![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Lay Me Down to Sleep
d/b
Disclaimer: Utter nonsense
Warnings: AU, whimsy, Nightmares
Feedback: Hit me. Good. Bad. Though not rude would be nice.
Dom met Billy on a Tuesday in December. He was drinking coffee at a bookstore and this elf of a man sat down opposite him and dumped an armload of books on the table. He stared at Dom.
“May I help you?”
“Read these books.”
“What are they about?”
“Things you need to know.”
Dom eyed the teetering stack.
“I think I’m good, thanks.”
“You can’t sleep.”
Dom couldn’t sleep.
“What’s it to you?”
“I’m Billy. Billy Boyd. It’s my job to find people like you.”
“People like me?”
“Who can’t sleep. Or sleep too much. Or sleepwalk. I deal with sleep.”
“Do you sleep?”
Billy shuddered. “Too much, not enough, on the move, and others. I’m an expert. I wish someone would shoot me. Maybe you will. One can always hope. Anyway, read them. I’ll drop by your flat tomorrow at two.”
Billy vanished. Dom returned to his magazine and when he left the shop he left the stack of books on the table. He had hallucinated from lack of sleep before.
~*~
“Ding dong. You should lock your door. It’s late at night.”
“You again.”
“Here I am. Well, we’re off.”
“Off?”
“On your first mission. Never forget mine. Two thousand it was. New Year. Hadn’t woken up in a week. They had to infect me with a dream to tell me about it. Poured it in through my ear. All Hamlet, I thought. But I didn’t die. I never die. That’s what’s wrong with me. All my life, I have never died.”
Dom put out his cigarette and rubbed his eyes. Maybe this was a dream. Maybe the insomnia had let go of him and he was dreaming.
“Waking or dying, I’d like to have an adventure.”
“That’s the spirit. There’s been a murder. A friend of ours. You’re to get his diary. It’s not a dangerous mission, or shouldn’t be. It’s just a token. Just go into his house and….”
~*~
The creature let out a bellow. The heat of it washed over Dom’s face. He felt as small as a lone candle flame in a storm. He trembled, gulped, and ran.
The front room was dark and Dom scrabbled wildly along the wall until he felt the outlines of the door. Hope soared in him for one brief moment. He could hear the creature coming down the stairs, could hear the strange way it breathed. Its breath sounded like a gale, and the moaning of the sea, and a hundred people weeping.
“Open! Open!” he said to the door. His hands found the doorknob. He tugged on it eagerly. The creature’s breath was hot on the back of his neck.
The knob rattled and fell off into his hand.
“Oh, hell.”
The creature swirled about him. Dom heard a great rushing sound, his ears popped, and his eyes watered. He gripped the doorknob tightly in his fist and heaved it with all his might at the window.
The glass sparkled in the light of the moon as it fell. Dom hurried toward it and ran, panting, into the snow.
“What took you so long?”
“There was a…a…I don’t know…a thing.”
“What kind of thing?”
“It was hiding in the bedroom. It was dark and breathed funny, like gales and crying.”
“An RNM. Did you capture it?”
“Noooo…I don’t think so. What’s an Arenem?”
Billy rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you read the books I gave you? An RNM! A Reoccurring Nightmare. It must have escaped when the doctor was killed. I didn’t know he had one, or I would have warned you.”
“Right, well, thanks. I guess.”
Billy was peering into Dom’s eyes as if trying to see into his skull.
“Did it get you?”
“Get me?”
“What happened before you broke the window?”
“Um…I heard a big rushing sound and my ears sort of popped.” Dom left out the part about his eyes watering.
“Yeah, he got you. Damn.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have an RNM. It’s got into you. You’ll dream.”
Dom blanched.
“Oh! It’s okay. They’re easy enough to sort out. I wouldn’t recommend taking any naps between here and headquarters, mind you. Next time what you do is, you close your eyes and block your ears and shine a bright light. Then they can’t get in, like.”
At these words Dom felt an overwhelming sleepiness engulf him. He gave a great yawn and shook his head.
“Yeah, they wear you out. It’s part of their tricks. Well! It will you cure your insomnia at any rate, yeah?”
Dom trembled.
“Let’s clear out of here.”
Billy whistled and the sleigh came careening around the corner, the horses snorting and steaming into the cold night wind.
Dom hadn’t a jacket. Just the jeans and worn shirt that Billy had found him in and his eyes watered in the cold. Billy grabbed the reins and urged the horses on.
“Here, take my hat. I’ve a hood. There’s a blanket under your seat.”
They slipped through the dark streets, under glass towers, and slim minarets that pricked the star-spangled sky, around the domes of cathedrals, and through tightly strung alleyways between squat homes of stone and slate.
