Missing Kat - Part 1
It was a quiet night at Four Winds. I’d come for a drink after a solitary weekend that seemed much too short. Maybe I was defiant of the fact that I had to get up at 5:30am the next morning, or maybe I just wanted to enjoy some exquisite jazz. Tonight’s band did not disappoint. The sax sent chills down my arms and out my finger tips—just the way I liked it.
I took a slow sip of my drink, a simple rum and Coke, and considered pulling out my notebook to write. Instead, I swayed to the music and watched an intense game of pool come to a decisive end. I couldn’t guess the stakes, but by the looks of it, someone had bet more than they were ready to lose.
The evening wore on, and patrons came and went in a steady stream. Around nine o’clock, about the time I began considering how much longer I should stay, the tall oak doors parted for a familiar face. Well, familiar to me. Justin Avery was a tall man in his late twenties with Latin features and usually the kind of smile that would convince you a hurricane was merely a sprinkle. Tonight he wasn’t smiling.
Removing his aviators and navigating through the crowded main dining area, he made his way to the bar and hailed Max. It took a few minutes for Max to finish mixing the backlog of drink orders, and Justin fidgeted impatiently. He was usually unhurried with the kind of relaxed attitude you’d seek out after a stressful go of it, so I knew something was up. Max finally caught a break to chat, and I managed to overhead their conversation.
“Justin!” Max greeted in his usual enthusiastic manner. “It’s been a while since you took a load off. Say, look’s like you could use a brew. What can I get’cha?”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass tonight. I’m looking for Kat. Has she stopped in recently?” He looked at Max expectantly, hoping for an affirmative answer.
Max shook his head. “Not since Friday on her usual visit.”
Justin’s face fell, and I imagined his heart sank. He’d never admit it since it was so impractical, but he was sweet on Kat. “Well, did she at least say anything about what job she’s working or where she might be heading over the weekend?”
“Sorry.” Max sagged his shoulders and spread his arms in a “could be anything” gesture. “She didn’t mention anything to me.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “Why? Think she could be in some kind of situation?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem.” Justin signed and finally took a seat on one of the bar stools. “She asked me to look into something for her on Thursday and get back with her as soon as I found something. Well …” He paused, probably considering how much he should tell Max. The two hadn’t been friends for long, so he didn’t yet realize that Max was the kind of confidant you’d want to tell your dying wish. “I found something big—maybe even game changing. So I came back right away, which isn’t easy, and now Kat’s nowhere to be found.”
Max pondered the conundrum, then asked, “Where have you looked?”
“All her favorite spots, and now I’m asking all the people who might know something I don’t, but so far nothing.”
“All her favorite spots, huh?”
Justin nodded. “Yeah.”
Max cracked a grin. “Let me tell you, there’s no way anyone will ever know a fraction of all her favorite spots.”
“OK, but if she just wanted a night off, wouldn’t she let me know? I mean, shouldn’t I be worried? Her line of work isn’t exactly safe.”
“Nah, Kat doesn’t think like that.” Max picked up a bar mop and started wiping down the counter space beside Justin that a customer had just vacated. “She forgets other people worry and does everything on her own time. I get the feeling she doesn’t even tell time like a normal person.” He shrugged. “No reason to worry though. The Dreamscape’s a big place, but she knows her way around. She’ll catch up with you when she remembers.”
“Right …” Justin tapped his hands on the bar. “So, I just wait?”
“Yep.”
Shaking his head, Justin resigned himself to the notion. “You know what? I’ll take a beer.”
Max reached for the largest glass in sight. “Coming right up!”
I couldn’t help smiling to myself. It was so cute of Justin to worry, but he still had a lot to learn about Kat. Where was she? That was anyone’s guess, but I knew she would be as impossible to find as she was happy to be alone and on the cusp of a new discovery. At heart, Kat was an adventurer and free spirit untamed by commitments, occupation, or time itself.
I took a slow sip of my drink, a simple rum and Coke, and considered pulling out my notebook to write. Instead, I swayed to the music and watched an intense game of pool come to a decisive end. I couldn’t guess the stakes, but by the looks of it, someone had bet more than they were ready to lose.
