Re: Special Agent David Spencer's Dream

[Cliff Alset]

"To be perfectly honest, I wish I was back in that kitchen, cooking what ever. I just don't want to be here!" Cliff covered his face with trembling hands. "This feels like we're in some alter dimension."

[Jackson_Lee]

"We're close to an answer, boys. I can feel it." Jackson spoke with conviction, staring upward. He looked to Cliff and rested a hand on his shoulder.

[Cameron Johnson]

"I think Jackson is right. We just have to stay calm and get the hell out of here and manage to not die at the hands of whatever that is. Other than that we're golden! Any ideas how to accomplish this fellas?" Cameron's usual air of cockiness had been stripped away as he spoke and had been replaced with a mix of fear and want. Fear of dying to get out of here and the want was to see Ellie again.

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff takes his hands away from his face. His hair is messed up something terrible. He looks back up at the large swirling hole in the ceiling. "Somehow...I think THAT is our way out of here." He reaches into his coat pocket and finds the die he was given. As he continues to gaze up at the circular vent, he holds the die with his right arm stretched high. Cliff's eyes become intense. "We have to believe in ourselves. We have to focus!" Suddenly the swirling waters rush faster. They start to turn a crimson red. "YES!"

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson continued his gaze up at the swirling hole in the ceiling. He listened to Cliff's words carefully. "I think it is as well. Focus up gentlemen, its gonna be a bumpy ride!" Jackson bellowed, closing his eyes to concentrate on getting out. The driving need to escape was growing.

[Hollis Brown]

The group, consisting of Cliff Alset, Jackson Lee, Cameron Johnson, Hollis Brown, and Angelo, escapes through the swirling hole. Cameron is the last one to make it out. As he rises through the portal, the six armed tree makes a swipe at him that passes just under his feet. The thing gives a horrific screech, and then Cameron's vision goes completely white for a few seconds.

When Cameron's vision returns, he can see that he is in a new room, along with the others. They are in a small storage room. A bright white light bulb hanging from the ceiling lights up the bland gray walls. Large cardboard boxes and tacky furniture have been packed against the wall. Directly underneath the light, there is a wooden chair, and tied to that wooden chair is Cliff Alset. The others are all standing in front of him, able to move freely. The door is right behind them.

Special Agent David Spencer is tightly gripping the back of the wooden chair. He is wearing a midnight blue tuxedo that gives his form a definite "V" shape. He is wearing a black bow tie and matching cumberbund, and the look has been completed with shining black Oxford shoes. He looks up at the men standing in front of him with a triumphant grin.

"Gentlemen, I'm so very glad you could join me for this moment," he says. He runs his left hand through his curly blond hair, and somehow, he finds a gold coin inside those locks. He shows them the coin, as though this is part of a magical trick, and casually flips it in the air before resuming, "The culprit behind these recent heinous crimes has fallen straight into my lap, just as expected."

He eyes Cliff, who has been thoroughly bound by rope. "Oh, you had me fooled for a while," Agent Spencer says. "But I always knew there was something off about you. Then I looked into your background and what happened to your wife, and things began to fall into place."

David Spencer raises his left index finger. The coin is no longer in his hand. "First, there was Kelly Francis. She died on October first. Witnesses verified that she was seen at Porker's the night of the murder. Second, Jenny Smith. When her place was searched, several items were found with Cliff Alset's fingerprints on them. Some of them even had his initials on them. Third, Christina Farrow. A hostess at Porker's. Several coworkers have verified that she and Cliff had a tumultuous working relationship. Martha Ackermann... Motive unknown, currently. And you killed Brandy Smith because she was on to you. She was spotted speaking with you at Julee's Bar shortly before her death. You found out how close she was to the truth, and you eliminated her as a threat."

David Spencer makes a sweeping hand gesture over Cliff's head and points toward a framed document on the wall. The document reads: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation recognizes Special Agent David Spencer for his dedication to the common good and unwavering dedication to advancing the fight against evil in the United States." The document even has the president's signature, followed by a message in the same handwriting that reads, "You rock, dude!"

David Spencer runs his right hand through his hair and finds the coin again. "Hook, line, sinker. Your reign of injustice ends here, Cliff Alset, or shall I say-- the Sleepy Hollow killer!"

[Cameron Johnson]

"Be careful there buddy. If you stroke your ego any harder you might blow your load. Speaking of that, this whole allegation is horse shit and I think you know damn well that's the case. I think you're trying to cast the blame off on ol' Cliff here so nobody expects "Mr. Big Tough Special Agent." Cameron's words were venomous. He took a breath before he continued. "If you took even five minutes to look into the true character of Cliff Alset I think you'd find your allegations to be absolutely ludicrous. Cliff has been a stalwart of the community in regards to finding the killer and stopping him. Myself, Cliff, Jackson and Hollis have been working tirelessly to try and figure this out and you have the gaul to try and undermine our efforts with shoddy police work and contempt for a man who has done nothing wrong? Fuck you buddy. Fuck you." Cameron rushes towards David Spencer and has nothing else on his mind than forcing him to draw his last breath.

[Jackson_Lee]

With seething anger, Jackson spoke after Cameron to Spencer. "Classic witch hunt, fella. You've got circumstantial evide- Christ, Cameron!" Jackson reacted swiftly and leapt after Cameron. Wrapping an arm around Cameron's chest, he pulled Cameron back from Agent Spencer. "C'mon now lad, we won't resolve this with fists. We'll only resolve this with our brains. Be the better man and leave the fed be to his own delusions of grandeur."

Jackson shot an angry look at Agent Spencer and shouted. "You're so blinded by your successes that you've picked your scapegoat already for your next easy win! How many others of innocence were deemed guilty by you?! Cameron stated it correctly, we've been working tirelessly on an angle you can't even conceive, and now you've cocked it all up by arresting Cliff!"

