Lost in Dreams (Jack Kilpatric)

[ericthered]

Jack Kilpatric () dreamed strangly that night -- of a strange red landscape. The dirt was red and sparsely vegatated. Folks went about their business in a town that seemed to drag along. Soldiers in what would be drab tan uniforms in another other landscape were all about, buying goods and gaurding places. Here, the tan stands out brightly from the red overtones. Everyone wears clothing as though the land is cold. In some ways the landscape reminds Jack of a western film. In other ways, its just wrong and alien.

Not far away, men work hard to fix a torn up railroad. Some of the teams are soldiers. Some of them are civilians supervised by soldiers. Horses graze on the scraggly plants.

Jack wakes to the sound of gun shots. His eyes flash open. He's in a room somewhere. There's a bed, but he's not on it. He's on the floor. and naked. The man in the bed is rising to his feet. Someone hits the floor. There are other bodies down there. And blood. And a clash of two swords together.