The evening wore on, and patrons came and went in a steady stream. Around nine o’clock, about the time I began considering how much longer I should stay, the tall oak doors parted for a familiar face. Well, familiar to me. Justin Avery was a tall man in his late twenties with Latin features and usually the kind of smile that would convince you a hurricane was merely a sprinkle. Tonight he wasn’t smiling.
Removing his aviators and navigating through the crowded main dining area, he made his way to the bar and hailed Max. It took a few minutes for Max to finish mixing the backlog of drink orders, and Justin fidgeted impatiently. He was usually unhurried with the kind of relaxed attitude you’d seek out after a stressful go of it, so I knew something was up. Max finally caught a break to chat, and I managed to overhead their conversation.
“Justin!” Max greeted in his usual enthusiastic manner. “It’s been a while since you took a load off. Say, look’s like you could use a brew. What can I get’cha?”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass tonight. I’m looking for Kat. Has she stopped in recently?” He looked at Max expectantly, hoping for an affirmative answer.
Max shook his head. “Not since Friday on her usual visit.”
Justin’s face fell, and I imagined his heart sank. He’d never admit it since it was so impractical, but he was sweet on Kat. “Well, did she at least say anything about what job she’s working or where she might be heading over the weekend?”
“Sorry.” Max sagged his shoulders and spread his arms in a “could be anything” gesture. “She didn’t mention anything to me.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “Why? Think she could be in some kind of situation?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem.” Justin signed and finally took a seat on one of the bar stools. “She asked me to look into something for her on Thursday and get back with her as soon as I found something. Well …” He paused, probably considering how much he should tell Max. The two hadn’t been friends for long, so he didn’t yet realize that Max was the kind of confidant you’d want to tell your dying wish. “I found something big—maybe even game changing. So I came back right away, which isn’t easy, and now Kat’s nowhere to be found.”
Max pondered the conundrum, then asked, “Where have you looked?”
“All her favorite spots, and now I’m asking all the people who might know something I don’t, but so far nothing.”
“All her favorite spots, huh?”
Justin nodded. “Yeah.”
Max cracked a grin. “Let me tell you, there’s no way anyone will ever know a fraction of all her favorite spots.”
“OK, but if she just wanted a night off, wouldn’t she let me know? I mean, shouldn’t I be worried? Her line of work isn’t exactly safe.”
“Nah, Kat doesn’t think like that.” Max picked up a bar mop and started wiping down the counter space beside Justin that a customer had just vacated. “She forgets other people worry and does everything on her own time. I get the feeling she doesn’t even tell time like a normal person.” He shrugged. “No reason to worry though. The Dreamscape’s a big place, but she knows her way around. She’ll catch up with you when she remembers.”
“Right …” Justin tapped his hands on the bar. “So, I just wait?”
“Yep.”
Shaking his head, Justin resigned himself to the notion. “You know what? I’ll take a beer.”
Max reached for the largest glass in sight. “Coming right up!”
I couldn’t help smiling to myself. It was so cute of Justin to worry, but he still had a lot to learn about Kat. Where was she? That was anyone’s guess, but I knew she would be as impossible to find as she was happy to be alone and on the cusp of a new discovery. At heart, Kat was an adventurer and free spirit untamed by commitments, occupation, or time itself.
Missing Kat - Part 2
To call Kat Wilder a free spirt would be like calling the moon a pebble. She’d found the Dreamscape as most do—by accident. Stumbling upon a nearly endless realm of magic and mystery was something of a God-sent for Kat. Without it, she’d be in the worst kind of trouble. Likely on the run or locked away in some hellhole that shouldn’t exist.
In an all-but-forgotten past life, Kat had worked for the Danville Group, a corporation now attempting to find others like her with certain sensitivities to the Dreamscape and exploit their talents. As much as she wanted to pretend the Dreamscape was her home now and she had no more connection with the outside world, she couldn’t justify that wish with the fact that what happened on the outside always found a way to trickle in—or flood in. She couldn’t let that happen, but today she wasn’t thinking about any of it.
Today was a day to go exploring and discover hidden paradises unseen by anyone and waiting just for her. Well, “today” had turned into several days. She’d lost track of time at least two days ago … probably. She couldn’t really tell, and she definitely didn’t care. She was hot on the trail of a new portal, and she wasn’t about to stop for anything. She’d hiked over several mountains already, and her anchor device indicated she had one more to climb. Then she’d be there.
