Chapter TWO

At first Jason had no idea what to do. His first instinct of running around screaming like a little girl did not seem to be too constructive. The next thought was hopping a train to Mexico and changing his name to Jose, but that too seemed impractical. After all he had gotten a C in Spanish 1. Finally he decided to go into the house, maybe the staff would just go away if he left. As a plan it left a lot to be desired, but it did get him away from the thing and that was the key point. He backed slowly towards the house as if he expected the staff to suddenly leap from the sandbox and chase him around the yard. Of course the way this day was going, it would not have surprised him much if it did.


He reached the house safely, in fact the staff had not even twitched. Crossing the kitchen he took the stairs to his room three at a time. Racing through the door he tossed his book bag on the bed and went to the window. His room was in the rear of the house so of course he could see the sandbox. Sure enough the staff was still sitting there accusingly. Jason closed his blinds but he could still feel the staff there, as if it was staring at him.


Flopping onto his bed he tried to figure out his next move. He could just leave the staff there, but if it was somehow dangerous and his sister found it he would never forgive himself.


Jason glanced around and spied the small cordless phone on his desk and it hit him in a flash. Jenna! She knew all about this weird stuff. Maybe there was some kind of ritual you could do when things from your recurring nightmare suddenly showed up in your back yard. And if not at least he would have company, and she could confirm it was not just all in his head.


But what if it was just in his head? What if he had cracked up? Well if so best to know now rather then wait until he went on some sort of killing spree in a Taco Bell.
Walking over, he grabbed the phone and sat on the edge of the bed. Jenna was speed dial number three, right behind his mom's work and cell. Pressing the button he waited while the phone started ringing. Silently, he prayed for her to pick up. She did on the third ring and he let out a breath that he did not realize he was holding.


"Hello?" Jenna's voice was easy to pick out. Besides she was an only child and her parents were never home this early.


"Hey Jen" Jason replied. Now that he had called her he did not know how to begin to explain this.


"Jase? What's wrong?" Jason did not know what in his voice tipped her off, but she had always been good at reading him.


"Umm why should something be wrong?"


"Well A) you never call me out of the blue unless you need something" Jason felt a brief flash of guilt for that one. "And B) you are supposed to be at fencing practice until four."


"Oh right. Well I didn't feel very good so I came home."


"Okay..." Jason could feel the expectant pause through the phone so he decided to plow on ahead.


"Ok you know the staff in my dream? I told you about it remember?" Jason hedged along hoping she would guess the rest.


"Yeah?" No such luck, but nothing to do now but plow ahead.


"Well it's kind of in my backyard right now. I mean it was standing there when I came home. Sorry for calling you, but I know you are into this kind of thing and..." That's as far as Jason got before the excited squeal from the other end of the phone nearly blew out an ear drum.


"Stay right there! Don't you dare move! I will be right over." Before Jason could reply or protest the line went dead with a click.


Tossing the phone to the floor, Jason laid back down on the bed. With the immediate problem deferred, he was feeling sleepy again. After the third time he had to jerk himself awake, he sat up and glanced at the clock. It had been nearly ten minutes since he had called Jenna and it never took her that long to get over here. In a panic he hopped from bed and looked outside. The staff was still sitting there all alone in the sandbox but there was no indication Jenna had been there.


Breathing a sigh of relief, Jason decided to go outside and wait for her. The bed was just too tempting and he did not want to risk another dream. Not with that thing standing right out there behind his house. The lethargy continued and in fact got worse as he plodded down the stairs towards the back deck. But as soon as he stepped outside it was as if he had a full night's sleep. On a hunch he went back inside and as soon as the back door closed the tired feeling was back again. In and out, tired and awake.


Finally, he decided the whole thing was too much to try and figure out. So he shut the door and sat on one of the old patio chairs to wait.


A few minutes later, Jason glanced at his watch. It had been a full fifteen minutes since the phone call and Jenna only lived ten houses away. It never took him more then five minutes to make the walk and the way she sounded on the phone it was more likely she would have run all the way over here. He would wait five more minutes he decided and then go and look for her.


Four minutes and twenty-seven seconds later, he heard her hailing him from the driveway. That was unusual. She generally cut across the yards like he did. Sure some of the older people got mad when you ran across their lawn, but that was half of the fun. If you did not have to run past squirting hoses or dodge thrown orthopedic shoes, what was the point of doing something you knew you were not supposed to do?


Walking around to the front of the house he spotted Jenna waving at him frantically. As soon as he approached her, the torrent began. "What were you doing back there? I told you not to move. I was knocking and then I rang the doorbell, and I would have still been knocking if I hadn't thought to yell. I thought I was going to have to break in when you didn't answer." She paused for a breath and realized he was not looking at her. "What?"


