Keeper of Dreams

Most children hate going to bed, but not Joey. Bedtime couldn't come fast enough for him. He would speed through his bedtime routine, pick the shortest stories for his parents to read to him, say the shortest prayer he could, and then drift off to Dreamland.

"Good evening, Joey!" A boy made of clouds floated down to him.

"Louis!" Joey ran to give his friend a hug.

"Good to see you made it safely, my friend." Louis took Joey's hand and led him deeper into Dreamland.

"Where are we going tonight?” Joey asked excitedly.

"I had two ideas - we could ride dragons or battle aliens in space?" Louis smiled as they drew close to the dream portal.

"How about…dragon rides in space!" Joey flipped, smiling brightly as he did.

"This is why we are best friends." Louis pulled them through the dream portal, and soon they glided on the backs of dragons through space. They were in an army of well-trained fighters.

Then a man's voice called out, "Men, we are nearing the target! Be ready for landing." Louis and Joey quickly guided their dragons toward the planet they were to attack. "Now remember, men, we are here for the treasure, nothing more.... If they give it back peacefully we leave; if not, we fight!"

The men cheered as they landed and left the backs of their dragons. They watched as the aliens left their mushroom-like palaces and walked toward the group.

"You have something that does not belong to you." The general looked down from his noble dragon.

"We do not intentions on returning it, so leave or we shall be forced to defend our home from the likes of you!” The small alien sneered.

"Ha! With our best, we shall easily reclaim what is ours!” The men cheered on the general. No one was louder than Joey and Lou.

The aliens sneered and soon formed together as one, becoming a huge beast, and making the dragons look small.

“Men! Battle positions!" The general called. "Louis. Joey. Find the treasure! Then sound the retreat!"

The boys saluted and then flew off, getting lost in the slew of dragons and men so that the aliens did not notice their departure.

"Where to, Joey?" Louis asked as they snuck farther behind enemy lines.

Joey scanned the land below them. "Look, there is a group of aliens over there, while the rest are in battle. Think they are hiding something?" So the two boys flew the dragons low and let the dragons breathe fire, not to kill the enemy but to warn them. It worked - they scared the aliens and they scattered.

Joey and Louis landed and their dragons guarded them while they looked around. The aliens tried to attack the dragons, but the dragons’ skin was thick and, alas, weapons seemed to be too weak to do any real damage.

The boys found a secret entrance to a cave. As they went deeper and deeper, they found so many other planets' treasures…. "They’re Space Pirates?" Joey asked Louis. Louis gave him a smile and a slight nod. "Aww, Louis, this is a great dream!"

They found earth treasure - two jewelled coins. Not only did the coins look cool, they were also powerful. Placing them into Joey's bag, the boys raced out of the cave, jumped on the backs of their dragons, and took to the sky, flying back to the battle.

Louis and Joey reached the battlefield. "Joey, there!" Louis pointed to the general.

Joey flew close to the general. "Sir, we have them!” Joey carefully gestured to his bag.

“Good work, my boy!" The general sounded the alarm, hoping the aliens wouldn't notice they had the treasure.

“Men, take to the skies!” The men quickly flew out of the battle, and soon they were cheering the success of the mission as the word spread about what Louis and Joey had done.

The boys moved to their spot on the edge of the group. They were busy celebrating their win when suddenly Joey's dragon cried out in pain and threw Joey off his back, and Joey found himself falling. The world of Dreamland started to fade, and fire and coals started to take their place.

"I got you!" Louis called out as he and his dragon caught Joey. "This is Dreamland; nobody gets hurt in Dreamland,” Louis stated as he flew his friend back to the crew of dragons.

"Louis, what was that?" Joey looked at Louis with eyes full of fear.

Louis gave him a smile. "Don't worry, my friend, it's just the Land of Nightmares trying to claim one of mine." Louis smiled and flew past the rest of the men following the general home. Louis opened the portal back to the mainland of Dreamland.

They landed safely on the clouds. "Land of Nightmares?" Joey looked concerned.

Louis patted his head. "Don't worry, my friend, nightmares only have power if you let them. So have no fear." Louis opened the portal and Joey found himself back in his room.

The next night as bedtime came, Joey’s parents were shocked by his behaviour. He made bathtime take as long as they would let him, picked the largest book he could, and prayed for everyone he could think of. His parents tried to find out what was wrong, but he refused to tell them. When they finally said goodnight, Joey fought to keep his eyes open. He tried to stay awake, but soon his eyes got too heavy and he fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't in his room in Dreamland. He was somewhere new; it was dark but also on fire. If he’d been afraid before, he was terrified now. Too scared to move or scream, he just stood frozen in fear.

Then, the lava-like ground came together and made a huge monster. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the dreamer finally come to visit me!” The monster’s voice made the ground shake. Joey quickly fell to the ground, his body shaking from fear. "What, too weak to fight or even scream?"

Joey looked at the beast - he had rarer shape teeth and eyes that looked like they could see right through him. And the beast was huge! The monster threw his head back and laughed. "This is going to be so fun!" His smile was wicked as he came closer to Joey who was still frozen in place. The beast opened his mouth, revealing a portal like the ones in Dreamland, only this one didn't look like any fun.

In a flash, Louis came breaking through the sky. "Leave my friend alone!"

Louis has wings?! Joey had never seen wings on his friend before. Louis also had a sword drawn, ready to battle.

"Oh look, it's one of Dreamland's little games!” The beast laughed again. “Ha! Look at him! You can't stop me when the dreamer is weak like this!” The beast's voice seemed louder now.

"Be quiet, you!" Louis charged at the beast, trying to stop him from taunting Joey any longer. "Joey! I need your help! We can beat him together! You are brave enough - I know you are!" Louis threw Joey a sword. It hit the ground with a horrid sound. "Joey, please! I can't do this without you!"

Joey blinked. He looked at the sword, then at his friend fighting against his nightmare beast. He blinked again, forced his arm to move, and touched the sword; but he couldn't lift it.

Louis looked at Joey. "Joey, have no fear! Your nightmares only have the power you give them," Louis called to him again.

Joey tightened his hand around his sword. He raised his arm high above his head. "Hey! This is my dream and you're not in charge here!"

Louis's light shone brighter. "Ya, you heard him - get lost!"

The beast shrank a bit…. But he still laughed.

Joey's arm dropped a little. Then…. "No! I'm not afraid of you! You can't rob me of my fun time with Louis!" Joey yelled so loud that he shook the Land of Nightmares. The beast fell to the ground, and parts of the sky started to fall, showing the blue sky of Dreamland. "Wah! Louis what's happening?"

“You're beating your nightmare! Keep it up!” Louis offered Joey his hand, Joey took it, and the two flew through the sky. As they flew, more parts of the nightmare fell away. Joey felt braver, and he knew that with Louis on his side he too could defend Dreamland.

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