It was a cool, cloudy day in this part of the Dreamscape, just the way she liked it. Early spring judging by the young green bounding into existence all at once. She’d started hiking at dawn, and now the sun had reached its zenith. In the distance, the roar of water falling from great heights grew loader. She could smell it, but the thick cover of trees and underbrush hid it from view.
There were no trails except for the occasional paths carved out by deer. She followed them when she could, but mostly she made her own way. With one step, the ridge cascading down to unknown depths wasn’t there, and the next she’d nearly stepped off the edge. She inhaled sharply, half in surprise and half in awe of the beauty cut out of the earth before her. Looking up, she could just make out rock giving way to air and the terrible rush of water that plunged toward inky blackness.
Wildflowers, ferns, and foliage of all types grew heartily along the gorge walls, reaching straight up for the sun that was kindly granted entry to this private wonder at midday. Colorful song birds chirped and fluttered about without care, quite proud to call this place home.
Kat carefully lowered herself to the ground and removed her boots. Then she swung her feet over the edge and rolled up her pants to feel the misty air on her skin. She stayed like that for a time she couldn’t measure, watching the scene breathe and tremble like a painting brought to life. Each passing moment added a new brushstroke of detail.
To her, this was better than art, and she never let the thought of passing time disturb her reverent appreciation for such gems hidden all over creation. She felt a sort of duty to find them and etch them into her mind forever. It seemed as if these treasure chests of nature existed just for her even though she knew they belonged to the birds and all God’s creatures.
It was a strange life she’d stumbled upon, and she thanked the Lord for it every chance she got. As a kindred spirit had once said, she would close her eyes and feel a prayer. But mostly she spent her time wandering the Dreamscape deep in thought, pondering life’s complexities and her place in it all. Sometimes she thought of her new friends and smiled at their quirks, but she tried to never think of her past and rarely of the future. The moment, she believed, was meant to be enjoyed without taint from any past or future memory.
So she stayed on the ledge enjoying the moment as long as the day permitted. When at last the sun began to descend, she begrudgingly picked up her things and peeled her eyes away from nature’s trance. As much as she wished she could fall asleep to the whoosh of the waterfall and the silent twinkle of unknown stars, she had a portal to find. Her intel suggested the portal could only be found at sunset, and she didn’t like to rush. Besides, she’d logged this place in her brain’s map of the Dreamscape and would surely return soon and often. She’d already decided to name it “Sudden Falls.”
Carefully, one tested foothold after the next, she made her way down the ravine and followed the stream for half a kilometer or so before stumbling upon the site in question. A shallow pool broke away from the stream’s steady flow, its glassy surface sparkling in the ruby hues of sunset. The bank opposite her was no bank at all but rather a wall of crumbling, moss-covered rocks. Somewhere between the cracks was a portal soon to be discovered, and so she waited on her rocky perch for the sun to fall behind the formation meter by meter until it reached the point of reveal. And what a reveal it was.
At first, light beams shyly poked through an archway of cracks and crevices, and then they burst free in a rush of abandon. Kat marveled at the spectacle, the shutter in her mind clicking until it sputtered and jammed. And then she felt what only a sensitive can feel, the pull of the portal’s call between the fibers of her muscle. It tugged gently at first, almost tingling, but quickly grew to an urgent sense of both thrill and fear.
Her body wanted to run through the water and climb up the rocks while throwing all caution down stream, and her mind could not contain the thousands of possible worlds brimming on the other side. What was waiting behind the Dreamscape’s curtain? A string of dragons each more breathtaking than the last? A band of marauders poised for attack? Or a lost child wandering in bewilderment and awe?
Who could say? After all, the Dreamscape was wider than a thousand imaginations, and its call could never be resisted.
In an all-but-forgotten past life, Kat had worked for the Danville Group, a corporation now attempting to find others like her with certain sensitivities to the Dreamscape and exploit their talents. As much as she wanted to pretend the Dreamscape was her home now and she had no more connection with the outside world, she couldn’t justify that wish with the fact that what happened on the outside always found a way to trickle in—or flood in. She couldn’t let that happen, but today she wasn’t thinking about any of it.
