[EternalPen]

Synopsis:"Sleep - The Blood Tower" takes place just a measly few days after "Sleep". Trey was beaten senseless in all literal meanings of the phrase, and just when he had discovered the cure to "The Croatoan", a virus that is spreading quickly and driving humankind to the brink of extinction! Camlin, a once kindhearted man, thinks he is forced by his life circumstances to "discover" the cure and SELL it. When Camlin and his team take Trey from the Asylum he was committed to, and the developer of the cure itself Dr. Charles is murdered, everything goes bad. Camlin is unsure of what to do and struggling with the side of him that wants to HELP Trey. The President offers negotiation, but is also planning to send a strike force to fix things the quick way. All the while, Trey is faced by the appearance of the mysterious Blood Tower in his once-peaceful Id and his calling to reach the top and regain his sanity, and the code to the cure that could save mankind. Everything is coming to a crashing close and not a single one of them knows what will happen next...

Content (below the </b>):

***Reunited***

The Blood Tower

Trey tried to jog up the stairs of the blood tower, but could not move his legs fast enough to do so. The blood did not cling to his shoes or paint them red, and Trey could not even smell the blood, but it was sticky. The tower might have been made of red honey for all Trey knew.

But for all the things that Trey did know, he knew now that this was blood. And he knew it was his blood. He didn’t know how he knew this, but he felt as if he had been in this place many times before.

He trudged through the sticky blood for what seemed like hours before he reached the first door he had seen in the tower. He was not interested in seeing what was inside, because he was trying to reach the top. He continued on, but only got just a few measly steps further before something happened.

One of the walls bulged.

The bulge reached out towards Trey and connected with a bulge that began to appear directly underneath the first one. The bulge on the wall and the bulge on the floor broke off so that there was simply a floating blob of blood in front of him.

The blob shaped itself into a full sized human. Where hair and skin should be, little ripples pulsated across its body resulting in an almost scaly lizard-like appearance. A tail emerged from the hind-quarters of the creature, and it’s perfectly round head morphed into an oval and then took on the appearance of a lizard. Trey realized then, seeing the rippling scales, whip-like tail, and forked tongue slithering in and out of the beast’s crocodile-jaws that this creature was, indeed, a lizard. It was a lizard and a man.

It was a lizard and Trey.

It had the same determination that Trey had in its eyes, it had the same muscle build, the same rhythm of breathing, and it took a slow step forward the second Trey took a slow step back.

Suddenly, in the time space of only a single second, the beast was solid. No more ripples, no more liquid movement, and it was no longer even red awkward phrasing on the even red part. It was green all over and scales covered its whole body like Trey had suspected. The only thing that stayed the same was the lizard’s eyes. They were still red and rippling globules of blood.

It let loose a ferocious snarl and leaped right over Trey’s head. It landed behind Trey and clawed at his back. Instinctively, Trey dropped to the ground and the blood cushioned his fall. The beast’s clawed hand missed and Trey rolled down the steps.

He collided with the monster and sent it sprawling a few steps below himself. The door was inches from Trey’s reach, and he decided that it was now a good idea to explore the tower’s many rooms.

Trey grabbed the sticky door handle and pushed the door open. He jumped inside and shut the door, but not all the way. The beast’s clawed hand was blocking the door from shutting all the way.

It clawed and reached for Trey’s head, but neither could victoriously open or shut the door completely. The beast’s hand stopped frantically flailing for Trey and Trey noticed the lizard’s tail snaking its way into the room where the door was not completely shut.

The tail wrapped around Trey’s ankle and pulled. Trey fell onto the floor with a heavy thud and his breath whooshed out of him. He wondered why the blood didn’t cushion his fall again.

The beast shoved the door open, pushing Trey to the side, and placed one talon-bearing foot onto the bare ground.

The room was void of any blood.

The lizard-beast screeched painfully and fell into a heap of red, shapeless blood on the floor. Trey shut the door quickly and the remaining blood flowed, as if on a slanted surface, right under the door and back into the staircase.

