you suffer from nightmares, this would be the part in which you'll be torn apart over and over again. Most people wake up by this point.
  
  Next, things may seem just slightly easier. But beware, because the night has brought changes, Everything that was learnt and explored earlier would change. A plot twist, if you will. A surprise in good dreams, where you'll feel a little happier. Yet it is easily the most confusing part.
  
  At this point, most people think the dream is over. But that's only because they forget about the rest of it. Even if they remember, they'll prefer to forget. It plays on sadness, on feeling dull. A melancholy that nothing can feel. The lucky ones simply get off with feeling empty before waking up.
  
  Lastly, and bear with me as the speech's almost over, everything turns black. By that, I mean I have no idea what happens. Scientists have detected unusual activity in the brain just before subjects wake up. Perhaps one day we'll find out, perhaps not. Now, away to freedom! This speech is concluded."
  
  I immediately left the room, slightly relieved. The speech made me feel all strange, as if there was something I was supposed to know but didn't. Something important. Of course, that did not sit very well with me.
  
  > Finally, the boring task is done
  I walked out the door savour my few seconds of freedom. If any of my superiors, especially Reeter, realized I was taking an early break, they would have cut down on my salary. It did not make for a pleasant work space where the bosses were always conspiring to cut down on employee expenses. The 'dream team' indeed.
  
  A voice broke me from my reverie. "WHY, IF IT ISN'T LUKE DRAMER! I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU LOOK THIS AWAKE BEFORE. YOUR EYES DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU WERE IN A FIGHT FOR ONCE. AND YOUR HAIR IS... WELL, IT STILL LOOKS BAD. CAN'T COMPLIMENT A RAT'S NEST, THAT'S WHAT MY MUM USED TO SAY. THE INSOMNIA GONE?"
  
  I nodded at Mrs. Lunar, the secretary. She is a caring old lady, and a great friend... if you overlooked the fact that she had a booming loud voice and was brutally honest. According to her, it builds character.
  
  "Yeah. Now, I'm going back to work, so that's exactly what you should say if a superior comes looking for me."
  
  "He can't, in case a superior that's not me arrives."
  
  Ms. Midnight flounced into the room, a long scarf trailing in behind her. She was the superior who prevented me from getting fired in the previous year, and things between us have always been cordial... or as cordial as one could possibly be with their sort-of-boss.
  
  Before I could acknowledge her presence, my best friend Rick came in. Rick Moone, the guy who claimed he only got hired due to his last name being related to night. While Dream Corps seemed to prefer people with night/dream sounding names, I was surprised they kept him around. He seemed to fail at everything he did, whether it was make coffee or file the records. However, he was a genius when it came to lifting people's moods - we had many great memories together. Perhaps they kept him for entertainment.
  
  "So, what's up in this tower of hell?"
  
  "Mr. Moone, need I remind you that talking that way about our company in the presence of a-"
  
  "Yah, I know, but you don't seem to count as a snotty superior. One of the requirements is being a jerk."
  
  "Mrs Lunar, your suggestion is acknowledged. I would be sure to pass the message on to my fellow colleagues."
  
  "Gee, do you always talk like that? All posh and businesslike?"
  
  "Well, you could always learn, Rick,"I said. "But c'mon, our shift's almost over and we ought to get out of here before we're assigned something new." As usual, conversations tended to be rather...interesting with this group of people. They were the greatest friends that I never expected to find in a place like Dream Corps.
  
  Dream. That word stuck in my head the entire day, like a part of a song that drives you crazy. Night could not have arrived fast enough. For as long as I could remember, I had never felt this eager to sleep.
  
  > Drifting off...
  Gradually, I felt my consciousness slip. The air around me shifted. Then I was back in the same old nightmare once again.
  
  The burning sand stretched for miles and the sun burst in flames. From the sand, I braced myself for the monster to appear. A force of evil so monstrous that its eyes gleamed from miles away. A victim so pitiful that he stank with the stench of defeat. Except this time, I was not as afraid. Merely curious. So I ignored the monster and instead looked for a sign that what I had seen the previous night was true.
  
  "Grrrrrawww!" As I surveyed my surroundings, the beast chomped me up in a single gulp. It did not even wait for me to run.
  
  "Well, that's new," I muttered. I went back into the dream.
  
  The same sand, the same sun, the same monster. Nothing new. The pond, the Deadlies, the reflection. It was all the same. Yet, where was the new additions that made the dream more mysterious?
  
  Chomp. I was eaten and awake once more.
  
