Chapter 21: Talking to Bob

I bridged over to Bob and told him what had happened, that two nights in a row I had apparently been 'bridged' by someone else, into the dreams of someone I didn't know.

"Have you considered that maybe it was really just a fantasy?" Bob suggested.

"We thought of that after the first one, but twice in two nights, surrounding the same person, whom I don't know? And my ring was gone. If it was a fantasy, it was someone else's. Let me tell you about it and see if you come to the same conclusions that we did."

I proceeded to tell him all about my meetings with "Bex" Hampton, including our conclusions that for some reason, some unknown person wanted me to meet her. He listened to the whole story then said, "Jimmy, you gotta stop doing this to me. Just when I think I've got some kind of grip on the whole thing, you spring this on me. Tell me this? Do you and Allison consider this an escalation?"

"Escalation is a term we only use when it appears that I can suddenly do something new. Like the first time I bridged another person by accident, or when I started randomly bridging people I would meet, even the dream about the little girl in the closet. This time it doesn't appear to be something I've done. This time it seems I'm being moved by someone else. Intervention maybe... but not escalation. Allison is scared. She thinks that this means that someone we don't know actually knows about me, and apparently can exercise some level of control over me. Besides there have been other patterns to escalations."

"Really? What kind of patterns?"

I blushed. "Well," I began, but was interrupted when the phone suddenly rang.

Bob picked it up, answered, and said with a shocked expression, "It's for you."

I was just as stunned. I took the phone from him. It was Allison! "Tell him. Tell him everything."

"How did you know..." I started.

"You left from my dream; I stuck a remote receiver on you before you left and I've been listening. It was just an experiment to see if it would work but since it did... I think it's time he knew the whole story. If we can't trust him by now... you know what I mean. I think he'll have a better chance of helping if he understands everything. I trust him. Okay?"

"Okay, you're right as usual. I'll talk to you in a little bit." I hung up and turned back to Bob.

"She says to tell you everything. So here's what we know about the escalations so far." I went on to tell him all about registration and Miss Swann's affect on me, the water fight with Shannon, the garage, how that had led to the first episode of my 'bridging' over into her dream. How we had come to the conclusion that it was hormones that had triggered it. Without getting into graphic details, I told him how the changes since then had followed directly after more intense situations of a similar nature. I was sweating bullets and felt I like I was so red I would have glowed in the dark by the time I finished.

Bob couldn't help but smile a little bit. "Okay, don't take this wrong. On the one hand that is all fascinating, but on the other, it's not at all surprising. In many documented cases of paranormal activity, the episodes followed times of severe emotional or physical stress. Puberty can be a bitch, no two ways about it. Granted it's a little late to call this puberty in your case, but this seems to be just another case where hormones have triggered more than a deep voice or a sudden demand for new wardrobe. I don't need to know the more intimate details but you may want to consider journaling this stuff to look back at it later. No idea where you could put that it would be safe but you may be able to learn from it later."

"Allison has been taking notes."

"Excellent. That is one smart girl you have there, Jimmy, I'm glad she's on our side. Well, figuratively speaking that is. There is certainly no need to go into the whole 'your-side, my-side' route just yet. Either way it's good that you have her to talk to. So, from what you've told me, I would have to agree that two things are happening. First, your love life is improving..." I swear I flushed to the floor. "... and that as a result of this, your, call it 'ability, ' is growing at a major rate. As for someone else's being in control, that's a little harder to pin down. On the up side, there is the coincidence factor, but that doesn't hold up well due to the fact that it was the same person, a person that you have never met, and have no prior knowledge of, and as you said, it happened twice. Also, and this is a key piece of information that you may have overlooked, I think what you were viewing was more likely memories than dreams."

"Really?" This was a totally new thought. "What makes you think so?"

"You have control in dreams. Yours and Allison's from way back, Shannon's from the very first time. I'm not surprised at any of that part of the story by the way; she is your best friend's sister, you've known each other for years, and you suddenly discovered that she is not the irritating little tag along you always saw her as. At the same time you discover that she has in fact grown up right under your nose into an attractive young collection of protein, and that she has the hots for you. Happens all the time. If your best friend doesn't kill you first, you may have just discovered, at the very least a very good friend for life or, something much more. If you screw it up, which I assume you haven't yet, you will wish you had never been born.

"Anyway, from the first you had control, even though it was Shannon's established fantasy. In the new episodes, you are pretty well locked into your observer mode. The situation is similar to watching a movie or a stage play. In one there is absolutely nothing you can do but watch or leave, the other you can actually affect. Even if it is just to disrupt it and get thrown out. See the difference? Does this make any sense?"

"Yes, not only does it make sense, but it answers some questions as well. Actually, just about anything I learn at this point is bound to at least be a hint to some question I have, or maybe to one I haven't even thought of yet. So because it's a person re-living a life experience in a dream I really don't have any effect?"

"Not so far anyway, and let me tell you right up front that if you actually do start being able to affect dreams of this sort, tell me immediately! It's not so much that I'm worried, but I'm worried. At the same time I would be excited beyond measure. The therapeutic value of that just blows my mind, as do the possible dangers, but that's too much of a stretch at this point. We'll just have to wait and see how things develop. Back to your current problem, if it does happen again, do you have any idea how you want to handle it?"

"Yes. Allison and I talked about it and she wants me to see if I can get out of a dream like that if I find myself in one again. You know, just walk away."

"That sounds like a very good idea. You need to know how much control you really have. You may not be able to learn the actual limits of that control, but it would be nice to know you can leave when you want. Did you want to try and do that now?"

"As long as you don't see a problem with it, I'm game. But I don't know if I could 'force' my way in, if you get my meaning. I don't know where the 'visions, ' dreams, memories, or whatever are actually coming from, so I think I'll just wait and see when it happens again. It does seem like the only way we are ever going to get more information though." I stopped for a minute, considering. "Bob? What if it is someone else? What if there is someone out there who knows about me and what I can do?"

"Jimmy, I don't know. Until we have more to go on I just don't know. On the up side, I doubt if someone who meant you harm would be introducing you to an FBI agent."

"Yeah, Allison and I pretty much came to the same conclusion. I just realized something. This isn't the first time this has happened, no that's not right, what I mean is, I think I've been in other dreams like this before. Remember the girl in the closet? I wanted to do something then but somehow I knew there was nothing I could do. I think that was a memory."

"You could be right, it's hard to say."

"Anyway, if it happens again, I'll try to leave first thing. I need to know if I have enough control to get out of a dream like that, one that someone else seems to have put me in. Speaking of control, Allison thinks it would be good idea to have these... we call them 'wizard's duels, ' to sharpen my skill and stuff. You know, teach me to think quicker and respond better and faster to situations in a dream. She thinks it may come in handy somehow, and I will admit I pretty much suck when it comes to that stuff. We've only horsed around with it a few times but she has pretty thoroughly kicked my butt whenever we have."

"It certainly couldn't hurt. Anything that stretches the mind and helps it to work more efficiently is generally a good thing. Does she feel that at some point you may actually have to use this ability to defend yourself in a dream? Does she feel you may be threatened in the future?"