Trey looked around to see that this room was completely normal.

It was perfectly cube-shaped, but not large or small. Just roomy. In the northeastern corner sat an iron bed frame and an elegant white mattress lying on top of the springs. A flower design rested on the top of each corner of the frame.

Next to the bed, also against the wall, was a white wooden dresser. It was desk-sized, and the center was empty of all things, save an ink jar, feathered pen, and a page that was yellowed with age. It was black in some places, so Trey guessed that, from this distance, those places were where someone had written on that piece of paper long ago. There was a mirror on the top of the dresser that was shaped like a castle gate. It had a snaking, ivory vine that framed the mirror. Breaking the color coding, an unpainted chair sat facing Trey beside the dresser.

The rest of the room had stands for coats, hats, and the like dotted about, but always against the wall. These stands donned costumes that Trey recognized very quickly. One held Wallace’s still-intact black trench coat, weapons still attached. Another held Tracy’s sweater, jacket, and blue jeans. Her shoes sat on the ground next to the stand. The costumes belonged to people Trey had met ranging from Captain Kyle to-

And there it was. The man Trey had mistook as the Captain of Wallace’s ship had his costume in this museum also. His shirt, coat, pants, and even his eye-patch hanging from one of the stands branches were all there. His hook-hand was resting on the ground under the stand and the large, tri-cornered Captain’s hat sat on top of a white, metal birdcage. The birdcage was next to the fake Captain’s stand, the bird still in it. It was alive, too.

It groomed itself a little before looking at Trey and staring. It cocked its head to the right.

“Pump the balloons!” It squawked in a raspy parrot-voice. “Pump the balloons! Pump the balloons! CRAW!” It let out a screech at the end that forced Trey to place his hands over his ears.

Trey smiled and walked over to the cage to open the door. He grabbed the latch on the cage door and the Parrot jumped from its perch and snapped at Trey’s fingers. Trey jumped back, surprised, and yelled, “What gives?”

The parrot cocked its head and said, “Thief in the cabin! Thief in the Cabin!”

Trey rose an eyebrow to the parrot and said, “Oh, really?”

The parrot cocked its head the other direction and squealed, “You’ve ‘ad your water! You’ve ‘ad your water! Thief in the cabin! CRAW!”

This second screech was more gurgled than yelled and Trey wondered if the parrot was healthy or not. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “If you want to stay in there, I’m not stopping you.”

He turned to notice something he hadn’t seen before. The far left wall was bare of any furniture or clothing except a single treasure chest right in the center on the floor and against the wall. Above it was a white wooden peg-board. Resting on these pegs was a variety of weapons.

They were things like scimitars, spears, and other primitive melee weapons. A few wooden bows and two quivers, chock-full of oaken arrows, also rested on the board. The most modern weapon Trey spotted was an old world war one German rifle. It had an empty box of shells speared onto one of the pegs below it.

Trey gawked at the board, surprised he hadn’t seen it earlier. The variety of color on the weapons made the board stick out like a sore thumb, but he still hadn’t noticed it until now. He desperately wanted to try one of the weapons out, but as he reached for one the parrot squealed “Thief in the cabin! Thief in the cabin!” and he pulled his hand back.

Trey knew the first thing he would kill if he used one of the weapons, so he decided against violence, and left the weapons where they were.

Trey, instead, looked at the chest. It had a lock on it, but it was unlocked. Trey removed the open lock and pushed the heavy lid open. The chest creaked and groaned under the stress of age, but opened with no trouble otherwise. Trey looked inside and very nearly squealed with delight.

It was filled with modern-day clothes. The clothes that Trey bought and owned and they were clean. Not caring what he looked like, only what he smelled like, Trey grabbed the first pair of blue jeans, socks, first shirt and first pair of underclothing he could find. He changed his clothes, feeling awkward whenever he turned to see the parrot staring at him while he was undressed.

When he finished, he was glad to take in a deep breath and smell fresh.

