Keep on Truckin'

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Genre: Dark Superhero Fiction
Inspiration: Snow covered trees just out the window

The high winds blew the masked man's cape across his field of vision. Perched in the branches, high above the rocky cliffs below him, The Shepherd knelt surveying the valley below. The light of the full moon accentuated his formidable, sculpted physique and he lamented that there was likely no one secretly appreciating it from a distance. Even if there were a lone wanderer who did happen to be looking up into the branches while walking alone, late at night in a remote wood, the steel gray camouflage of his suit was too perfect to be seen by a mere mortal. It would take a creature, likely devoid of a human soul, but capable of sensing heat signatures to even detect his presence; or perhaps some kind of diabolical mind capable of deploying a hyper-sensitive motion detection system. Regardless, the likelihood of being seen, let alone appreciated for all the hard work he put into his rippling physical construction was nil.
The flapping cape was becoming a frustration, but frankly, would have been a more pressing issue were in not for the nuisance that his Shepherd's Crook was causing him. It was large - over six feet in length, and very inconvenient for someone who favoured a perch in a tree to a pasture. He was beginning once again to second guess his cunning disguise, which was inevitably the result of a slow night. If only someone - perhaps the same hypothetical, diabolical madman with motion sensors - would attack, or even persecute the villagers below, the Shepherd would have to indulge his wandering mind. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Being the village blacksmith by trade, and immediately familiar to most villagers, he had chosen his secret identity based on his deep loathing of shepherds (a direct result of their refusal to shoe their animals, which seemed only natural to the blacksmith given their arduous grazing). It was either that, or capitalize on his hatred of jogging. Regardless of motivations, once he had settled on his identity the crook seemed a natural accoutrement, and was easy enough to fashion. Indeed, there was never a question of appropriateness for his disguise...

My Mind is Racing: A week of dreaming.

A dream:

I'm swimming the open sea not far from a green shore to my left. I have the sense that I am with people not because I can see them, but because someone has convinced me to be here despite what I think is doubt. I am treading water as suddenly a herd of sharks and turtles speed past me in a steady flow of animals. The flow does not stop as I watch the creatures swim past and jump over me at what looks like 30 or 40 kilometers an hour. As the sharks approach me their mouths are often wide open and menacing but none bite, grab or even graze me; the turtles I can see are the ones jumping through the air, often over my head. I am not frightened, but not entirely calm either.
At some point I decide to submerge myself and as I dive deeper I look above me to the light surface superimposed on the sky with the steady stream of creatures speeding by. I turn my attention to the depths which seem as if they are only 10 or 20 feet under the surface judging by how far I've swam, but which also are receiving no sunlight making it cold and unfamiliar. Somehow my gaze is illuminated by some kind of spotlight as if from a submarine in an underwater documentary. On the dark bottom, which is flat and manicured like a golf green I see an illuminated building alone on the bottom of the sea. It's tiny and appears as a decorative porcelain house one might see at Christmas time adorning a diorama, even though in my mind I know it to be a functional building. I recognize it's red brick architecture as belonging to an institution - a university perhaps - and continue swimming. Because of the scale of the building I get the sense that I am either extremely large, or the place I've found is extremely small - I am not sure which. It's at this point, when I start to run out of breath, that I realize I can breath under water (at this point I actually did realize I was dreaming I believe, but did not wake up. I didn't make the mental leap to realize that I could control my dream though). As I slowly swim through the water I make my way up a small rise in the ground -perhaps 10 feet high. I know because of the scale of the building that this must be a huge hill to those who occupy the building, and on its manicured side I see a sign which bears the logo of a university. I am excited to have discovered something that might be long-lost and think nothing of the scale of it.

I have a vague memory of recounting the discovery to someone at a dinner table later in the dream and waking up soon after.

Another dream:

I am in an urban environment which seems to be a deserted town. Despite not having seen them, I know I've been separated from my friends, or perhaps some kind of team that I am a part of. When I am inside I am not in danger, but running between building puts me at risk of being caught by vicious and ravenous kangaroos. I don't see them but know they are there. I have my dog Murray with me and am very concerned for his welfare (in retrospect this seems an awful lot like the movie "I,Legend" which i saw about 2 months ago... odd) . He's generally being obedient and running with me. I find refuge in a deserted house. I then realize that because this place is deserted I have completely open access to explore the abandoned houses. As I explore I find a secret room of sorts... its in the top floor of a house - perhaps in a spire or a tower. It looks like a kids room and is very densely packed with clothes, books, posters etc. It seems like a fun place to be and I feel perfectly safe.

Note: I often dream of exploring secret or obscure passages in old houses. They are almost always very high up in large houses, and are small, carpeted rooms.

Another Dream:

I am in a mountain lodge of some description, not alone. I look across that the lodge is on to see a mountain pass, which green as if it's summer. I somehow become aware that I am expected to go skiing with the people I am with but only have part of the day to do so... I am unsure of weather I should given my time restrictions. they walk across the street to got to the ski hill and I decide to join. I realize after the very short walk, that because I was in such a rush to catch up, that i somehow managed to bring along a spare set of cross-country skiis and what seems like a stack of papers (it is later revealed to be strange contraption I don't recognize - some kind of plastic light box for viewing pictures... it's white). I consider going back to the lodge to return these items but am in a rush. There is some confusion but I quickly end up in what I know is the ski hill base station... It looks like a mall, being very wide and long with tile floor. Knowing that my goal is to find a place to put my superfluous items I manage to stow my cross country skis inside a couch cushion which provides the backrest on a public seat. I then walk a distance, aware of my skiing time running out and somehow end up chatting to someone I know. While sitting on a couch I end up using the picture display machine briefly. I then end up walking the wrong direction trying to stow the machine somewhere, constantly aware that my skiing time is
being diminished.