Traumerei + 

At the sound, Henry RitchieвАЩs hand jerked. Most of the martini sloshed out over his robe. He jumped up, swabbing furiously at the spots. вАЬGoddam it!вАЭ + 

вАЬHank!вАЭ His wife slammed her book together. + 

вАЬWell, what do you expect? That confounded buzzerвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

вАЬвБ†вАФis a perfectly natural normal buzzer. YouвАЩre just terribly upset, dear.вАЭ + 

вАЬNo,вАЭ Mr.¬†Ritchie said, вАЬI am not вАШjust terribly upset, dearвАЩвБ†вАФfor seven years IвАЩve been listening to that bansheeвАЩs wail every time somebody wants in. Well, IвАЩm through. Either it goesвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

вАЬAll right, all right,вАЭ Mrs.¬†Ritchie said. вАЬYou donвАЩt have to make a production out of it.вАЭ + 

вАЬWell?вАЭ + 

вАЬWell what?вАЭ + 

Mr.¬†Ritchie sighed ponderously, glared at his wife, set what was left of the martini down on a table and went to the door. He slipped the chain. + 

вАЬBe this the marster of вАЩarfway вАЩouse?вАЭ + 

Mr.¬†Ritchie opened the door. вАЬMaxвБ†вАФwhat the devil are you doing up at this hour?вАЭ + 

A large man, well built, in his forties, walked in, smiling. вАЬI could ask you the same question,вАЭ he said, flinging his hat and scarf in the direction of a chair, вАЬbut IвАЩm far too thoughtful.вАЭ + 

They went back into the living room. Mrs.¬†Ritchie looked up, frowned. вАЬOh, swell,вАЭ she said. вАЬDandy. All we need now is a bridge four.вАЭ + 

вАЬRuthвАЩs just terribly upset,вАЭ Mr.¬†Ritchie said. + 

вАЬWell,вАЭ the large man said, вАЬitвАЩs nice to see unanimity in this house for once anyway. Hi, Ruth.вАЭ He walked over to the bar and found the martini mix and drained the jarвАЩs contents into a glass. Then he drained the glass. + 

вАЬHey, take it easy!вАЭ + 

Max Kaplan turned to face his hosts. He looked quite a bit older than usual: the grin wasnвАЩt boyish now. вАЬDear folkses,вАЭ he said, вАЬwhen I die, I donвАЩt want to see any full bottles around.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, ha-ha, thatвАЩs just so very deliriously funny,вАЭ Mrs.¬†Ritchie said. She was massaging her temples. + 

вАЬI am glad to see her ladyship amused.вАЭ Kaplan followed Mr.¬†RitchieвАЩs gaze. вАЬHickory dickory dock, the mice looked at the clock.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, shut up.вАЭ + 

вАЬOop, sorry.вАЭ The big man mixed up a new batch silently, then refilled the three glasses. He sat down. The clockвАЩs tick, a deep sharp bass sound, got louder and louder in the room. Kaplan rested his head on the couch arm. вАЬLess than an hour,вАЭ he said. вАЬNot even an hourвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

вАЬI knew it.вАЭ Mrs.¬†Ritchie stood up. вАЬI knew it the minute you walked in. WeвАЩre not nervous enough, oh, no, now weвАЩve got to listen to the great city editor and his news behind the news.вАЭ + 

вАЬVery well!вАЭ Kaplan rose shakily. He was drunk; it showed now. вАЬIf IвАЩm not welcome here, then I shall go elsewhere to breathe my last.вАЭ + 

вАЬNever mind,вАЭ Mrs.¬†Ritchie said. вАЬSit down. IвАЩve had a stomach full of this wake. If you two insist on sitting up until X-hour like a couple of ghouls, well, thatвАЩs your business. IвАЩm going to bed. And to sleep.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhat a woman,вАЭ Kaplan muttered, polishing off the martini. вАЬNerves of chilled steel.вАЭ + 

Mrs.¬†Ritchie looked at her husband for a moment. Then she said, вАЬGood night, dear,вАЭ and started for the door. + 

вАЬSee you in the morning,вАЭ Mr.¬†Ritchie said. вАЬGet a good sleep.вАЭ + 

Then Max Kaplan giggled. вАЬYeah, a real good sleep.вАЭ + 

Mrs.¬†Ritchie left the room. + 

The big man fumbled for a cigarette. He glanced at the clock. вАЬHank, for ChrissakeвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

Henry Ritchie sighed and slumped in the chair. вАЬI tried, Max.вАЭ + 

вАЬDid you? Did you tryвБ†вАФI mean with everything?вАЭ + 

вАЬWith everything. Might as well face it: the boyвАЩs going to burn, right on schedule.вАЭ + 

Kaplan opened his mouth. + 

вАЬForget it. The governor isnвАЩt about to issue a commutation. With the publicвАЩs blood up the way it is, he knows what it would mean to his vote. We were stupid even to try.вАЭ + 