“You like the clothes, then?” a familiar voice asked from behind Trey.

At first, Trey gasped. Someone was in the room! Then, after a moment to think, his face began to burn. They saw him change? Then, after a moment more of thinking, a huge smile spread across his face. He knew that voice at once!

“Wallace!” Trey said excitedly as he turned. Indeed, it was Wallace. In the flesh.

A smile spread across Wallace’s face as he said, “Yes, boy. Here and alive!”

“But,” Trey asked, “…how?”

“Ah, yes!” Wallace answered, “My story. This is my most favorite thing to do! Sit!”

Trey walked over to the bed and sat down. Wallace took the chair from the dresser and spun it around. He sat in the chair backwards, but still facing Trey. Interest sparkled in Trey’s eyes, and this pleased Wallace.

“Well,” He began, “I’ll start back from when that blasted fish tried to eat me and destroyed my ship. You had just told me that you would stay with me until the end and I said-”

***

Two Days Ago

“THAT’S what I like to hear!” Wallace yelled, laughing. “You have told me what I wanted to hear you say, and Wallace, the Captain, grants you your wish to leave! Good luck, boy!”

Wallace opened the door and Trey instantly recognized the room inside.

“But…” Trey started, “How?”

Wallace had already put on a harness that he attached to the last remaining Balloon. He pulled a lever that Trey hadn’t noticed before on the mast. A wooden contraption sprung forward, and collapsed the opening of the balloon. Wallace opened his trench coat revealing a simple black t-shirt and faded blue jeans. On the inside of the trench coat were many different weapons. Knives, swords, scimitars, and many different styles of modern-day pistols lined the inside.

“Don’t ask a Captain questions he doesn’t have time to answer, boy!” Wallace yelled, a smile on his face, “A Captain always follows his balloons! Just remember to spread the story of my adventures!”

Wallace grabbed a knife from his left side and kicked Trey into the room. He hit the back wall hard, and looked up to see Wallace. The Captain had his knife raised, and was about to sever the connection of the last balloon and what was left of the ship.

“Wallace, NO!” Trey yelled, “Come here! Come with me!”

“Share my adventures, boy! Tell the world!”

With that, Wallace cut the balloon and the rest of the ship fell. Wallace watched the boat plummet into the ocean below, but the door stayed put. Trey was watching, his mouth agape. Wallace dropped his knife and whipped out two pistols and began unloading their contents towards the beast below, who was circling for his final attack.

The beast lunged out of the water and Wallace dropped his guns. He grabbed two long, sharp swords and yanked them out, cutting his trench coat in the process. The jaws of the mighty beast encircled the Great Captain Wallace, and the two swords he had chosen he raised in defiance towards the beast.

Wallace swung down with all his might.

The Beast began to close its mouth.

The door slammed in Trey’s face and plummeted into the ocean with the rest of the boat. Wallace’s swords sliced the inside of the beast’s mouth and it fell back towards the ocean, screeching. It disappeared under the water and Wallace could see the beast going down to come back for another strike. Wallace dropped one scimitar and the beast lunged upwards again.

Wallace closed his eyes, aimed his head up, and whispered, “I’m sorry,” to the balloon. He knew that a Captain was always supposed to go with his balloons, but he severed the rope just as the beast’s open mouth broke the surface of the water.

The beast expected to have to jump up and bite to get the Captain, but the captain flew straight down. He fell into the beast’s mouth and slid straight down its throat without any danger from the razor-sharp teeth. Wallace jabbed his scimitar forward and held on as it raked its way down the throat of the beast.

All traces of light disappeared as he went deeper and deeper. Wallace had no idea how far he had fallen, but the blood poured from the long scratch and slicked the beast’s throat more than it already had been.

Wallace jabbed deeper one last time, and the scimitar caught. Wallace stopped and was hanging at the end of the beast’s throat over a pit which he could not see. The putrid air gave hint to the fact that Wallace was hanging over the thing’s stomach, and a pit of digestive juices that would spell out certain doom.