In Government Square they stopped in the light of the Capitol Building.
“Don’t let on that you didn’t read the books.”
“What?”
Dom blinked in the bright lights of the square.
Billy sighed. “Of all the times for insomnia to desert you. Just follow my lead, and whatever you do, don’t sleep.”
Billy led Dom out of the cold, into a cavernous hall, and through a labyrinth of brightly lit corridors. He knocked on a cold, white door.
Dom heaved a huge yawn as they entered the office and Billy elbowed him firmly in the ribs. Dom blinked rapidly and tried to take in his surroundings.
There was an official-looking government desk. A flag. Various plaques and certificates mounted on the wall. There was a shirtless man with red and blue paint on him and gigantic bruise on his forehead sitting on the floor in front of a wastebasket that held a fire. Sprawled on a couch was a naked man-child with enormous blue bug-eyes smoking a cigarette.
“This seems like the right place.”
“Did he get it?”
“Yes sir, we’ve got it right here.”
Billy tossed the doctor’s diary to the painted man.
“Good. Something happened that you did not expect.”
Billy glanced uneasily at Dom.
“Well, he followed all the rules in the books I gave him, Sir. But…”
“But?”
“He’s contracted an RNM.”
The naked boy laughed as if this was a bawdy joke and blew three smoke rings at the ceiling.
“It’s easy enough to cure,” Billy said hurriedly. “Just call it out and…”
“I think not.”
“Sir?”
“It was sent for a reason. Let us watch the new one dream.”
“Sir! He’s new. It will terrify him. We don’t know…”
“No, we don’t know. Perhaps this Nightmare will lead us to the doctor’s killer. The RNM will remain.”
Billy cast Dom an apologetic glance. Dom smiled at him. The blue-eyed boy was patting the couch next to him and plumping up the pillows.
Sleep.
Dom felt like he could sleep for a long time. He began to walk towards the couch. It seemed a great distance.
“Sir! I must insist…”
“Sleep, Billy.” The painted man waved his hand through the air and Billy crumpled to a heap on the tiled floor. Dom paused in his journey. The blue-eyed boy began to sing a lullaby and the couch turned into a bed. Dom’s shoes melted into slippers.
“Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
and if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
Dom murmured the old prayer sleepily. Something growled.
But what if he can’t find it?
d/b
Disclaimer: Utter nonsense
Warnings: AU, whimsy, Nightmares
Feedback: Hit me. Good. Bad. Though not rude would be nice.
Dom met Billy on a Tuesday in December. He was drinking coffee at a bookstore and this elf of a man sat down opposite him and dumped an armload of books on the table. He stared at Dom.
“May I help you?”
“Read these books.”
“What are they about?”
“Things you need to know.”
Dom eyed the teetering stack.
“I think I’m good, thanks.”
“You can’t sleep.”
Dom couldn’t sleep.
“What’s it to you?”
“I’m Billy. Billy Boyd. It’s my job to find people like you.”
“People like me?”
“Who can’t sleep. Or sleep too much. Or sleepwalk. I deal with sleep.”
“Do you sleep?”
Billy shuddered. “Too much, not enough, on the move, and others. I’m an expert. I wish someone would shoot me. Maybe you will. One can always hope. Anyway, read them. I’ll drop by your flat tomorrow at two.”
Billy vanished. Dom returned to his magazine and when he left the shop he left the stack of books on the table. He had hallucinated from lack of sleep before.
~*~
“Ding dong. You should lock your door. It’s late at night.”
“You again.”
“Here I am. Well, we’re off.”
“Off?”
“On your first mission. Never forget mine. Two thousand it was. New Year. Hadn’t woken up in a week. They had to infect me with a dream to tell me about it. Poured it in through my ear. All Hamlet, I thought. But I didn’t die. I never die. That’s what’s wrong with me. All my life, I have never died.”
Dom put out his cigarette and rubbed his eyes. Maybe this was a dream. Maybe the insomnia had let go of him and he was dreaming.
“Waking or dying, I’d like to have an adventure.”
“That’s the spirit. There’s been a murder. A friend of ours. You’re to get his diary. It’s not a dangerous mission, or shouldn’t be. It’s just a token. Just go into his house and….”
~*~
The creature let out a bellow. The heat of it washed over Dom’s face. He felt as small as a lone candle flame in a storm. He trembled, gulped, and ran.
The front room was dark and Dom scrabbled wildly along the wall until he felt the outlines of the door. Hope soared in him for one brief moment. He could hear the creature coming down the stairs, could hear the strange way it breathed. Its breath sounded like a gale, and the moaning of the sea, and a hundred people weeping.
“Open! Open!” he said to the door. His hands found the doorknob. He tugged on it eagerly. The creature’s breath was hot on the back of his neck.
