songs, no pun intended.
Lee: We aren't offended by puns.
Lenore: Speak for yourself.
Brad: Are any of you insomniacs?
Belle: We don't have any time to sleep, but that's probably not the same thing.
Anna: You could say we're insomniacs by default.
Brad: Is this song really just about bad dreams?
Belle: Yes, but aren't bad dreams just an expression of our fears?
Brad: So the song is an expression of fear?
Lenore: I thought the critics were supposed to tell us what we meant.
Brad: Well, some do that, but I don't do that. At least not yet. What made you decide to write a song about nightmares?
Anna: It fits in with our theme, doesn't it?
Brad: I guess I can't argue with that.
Lenore: Our society talks about dreams coming true, and that's great, but we thought we'd explore the darker side of what that means. Nightmares are dreams too.
Lee: And no one ever talks about how they want to see their dream about being chased by zombies come true.
Brad: [laughs] I can agree with that.
Belle: Dreams do have a lot of power. When you're dreaming, you think what you're seeing is real. Your own mind can be your worst enemy.
Brad: So was this song inspired by a particularly bad dream?
Lenore: For once, we'll give you a straight answer. And that answer is “yes.”
Brad: Wow, a straight answer. I'll have to make a special note of that in the final article.
Lee: Your sarcasm is noted, but does not offend us either.
The Flashback:
“That was some show,” Maryann said, dragging her luggage into the hotel room she shared with Leah.
Leah tossed herself face-down on one of the two beds. “Oh, sweet pillow, how I've missed you,” she said in a somewhat muffled voice.
There was a knock from the shared door.
Maryann opened it.
“I think we're going to just go to bed,” Isabella said.
“That's fine by us. I think Leah's already passed out.”
“Not yet,” she said.
“Nora's nearly there too.”
“It was a good show,” Nora called from the bathroom, her voice somewhat muffled as she brushed her teeth.
“Well, once we hit it big, hopefully we'll have shows even better than that,” Maryann said.
“We're not going to hit it big without sleep,” Leah said. “We'll talk about our awesome show in the morning. It'll still be awesome then.”
“She's got a point,” Nora replied.
“Ok, goodnight!” Maryann said.
“Goodnight,” Isabella said, and shut the shared door.
Within half an hour, they were all asleep.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer yelled. “I give you Nevermore and the Ravens!”
The crowd went wild.
Leah set the beat with her drumsticks and brought them crashing down on the drums.
The stage lights lit up the stadium so brightly none of the band members could see the audience, but they could hear them screaming. They played to the crowd of thousands cheering them on. The pyrotechnics behind them lit up the stage. The metal in their Steampunk costumes glittered dramatically. They switched around instruments and lead singers and the crowd demanded more.
Isabella heard something discordant in the music. Leah heard a beat drop even though she knew Nora never dropped a beat. Nora felt the crowd's energy was off, somehow, and Maryann felt the same about the pyrotechnics. The set finished, the lights went dark, and the band walked off-stage to change costumes for the next set.
“Ah, so this must be a dream,” Leah said out loud, looking at the huge dressing room full of elaborate and expensive costumes.
“Of course it's a dream,” Nora said. “We haven't made it this big yet.”
“And I'm pretty sure the last thing I remember was going to bed after our gig in Austin,” Isabella said.
“Wait a minute,” Maryann said. “I know this is a dream, but why are you guys acting like you know it's a dream too? Are you in my dream or are we all sharing the same dream or is this just some really hyper-real dream of mine?”
They pondered this a moment.
“I don't think it matters,” Isabella said. “I know this is a dream, and I think we're sharing a dream, so I'll treat you like we're sharing a dream. If that's not the case, then the dream will change and I'll know it.”
“But what if you're dreaming we're sharing a dream?” Maryann asked.
“It still doesn't matter as long as you act like that is true.”
“I'm not sure that makes sense to me,” she said.
“What sense is this going to make?” Leah asked. “This is clearly the mandatory dream sequence episode.”
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Nora replied.
“You guys never do.”