The throat around Wallace constricted and a loud boom sounded and echoed all around Wallace. He thought for sure that the beast was choking on its own blood. Then, everything began to rumble. Wallace’s grip began to loosen and he clenched his teeth and took a deep breath.

He knew what came after gagging. This was going to hurt.

The stomach acid in the rose at an alarming rate and enclosed around Wallace. It burned and stung his skin, but he kept his mouth and eyes shut as he chewed the inside of his cheek. The liquid burned and the current broke his grip. Wallace shot back up the beast’s throat like a bullet from a gun.

Wallace’s air was depleted and he knew that if he breathed in the acid he would surely die. He just couldn’t hold his breath any longer. He opened his mouth and broke out into the air as soon as he breathed in. He was soaring away from the beast and he took another deep breath just before he hit the surface of the water and plummeted under.

Wallace swam for the top, kicking off his boots and removing his shirt. The less weight, the better. He broke the surface and breathed in long and hard. The waves were not rough, but they were plentiful. He frantically searched for his ship, and found a few stray chunks of wood. He swam to them and hung on for dear life.

He felt gravity and mass working against him and he let go of the wood after a moment just long enough to remove his pants. Afterwards he spotted a larger chunk of wood, one that he could lay on, and he swam to it thanking the stars as he did. When he reached it, he realized it was the door that Trey had disappeared through.

He pulled himself onto the wooden door and lay on his back, breathing heavily. He leaned over to see the beast coming to kill him. All he saw was a blanket of blood and vomit spotting a place on the otherwise deep blue ocean.

He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

***

Present Day

“So what happened next?!” Trey asked.

Wallace smiled.

“Patience, lad!” He said, “I’m getting there!”

Wallace had always wondered to himself what his son would be like if he had gotten married and stayed land-docked instead of out on the sea. He liked to think that Trey would resemble his child quite a bit.

A thump came on the door and blood seeped in through the bottom. Wallace jumped up and glared towards the door.

“Every single day…” He mumbled under his breath.

“What is it?” Trey asked, warily.

“Those blasted Blood Lizards.” Wallace answered him. “Step one foot in that blood and they mimic your determination, spirit, and just about every other positive attribute attuned to fighting you can think of!”

“You’ve seen them before?” Trey asked.

“And killed a few.” Wallace answered him.

“But this tower just appeared here today! How do you know so much about it?”

“Oh, it’s been here longer than just a day, son!”

The blood rose on the ground in two different blobs and Wallace ran to the peg board and yanked off two swords. He tossed one to Trey, who stepped back clumsily and let it clatter to the floor. He then stepped forward and tentatively picked it up.

“How long has it been here?” Trey asked, “What’s it for?”

“Part of the story, lad!” Wallace answered as he took a professional fighter’s stance. “Help me survive and I’ll tell you!”

The blobs took the appearance of the same lizard beasts Trey had seen before, but this time in less than two seconds they were fully formed and colored, ready for battle. Beads of sweat began to bubble around Trey’s forehead as he struggled to find the courage he needed to do combat. When he thought about it, all he had ever done in his mind the past week was run.

One of the Blood Lizards, as Wallace had called them, lunged at Trey. Trey closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and stuck the sword out. The beast idiotically continued to move forward at a full run, not dodging or fighting, and speared itself onto Treys sword.

Trey realized his eyes were closed and he opened them to see the beast clawing futilely at Trey’s face. The lizard stopped moving, and began to dissipate into nothingness and the two blood droplets of eyes fell to the floor and stained the white carpet. The eyes had become real spots of blood.

He turned to see Wallace fighting an expert Blood Lizard as the beast blocked almost every attack with a dodge, roll, and sometimes even its claws. Wallace was dodging and blocking just as expertly, but Trey could tell they were both in a spot of trouble. Wallace was having a hard time, and Trey gritted his teeth again. He took in a deep breath and ran forward. He jabbed the sword at the beast, but ducked a blow Wallace threw and kicked the legs out from under Trey all in one swift movement.

Trey’s sword flew into the air and the beast snarled as it reared back one clawed fist to finish Trey. Wallace caught Trey’s flying sword and with barley a grunt worths of effort, he swung down. Each sword headed opposite directions and they connected with the beast.

And then the Blood Lizard was headless.

As its body dissipated, Wallace caught his breath and dropped his swords.

“Why…” Trey asked as he, also, caught his breath. His adrenaline kicked in and he was empty of all energy, though he had barley committed anything to the fight.

Wallace didn’t answer.

“Why,” Trey started again through deep breaths, “Was the lizard… that attacked me… so stupid?”

“Because,” Wallace started, also through gasps of precious oxygen, “He had… your skills…in battle.”

Wallace smiled at Trey and Trey rolled his eyes. Trey walked back over to the bed and fell onto it. Wallace walked to the dresser and pulled two sealed mason jars of water from one of the drawers.

“Here,” He said as he tossed one to Trey. “Drink.”

Trey did so and they both caught their breath as they relaxed for a moment.

“So,” Trey started again after a few moments, “Does that mean I can’t fight?”

“Yup.” Wallace answered him. “You just stuck out your sword, so he just stuck out his claws. Fatal mistake for both of you, but your sword just happened to be longer than his arms.”

Trey smiled.

“If you teach me how to fight,” Trey offered, “I’ll buy you gas back home.”

“Buy gas?” Wallace asked, “For my balloon?”

Trey smiled wider.

“What? You don’t pay for your gasoline?”

“No.”

Trey’s smile instantly disappeared. Wallace was lucky.

“Do you have to?” Wallace asked.

Trey made a disgusted face and said, “Keep on with the story.”

“No.” Wallace said, “Not until you know how to fight.”

Wallace placed the swords in their proper places and pulled two walking sticks off of the peg board. He tossed one to Trey.

“Can you tolerate pain, lad?” Wallace asked.

“How much?” Trey returned with a new question.

“Lots.” Wallace answered him. He smiled, then lunged at Trey with the intention to fight without holding back.

***

The White House

Mr. Duran Keas looked over the virus report with tears in his eyes. This virus had claimed his wife and one of his two daughters, and it was spreading like a wildfire. He heard that one man had the cure, but was beaten senseless, in all the literal meaning of the phrase, and could not tell what he meant when he babbled the word “cure”.

The doctor that cured him had been murdered while under the influence of his own cure, and Trey, the man with the secret of the cure, had been kidnapped from the Jones House Asylum.

“Mr. President?” someone called. Duran looked up to see his assistant, Mary, in the doorway. “The location that a Mr. Trey Sullivan is being held at was found.”

Duran stood and whispered, “What?!”

“Yes, sir.” She confirmed. “Just five minutes ago. We have the option of contacting the assailants who murdered Dr. Charles and negotiating or sending a strike team in to retrieve Trey by force.”

Duran thought hard for a moment. His second daughter tested positive for the disease yesterday. She had less than a week to live. He could chance a negotiation in hopes of securing Trey without any chances of his demise. But there were others who tested positive days ago and had only a few days, or even a few hours, left to live. He would have to act fast and strike now to save them.

He sighed as he placed his right fist onto his forehead and rubbed it in a small counter-clockwise circle over and over. It was something he always did when he was in a tough situation.

He thought of the pros and cons of each plan and sighed again. He almost wished that, at this time, he was not the President of the United States of America.

Almost.

“We should negotiate with them.” He said in a defeated sigh. “We need to make sure Trey is as safe as possible, so we’ll have to talk our way out of this one. We lose him; we lose all hope.”

[EternalPen]

Got it.

And I left "Balloon" capped because the captains call their ships (since ALL are powered by balloons) "Balloons" instead of "Ships" and I left "Blood Lizards" capped because that's their official name.

['Ginnis]

I came looking for that segment of dialogue you mentioned earlier. Please copy paste and send it to me in a PM and I'll see what happened.