The Mind Manifests 24


  I woke up in the blackness of space. This dream was a rerun, I had seen it before. I was falling through the atmosphere, crashing to Earth. But just as I was flying past my human self, about to hit the ground, everything froze. I head footsteps and struggled to look in their direction. Then I saw him, the dragon. He idly strutted over to my human self and examined his frozen face, mumbling "Hmm…not quite what I imagined."

  He turned around and looked up at me, smiling, and I drifted to the ground. I was once again trapped in a crystalline body in this dream, and I was unable to struggle as he gently picked me up and examined me. He grinned and nodded, then spoke to me "I suspected it before. Sorry about being so mysterious, I hadn't heard about the trial. Don't worry, I'm sure Ethan will get you out of this mess, he's very passionate for a human…"

  He tossed me in the air a couple times, lifting to two legs and walking over to a bench. I tried to close my eyes, but as I had none, I was forced to watch the world spinning around. He sat down on the bench and set me down facing him, "Daniel, do you know who I am?"

  I tried to reply, but again I couldn't move anything.

  "That question was rhetorical, I know you can't speak, stop straining yourself or you'll crack. Daniel, you've gotten caught up in something that's been going on since before you were born. You might think it's all new…but I know you've been feeling something. There's a vibe…you feel like all this is somehow…right."

  He picked me back up, petting me like a dog, and continued "I am so terribly sorry about this. It was my only option to not get deleted. You're about to wake up, but I leave you with this, think on Legend Of White Wolf, your novel, it may just save your life."

  He threw me into the air and I fell back to the ground, tumbling and bumping as sunlight glared on my shut eyelids.

  The sun beamed through the air vents into my eyes as the trailer started bumping up and down a little, snapping me out of my dream. I recognized the pattern of potholes, we were going down James's driveway. The car came to a stop, and the door of the trailer opened. I was happy for only a moment, until I saw Homer with a cattle prod, harness, and a horse leash.

  He tossed me the harness and instructed me to put it on. I wasn't about to argue with a 320Lbs man with a cattle prod, so I started slipping it on, realizing I was still wearing a muzzle. Once it was on, Teresa came aroundd to the back of the trailer, yanking the leash out of his hand with a scowl "He's not a fucking animal, put that prod away before I shove it up your ass."

  They proceeded to argue, but I just tuned it out, dropping to all fours and staring at the floor until they finished. The leash was fastened to the back of my harness, and I was walked too the barn. I looked up with relief to see it was Teresa walking me.

  I was led into a horse stall, and I couldn't help but get back to two legs and hug her tightly when I saw an extension cord running to my laptop and a space heater, as well as a futon instead of hay.

  "Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me."
  "Oh, I can imagine. We're workin' on trying to get your girlfriend out of that army base, and Ethan's putting together the next part of your defense, all you need to do is keep looking sane and intelligent, that's the best thing you can do to strengthen your case."

  I thanked her again, and she left. I curled up on the futon and turned the space heater on as the nippy night air started seeping in. I checked for wifi, but didn't find any, so I just played a couple computer games for a bit.

  What must have been an hour later, I realized something. My stories. I made the Dracano series in a format to make it look like I was writing my experiences as they happened…so why not do that for real? I opened word and started typing quickly. I had pumped out five chapters before I thought of a name. I picked a name based on what happened to me, I had become something that previously was only in my head. My mind had made things reality. My inner desires manifested.

The Mind Manifests

  I loved the title, and spent the rest of the night pumping out one chappter after another, struggling to remember everything that had happened to me so far. Venting my emotions onto the page was exactly what I needed.

  I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon and eggs. I peeked an eye open to find I had fallen asleep while writing, 44 pages of "BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB" staring back at me from the screen. I looked up in the direction of the smell and heard somebody moving outside the stall.

  A moment later, the door opened and James walked in with two plates. He set one down next to me, then leaned against the wall, eating the food on his. I took a couple bites of the bacon before looking back up at him "So, what's the news on the outside? My information's been a little limited."

  "I actually think you'll be a little surprised at what you see when you go back to the courtroom today."
  "How so?"
  "You'll see."
  "Jiiiim, tell me."
  "Some details of your court case may or may not have found their way to wikileaks. And some government documents about care and treatment of crystal victims may or may not have made it to prime time news."
  "You're kidding."
  "Nope, there was even mild rioting over it. And I have a question, do you know a wolf named Loku?"
  "Where is he!?"
  "He'll be appearing at the hearing today as a witness. Your trial has become more about the government involvement than anything. Since all that evidence came to light, a guilty verdict would trigger a public outcry."

  I finished my breakfast silently, and we shared some trivial conversation before I was escorted back to the trailer. We bumped along the driveway and then the highway for a long time.

  I heard the occasional chirps of a police escort, but little more than that until I heard an uproarious cheer on one side, and shouting screams on another. The trailer was opened, and I was led out into the sunlight to see two huge crowds outside the courthouse.

  On one side, were people shouting about how I was a monster and a murderer, but on the other side were people shouting praises for me escaping such cruelty. And intermingled into the crowd that was supporting me were a few anthros, most wearing crystal necklaces, and all applauding me.

  I was able to get to the courthouse without incident, and the noise from outside died down as I entered the room. I couldn't help but grin as I saw a familiar face in the spectator's area. Loku Von Zor'kan, looking way too smug.