Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Epic Gauntlet

First, there was a parade of sorts in a sunny market street, with vendors and such. I was in the crowd, but I recognized people, like P. and A. from my time in Spain. I remember I was really surprised to recognize them. And then we were at a theater, and it was a baroque theater with cherry wood paneling and lace, and gilt everywhere. The play was a wedding, only it wasn't just a play. It also felt real. I had a couple of lines, which I sort of made up (I don't think I was supposed to be on stage), and the audience laughed. There was a mailing envelope with confidential documents in it, which I was supposed to steal. I just kept feeling like I knew who everyone was, even though they didn't look like anyone I knew.

It almost felt like I was in a familiar past - like I would see myself soon.
Masks.

Then I had to get some papers down a hallway. I started walking, when a knife flew out of the wall . I dodged it, then realized that the whole hallway was one giant gauntlet. As I walked, axes swung through slots on the wall across the way, and down the center of the hallway. Then there were darts shooting out of the wall at intervals, which I had to jump over. I hugged the walls as best I could. There were table saws slicing through the floor, and it was all sort of barely lit. Just when I thought I was through, there was a big round section of the hallway, with people. There was a guy with a giant wig which was burning, and he was throwing sulfur on people, setting them on fire. There was this dead woman who tried to eat me. And there were hammers falling everywhere, and small explosions, and people in cages. But I figured out that all the monster/people were moving on diagonals, and so I was able to dodge them. I made it through the next hallway, which was quiet I think - there might have been a really sad woman in an old wedding dress and some mirrors - and dropped off the package I was carrying, which I think was either the envelope, or a big black bag. On the way back, I passed the ticket/administration desk, and bumped into a man named Steve. He had shaggy brown hair and bright brown eyes. I liked him, and decided I would come back. I have no idea why I didn't have to go through the administration area. I did come back a second time, skipping the gauntlet and going through a side door, and talked with Steve about meeting later. Then I winked at Steve, which made the other people at the desk laugh.

There was a political family reason for the giant gauntlet. There were two guys in charge - young men. There was an uncle who wanted to kill them. He thought they were irresponsible, which they were. They built/threw giant pool parties, to which I was invited. There was a three tiered hot tub system, and Steve was there, and wanted me to jump in. I was wearing my theater costume still, which was this renaissance outfit of heavy skirts. I was nervous about hopping in, but I did. It was boring, even when Steve kissed me. I remember feeling like I was getting what I wanted, but I didn't really want it. Because I knew one of the young men in charge, and I wanted him instead. I wound up sitting in the middle hot tub by myself. A small blimp flew overhead, with the evil uncle inside it.

I was in a parking lot with cars, meeting the uncle. He looked like Dennis Hopper, and he was telling me how irresponsible one of his nephews was, how they were wasting money and destroying everything. I climbed into one of the cars, and we started driving over their estate, which was immense. I wanted to know what he wanted me to do. He explained that I was going to have to be the one who negotiated one of the nephew's release, after he kidnapped him. Then he put on a giant wig about three times the size of his head and goggles, then climbed on a unicycle and went off to destroy one of the boys. In retrospect, he looked like a weird, real-world version of the villain from Sonic the Hedgehog, except clown wig and no giant mustache. My subconscious read Sonic, but I bet I'm thinking of some other video game villain.