Bossing Power

   Jack knocked a thug aside and overturned a display cart, taking down two more.  Now that Claire had fled at his behest, he could allocate all his attention to holding off the enemies. 

   Stomping and taunting almost comically, Jack felt incredibly powerful and lighthearted.  The mixed collection of animate and inanimate thugs fell all around him, bringing down debris from the grocery aisle.  His strength was more than enough to keep them at bay, and Jack felt that the whole affair was almost a game.  He backed his way steadily down the aisle, keeping his front to his opponents and punishing those that got too close.  His attention was drawn to a large man who was giving orders and advancing through the throng.  Jack figured this was the boss.

   Jack picked up a piece of debris and threw it at the boss, who reciprocated.  The two continued to throw items at each other until Jack noticed an empty pickle jar at his feet.

   "Oooh!" cooed Jack.  He picked up the jar.  The boss quickly looked around and found one of his own. 

   "I could throw this too, you know," said the boss.  He cast the jar down, shattering it at Jack's feet.  Jack felt suddenly that things had gone too far.

   "When will you stop?" asked Jack.

   "Only when you are dead," replied the boss.

   "Then I'm done."  Jack put his jar down and turned towards a descending hallway off to his right.

   "Go back! Come back!" yelled the boss angrily.

   "No," Jack shouted back as he continued to walk away.  "I was okay using fists, to punch, but not weapons.  I never wanted to lacerate, to kill!"

   Jack continued on through a series of rooms and ended up in a small bedroom full of clothes, where he began to change, wondering about Claire's whereabouts.  He knew the boss and his thugs would continue to chase him, and it wasn't long before he could hear them rooting about outside the room.

   "Come out, so we can kill you!" one taunted.  Jack cracked the door open.

   "Hold on, I'm changing!" he yelled through the crack.

   Behind him, Jack heard the closet door squeak open.  He turned around and saw Claire, wearing a colorful outfit and a crooked smile. 

   "Claire!  No, no, hide!" Jack implored.

   "No.  If you are going to be killed, I can't let you be there alone."

   "They'll kill you too, they might even kill you first!"

   "Doesn't matter," she said.  Jack smiled as she walked past him and out of the bedroom.  He realized he probably should have hugged her.

   The boss took Jack into custody and brought him up into the roofed bleachers.  The thugs were there, some milling around disinterestedly and some sitting and staring out from under the awning at the dry riverbed in front of the bleachers.  Jack and the boss sat down next to each other.

   "Are you happy?" Jack asked the boss.

   "What?" The boss, who had been lost in thought, looked startled and focused his attention on the young man.

   "Just wondering why you want to kill me, or anyone."

   "Hmmm..." thought the boss.

   "You know what I think?"

   "What?" the boss asked.

   "I think you have all this power, but it is empty power," Jack said.

   "Come on," said Gunther impatiently from higher up in the bleachers, "let's kill him already!"

   "Ok..." acquiesced the boss tiredly.

   "Wait, wait!  Let me finish!" Jack said anxiously.
  
   "Oh, right," said the boss.

   "I was saying, your power is an empty power.  Sure, you command all these people," Jack said, waving at those in the bleachers, most of whom were not listening, "but that's not enough for you.  So you seek out more power, like killing.  But that won't be enough either."

   "What will?"

   "You need friends!"

   "I have friends!" said the boss indignantly.  "Gunther there is my friend!"

   "No, he's a lackey.  You surround yourself with lackeys, but that's no substitute for friends, and love.  That's where real power comes from."  Jack's thoughts flashed with sudden insight to Claire.

   "Hmmm..." the boss considered.

   "Come on," urged Jack, "let's go make some friends."

   Jack brought the boss around and began introducing him to the people in the bleachers.  Jack felt that this was very significant, and it seemed to be having a positive effect on the boss.

   "This is Dr. Robotnik," Jack said as he introduced the boss yet again, "or also known by his other name, ___________."  The pair walked over to Claire, who was sitting by herself higher up.

   "Doctor, this is Claire.  She's a...she's my...well, I don't know quite what she is."

   "We'll see..." Claire said coyly as she shook hands with the boss.

   Jack and the boss continued until they had reached everyone in the bleachers.  "Has everyone been introduced?" Jack shouted.  Everyone assented.  Jack nodded and he and Claire walked down the bleachers and into the dry riverbed, where his party was waiting.

   "Don't forget the pet!" came a yell from the stands.  Jack turned to see a small, white terrier bounding towards him.  He happily scooped up the dog when it reached him.  Jack, Claire, and the rest walked through the tall yellow grass away from the bleachers and into the setting sun.




   A short distance away from the bleachers, Jack and the dream cast continued walking through the brush.

   "Now what?" someone asked.

   "I don't know," replied Jack as he walked, thinking back on the dream.  "This has been a long one, huh?"

   "Yeah."

   "The first half or third of your dreams are usually really awesome, then they drop off," observed Dingland.

   "Yeah..." Jack said, trying to think of something to do.  "You want to try flying?"

   "Yeah, that'd be cool!" Juna chimed in. 
 
   Jack took off into the air, wobbling a bit at first before steadying.  He reflected on how much he liked flying as the rest of the dream cast took off after him.

Window Arboreal

   Jack walked down the stairs into the crowded pub, his thoughts still lingering on the frogs he'd decided not to save in the glass complex.  He might've been able to handle one, but three or four?  Too many.

   The bar was crowded and hot.  Onstage a punk band blared a dreadfully unsurprising medley of I, IV, and V chords in common meter.  Jack approached the bar, trying to block out the music.

   "I'll have a Miller Lite," he said to the female bartender.

   "Ok, but may I make a suggestion?" she countered.

   "Yes."

   "You know Mary Freidburger?  She's the children's literature professor at the university.  You should go talk to her," she said, pointing vaguely into the crowd.

   "Yeah, I'll think about that," Jack nodded noncommittally.  The bartender handed him a pint mug containing a very small amount of light-yellow liquid.  Jack carried the mug over to a table in a less crowded, better-lit corner of the room.  He waved to Vell and sat down at the table with Montano to play the board game.

   "This game has hold on me," offered Montano.

   As the game began, Jack's attention was drawn to some gentle scuffling noised at the screen window nearby.  At first Jack thought it might be another frog, but instead there appeared a darkly-furred paw similar to that of an ape, but with fewer digits.  The paw grasped around in a dumbly playful manner before latching on to the wire mesh.

   "What's that?" Jack asked.

   "Oh," answered Montano, glancing at the window, "that's just The Odd Man."

   Jack continued watching as The Odd Man slowly hoisted himself up to the window.  He had a large quantity of dark fur, except for around his face, where it was a shocking gray.  Jack decided The Odd Man was some sort of large sloth combined with certain features of a Bornean orangutan.  He stared at Jack for a long time with smilingly doleful eyes.