“WELCOME, welcome... to quite possibly the greatest spectacle your mortal mind could comprehend!” The Keeper appeared from the darkness with his hands wide. He walked closer and closer as wooden floorboards spontaneously materialized under his feet, each producing a wretched ear-piercing creeeek. “Many alike have come from far and wide to witness such a spectacle…but none to relive it,” he exclaimed with grand flourish.
His eyes became wide and his hands became fists. A smile crept upon his face, so wide one can fit an entire head in it. And the teeth, what jagged spear-like monstrosities. A lesser man would mistake him for a normal teenage boy under all that baggage, but I’ve been in this business long enough to know this world was bound by no rules.
“OOOH, the terror, the triumph, the razzle, the dazzle, the pain, the power, the conquests, the calamity, the dark DC undertones, the Deadpool spoofs! All other mediums pale in comparison to what you are about to witness,” he assured. His head turned to the bleak black abyss above us as his arms rose above his head. “What you’ve subjected yourself to, subjected your own psyche to, what with the perils that lie ahead, the sorrow, the… Wait. Come back here!”
I’d had about enough of the Keeper’s words, just gotta get in and get out. Simple extraction, get my info, and hit the road. In all my years in this business, I’ve racked up hundreds of successful missions with a spotless record to my name. And I’m not letting some lunatic distract me from getting those launch codes. I could feel his eyes inspecting my every move as I ventured further into the darkness. Usually, Keepers were the ones doing all the work. They would recognize me as nothing more than a misplaced character from the dreamscape and would immediately try to get me back to the said dream, leaving them to have to navigate through the memories. Yet, this time felt different. The Keeper almost felt… alive? More flamboyant than usual.
“I have yet to complete my rant to its fullest extent, I’m warning you!”
And a lot more annoying. In the blink of an eye, my hand transferred to my hip revealing the blast cannon. In only a second and I could get rid of this punk for good.
“Woah Woah Woah, okay, umm, take what you want. Make yourself at home, in fact.” He looked around slowly. “The decor only changes every hour or so and, judging from your early infiltration, you and I should have about eight,” the Keeper assured. How did he know that? He began to sit down on a seemingly harmless leather couch fit for a potato.
“No need for any physical conflict really, I understand your objective completely.” He paused to peer at my face, “Oh, come now, why the long face? Come on ole chap, give it a chance! When it comes to ‘the goods,’ we’ve got a plethora. Awkward ones, funny ones,” he prattled, counting them off on his fingers. “that time he called his teacher mom, that time he pulled an all-nighter for the ABC's, that time he got stabbed with molten metal, why, we haven’t even gotten to the––”
“My Lord do you ever shut up!?” I looked down at the trench coat, red-scarf-wearing, beady-eyed buffoon before me. He looked harmless enough, baggy coat, baggy grey sweatpants with grey Vans, and a Moe’s beanie. I didn’t come all this way just for the mission to be compromised, I needed that money more than anyone can understand. I could care less about petty consequences from my actions, I needed to move forward.
“HE TALKS! Lord almighty, rejoice, rejoice! I was wondering when you’d stop brooding and have a chat for once.” He started to stand but I shoved the blaster forward into his chest.
“Okay, come on now. Be reasonable. Exterminating me leaves you stranded in this space with absolutely no hope of finding what you desire,” the Keeper pointed out. “Plus, it gets ever so lonely here in the ole subconscious.” He met me at eye level. “We don’t have a problem, do we?”
I took a step back, my hands were suddenly cold and numb but I kept my finger steady, mere millimeters from the trigger. One false step and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
“You know the rules, and so do I. Childhood, Adolescence, and Manhood… Only then are you allowed to venture throughout the entirety of this world.” Gone was the lighthearted, carefree tone of the Keeper. “I’ll start you off with a freebie.” The Keeper reached into his coat pocket and pulled out what seemed to be solid light. The ball of light was situated between his two palms and seemed to be able to be morphed into any shape. However, inside that ball I saw, children. Tiny, chubby people laughing and running around a white-tiled hallway scattered with cubbies and backpacks filled with DSi’s, Bionical, and… Beyblades?
“Pre-school, the subject is about to enter the classroom to meet his friends on the rug,” the Keeper explained. “Make it through in one piece and I’ll lead you to the next one.”
The flash of light blinds my eyes for a second, but as I recover, I realize I'm no longer a man, but a child. Stubby legs, fat fingers, giant cheeks, the whole package. I quickly turned away from my cubby and walked inside towards the infamous rug. It was there that my rival was waiting. Near the corner of the rug sat a thin child no more than 5. He had all the pieces set up and was ready to duel me in the battle of wills.
"Oh? You're approaching me?" the child implored. He raised his fists and took a wad of paper scattered throughout the rug and put it in his mouth. All the other kids gasped at what they've just witnessed, the excitement of a surprise paper eating exhibition match began to spread.
"You're move."
I sat directly in front of my foe. If I was to escape and complete this memory, I must do it exactly as it played out in memory. I must win. With haste, I grabbed two wads of paper from the ground and consumed them with so much gusto, onlookers were sure my 5-year-old self would choke. However, I swallowed these papers with ease.
As my rival was going to pick up his next wad, he abruptly stopped. The fire in his eyes turned cold, his stubby legs began to ascend as the floor crumbled beneath the two of us. The once dark blue eyes of my opponent soon rotated back into his skull revealing only the whiteness of his eyes as the voice of the Keeper roared throughout the room.
"You FOOL, you really thought for a moment I'd let you leave? These memories are to be kept secret until this man's final breath, AND I TAKE THAT TO THE ABYSS!!"
I tried to scream but not a sound came out, I was trapped in the dreamscape.
Very creative and interesting!
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