Lucid Dreamers: Nightmares » Places

         Laz kept walking for what felt like hours. The colorful scenery was in constant flux around him, gradually fading from one vivid hue into the next.

Suddenly, he heard someone call out from somewhere ahead.

"Oi! You there!" Cried the stranger.

Laz glanced up and saw what appeared to be a small bat hanging from a tree.

"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!" It yelled in an accent that strongly resembled that of someone who's spent a good deal of time in Brooklyn.

Lazarus simply stared at the bat for a moment, processing the current situation.

"Where do you think you're going?" It asked.

Lazarus shrugged his shoulders and continued to stare at the bat past drooping eyelids. His interest was quickly fading.

"I wouldn't keep going straight, if I were you," the bat said, "I saw some nasty looking thugs stomping around just over the next hill."

Laz blinked a few times, looked straight ahead, and then back to the bat.

"Why are you telling me this?" Laz asked.

The bat unfolded its wings, swooped down, and began to hover around Laz's head.

"Well, you don't seem to be armed. I'm just trying to watch out for a fellow dream traveller."

Laz raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"You betcha," replied the bat, "I can show you a way around those thugs, though... If you're interested, that is."

Laz was silent for a few moments. This little bat was certainly an interesting character, but whether or not he was trustworthy, Laz had no idea. He decided to take a risk and befriend the bat.

"Name's Laz," he said, "What's yours?"

The bat looped around Laz's head a few times before stopping directly in front of him.

"The name's Perrinicius. Everyone calls me Perry, though."

Laz nodded to the bat.

"I suppose we should get moving then, Perry," he said, "The night, as they say, is young."