Today was a day to go exploring and discover hidden paradises unseen by anyone and waiting just for her. Well, “today” had turned into several days. She’d lost track of time at least two days ago … probably. She couldn’t really tell, and she definitely didn’t care. She was hot on the trail of a new portal, and she wasn’t about to stop for anything. She’d hiked over several mountains already, and her anchor device indicated she had one more to climb. Then she’d be there.
It was a cool, cloudy day in this part of the Dreamscape, just the way she liked it. Early spring judging by the young green bounding into existence all at once. She’d started hiking at dawn, and now the sun had reached its zenith. In the distance, the roar of water falling from great heights grew loader. She could smell it, but the thick cover of trees and underbrush hid it from view.
There were no trails except for the occasional paths carved out by deer. She followed them when she could, but mostly she made her own way. With one step, the ridge cascading down to unknown depths wasn’t there, and the next she’d nearly stepped off the edge. She inhaled sharply, half in surprise and half in awe of the beauty cut out of the earth before her. Looking up, she could just make out rock giving way to air and the terrible rush of water that plunged toward inky blackness.
Wildflowers, ferns, and foliage of all types grew heartily along the gorge walls, reaching straight up for the sun that was kindly granted entry to this private wonder at midday. Colorful song birds chirped and fluttered about without care, quite proud to call this place home.
Kat carefully lowered herself to the ground and removed her boots. Then she swung her feet over the edge and rolled up her pants to feel the misty air on her skin. She stayed like that for a time she couldn’t measure, watching the scene breathe and tremble like a painting brought to life. Each passing moment added a new brushstroke of detail.
To her, this was better than art, and she never let the thought of passing time disturb her reverent appreciation for such gems hidden all over creation. She felt a sort of duty to find them and etch them into her mind forever. It seemed as if these treasure chests of nature existed just for her even though she knew they belonged to the birds and all God’s creatures.
It was a strange life she’d stumbled upon, and she thanked the Lord for it every chance she got. As a kindred spirit had once said, she would close her eyes and feel a prayer. But mostly she spent her time wandering the Dreamscape deep in thought, pondering life’s complexities and her place in it all. Sometimes she thought of her new friends and smiled at their quirks, but she tried to never think of her past and rarely of the future. The moment, she believed, was meant to be enjoyed without taint from any past or future memory.
So she stayed on the ledge enjoying the moment as long as the day permitted. When at last the sun began to descend, she begrudgingly picked up her things and peeled her eyes away from nature’s trance. As much as she wished she could fall asleep to the whoosh of the waterfall and the silent twinkle of unknown stars, she had a portal to find. Her intel suggested the portal could only be found at sunset, and she didn’t like to rush. Besides, she’d logged this place in her brain’s map of the Dreamscape and would surely return soon and often. She’d already decided to name it “Sudden Falls.”
Carefully, one tested foothold after the next, she made her way down the ravine and followed the stream for half a kilometer or so before stumbling upon the site in question. A shallow pool broke away from the stream’s steady flow, its glassy surface sparkling in the ruby hues of sunset. The bank opposite her was no bank at all but rather a wall of crumbling, moss-covered rocks. Somewhere between the cracks was a portal soon to be discovered, and so she waited on her rocky perch for the sun to fall behind the formation meter by meter until it reached the point of reveal. And what a reveal it was.
At first, light beams shyly poked through an archway of cracks and crevices, and then they burst free in a rush of abandon. Kat marveled at the spectacle, the shutter in her mind clicking until it sputtered and jammed. And then she felt what only a sensitive can feel, the pull of the portal’s call between the fibers of her muscle. It tugged gently at first, almost tingling, but quickly grew to an urgent sense of both thrill and fear.
Her body wanted to run through the water and climb up the rocks while throwing all caution down stream, and her mind could not contain the thousands of possible worlds brimming on the other side. What was waiting behind the Dreamscape’s curtain? A string of dragons each more breathtaking than the last? A band of marauders poised for attack? Or a lost child wandering in bewilderment and awe?
Who could say? After all, the Dreamscape was wider than a thousand imaginations, and its call could never be resisted.