Chapter Three
Dream Like an Egyptian

Paul yawned as he woke up from his nap. As he did, he noticed something weird. The helmet, it wasn't on his head. He shot up from the couch to find he was in a barren waste land. Lighting flashed in the distant.
“Where am I?” he asked.
“Welcome child to a land where dreams take over.” answered a voice.
“Who said that?” Paul turned but saw no one except a rock that stood up and began walking. He turned and saw more oddities. A paint brush in the sky, a caterpillar running from a steak, a fish that was talking to an ice cream cone. “I really must be in a dream world.”
“That your are child.” the voice answered him. He turned to see an old, black man in a suit sitting in a tree behind him.
“How are you?”
“Me? My name? I'm sorry, but I forget.”
“How could you forget your own name?”
“Well after being here, I have forgotten tons of things except for one. I know why I was put here.”
“Care to explain?” asked Paul.
“Yes I care to,” He smiled. “You see, some people are jealous of other's people things. More than others. Dreamina is one of those people.”
“Dreamina?”
“Shush you! Let me finish! Now Dreamina was a rich child but both of her parents had died. She had inherited their fortune as well as her mother's smarts. Out of everything in the whole world, dreams gripped her attention more than anything.
So as she grew, she began to------------er--------------experiment more. She soon made a machine called the Daydreamer. It was a helmet. Whoever put on the helmet would suddenly be their own dream world. Then she found it was a success.”
The man stopped for a while, there was silence except for the silence. “Then what?” asked Paul.
“That's just the thing. She didn't know what,” he continued. “But one day, as she was in the park she heard whispering. People were talking about her, pointing at her. Now she was always quickly to anger so this wasn't helping her karma. Then she saw it. She saw people with their families, couples, children with their friends. She never had any of those friends and she wanted them. So, she thought of the only way to make her feel better was trap them in a dream world. It felt so real the victim would forget what was real and was fake.”
“Why is that bad sir?” inquired Paul.
“Its not just bad! Its horrible! The more the victim spends time in their dream world they were forget how to live.”
“But what am I here for?” Paul cried.
“You. You are a special day dreamer.” Paul looked at the old man in confusion. “You're the only who can enter the dream doors. Hurry my child. Before our other dreamers forget how to live!”
With those last words the man disappeared. Paul was left in the freezing, daunting dream dessert, wondering what to do. He thought all was lost until he saw it. A door, far across the land. He stumbled towards it and threw it opened. He felt the sun beating on his face. He was out. Yet he opened his eyes to see blazing hot sands. A huge Sphinx that was being rebuilt, the great pyramids being constructed. Was he in ancient Egypt? He wandered until he reached one of the pyramids where he saw something familiar. A girl made of hard, gray stone with frosty, clean, revitalizing water coming out of her mouth. It was the Egyptian girl from his dream. Paul leaned against the fountain and then splashed the water in his face. Being in that waste land had gotten to him.
After refreshing himself, he lifted his head to take a look around. By the looks of it he seem to be in the bazaar except they weren‘t selling your typical ancient Egyptian food, clothes or anything else. All the shops were modern day stores from malls and such. Paul could hear the latest music from his favorite band playing. But he noticed as up to date as everything was, the people still dressed as olden Egyptians.
“Dude!” an Egyptian boy, about the same age as him came up behind him. He noticed, tucked under his arm was a surfboard. “Righteous look!”
“This girl has a strange imagination.” Paul whispered. “Hey do you know that girl?” He asked, pointing to the fountain.
“Sure dude,” the boy answered. “Me and my buds were just about to go to her royal highness's pyramid. You can come with us!”
“Rad!” Paul gave them a thumbs up and followed them.
They walked across the tawny sand of the dessert towards a huge yet brightly colored pyramid. It was crested with gemstones like a child's play jewelry box. Up at the top was a flashing sign that said

Welcome to Isis's Party Place

“Since when did you Egyptians have party places?” asked Paul.
“Since like ever.” answered the surfer.
They closer they got, the stranger this place became to him. Everyone was dancing to No Doubt, doing a conga line, something you just wouldn't think you'd get from Egypt. He broke away from the group and began to look for the girl they called Isis. He wandered the halls, looking for someone specific. Isis was a Egyptian goddess so she must have been majestic and powerful. He hear d a step from behind so he quickly turned. No one. He continued.
“Hm, hm, hm. When you're weary, feeling small. When tears are in your eyes.” came a soothing voice that still scared him.
“Who is that?” he asked with a waver in his voice.
The voice giggled bubbly. “Don't worry dear! I won't hurt you! I'm a nice goddess.”
“Could I see what you look like?” he asked. Someone tapped his shoulder so he turned around. It was the Egyptian girl from his dream and from the fountain. Now since he had gotten a chance to get a good look at her, he noticed she was extremely attractive. Her wasn't skinny but she was in good shape.
“Is something wrong?” she looked a him.
“Oh!” He finally noticed that he had been staring at her. “I'm hear to save you.” To his disbelief as well as his disappointment she laughed boisterously. “You know I wasn't kidding.”
“You're a funny boy,” She managed to say. “A goddess does not need saving.”
Oh great, she really thinks she a goddess, he thought to himself. He knew none of this real. He needed to prove it to her somehow.
“Look,” He stopped suddenly. He realized that didn't know the girls real name. “Whats your name again?”
She laughed for a third time. She held up her hands that were glowing with a purple flame. She snapped them, causing a great quake. Paul tumbled over. Out of the ground rose a huge sign, flashing with huge lights.