"Jenna, what is that?" That being her dad's old wheelbarrow filled to the brim with odds and ends some of which he could not even identify.


"It's dad's wheelbarrow. You know that Jason, we used to use it to play fort when we were kids. Like the time you fell in the beehive. Remember that?"


Jason held up his hand to cut off the rather painful story that was about to ensue. "I know it's a wheelbarrow silly. I meant why do you have it?"


"Oh right. Well it was the fastest way to get all the stuff here. I mean otherwise I would have had to make like three trips and I couldn't see wasting that much time." Jenna replied in a matter of fact tone.


Suppressing a sigh, Jason replied. "Ok fine. But what is all this junk you brought with you?"


Jenna made her 'oh' face and grinned. "Oh it's just supplies and things. I have been collecting them since you first told me about your dream a few years ago. I figured when this day came there was no way you would be prepared, and well one of us should be. I mean I read a lot of fantasy and sleeping on the ground doesn't sound like fun. And neither one of us can hunt or make snares. Besides trying to dress a little bunny? Yuck. Give me a can of tuna any day."


Massaging his temples with one hand, Jason asked softly. "So you have been collecting camping gear and food expecting one day for this staff to show up in my back yard?"


"Well not exactly. But I knew something was gonna happen. I mean the dreams had to mean something right? It's a classic fantasy scenario. And there was no way I was going to miss it. I mean I know it's your quest and all, but c'mon you need me. I know all about this stuff. You'll get yourself killed if I don't go along. Besides I got you this." Reaching into the pile with a flourish Jenna withdrew a sword.


It was built like a fencing foil but heavier and thicker. The handle was the same length but there was a cross piece instead of a guard. The blade was wider and appeared to be sharpened on one side so it could be used to slash as well as thrust. The tip was not capped but ended in a wicked looking point. Jenna turned the blade over and offered it to him hilt first. Jason took it and gave the sword a couple experimental swings. It felt slightly awkward to his hand but it generally moved like a fencing foil. After a few experimental parries, ripostes, and thrusts he looked back at a grinning Jenna.


"So where exactly did you get this?"


"You remember when I was working the Renn Faire last fall?" Jenna asked. She had been a booth wench for one of the local merchants.


"Yeah I stopped by a couple of times to visit. Remember? You snuck some of the hard cider out of the refreshment booth and you threw up on that guy's pants. Then we both got grounded when our parents found us." Jason replied with a grin.


"Yeah that was fun." Jason was slightly disappointed that Jenna did not seem at all embarrassed. "Well anyway I did a couple of favors for the guy that makes the swords, and he made this one for me special. It cost me all the money I made at the Faire but it was worth it. It's live steel too! Isn't it great?"


"Yeah it's nice, but what's live steel?" Jason asked looking at the sword as if it was going to suddenly start breathing.


"Oh that just means it's sharp. Usually when you buy swords they are blunted so the norms don't hurt themselves and sue." Jenna answered with a snort.


Jason glanced at the sword again and tried to figure out a place to put it. Sensing the problem, Jenna rooted through the pile and produced a plain leather sheath for the sword. It fit the blade perfectly and had a snap closed loop on the back so he fastened it around his belt loop.


"Umm Jen? You know just because a mysterious staff from a dream suddenly showed up in my back yard does not mean we are suddenly going on some mystic adventure through fantastical worlds." He paused briefly. "Man I can not believe I just said that."


"Of course it does Jase. Now help me get this stuff into the yard. I wanna see this staff for myself."


The wheel barrow was old and the tire was mostly flat but it rolled well enough once Jason got it moving. He went around the side of the house and through the broken gate to the back yard. The staff was still where he had left it, unfortunately. He had been half hoping it would simply vanish. Jenna stopped and let out a soft, impressed "Oooh." Well so much for it being a figment of his imagination.


Jenna led him to the back corner of the yard. "Go ahead and just dump it all here Jason, we need to sort through it. I just grabbed everything I could find. Luckily dad used to think camping was a bonding experience and mom never throws anything away if it might be useful later."


Jason up ended the wheel barrow and a steady stream of supplies tumbled out onto the ground. Jenna knelt down and started picking through it muttering to herself.


"Lantern? Need that. Couple of flash lights should be good too, it gets really dark out in the country. Tent? One is fine, we can share. Be warmer that way anyway. Jase? Could you stick this other tent back in the wheel barrow?" It took Jason a moment to realize he was being addressed. He moved the wheel barrow back away from the mess on the grass and stuck the tent she was holding back inside.


