It was always beautiful here! There was warmth, and love, and laughter here. There were no alarm clocks or cars. No buildings, or smog or nuclear weapons. It felt safe and that felt very good indeed. Duncan had friends here, and they were allot better than the ones where he came from. These friends didn't want anything from him except his friendship. Duncan could be himself, something he could never be back home. This place was magical and Duncan never wanted to leave.

     The sound of rushing water was everywhere as Duncan lay by the river. He loved to lie in the grass and watch the dragons fly overhead. Sometimes his friend Hossh would let Duncan fly with him, but not today. Mating season was beginning for the dragons. Since dragons only mate every twenty-five years or so, they did not want to be bothered. Duncan didn't mind really, but he didn't understand either. Mating rituals or things like that took too much time and effort; they always gave him a headache.

     He could see Hossh now, soaring high above the other dragons, his golden hide shining in the sun. Hossh was the greatest of the dragons. He was the biggest, strongest and the smartest. The other dragons knew this and they loved him for it. Duncan thought that Hossh was everything he himself wanted to be. He watched now as the females began to fight amongst themselves, trying to decide which of them would have the honor of mating with Hossh. Duncan wondered why the women back home hadn't done that with him? After all, he wasn't a bad looking sort. At least he didn't think he was. He thought for a moment, trying to picture himself. He had a vague memory of short black hair and brown eyes. Wait, maybe hazel? He didn't want to think about it. He was getting a headache again.

     Duncan settled into the grass and returned his attention to the dragons. "wish I could do that," he mused aloud. "I’d fly above the clouds and touch the face of the universe." He envied the dragons that they could fly while he could only dream about it.

     "ya still don't get it, do ya kid?", Came from the rivers edge. Duncan recognized the voice of Spitt, the Snargg. "how many times do I gotta tell ya? You can do anything ya want in dis place. Dere's no limit to what ya can do. None'o dis is real."

     Duncan sat up fast. "now look, you twit! I don't have time for your ridiculous ideas today!"

     Spitt smiled, if you could call it that. "please, pardon me all to heck," he grumbled moistly.

     Wiping his face, Duncan thought how good it would be to have a hand grenade right then. Then again, he didn't know how to use a grenade, so what good would it do? The Snargg hauled himself out of the river and shook mightily. He was a homely little creature with a Green lizard-like hide, and bulging reptilian eyes. He was all of four foot tall, with stubby legs and a hunched torso. His head was huge and it had strange patches of hair here and there.

     "ya wanna fly, kid? I can fly. I'll take ya with me, if you think you got the guts."

     Duncan knew that Spitt enjoyed putting him on the spot. He hated to be challenged like that. He could feel his head starting to pound, when a rustling sound overhead distracted him from the pain.

     "what's all this, then," came the booming voice of Hossh. "trying to fill the lads head with more of your foolish ideas again, toad?" His emerald eyes glowed red as he glared at the Snargg from above. Spitt, who didn't feel like being bothered, reached a bony hand into the river. He then pulled something resembling a bazooka from the water. With lightning speed he took aim and fired. It was a direct hit. Dragon parts rained down and Duncan recoiled in horror.

     "Hah! See what I told ya? You can do anything here. Ya want a bazooka, ya get a bazooka. It's that easy." The Snargg tossed the weapon back into the river.

     "you killed him!" Duncan screamed. "you've killed Hossh!"

     "ya can't kill what ain't real, ya dingbat! The big lizard'll pull himself together in a while. I just needed some time ta show ya somethin'." Once again, Spitt reached into the river. Duncan thought of trying to attack the Snargg before he could pull some other horrible weapon from the water. He might not be fast enough though, so he thought better of it. "ya know what yer problem is? Yer a yella belly, that's why yer here." The Snargg pulled what looked to be a sandwich out of the river and tossed it at Duncan.

     "I hope you don't expect me to eat this," duncan said weakly.

     "naw, I expect ya ta use it as a hockey puck! Just eat it and shaddup! That's a fillet of flying fish sandwich. It's guaranteed ta make ya fly." Duncan, now feeling more than a little intimidated, did as he was told. It occurred to him that this was the first thing he'd had to eat since he got here. Oddly, the sandwich had no taste, but who cared? Duncan couldn't remember what fish tasted like anyhow. Suddenly, Spitt grabbed his hand and leapt into the air.