вАЬLousy vultures.вАЭ + 

Ritchie shrugged. вАЬTheyвАЩre hungry, Max. You forget, there hasnвАЩt been an execution in this state for over two years. TheyвАЩre hungry.вАЭ + 

вАЬSo a poor dumb kidвАЩs got to fry alive in order for them to get their kicks.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

вАЬWait a second now. DonвАЩt get carried away. This same poor dumb kid is the boy who killed George Sanderson in cold blood and then raped his wife, not too very long ago. If I recall, your word for him then was Brutal Murderer.вАЭ + 

вАЬThat was the paper. This is you and me.вАЭ + 

вАЬWell, get that accusatory look off your face. Murder and rapeвБ†вАФthose are stiff raps to beat, pal.вАЭ + 

вАЬYou did it with Beatty, you got him off,вАЭ Kaplan reminded his friend. + 

вАЬLuck. Public moodвБ†вАФBeatty was an old man, feeble. Look, MaxвБ†вАФwhy donвАЩt you stop beating around the bush?вАЭ + 

вАЬOkay,вАЭ Kaplan said slowly. вАЬTheyвБ†вАФlet me in this afternoon. I talked with him again.вАЭ + 

Ritchie nodded. вАЬAnd?вАЭ + 

вАЬHank, IвАЩm telling youвБ†вАФit gives me the creeps. I swear it does.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhat did he tell you?вАЭ + 

Kaplan puffed on his cigarette nervously, kept his eyes on the clock. вАЬHe was lying down when I went in, curled up tight. Trying to sleep.вАЭ + 

вАЬGo on.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhen he heard me, he came to. вАШMr.¬†Kaplan,вАЩ he says, вАШyouвАЩve got to make them believe me, youвАЩve got to make them understandвБ†вАФвАЩ His eyes got real big then, andвБ†вАФHank, IвАЩm scared.вАЭ + 

вАЬOf what?вАЭ + 

вАЬI donвАЩt know. Just him, maybe. IвАЩm not sure.вАЭ + 

вАЬHe carrying the same line?вАЭ + 

вАЬYeah. But worse this time, more intense somehow.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Ritchie tried to keep the smile. He remembered, all right. Much too well. The whole story was crazy, normally enough to get the kid off with a life sentence in the criminally insane ward. But it was a little too crazy, so the psychiatrists wouldnвАЩt buy. + 

вАЬCanвАЩt get his words out of my mind,вАЭ Kaplan was saying. His eyes were closed. вАЬвАКвАШMister, tell them, tell them. If you kill me, then youвАЩll all die. This whole world of yours will die.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЩвАКвАЭ + 

Because, Ritchie remembered, you donвАЩt exist, any of you, except in my mind. DonвАЩt you see? IвАЩm asleep and dreaming all this. You, your wives, your children, itвАЩs all part of my dreamвБ†вАФand when you kill me then IвАЩll wake up and that will be the end of you.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

вАЬWell,вАЭ Ritchie said, вАЬitвАЩs original.вАЭ + 

Kaplan shook his head. + 

вАЬCome on, Max, snap out of it. You act like you never listened to a lunatic before. People have been predicting the end of the world ever since Year 1.вАЭ + 

вАЬSure, I know. You donвАЩt have to patronize me. ItвАЩs just thatвБ†вАФwell, who is this particular lunatic anyway? We donвАЩt know any more about him than the day he was caught. Even the name we had to make up. Who is he, whereвАЩd he come from, whatвАЩs his home?вАЭ + 

My homeвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ a world of eternities, an eternity of worlds.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ I must destroy, hurt, kill before I wake alwaysвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ and then once more I must sleepвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ always, always.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

вАЬLook, thereвАЩs a hundred vagrants in every city. Just like our boy: no name, no friends, no relatives.вАЭ + 

вАЬThen he doesnвАЩt seem in the least odd to you, is that it? Is that what youвАЩre telling me?вАЭ + 

вАЬSo heвАЩs odd! I never met a murderer that wasnвАЩt!вАЭ Ritchie recalled the lean hairless face, the expressionless eyes, the slender youthful body that moved in strange hesitant jerks, the halting voice. + 

The clock bonged the quarter hour. Fifteen to twelve. Max Kaplan wiped the perspiration from his forehead. + 

вАЬAnd besides,вАЭ Ritchie said, somewhat too loudly, вАЬitвАЩs plain ridiculous. He saysвБ†вАФwhat? WeвАЩre a dream heвАЩs having, right? OkayвБ†вАФthen what about our parents, and their parents, everybody who never heard of the kid?вАЭ + 

вАЬFirst thing I thought of. And you know his answer.вАЭ + 

Ritchie snorted. + 

вАЬWell, think it over, for GodвАЩs sake. He says every dream is a complete unit in itself. YouвБ†вАФhavenвАЩt you ever had nightmares about people youвАЩd never seen before?вАЭ + 

вАЬYes, I suppose so, butвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

вАЬAll right, even though they were projections of your subconsciousвБ†вАФor whatever the hell itвАЩs calledвБ†вАФthey were complete, werenвАЩt they? Going somewhere, doing something, all on their own?вАЭ + 