The knob rattled and fell off into his hand.
“Oh, hell.”
The creature swirled about him. Dom heard a great rushing sound, his ears popped, and his eyes watered. He gripped the doorknob tightly in his fist and heaved it with all his might at the window.
The glass sparkled in the light of the moon as it fell. Dom hurried toward it and ran, panting, into the snow.
“What took you so long?”
“There was a…a…I don’t know…a thing.”
“What kind of thing?”
“It was hiding in the bedroom. It was dark and breathed funny, like gales and crying.”
“An RNM. Did you capture it?”
“Noooo…I don’t think so. What’s an Arenem?”
Billy rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you read the books I gave you? An RNM! A Reoccurring Nightmare. It must have escaped when the doctor was killed. I didn’t know he had one, or I would have warned you.”
“Right, well, thanks. I guess.”
Billy was peering into Dom’s eyes as if trying to see into his skull.
“Did it get you?”
“Get me?”
“What happened before you broke the window?”
“Um…I heard a big rushing sound and my ears sort of popped.” Dom left out the part about his eyes watering.
“Yeah, he got you. Damn.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have an RNM. It’s got into you. You’ll dream.”
Dom blanched.
“Oh! It’s okay. They’re easy enough to sort out. I wouldn’t recommend taking any naps between here and headquarters, mind you. Next time what you do is, you close your eyes and block your ears and shine a bright light. Then they can’t get in, like.”
At these words Dom felt an overwhelming sleepiness engulf him. He gave a great yawn and shook his head.
“Yeah, they wear you out. It’s part of their tricks. Well! It will you cure your insomnia at any rate, yeah?”
Dom trembled.
“Let’s clear out of here.”
Billy whistled and the sleigh came careening around the corner, the horses snorting and steaming into the cold night wind.
Dom hadn’t a jacket. Just the jeans and worn shirt that Billy had found him in and his eyes watered in the cold. Billy grabbed the reins and urged the horses on.
“Here, take my hat. I’ve a hood. There’s a blanket under your seat.”
They slipped through the dark streets, under glass towers, and slim minarets that pricked the star-spangled sky, around the domes of cathedrals, and through tightly strung alleyways between squat homes of stone and slate.
In Government Square they stopped in the light of the Capitol Building.
“Don’t let on that you didn’t read the books.”
“What?”
Dom blinked in the bright lights of the square.
Billy sighed. “Of all the times for insomnia to desert you. Just follow my lead, and whatever you do, don’t sleep.”
Billy led Dom out of the cold, into a cavernous hall, and through a labyrinth of brightly lit corridors. He knocked on a cold, white door.
Dom heaved a huge yawn as they entered the office and Billy elbowed him firmly in the ribs. Dom blinked rapidly and tried to take in his surroundings.
There was an official-looking government desk. A flag. Various plaques and certificates mounted on the wall. There was a shirtless man with red and blue paint on him and gigantic bruise on his forehead sitting on the floor in front of a wastebasket that held a fire. Sprawled on a couch was a naked man-child with enormous blue bug-eyes smoking a cigarette.
“This seems like the right place.”
“Did he get it?”
“Yes sir, we’ve got it right here.”
Billy tossed the doctor’s diary to the painted man.
“Good. Something happened that you did not expect.”
Billy glanced uneasily at Dom.
“Well, he followed all the rules in the books I gave him, Sir. But…”
“But?”
“He’s contracted an RNM.”
The naked boy laughed as if this was a bawdy joke and blew three smoke rings at the ceiling.
“It’s easy enough to cure,” Billy said hurriedly. “Just call it out and…”
“I think not.”
“Sir?”
“It was sent for a reason. Let us watch the new one dream.”
“Sir! He’s new. It will terrify him. We don’t know…”
“No, we don’t know. Perhaps this Nightmare will lead us to the doctor’s killer. The RNM will remain.”
Billy cast Dom an apologetic glance. Dom smiled at him. The blue-eyed boy was patting the couch next to him and plumping up the pillows.
Sleep.
Dom felt like he could sleep for a long time. He began to walk towards the couch. It seemed a great distance.
“Sir! I must insist…”
“Sleep, Billy.” The painted man waved his hand through the air and Billy crumpled to a heap on the tiled floor. Dom paused in his journey. The blue-eyed boy began to sing a lullaby and the couch turned into a bed. Dom’s shoes melted into slippers.
“Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
and if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
Dom murmured the old prayer sleepily. Something growled.
But what if he can’t find it?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
I think I escaped reality for awhile....thanks for that!
From:
no subject
Is this the start of a series? Very different. It makes me think of the song Lullaby by The Cure. :)
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject