Excerpt from The Lucid War Chronicles
by William Forth
Miriam Locke woke with a gasp, her breath catching in her throat as the remnants of her dream lingered vividly in her mind. Her pulse was racing, and her usually composed demeanor felt shaken. She sat upright in the armchair, clutching the edges of the blanket that had slipped from her shoulders, and reached for the notebook on her nightstand. The pen felt solid in her trembling hand as she began to write furiously, desperate to capture every detail before it faded.
“Dream Log,” she scrawled at the top of the page. Beneath it, her thoughts spilled out:
“I was at home, studying the documents Detective Valdez left for me. The papers were spread across the table. I remember wanting a drink—red wine, specifically. But I resisted and made green tea instead. Alcohol disturbs dreaming, and I couldn’t risk dulling my mind. Time slipped away as I read, the clock ticking into the small hours. I fell asleep in the armchair, papers still in my lap.”
Her pen paused briefly before she continued:
“The dream began in a forest, the towering redwoods of Northern California. The air was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. It felt serene, almost otherworldly, as I walked through the dappled light filtering through the canopy. The journey was quiet and peaceful, but it didn’t last.”
Miriam’s hand trembled as she wrote the next part, the scene still vivid in her memory:
“The forest gave way to a living room—Sophia Reynolds’ living room. I recognized it instantly from the photos Valdez had shown me. Everything was eerily undisturbed, including Sophia’s body on the Persian rug. The blood was as vivid as the details in my waking memory. I felt no fear, only an overwhelming curiosity. I scanned the room, searching for… something. I don’t even know what. Then, I saw it.”
Her pen stilled again. She took a deep breath before continuing:
“A shadow. Not a man, just a shadow. It moved, shifting and fluctuating like smoke caught in a breeze. But it wasn’t random. There was intent in its movements, a presence. And somehow, it looked familiar. I don’t know how or why, but I knew who it was.”
She swallowed hard, the memory of her own voice in the dream echoing in her ears:
“I called out. ‘Marcus! Marcus, is that you?’ The shadow paused, almost as if it heard me. But there was no reply, only a faint ripple before it faded into the edges of the room. I felt a deep sense of unease. This wasn’t just my dream. Somehow, I knew it. Marcus was there, too. Not as a lucid dreamer, but as someone drifting in his unconscious. The connection felt real, but impossible.”
Miriam set the pen down, her fingers brushing against the edge of the notebook as she closed it. The dream—if she could even call it that—had left her deeply unsettled. Lucid dreams were her domain, her area of expertise, but this? The idea of two people meeting in a dream… it went beyond what she believed to be possible. And yet, every instinct she had told her it had happened.
She rose from bed and padded to the kitchen, her bare feet cool against the floor. As the kettle boiled, she stared out the window into the early morning light, her reflection faint against the glass. Her mind raced with questions she couldn’t answer. Was it possible for two minds to intersect in the dreamscape? Could Marcus have been drawn into her dream, or had she somehow entered his? And why did it happen in Sophia Reynolds’ living room, of all places?
Pouring her tea, she resolved to keep this incident to herself. Sharing it would only invite skepticism, or worse, questions she wasn’t prepared to answer. For now, it would remain her secret.
As she sipped her tea, the vivid images of the dream replayed in her mind. The shadow. The voice. The unsettling sense of connection. Miriam had spent her career exploring the mysteries of the human mind, but this… this was something else entirely. And she wasn’t sure if she wanted to uncover the truth, or if she feared what it might reveal.
After finishing her tea, Miriam found herself drawn back to her notebook. She couldn’t let it go, couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something important she was meant to understand. She flipped through pages of old dream logs, searching for patterns, clues, anything that might give her insight into this unprecedented experience.
Many of her previous dreams were vivid but solitary, firmly rooted in her subconscious. But this… this had felt different. The connection to Marcus, however fleeting, had been undeniable. What if it wasn’t just her imagination? Could their minds have truly intersected? She began scribbling theories in the margins of her notes, her handwriting growing messier as her thoughts raced.
“Shared dream phenomena? Possible neurological link? Does proximity matter? Conscious vs. unconscious states?”
Her questions spilled onto the page, but answers eluded her. She remembered reading obscure studies on shared dreaming, dismissed by most academics as pseudoscience. Yet, here she was, unable to dismiss what she had experienced.
By the time the sun was fully up, Miriam’s exhaustion had returned. She leaned back in her chair, staring at the cluttered notebook on the table in front of her. She knew she had stumbled onto something significant, but the implications were daunting.
If two minds could meet in a dream, what else was possible? And why had it happened now, in the middle of this investigation? I will need to go back to Sophia Reynolds’ house.
As the city outside stirred to life, Miriam resolved to approach the situation cautiously. She couldn’t afford to jump to conclusions, not without more evidence. For now, she would focus on her research and keep the dream—and her growing suspicions—to herself. But deep down, she knew that whatever had happened in the dream was just the beginning. The answers, if they existed, would come, but she would need to return to Sophia Reynolds’ house.
The Lucid War Chronicles
by William Forth
The Lucid War Chronicles tells the gripping story of individuals who master lucid dreaming to achieve extraordinary feats in their respective fields. Among them is Elena Rivera, a determined archaeologist unearthing the mysteries of Ravenstone Keep in the quaint English village of Waverly. Through her dreams, she connects with historical figures and uncovers long-buried secrets. Meanwhile, Dr. Miriam Locke, a celebrated neuroscientist and psychologist, leverages her team’s lucid abilities to solve a chilling murder in Sacramento.
Their remarkable skills, however, do not go unnoticed. Soon, they find themselves arrested and confined to a clandestine black site, severed from the outside world. But the dreamers refuse to be silenced. Over time, they unite, craft an escape, and spark a global conflict—a war between dreamers and non-dreamers. For those who dare to dream, this is where the story begins. More information…