Isis

Paul read to his horror. This girl thought she was the real Egyptian goddess. She had all the powers a goddess could have but he had to remember that she was in a dream world where she could control whatever she wanted.
“Look Isis,” he confronted her. “This is a dream. I can prove it!”
He looked around until his eyes settled on a pillar which he picked up with his bare hands. This impressed Isis but it didn't convince her.
“So?”
“Dude, I'm a weak as a baby deer!” Paul cried. “You have to believe me!”
BOOM!
A huge eruption ended their little chat. The ground quake quickly and then became still once more.
“Well I have to go! The guest have arrived!”
“Guest?” he asked himself. Isis ran off but he followed her quickly. When they reached the front, he stopped in shock. Near the gate where gods and goddesses he had read from myths!
A young man with winged shoes and a winged helmet. “Is that?” Paul began to ask.
“Hermes! Hey, nice new toga!” Isis embraced him. “Hestia! Great to see ya again!”
Paul now knew this was a dream. He saw Agwe, African goddess of the sea and Acolmiztli, Aztec god of the underworld.
“Well everyone is here,” Isis whooped. “Now we can start the party.”
Paul just stood there as the gods followed her into the pyramid. At this rate he realized that it was hopeless unless he could convince this girl that she wasn't a Egyptian goddess. Only problem was is that he didn't know who she was either. He plopped down on the ground, hoping something would help him. He closed his for he was tired. Paul listened to the wind as it blew across the land of hot, red sand. As he listened to the wind he heard a faint noise. It was soft but he could make it out. A music box playing the to the tune of Beautiful Dreamer. His eyes began to rush around in search of the harmonious box until he saw it, poking out of the dirt.
It was a round little box with a ballerina dressed in red atop of it. He noticed the doll looked remarkably like this Isis. He looked on the side to find written in gold letters was a name.

Josephine

       “Josephine,” he whispered. He grasped the box in his hand, heaved the musical device out of the ground. “Josephine.” He brushed away the grains and headed back top the pyramid.
He entered but with much difficulty against the party goers. He reached Isis who was dancing with Apollo. Paul tapped her on the shoulder so she turned around in an instant.
“Hello fellow mortal,” she said. “Care to join the party.”
“Does this belong to you?” he held up the music box.
The music suddenly stopped; everyone stared at Isis. She clutched the box in her hand as it began to play; her eyes, transfixed. The music played slowly. As it did, she began to sing softly.
“Isis,” Apollo shook her gently. “Are okay?”
“I'm not Isis,” was her melodious reply. “My name is Josephine Horha. I'm not a goddess.”
“Yes I did it!” Paul whooped and turned to the sky. “One point for me
Dreamina!”
“Who are you again?” Josephine asked in confusion.
“I'll explain later,” he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind. “We have to get out of here.”
“I hate to break it too you but no crashes a god's party.” Hermes said.
The lights began to break; Josephine screamed. It was pitch dark and the only light were the glowering eyes of the gods. Paul pulled the girl after her, running away blinded by the dark. He had to think, there had to be some way for them to be saved. He never dreamed of something like this happening to him.
“That's it!” It suddenly came to him. “Josie.”
“Josephine!” she replied.
“Whatever! This is your dream world. Dreamina may have put you in it but you've created it.”
The place was suddenly light up again with flashy lights but the gods were still coming after them. Josephine suddenly let go of Paul's hand and confronted the gods. She closed her eyes as they approached her with rapid speed.
“I can't watch!” Paul covered his eyes.
BAM!
Uncovering his eyes he saw a huge book, floating right in front of the girl. It soon disappeared and she returned to Paul.
“What was that? What did you do?”
“I sent them back from whence they came,” She answered back. “The book I read them from.”
“That's good. Now to find the door to get out of here.”
They wandered around until they finally escaped the pyramid. Certain nothing else could go wrong, Paul was certain of himself.
This is pretty easy, he thought to himself with a huge smile on his face. He suddenly stopped changing his attitude.
“This a little to easy.” He said out loud.
“I know what you mean.” Josephine retorted. “She probably has something else up here sleeve. Hey, was those Sphinxes always there?”
Paul turned his face to meet her gaze. In front of them were three large Sphinxes which he knew were not there before.
“Did you move them?” He asked Josephine who shook her head. “Oh no. I think we should go the other way.”
They turned to leave but t he sound of moving stone caught their ears. They looked at each other then slowly turned to see the three stone monuments where looming over them with devilish eyes.
“I'm suggesting we should run.” Josephine commented.
“Great idea.” Paul nodded.
As two great flashes of lighting, the teenagers ran off in desperate search of the door. Too bad for them, the Sphinxes had much bigger legs than them so they were right on their tails. They would have been goners if they Josephine hadn't come up with something.
“Tell me what is something cats love?” She asked Paul.
“Yarn?”
She closed her eyes, concentrating as hard as she could. Soon enough there was a large ball of yarn. Two of the stone cats stopped and began to play but the other one still was in hot pursuit.
“Where could that door be?” Paul asked.
“There it is!” Josephine pointed. It was floating over the Nile river.
“How are we suppose to get there?”
“Its my dream!” She reminded him. “I control this!”
The sphinx was nearly caught up to them. Josephine closed her eyes, concentrating with all her might. Paul turned to see the great stone animal nearly above them. Soon they both stopped to find they were at a dead end.
“We're doom!” Paul squeaked.
Josephine didn't answer; she stilled had her eyes shut. The sphinx roared loudly, ready to gobble them up when the sand beneath its feet began to cave in. The sphinx turned to run but was swallowed up by the sand.
“Wow,” Paul looked at Josephine. “That was awesome!”
“Thanks. Now on to that door!”
Suddenly, the door appeared right in front of them. It swung open; letting them into the barren waste land of dreams and thoughts.

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