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sparkistories · 5 years ago

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4/20/20

HOTEL HELL-ISH

*This will be edited many times. It was a long dream and will need many sessions to complete.

We were on a road trip. We took an exit into a city, seeing a large luxury hotel near the exit, and it had the perfect view to see the city beyond.

We pulled into a parking space near the front entrance. Some of the rooms were hotel-style, others motel suites.

We wanted a room in the hotel. So we asked the concierge to please give us a room away from the elevator so we would not hear every single person staying inside.

The concierge looked confused for a moment. He called a number and muttered a response into the phone. He hung up, saying someone will be with us shortly, then walked away.

We thought that was odd. But waited nonetheless. Soon, the auditor approached. He had a small figure, oddly shaped glasses, and a design drawn onto his bald head. Although he was slight and small, the way he silently approached was intimidating. We thought we were unwelcome to ask for a room to accommodate us.

He just said to follow him. We walked behind him, confused. We still had not paid or made a reservation for a room.

He stopped in front of a large ramp spiraling the 200 floors of the building. We thought is was odd that a hotel this large had so few people in sight. We saw many cars outside, but nobody in the hotel except for this auditor and the concierge.

A giant wheel approached from down the ramp. It appeared attached to a structure running alongside the ramp, the ramp counting up and branching into hallways as it continued. There were some rooms placed along the ramp. But the wheel made no sound as it traversed.

"This is our unique elevator feature. By standards, the ramp provides ample disability accessibility, but we prefer to give them external rooms unless it can be avoided. This elevator keeps you walking along the bottom to help you reach your room. It keeps you healthy but it's faster than walking up alone."

He stepped onto the wheel, standing on the steps toward the back. We climbed in with him, holding our suitcases towards the ramp. When the wheel began moving, it made no sound, but our steps were placed in a wave as we propelled forward, higher and higher.

While walking, I studied the back of the auditor's head, taking a closer look at the symbol drawn. It was pearly white before, but seemed to be gaining color over time.

The wheel stopped on the 45th floor. I noted that the higher up the rooms were, the more elaborate it became. He walked down a hallway painted aqua lined with gold. Some plants lined the halls, none too interesting.

The hallways extended further than the building looked to be from outside. But when he stopped, we were almost to the end of the hallway.

"I trust this room will suit your needs?" He opened the door and the room inside was surprisingly a very accommodating and comfortable suite. It was not lavish, but was elegant enough to be beautiful and far more functional than typical hotels.

"I'm sorry, but what are the rates? We did not book a room downstairs yet, and we didnt mean to call for attention earlier. We just wanted to be able to have a room without waking up to children or dogs from the elevator. We didnt know about that lovely contraption, there. But we don't need anything too fancy."

"It's no trouble. This is your first time staying, so the room is complimentary. Is this room 'too fancy?'"

"No, not at all. It's lovely. We just didn't know how the rates worked. I assumed the rates went up the further the elevator went. It's a very unique setup, your hotel. I am fascinated."

"I see. You are right that it is unique. But the rates are the same all around. We find rooms to accommodate the personality and comfort level of our guests. Some with a more lavish lifestyle may prefer an executive look, others visiting family in their travels might prefer more relaxing and homely features. The rates are all the same, nonetheless, and we have plenty of rooms to spare. We may even give multiple rooms, if you'd prefer. This one suites the creative one. But I sense you might be worried about your vehicle as well. I can show you a motel room easily accessible. But please, do get comfortable."

I stayed in the room while the others looked at a room on the ground. I didn't notice that it did suit me. Not in the studio way I am comfortable with. But in a way that felt welcoming and had a view I could watch and let my thoughts go on. I was both flattered and worried about being addressed as "the creative one." Their profile on my personality was curiously alarming.

I got a call. The rest of them would stay in the room down below. But I liked the view, so I could stay up here. I also wanted the chance to explore the different personalities the hotel held. So I had the room to myself and everything I thought I would want. 4522.

After settling a bit, I went out to look around with my key card in my pocket. I took the elevator up, watching hallways roll by. St the top was a balcony and a pool overlooking the city. I went to the balcony to see the city ahead. I never saw anything like it, so I could not identify where it was.

I heard a bark behind me. I turned to see some woman with two well-pampered pomeranians and a hairstyle to match hers. I found it ironic, after all, people look like their pets.

"Excuse me," she said in the typical Karen way, "can you make this stupid thing work right? I wanted to go to the lobby, and it brought me here. My heels are killing me. Well, don't just stand there!"

I decided I needed the fun. I am not one to take kindly to rude people. So I told her I'll walk it back down. After all, it either goes up or down. If it's going up when it comes to you, chances are it will keep going up. It doesnt read your mind. It just stops when it senses you waiting, but only for so long.