  This was getting annoying, but I had not been this excited since a long time. Back to the dream. Voices and people... could I try to talk to whoever was out there? "Hello? People out there? I know you exist so please don't hide. Hello?" It felt absurdly ridiculous and if I was not so sure this was a dream, I would have stopped immediately. However, my efforts were in vain.
  
  Gulp. Bones crunched up once again.
  
  By now, I was sure that the people were not responsive. What was I to do? This time, I thought about it before launching myself straight into the dream. I had several options, and I could use a special power I gained... but only if it would work in this context. Alternatively, I could try to recreate the dream I had - which started with me running. That could work. Lastly, I could deal with the beast. Being unafraid, I might even be able to tame it and... perhaps it could take me to the mysterious people?
  
  > run from the monster
  I ran, embracing the darkness and the giddying feeling of the world twisting around me. It was all a blur, just as it was meant to be. Sooner or later, the world would go dark. Then, at the core of the inky blackness, I would emerge more knowledgeable than before. At least, that was the plan.
  
  Running took a much longer time than I remembered. After a substantial amount of time had passed, I was still in the land of the burning sand. So I kept running, and running, until I entered the land of darkness. There it was, a cloth of black. Now I only had to look, to listen... but I heard no voices, saw no people. The light was still on, but there was nothing more.
  
  I had probably imagined it. Wasn't I so desperate for a way out that my imagination thwarted the dream? Or worse, the nightmare had reverted back to what it once was, with no escape and no mysterious people. Unfortunately, this could just be further proof of how real life was rarely exciting.
  
  I crouched down in the darkness, feeling dejected. The beast ran towards me, and I did not run away. What was the point? Eventually, I had to return to boring old life. Might as well sooner than later. It ran faster, and faster, and...it disappeared. So I jogged to where it last was, and pounced into the darkness. The curtains fell.
  
  > The other side of the curtain
  I was not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly was not this.
  
  The first thing I noticed was the giraffe. It had a long neck, most of which was covered by a long, pale-blue pyjamas. There was a tiny man seated at the giraffe's head, wiping his glasses furiously while subconsciously petting the animal. The next was the cat. It clawed its way through piles of paperwork, meowing furiously to itself. Neither animals nor human seemed to realize my presence.
  
  Around the torch, there seemed to be an incredible array of machines and computers. One controlled the colour of the light, another the music, and a third changed the setting. At the moment, the music was set to 'deathly silence' , the light 'normal white' and the setting 'burning sand with pond'.
  
  "Ahoy, land is gone! Lost sight of the treasure, mateys!" The small man turned and with a shock, I realized he had an eyepatch.
  
  "Don't ask me-eoooow!" the cat purred. "We were me-ooww-ant to keep our eyes on him. Well, your one eye, Purrrr-ate."
  
  "Well, let's get a-diggin'! Where could tha' inmate be?"
  
  Hiding behind the machines, that was where. Once I was aware that they were looking for me, I immediately hid. It seemed to be the safer choice.
  
  "If he's not here meowww, he's awake. Let's go, Purrrr-ate!"
  
  The strangest thing happened. All of the three creatures - including the giraffe - placed their head on a pale blue pillow. It matched their uniform. Were they about to sleep? As soon as their heads touched the pillow, they completely disappeared.
  
  I decided to follow suit... then spotted a spare pair of pyjamas. Before using the pillow teleporter, I made a decision as to whether I ought to take the spare pyjamas along with me.
  
  > Dreams HQ
  When I reached the other side, I could have mistaken the place for heaven. The floor, walls, ceilings... everything seemed to be made of polished white marble, with a wispy feel to it. Almost as if it were made of clouds. Cold air rushed out to greet my skin every step I took, and it all had a dreamy feel to it. The circular room smelt like fresh air, and roses, and a thousand other scents that my nose was unable to identify, but the strangest thing of all was the furniture. Rather than cubicles, tables and chairs, everyone worked from a bed. A group of creatures outfitted in the same blue pyjamas (undoubtedly the uniform of this place) seemed to be in a meeting. Their bed were lined aligned so they were in a circle, and the 'boss' seemed to be giving a PowerPoint presentation.
  
  The strangest thing was not the different creatures, nor the beds, nor the fact that everyone seemed to be wearing the same uniform. Instead, it was that the landscape seemed to shift at every moment. I turned my back to them, and when I looked back, the meeting with the PowerPoint presentation was gone. It was replaced by a stressed out group of people answering different phones poking out the frame of their beds. Then I turned away and looked back once more. A colony of ants now sat there, taking turns to scribble drawings onto a drawing board labelled 'Plan for bday dream'.
  
  "Great place, isn't it," a deep voice mumbled. "I like to pause to look around too. Some say it gets boring after a while, but nope, not to me."
  
  Turning around, I saw a stout old man, wearing the same uniform as everyone else. Fortunately, I was wearing it too. "Anyway, young lad, you'll be able to come back later. How many dreams have you directed? Y'know, on the dreamstage?"
  
  "Err... three?"
  
  "Only three?" The look of disproval on the man's countenance was obvious. I amended my answer.
  
  "Yea, three, you know, three hundred?"
  
  Now he wore a shocked expression. I hurried to explain.
  
  "But most of those were, um, with my mum. She used to take me along to do some... dream directing. To direct the dreams... of dreamers... so they'll dream. On the dreamstage. But I've lead around twenty alone. A completely reasonable number, twenty."
  
  He seemed relieved, and I was surprised by just how gullible he was. He started briefing me about the directions for directing my first twenty first dream.
  
  > Jasper Grey
  Jasper Grey
  
  Age: 12
  
  Gender: Male
  
  Dream purpose: Jasper had been going through a lot of tough times lately, with the death of his grandpa and his dog getting lost. This dream ought to cheer him up and remind him of his favourite things in life.
  
  Things he likes:
  
  The colour blue
  
  Classical music
  
  Dogs
  
  Trains
  
  Things he hates:
  
  Blood (His grandpa died in a fight)
  
  Zombies
  
  Loud music
  
  The colour red
  
  > put the folder down
  "So, a piece of cake, huh?" I asked my companion.
  
  The sparrow simply chirped "You tell me. Heard you've done three hundred of these." Just like any other human, the sparrow could talk and wear a pair of pale blue pyjamas. However, she seemed a little too... chirpy.
  
  "Ok, so the file told us about Jasper Grey. Now, where's the file about what the dream would be like?"
  
  "You didn't know? We'll be going freestyle. Apparently, other than the 'common nightmares' or 'extra special occasions', we do not plan these things. They just happen."
  
  "Ok, so you'll man the torch-"
  
  "And you'll bird the instructions! Did you get the joke? It was meant to be a joke."
  
  "Haha. Alright, we'll be starting soon. I'll turn on the torch...oops!"
  
  As usual, my clumsiness seemed to get in the way. I reached to turn on the switch, and the ladder beside the torch collapsed.
  
  "Don't worry, I'll fly and lift it like Superman- ouch!"
  
  "Umm, Ms. Sparrow, are you ok."
  
  She nodded woozily. "I'm Madame Sparrow, not Ms. Sparrow. And everything's fine, except the torch's spinning. You're spinning. Woah, are we in a merry-go-round? Why is the world turning black? Wait, I wanted to-"
  
  With a loud thud, she collapsed on the floor. Guess I had to do this alone. Now, what was the first step again? Ah, the lights. After setting the ladder back up once again, I turned on the switch without knocking anyone else unconscious. Then I had the decision of picking the colour of the light.
  
  > Sky blue - the colour of peace
  The blue light cast a dim, ethereal spotlight on the tiny figure of the little boy. He glanced up, obviously confused, then peered around nervously. Slowly, he stood up and began exploring his surroundings.
  
  "Everywhere's blue!" he said to himself. "It's beautiful, dreamy...like the sky!"
  
  Jasper seemed to enjoy his new surroundings. Before long, he was comfortably swaying in the beautiful blue ray. He was wearing a smile brighter than the light from the torch and seemed to have forgotten about all the sad events that were mentioned.
  
  § Your choice improved the dream §
  
  Watching Jasper warm up to his surroundings, I remembered the next crucial stage of dream directing - music! There were several soundtracks I could add to accentuate the performance, and I narrowed it down to three options. Keeping in mind Jasper's preferences, I made my choice.
  
  > Rock music
  As soon as the button was clicked, I was in for another surprise - a rock band materialised in the middle of the dreamstage.
  
  "Whassup, Manhattan, here to hear another song?" At once, the room was filled with loud clashing, bashing sounds, and something which sounded distinctively like an electric guitar being murdered. It was chaos, utter chaos, with a free threat of deafness. I hated every moment of it - rock music was never my thing. However, this was not for me. It was for Jasper.
  
  Speaking of Jasper, the poor boy had his hands clasped over his ears. He was shaking uncontrollably, and this time, I was sure that it was not out of laughter. His eyes were wide with fear, and he was trembling with trepidation. The cacophony of sounds was jarring and unsettling, and directed at Jasper.
  
  § Your choice made the dream worse §
  
  Without a moment's hesitation, I turned it off. The tranquil silence would not be silenced once more. Finally, I could hear myself think. Now, what else did this dream need?