9

Woof-woof. Something squeaks and creaks. Four hands caressing and fumbling for clothes. Ten girls enter through the door, something furry licks a face, purple eyes too close. Moaning, moaning, moaning, then someone knocks on the door. Clothes are scattered over the floor, red-rosy lips sliding across the neck, and then a ghost person sobs into the chest. Ten shadows flicker, come into and go out of focus. There is someone smaller looking up, and his face is squished between mounds of cotton flesh as woof-woof catches the frisbee, and then the frisbee is thrown. Face buried in golden hair and clothes come off.

John awoke with a start. It took him several minutes to regain his bearing. Suddenly, he realized that he was inside the tent. All the memories from the previous day came rushing into his mind. He remembered everything one by one: the rainbow-colored clouds drifting outside, the black dog's episode, the religious cult people with the odd pendant, and the arcades. Most importantly, he suddenly remembered Ashley.

Ashley!

Then, it came to him what had caused him to wake up. He vaguely remembered having a bizarre dream. Almost all of the details were wiped out of his mind. He couldn't remember a thing. But upon exerting his memory, some blurry and random flashes crossed his mind. One thing was sure: Ashley had been in his dream. Somehow, there was also a dog in the vision. The two characters, dog, and Ashley, made sense, considering the events of yesterday. But John also remembered that there were ten other girls as well! What on earth were those girls doing in his dream? He strained his memory further, and three faded images came to him. One of the girls was smaller in height than him, another had four hands, and there was one that looked like a ghost. However, he was sure that there were seven other girls, but he could remember absolutely Nothing about them.

"What a strange dream to have!" John wondered.

His mind was still fixated on the unusual dream he made to get out of the sleeping bag. But a most embarrassing, a most shameful discovery was made at that point: there was wetness in his pants. The dream had been no ordinary dream; it was a wet dream!

A wave of heat rose through his body, spreading on his face and ears, making them burn. Just then, the flap of the tent was moved aside by someone. Peeking in for a view, the purple eyes of Ashley met with John's.

"Hey! I can see that you had a nice and long night's sleep," she said, laughing, "Did you dream about me?"

"How on earth did you find me?" John asked, stunned by her question.

"Well, I knew you would be sleeping in a tent somewhere. So, I came over here, and someone outside told me you were in this tent…"

"But aren't there many tent areas in Zone Two? How did you know I would be in this one? And who told you I would be sleeping in this tent? The only person I met last night was a man, and he said that he would be leaving," John asked all of these questions in quick succession. Ashley was taken aback, but she quickly recovered her composure.

"Well, this was the first tent area I visited, and you happened to be here. I guess it was just pure luck that I found you," said Ashley, chuckling, "perhaps your good luck has started to work for me as well."

John had a suspicion that Ashley was not completely honest with him. It appeared too unlikely for her to have found him, plus she had evaded answering some of his questions. John was sure that no one knew his whereabouts; the area had been more or less deserted last night. How on earth did she find the same tent he was sleeping in?

"Now come on, you big dumbo! Don't overburden your little head over Nothing. We have to get some breakfast. Don't worry, I will pay for it. And then there is a place I would like you to accompany me to," said Ashley.

"What place?" asked John curiously. Ashley rolled her big purple eyes at him.

"Too many questions, dumbo. Like I said, no need to overburden your head. Trust me, just get out of the sleeping bag, get yourself organized, and we will talk about the rest on our way for breakfast."

Out of the blue, John briskly remembered that he had a wet dream about Ashley the previous night. There were ten other girls, and weirdly, a dog, but Ashley was definitely there. His face must have changed dramatically, for Ashley instantly noticed the shift in his visage.

"What happened now? You look bothered about something," she inquired.

"Nothing, just hungry. That's all. Can't wait to have breakfast. Nothing more. Do you mind giving me some space? I need to get my head together. Just a few minutes, I will join you outside," said John.

Ashley could clearly notice that John, too, was hiding something. But she didn't push him at all. Instead, she let go of the tent flap. John heard the sound of her black heels clip-clopping on the pavement outside. Determined to keep the wet dream secret, he told himself that the only way to disperse Ashley's suspicions would be to stay calm. Act normal and keep his composure.

Near the tents, there was a bathing facility. John took a shower there, and Ashley brought him fresh clothes from a store nearby. Wearing a crisp shirt and jeans, they both left the tents to find a place for eating breakfast. However, John was uncomfortable, and he felt awkward being in Ashley's presence after having a wet dream about her.

"What's the matter? You look like you are hiding something from me," remarked Ashley.

"No, no. I was thinking about your mother," he blurted in an attempt to change the subject, "You look so much like her, Ashley. How old is she, by the way?"

"About fifty."

"What? That is unbelievable! She looks really young for her age," remarked John.

"Yeah, she does. Anyway, what happened last night after I left?" Asked Ashley.

John wasn't so sure about telling the black dog and religious cult story to Ashley. But considering the situation, he realized that there was a dire need for topics of conversation. Luckily, Ashley came to the rescue; she must have felt his preoccupation.

"You alright? Look a little distracted."

"Yeah...I was just thinking about my friend, Jack."

And so, he launched into the whole story of how he had arrived at the Tower. He told her about the death of Jack.

"That's very sad, really," she said, trying her best to put up a convincing face, "sounds like the two of you were really close."