"Why don't you people have normal elevators?"

I held back acid in my words, imagining the audacity one must have to complain about inconvenience at a creative take on a concept often taken for granted. But I needed the fun. So I just stepped off and continued my leisurely walk down the ramp without her. I was in no rush.

Around and around I went, watching the doors pass, occasionally looking over the rail the wheel took down to glimpse at the lobby below. Still, there was nobody in sight. The wheel made it's way to the bottom, so I knew if she was smart, she would have stayed on it all the way down.

I marvelled at how many designers much have been ordered to make this masterpiece come together. And I wondered how such an exquisite hotel could afford a flat rate for every room and why the first visit is complimentary.

The wheel stopped before me, the auditor stepping out before me.

"You have a dinner invitation this evening. Someone has taken an interest in you."

I took an envelope and watched him continue upward, wondering where he was going.

I got back to my room, finding a selection of evening gowns in the room. Oddly, they seemed to be tailored to my personality, like everything seemed to be. I didn't know whether to be impressed or alarmed.

I chose a simple, off shoulder gown with a lace capelet and a fabric rose detail in wine red.

I opened the envelope to find instructions to go up to 18714, in the approximate area I left the woman before. At least she was right about something, heels would be a nightmare. So I chose flats.

I took the wheel back to the top, and went searching for the room. In the hallway, I saw the auditor step out, wearing a suit in the same color I was, the mark on his head to match. It was both odd and oddly satisfying in the high-end fashion way.

He seemed to have been arguing with someone in the room, but smiled at me and walked to the end of the hallway before disappearing into another room.

I cautiously approached the room. It seemed empty at a glance, but with a nice spread laid out on the far end near a window overlooking the city.

I called out, and heard a voice from the closed off bedroom.

"I'm sorry I am not our to introduce myself. I just had an accident that requires a wardrobe change. Please, make yourself at home. I will be out in a moment."

I cautiously walked around the room, wondering who would be joining. I had called my companions before, and they said they were going out to eat, but that I should enjoy myself.

I looked out the window, still impressed by the view. Then I heard the door open behind me.

I didn't know who I was expecting before, but I didn't expect this. It was the concierge from before.

He saw my confusion and smiled warmly.

"I was expecting that reaction. Don't worry. I'm the owner of the hotel. Sometimes I have to fill in for a few positions, and I prefer to be inconspicuous. I saw you arrive earlier and wanted to meet you."

"Why? Why me?"

"You looked like someone I knew long ago. Same eyes. Eyes I never expected to see again or realized how much I missed. Eyes that also held such wonder." He gestured towards the city.

"Did I interrupt something before? The auditor left looking upset."

"Not at all. He is my business partner and companion. We fight sometimes. We were discussing family matters. It's nothing."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude asking. I was just worried."

"It's alright. I would be worried too in the circumstances."

I sat down and looked around the room. There were many displays of antiques, yet a very orderly modern design to the room. More personality than a museum, but with just as much security.

My eyes drifted to the paintings. They held a striking resemblance to my own style, and didnt seem to match the room at all.

"I paint sometimes," he said sheepishly. "One of my hobbies."

"They are nice. I like them."

He smiled, but in a slightly sad way.

"I knew a woman like you. She was like you in almost every way. She taught me to paint. She also had a curious nature. Very kind. And direct. She didn't like small talk often, so I will gamble that you do not as well. I will get to the point. I have a feeling you are a reincarnation, if you will. I made this hotel years ago, and it has adapted to the times. Many of the floors you saw were her vision. Her favorite was the suite you are in. Those items were hers or something I feel she would have. You were quick to realize this was no ordinary hotel. But you were not afraid. You seem to belong here. Even the way you handled that woman was something she would do. She was kind, but liked to teach lessons for behavior. It was one of the qualities I loved about her. She was like a daughter to me.

"She died 300 years ago. And I still miss her. So I wanted to offer you a home here. I know you have no reason to, as you have your own life. But I would be honored."

"300 years? How?"

"Immortality, of sorts. Hotel California situation, if you will. Those that stay can find themselves attached in body and spirit. Not that we keep people here forever. They chose to stay."

"So your business partner..."

"Chose to stay. He wants a family here. But the hotel doesn't allow for aging, and it's best that we don't try to disrupt youth like that. He is jealous. He knew of my daughter before. The one like you. But she died long before him. And he has wanted a family for the last 20 years after realizing what he had to give up to be with me."

"But why does the hotel do that? Of you knew when it was built and how, how old does that make you?"

"Aha. The key to it all. This has always been my hotel. Always. I am who women call Lucifer. The Devil. Whatever the name, it's the same idea. I'm not of this world, but I do find it charming. And no, it's not evil. Haunted, maybe, because I am here and it throws the balance of the natural world, but that doesn't make me evil. The hotel has had far worse evils than me here, and they have been dealt with appropriately."

I took time to process, feeling him watch me.

"You want me to stay and be her?"

"No. Not be her. I'm not looking to make you in her image. You are already enough like her. And although I may want, it isnt a demand. I am simply offering."

"Okay. I need time to think about it."

"Of course."

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sparkistories · 5 years ago

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18/04/20

The bus was taking me somewhere. My sister sat two seats behind me. I kept my bag with her. We were waiting at a checkpoint but I couldn't see out of the fog on the windows. None of the faces were ones I knew.

I was told to get off, me specifically, and I tried asking for my bag. But I was told there was no need. I got outside and found myself in a 3 tier shooting obstacle course. I was told to follow the ropes that scrambled through each tier. I was told I would be timed. I didnt know what was going on. Then they said I needed to re-string the rope and that someone would be with me to do the shooting. I was still confused and scared.

M appeared. He was the shooter they referred to. I recognized him but didn't know if this was where he was friendly or not so I didn't say hello. At this point I thought he was supposed to shoot me if I failed.

The buzzer sounded and they screamed at me to go. I fumbled to untie the ropes, noticing they were woven as they stretched across the platforms on the lower tier. He stood next to me, glancing back between me and the surroundings. Then he was suddenly firing at the ground. I heard screams but couldn't see anyone. He just told me keep going and don't stop. I fumbled the ropes and jumped off the platform to run to the other side. He didn't follow. I wondered if he would shoot me next, feeling dread setting in. I managed to continue and finished the course while the bus was still there waiting.

When I finished they took me in a control room with cameras to show me what was going on. They showed me stringing the ropes across, and him shooting at creatures I did not see before. He was there to protect me, they said. The creatures were for him to practice on, but he had run the course many times and never failed. The timer was just used to get my mind off of what he was shooting, because they screamed like humans.

They said the bus would take me on my way. M said he would see me soon then left.

I got on the bus and nothing had changed. Conversations still flowed, and nobody seemed to notice what happened.

The bus drove forward until it got to an intersection and stopped. Everyone started getting off, but I didn't know this was the stop. I waited to grab my bag as people shuffled passed. When I got outside, the road was covered in ice and the bell was going off. I had to cross the icy intersection and be inside before the last bell. Then I heard why. It wasnt just some school policy. It's when the power was cut to lower the emergency lockdown gates from more creatures held outside the perimeter. The checkpoint guarded the entrance.

I slid across the road and slid under the gate as it came down. The fence outside shut off and they climbed over, running at the building. Zombie creature dream.

I wandered the hallways, since I didnt see where anyone went or know where I was supposed to be in what I thought was a school. I wandered but found only dark rooms until I came across a single door cracked open with light pouring through. I walked to it and looked through the window. There was an examination table set in the room like a doctors office. Nobody inside. Just harsh flourescent lighting.

I walked in and sat on the table. Not knowing if I was supposed to be here or not. Matt came in (not M). Dont know why Matt Damon was in my dream, just was.

Apparantly he was setting up the pods. I didn't know what the pods were. He explained we were being and held here as test subjects for a cure. The creatures outside were infected people. Zombies were no joke. A little harrier than I imagined though. He said he was there to start the pods to preserve us in case they broke through. But I would have to wait because my pod was having difficulty and the power generators shutting off made it harder for it to reboot. M came in, saying his failed too.

The gates outside were breached and the screaming came down the hall. They both pulled out pistols and told me to run down the hall and open the security control room with a code. I ran. It opened and they came in behind me shooting and closed the door, barricading it with a shelving unit.

There were two pods in the room and three of us. Matt said he didn't need one but I knew he was lying. M punched a code in for a reset to what I assumed was his. They hooked me up to mine. Matt said he had to make sure the generators ran and that the startup was a success, otherwise we would be like them soon.

I asked where my sister was. He said she was a success and she was in her own pod. So I left my bag beside me and got in, got hooked up. M was doing the same. The door was breached and they slammed the lid on me. The lights went dark. I couldn't hear or see anything. I kept quiet so I wouldn't lead them to me. Then I heard a tap on the window. Still could not see. Just a tapping.

I woke.

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sparkistories · 5 years ago

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Dream 10/04/2020

My dream was centered on my current location but with people from a past high school that shouldn't be here. I felt like a deadline was pressing me, and I needed to be somewhere. I was walking to find a bus to take me where I needed. Along the way, I was finding pockets of crowds trying to interact with me. Sometimes an old friend would tag along and ramble on about events in their life. Sometimes more friends would join and talk with their own inside jokes. Sometimes I would pass people who were the embodiment of emotional and needy, walking the opposite direction, and of course usually surrounded by people who enabled it. I reached an area where many busses sat waiting. I only recognized one, so I felt like that was the bus I needed. I got on and it was empty. Friends that stayed with me took seats, usually all to themselves and kept talking amongst themselves despite my daze and confusion.

I woke in intervals, feeling very tired and going back to sleep to have the same dream with varying locations and faces. It's rare to have dreams in a series like that. I felt like it was a prequel to another dream I had months ago. I have had repeated dreams or dreams in mixed chronological order but they usually take months between stories. It is very rare to come back into the same dream or same sequence.

To simply break it down, the familiar locations are a control point. I have a strong sense of direction and it motivates me to push forward to a goal. The faces around me are supposed to be distracting me or enabling a response from me. Carrying on conversations where I am left out shows something like breaking ties with people in pursuit of my goal, and how it has cost me people in my life, sometimes for the better. The deadline drawing near and feeling more urgent in each dream is playing on my anxiety of not feeling prepared.

It's about not having full control of my sistuation. I'm feeling the urge to control something that isnt mine to control. I feel a sense of procrastination that I have to complete a task soon but am pushing away distractions that may have consequences of their own that will be there regardless of whether I meet the end goal or not. The representation of emotional people going the other way is a sign that I am rejecting emotional responses in myself or others.

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sparkistories · 5 years ago

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09/04/2020

Systematic breezes swept through the towering branches swaying idly above, their spines grasping at the tendrils of a fading autumn night. Traces of a creeping mist carried a promise of a reward soon approaching as dawn contemplated breaking over the earthy tendrils above. This was the moment that had signaled a bond made by the surrounding elements that whispered secrets long forgotten but remain in spirit from old magic practiced by few.

She breathed in the delicate mist, feeling the cool, damp earth breathe with her. She had kept the knowledge for years for this moment, waiting for the right moment to evoke her spell, and carried it out gracefully. The energy would never have lasted through a foolish mortal, but she had learned to harness energy with the life humming around her to concentrate her strength.

Her kind were few, and many had died out long ago never knowing the power they possessed to bond with ancient magic, nor how to harness it. She had been fortunate to have a mentor, who had long since faded into a distant memory where not even stone could hold onto their identity. But she had learned to tether her mortality to the constant flow of energy around her, preserving her mind and body and training her spirit to explore the possibilities.

Even with her timeless experience, her energy was strained and shallow from the casting. Her entire soul felt weary, as her body ached and shivered on the crumbled leaves beneath. Her offerings of willow sprigs and powdered belladonna were reduced to nothing more than a slight ghastly tendril swaying in the collective ebb and flow of the forest and her shaking breath. Coils of her soft auburn hair tumbled in distress over sunkissed skin and remnants of quartz sand scattering from the symbols they etched upon the ground.

Her trembling hands clutched the weathered pages of a once sacred tome, many of their secrets indecipherable and in fragments, existing as a whole only in her mind and through generations of deciphering. The spell took the greater part of 400 years to reveal, and taking the risk to perform it was dangerous even for the most skilled of casters. The fair folk were wise enough to forbid such power from their court long ago, and the warlocks had all but forgotten many of the tomes needed to translate the spidery scrawls. Dryads knew of the dance for the ritual, but were never taught the purpose or the chants. Even seers felt the presence of the long forgotten power contained within the pages.

But she had finally expelled her potential to uncover the secrets within. She alone had dedicated her life to this work for the time when the stars aligned once every 3,000 years to yield their favor. She had waited for this moment for dawn to break and the light to kiss away the pain.

She opened her eyes to a soft warm glow. She saw everything. Once, her eyes only saw the physical world around her. Now she had the seer's visio to see into things that could be. She also saw magic pulsing around her in symphonies of light, reaching to kiss her as her spirit kept its hold onto it as her automatic life support. She saw the world down to the bone, to the raw essence of life.

She also saw her own demons lurking outside of her casting circle. She knew they waited hungrily for her to cast off the amber charm around her neck, waiting to tear into her to satiate the lifetimes of waiting as her blood called to them. She knew that if demons existed, surely their opposites in the forms of angels or gods should exist.

But that was the one thing she could not see. No divine light, no guardian angels. Nothing but the flow of energy and the embodiments of fear and rage at her feet.

She finally understood. She was gifted to act as a god. She was of a dying breed of guardians meant to protect life and knowledge.

Or.

She was the destroyer of worlds.

She pondered the possibilities.

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