[Cliff Alset]

For the moment Cliff is transfixed on the ropes that bind him. His emerald eyes blink for brief a period as his mind travels back to that day at the Belle Fourche River. "I killed her. It was my fault she slipped and fell. Angela. Oh God, Angela. You were so close to me. I wasn't there for you. I'm a horrible man." That's when the tears finally emerged.

[Cameron Johnson]

"Jackson don't you see what this man has done? He's lambasted one of my only friends I've made in this damn town. He's soiled his good name and for what? To be dead wrong and throw into the wind a baseless assertion that not only would never hold up in a court of law but also might quite possibly land him in an asylum if anyone but us ever heard his grandiose obnoxious claims? Unless he has a different angle. Maybe he's already accomplished what he wanted to. He figures we aren't as strong separated as we are when we are a group. Maybe he knows Cliff is innocent and he's using this crazy claim as a way to divide us. Maybe he wants us to attack him so he can serve as a distraction for the real killer to destroy us before he can be exposed. Maybe this is a sign we are closer than we thought."

Cameron's body had relaxed in Jackson's grasp and he looked down and saw a red mark on his arm where Jackson was holding him back. He slowly breathed in and out as to calm himself down and let some of his emotions go that had previously overtaken him and rendered him nothing like himself. He wiped the spittle off of the corners of his mouth that had frothed over in his rant against the special agent. Cameron looked at Jackson and nodded as if to say, "Im good bro." and looked at David Spencer in a different light it looked almost as if he was pitying him.
"You know Spence, if you're just a simple pawn in this whole thing you can come clean and tell us. I always assumed that it would be someone I knew but man I really don't know you at all aside from the fact you're easily swayed. Pretty shitty quality for a Special Agent if you ask me."

Cameron turned to Cliff after addressing Spencer. "Cliff, what did you just say?"

[Hollis Brown]

"A pawn?" David Spencer repeats. He looks incredulously at Cameron, then at Jackson and Hollis. "You think I'm just a pawn?" He crosses his arms over his chest. He bows his head and looks at his feet for a few moments, before looking up. He clicks his tongue. "That's likely true," Spencer says, in a low voice. "I'm standing in the shadows of knights and kings. Sometimes, in dreams, I move as they do. But a pawn, if that is what I am, is not without power. A pawn, in the proper hands, can be quite useful. Even a pawn can kill."

Hollis Brown shifts around uncomfortably. "Then whose hands are you in right now?"

He looks around at the faces in the room. Spencer opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue; the gold coin is now on his tongue. He peels it off his tongue with his right hand and examines it as he speaks. "I wonder... I wonder. Maybe... The hands of an angry God?" Spencer smiles politely and then looks squarely back at Jackson Lee. "They'll eat us up and spit us out. They'll fuck us empty and leave our bodies in soiled sheets. That which enables us disables us. These--" Spencer makes a vague gesture toward their environment. "These... constructions... You know."

The wall behind Spencer comes crashing in, and the creature with tree limbs emerges from space. One of the limbs makes a swipe at Spencer's legs, which both knocks him to the floor and knocks over the chair that Cliff is tied to.

[Cliff Alset]

The right arm on the chair in which Cliff was tied broke as it fell to the floor. The rope is loose. Cliff violently struggles to free his right arm. Accomplishing that, he quickly unfastens his left arm. With his feet still imprisoned he crawls away from the creature behind him. He kicks insanely and is so frightened he cannot utter a word. Smashing the wooden chair against the floor he breaks both the two front legs. Continuing to crawl forward, Cliff manages to increase the distance from the horror at that stands gazing at everyone in the room.

[Cameron Johnson]

Cameron reaches toward Cliff and grabs him so he can pull him to his feet.

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson stood in front of both Cameron and Cliff as the creature broke in. As Spencer was knocked to the floor, Jackson makes a hurried leap towards Spencer, grips him by his collar and pulls him to his feet. "THIS?! This is your construct! This is your dream! And now you want to destroy us all merely because we're standing up for an innocent man! Now we're gonna save your sorry arse from whatever this thing is," Jackson shouted angrily as he dragged Spencer away from the broken wall and the creature. Jackson's eyes never left the creature as he swiftly backed up, Agent Spencer in tow.

[Cliff Alset]

"God damn that thing's ugly!" Cliff is almost out of breath. He shakes the chair from his right leg in utter frustration. "Get the fuck me you stupid chair." He kicks it toward the black tree creature.

[Hollis Brown]

Spencer is limp in Jackson's arms. He appears to have fallen unconscious within his own dream. Although no other muscles seem to be functioning, there is a cheery smile on his face even as he remains oblivious to the reality around him. The chair that has been thrown is shattered by a swooping branch arm. The creature advances toward the group, who are backed into the wall.

Hollis Brown finds a handgun within his coat and aims it at the creature. He fires, and the bullets ricochet off the branch arms without effect. "Damn," he curses under his breath. He quickly turns around and reaches for the handle. The exit door is locked. "Damn!"

The creature continues to advance, but now there is something else to distract everyone's attention. It began with a sound: a metallic tinkling that was at first faint and soon deafening. Then a bizarre image: a flood of shimmering gold. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, and soforth, of gold coins were rolling forth from the darkness behind the creature. Finally they crashed past the creature, carrying it within the wave of money. The tree arms flailed wildly as it was swallowed by the gold. The flood of coins rushed at the group and threatened to swallow them before crashing through the wall, into the next room, to tumble on and on and on.

"Ovid saw him in the past and in the future: Midas, an opportunist."

They see only gold and the dream ends.

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