“So, is this a spell or something?” Maryann interrupted. “And if it is, what kind of spell? And who cast it on us?”
“I think the first two questions are more important than the last one.”
“I hope we didn't walk through the wrong door again,” Leah said. “I hate it when that happens.”
“Hey, as far as I remember, I just went to sleep,” Nora replied.
“Well, this may not be a dream at all, just someone's spell that makes us think it's a dream,” Maryann said. “We could be trapped in another place altogether.”
“That really doesn't make me feel any better about this,” Leah said.
“Well, let's stay together and look around. Maybe we'll find some clues to help us figure out what's really going on,” Isabella said.
“If this is just a dream, don't we just have to wait until we wake up?” Nora asked.
“Maybe. We may be under a spell that keeps us asleep.”
“So we just need a Prince Charming,” Leah said.
Isabella ignored her. “Or if we get really hurt in this dream, we may not wake up at all.”
“Sleep is the brother of Death, at least in Greek mythology,” Maryann offered.
“And in the DC Universe,” Leah added. “Well, Dream is the brother of Death anyway.”
“That is so not helpful right now,” Nora sighed.
“And what are we going to do about the show?” Maryann asked. “We've got another set and probably an encore.”
“It's our dream,” Nora said impatiently. “We can control it.”
“I don't know. I'm bad at lucid dreaming,” Leah said. “I try to give myself superpowers and it never works right.”
“And anyway, we don't know for sure this is one of our dreams,” Isabella said.
There was a knock on the door. “Ladies, hurry up,” called an unfamiliar female voice. “The crowd is waiting.”
“Be right there,” Maryann called. “So, what do we do?”
“We could finish the show and find out what happens,” Leah offered.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Nora replied. “If there's something else at work here, it's clearly invested in the show. Just look at these costumes! Or, if it's just a dream, damn, it's one hell of a show. So let's do it.”
“Okay. We can search for clues afterward just as well,” Isabella agreed. “And if the show is the focus, maybe the dream will end right after.”
They quickly changed into the best Goth costumes they could have dreamed of and hustled back onto the stage. The crowd's cheers nearly deafened them. Nora was on drums for the next set and started the show.
It was more obvious to each of them in the second set that something was wrong. Leah could hear the beat was off, Nora felt the crowd's enthusiasm was forced and artificial, Isabella could hear discordant tones in the music, and Maryann thought the pyrotechnics weren't hot enough to be real. After the second set, Isabella said goodnight the crowd. The lights went dark again and they made their way backstage. Th
ey could hear the crowd chanting for an encore.
“Well, the show is over now,” Leah said, “unless we want it to continue. And nothing's changed.”
“No, but something was definitely wrong during that set,” Nora said.
“Yeah, something was definitely off with the music and the show,” Maryann agreed.
“So now what do we do?” Leah asked. “Something is wrong, so I really don't want to keep playing just for that reason. And something is going on, but I don't know what.”
Isabella dug around in the gear and pulled out blank pieces of paper and a pen. She ritualistically wrote the Japanese kanji for 'be gone evil spirit' on each piece of paper.
“Are you making those charms?” Maryann asked. “Do you think they'll work?”
“No idea, but I'm going to make them just in case.”
“So what are we going to do?” Nora asked impatiently.
“We'll leave and look around, like I suggested before the second set,” Isabella said, annoyed. “If someone is behind this, maybe they'll show themselves. If not, hopefully we'll find a way out or wake up.” She finished and stuffed the charms into her pocket. “Alright, let's go.”
A gorgeous, thin woman in a stylish black dress was waiting on the other side of the dressing room door. “Ladies, they're calling for an encore out there. Get changed and get back there and give the crowd what they want,” she said.
They looked at each other and shrugged to indicate they did not know who the woman was or who she was supposed to be.
“We've done the show and we're tired,” Isabella said. “We'll do an encore for the next show.”
“Oh, alright then,” she replied.
Suddenly everything went dark.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” bellowed the announcer. “I give you Nevermore and the Ravens!”
The lighting rig came to life and the spotlights shined down on the band, which were still in their Goth costumes.