"This is going to take me a little bit. Why don't you go inside and write your mom a note letting her know not to worry? We might be gone a few days after all. Oh and see if you have any decent food that will keep. And water skins, they never take enough water skins. Grab your sleeping bag and any spare clothes you can snag. Oh batteries too. Size C, not going to be any 7-11s around." She went back to sorting things seeming to completely ignore his presence.


Deciding it was best to not argue, Jason headed back into the house. He braced himself for a wave of lethargy but it did not come. He had to move carefully, he kept forgetting about the sword and smacking it into things. In the kitchen he found a pack of C batteries in their junk drawer. He went to the phone message pad and scrawled a quick note to let his mom and sister know he was off with Jenna and not to worry. There was not much in way of can goods but he grabbed a couple of cans of ham and one of beef hash, plus creamed corn since no one seemed to eat it. He grabbed his sleeping bag off the bed and some of his less questionable clothes. Rummaging around, he found his old canteen from a very brief stint in the Boy Scouts buried in a drawer.


Jenna had arranged everything into three piles and was busy stuffing one of the piles in a large hiker's pack when he got back outside. She barely glanced at the stuff he brought before motioning to the second pile. "That one's yours, start packing it up. I will help as soon as I am done with mine." Jenna said going back to her packing job.
Jason looked at the stuff that was 'his'. There was a large flash light, a Coleman lantern, a couple of small pots, a fishing kit, a survival knife, a rain poncho, a plastic baggy containing what looked like matches and a cheap plastic lighter, a whetstone, a pile of can goods, a couple of plastic bottles of water, the tent, an old air mattress and a medical kit. "Damn forget the kitchen sink?" Jason muttered as he started to stuff things in the pack she had set aside.


"Of course not, what do you think I'm carrying?" Jenna replied with a grin. "Oh leave the canteen out, and the knife. You'll probably need those first." Setting those items aside, Jason went back to packing. It all fit somehow, but the pack was bulky and ominously heavy looking as he tied his sleeping bag to the top of it. The knife went through a belt loop on the opposite side across from the sword and the canteen went over his head. He shouldered the pack with a grunt, getting both arms through the straps and fastening the strap in place around his waist.


"Jase? Did you forget something?"


"Not unless you were planning to strap your bed to my back." Jason said trying to adjust to the weight of the pack.


She pointed at the obviously empty canteen around his neck. "Not going to do you much good without water." Sheepishly, he went and filled it from the hose. When he returned Jenna was fastened into her own pack. The wheelbarrow had been refilled with the left overs and sitting by the side of the house. Jenna glanced at it briefly in concern then shrugged. "Doubt anyone wants an old wheelbarrow. And if they do... oh well. Not gonna waste the time to go all the way back home."


Jason just shrugged in response. He expected they could take the wheelbarrow back to her house when all this was over. After all nothing was going to happen when he took the staff. He was just humoring his quirky friend. Well that and it made a good excuse to delay actually touching the thing. It was as if none of this was real as long as he could avoid grabbing the staff. But from the look on Jenna's face now was the time. If not she would do it and that would actually be worse somehow then doing it himself.


He felt Jenna's hand latch onto the back of his pack as he stepped over to the sandbox. She was not trying to restrain him apparently. No, if anything it was more like she was pushing him forward. With a sudden insight he figured out she was expecting him to be dragged into some foreign land as soon as he grabbed the staff and she wanted to be absolutely positive she went along for the ride. He was at the edge of the sandbox now, nothing left to do but take the blasted thing. He could feel his hand shake a little as he reached out. Trembling with fear and adrenaline, he could barely make his fingers close on the smooth wood of the staff. Slowly he pulled it free and held it aloft in what he hoped was a classic Merlin pose.
And nothing happened.


Jason heard Jenna's disappointed sigh and echoed it with his own sigh of relief. "See I told you. This is the real world. Obviously someone found out about my dream somehow and planted this here. Of course, see there is nothing magical about it. Just a silly prank. They are probably laughing their asses off somewhere near by."


Jason lowered the staff to the ground and looked at it. It was an impressive recreation he had to admit. It had the smooth dark wood, the sliver dragon with the blue crystal. Even the old looking knots were there. He never remembered describing it to this degree, not even to Jenna. Whoever had pulled this little practical joke had spent a lot of time and money just to scare the hell out of him. He turned to show the staff to Jenna, she loved dragons after all. Heck she loved pretty much anything that was fantasy. That is when he noticed the crystal ball on the end of the staff was glowing softly.


"Jenna, do you see this? The thing is glowing. It must have some sort of light bulb in it. Man whoever did this spared no expense. I think I will keep this thing, now that I know it isn't real, it's kind of cool." Jason said holding it out so Jenna could get a good look at it.


That's when he noticed she was staring wide eyed at something behind him. He turned to see and felt something strike the back of his head. He heard Jenna scream just as his world went dark.

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