Ritchie was silent. + 

вАЬWhere were they going, what were they doing? See? The kid says every dream, even ours, builds its own whole worldвБ†вАФcomplete, with a past andвБ†вАФas long as you stay asleepвБ†вАФa future.вАЭ + 

вАЬNonsense! What about us, when we sleep and dream? Or is the period when weвАЩre unconscious the time heвАЩs up and around? And keep in mind that everybody doesnвАЩt sleep at the same timeвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

вАЬYouвАЩre missing the point, Hank. I said it was complete, didnвАЩt I? And isnвАЩt sleeping part of the pattern?вАЭ + 

вАЬHave another drink, Max. YouвАЩre slipping.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhat will you wake up to?вАЭ + 

вАЬMy home. You would not understand.вАЭ + 

вАЬThen what?вАЭ + 

вАЬThen I sleep again and dream another world.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhy did you kill George Sanderson?вАЭ + 

вАЬIt is my eternal destiny to kill and suffer punishment.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhy? Why?вАЭ + 

вАЬIn my world I committed a crime; it is the punishment of my world, this destiny.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

вАЬThen try this on for size,вАЭ Ritchie said. вАЬThat kidвАЩs frozen stiff with fear. Since heвАЩs going to have to wake up no matter what, then why not sit back and enjoy it?вАЭ + 

KaplanвАЩs eyes widened. вАЬHank, how soundly do you sleep?вАЭ + 

вАЬWhatвАЩs that got to do with it?вАЭ + 

вАЬI mean, do you ever dream?вАЭ + 

вАЬOf course.вАЭ + 

вАЬEver get hold of any particularly vivid ones? Falling downstairs like, being tortured, anything like that?вАЭ + 

Ritchie pulled at his drink. + 

вАЬSure you have.вАЭ Kaplan gazed steadily at the clock. Almost midnight. вАЬThen try to remember. In that kind of dream, isnвАЩt it true that the pleasureвБ†вАФor painвБ†вАФyou feel is almost as real as if you were actually experiencing it? I remember once I had a nightmare about my old man. He caught me in the basement with a cigaretteвБ†вАФI was eight or nine, I guess. He took down my pants and started after me with his belt. HankвБ†вАФthat hurt, bad. It really hurt.вАЭ + 

вАЬSo whatвАЩs the point?вАЭ + 

вАЬIn my dream I tried to get away from my old man. He chased me all over that basement. Well, itвАЩs the same with the kidвБ†вАФexcept his dream is a hundred times more vivid, thatвАЩs all. He knows heвАЩll feel that electric chair, feel the jolts frying into him, feel the death boiling up in his throat just as much as if he were honest-to-God sitting there.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Kaplan stopped talking. The two men sat quietly watching the clockвАЩs invisible progress. Then Ritchie leaped up and stalked over to the bar again. вАЬDoggone you, Max,вАЭ he called. вАЬYouвАЩre getting me fidgety now.вАЭ + 

вАЬDonвАЩt kid me,вАЭ Kaplan said. вАЬYouвАЩve been fidgety on your own for quite a while. I donвАЩt know how you ever made the grade as a criminal lawyerвБ†вАФyou donвАЩt know the first thing about lying.вАЭ + 

Ritchie didnвАЩt answer. He poured the drink slowly. + 

вАЬLook at you and Ruth, screaming at each other. And then there was the other tip-off. The way you defended the kidвБ†вАФbrilliantly, masterfully. YouвАЩd never have done that for a common open-and-shut little killer.вАЭ + 

вАЬMax,вАЭ Ritchie said, вАЬyouвАЩre nuts. Tell you what: at exactly 12:01 IвАЩll take you out for the biggest, juiciest, rarest steak you ever saw. On me. Then weвАЩll get loaded and fall all over ourselves laughingвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

Ritchie fought away the sudden picture of steak, rare steak, with the blood sputtering out, sizzling on an electric stove. + 

The clock began to strike. Henry Ritchie and Max Kaplan stood very still. + 

He uncoiled. The dry pop of hardened joints jabbed wakefulness into him until finally the twenty-foot long shell lay straight upon the steaming rocks. He opened his eyes, all of them, one by one. + 

Across the bubbling pools, far away, past the white stone geysers, he could see them coming. Many of them, swiftly, giant slithering things with many arms and many legs. + 

He tried to move, but rock grew over him and he could not move. By looking around he could see the cliffвАЩs edge, and he remembered the thousand bottomless pits below. Gradually the rest formed, and he remembered all. + 

He turned to the largest creature. вАЬDid you tell them?вАЭ He knew this would be a horrible punishment, worse than the last, the burning, far worse. Fingers began to unhinge the thick shell, peel it from him, leaving the viscous white tenderness bare to the heat and pain. вАЬTell them, make them understand, this is only a dream IвАЩm havingвБ†вАФвАЭ + 

They took the prisoner to the precipice, lingered a moment to give him a view of the dizziness and the sucking things far below. Then nervous hands pressed him forward into space. + 

He did not wake for a long time. + 