     Duncan felt exhilarated as they rose into the sky. It felt like god had breathed the breath of life back into him. It had never felt like this when he'd flown with Hossh. "poor Hossh," he thought, "Spitt better not be lying to me. If he is, he'll share your fate, old friend. After all, if I can do this, I can do anything."

     Duncan didn't know where they were going and he really didn't care. He was flying and that was all that mattered. He'd barely noticed passing through a cloud moments before. He was oblivious to everything but the joy, and would happily have stayed that way had it not been for the ragged voice of Spitt, the Snargg.

     "See them windows up there? " Duncan could see two large oval shaped lights in the distance. "those are the windows to the world, kid. All ya gotta do is take a peek an they'll tell ya all ya need TA know."

     Duncan knew that he couldn't trust Spitt but he was curious. He flew as close to one of the windows as possible and peered out. "oh my god!", He cried and fell back, numbed by what he had seen. He had to know if what he'd witnessed was real so he took a second look. There were people looking into the windows and not just any people, either. His mother and father, and someone he did not know, though he suspected he was a doctor, by the look of him. "Mother!" , he shrieked, though she didn't seem to hear him. The numbness gone, he whirled to face the Snargg. Grabbing him by the throat, Duncan snarled, "What the hell is this? Am I dead? Where the hell are we, toad?" The Snargg, of course, couldn't respond. Duncan knew he'd better not kill the creature or he might never get an answer to this riddle.

     Spitt took several deep breaths as Duncan released his grip. "sheesh," he sighed, rubbing His throat. "ya try'n do a guy a favor and he tries TA choke ya ta death! Ain't ya figured it out yet? Ya ain't dead, this ain't somewh ere over da rainbow! Yer in a coma! We're in yer head an those're yer eyes. Ain't none a this is real, 'cept what ya see out there." Duncan turned once more to the windows (eyes?) As he heard a sound like a blowtorch being turned on. Moments later, the Snargg was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

     "good heavens dear boy, are you well?" It was Hossh, and Duncan was glad to see his friend alive again.

     "I’m fine," he assured the dragon.

     "I’m glad to hear it, lad. I was afraid that vile creature had done something terrible to you. Thank the dragon lord you are safe."

     Duncan looked at the pile of ash and thought, "Spitt was telling the truth about Hossh. What if he was telling the truth about everything else? And if so, why didn't Hossh tell me?"

     There was a look of uneasiness on the dragons face. "come, friend Duncan. We must get you away from this place, there is much evil here. Climb upon my back, that I may take you home where you will be safe. You do want to be safe, don't you?"

     If there had been doubt in Duncan’s mind before, the dragons words served to drive it Away. "no! I'm sick to death of being safe! You told me all this was real, that I was in another place far from earth, but that was a lie! We're inside my head aren't we?" The look of uneasiness on the dragons face turned to fear. "Spitt was telling the truth, wasn't he? You've just been trying to keep me here so you could live!"

     Hossh reared back, taking in a deep breath. Duncan reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a bazooka. With lightning speed Duncan took aim and fired. It was a direct hit! At that moment everything went black.

     William Carlton reached for his wife's hand. He knew how hard this was for her, but It had to be done. Irreversible, the doctors had said. The bottle of sleeping pills his

     Son had swallowed had done their job. Brain activity had ceased, there was no reason to put it off any longer. They'd already signed the papers. All that was left was to say good-bye.

     Barbara reached out to her son, brushing the hair back from his forehead. "if only I could have done more," she thought. "where did we go wrong?"

     "Mr. And Mrs. Carlton," said a doctor as he entered the room. "it's time."

     William and Barbara started to leave. Barbara looked back at her son one last time, her vision blurred by tears. They started down the hall, slowly. Every footstep seemed heavier than the last, every minute seemed like an eternity. Suddenly the door behind them opened and the doctor stepped into the hall.

     "Mr. And Mrs. Carlton wait!" There was a mixture of excitement and bewilderment in the doctor's voice. “you’re not going to believe this! I can't believe it myself! Your son Duncan has regained consciousness!"

     Duncan looked up at his parents through eyes filled with tears. "mom, I’m so sorry," he whispered.

     "try not to exert yourself son," Barbara said weakly. "we just thank god you're alive." It was a moment filled with so many emotions.

     William squeezed Duncan’s hand. "hang in there, okay? Your mom and I are going to leave now. The doctors are going to run a few tests on you. They want to see if you're going to be alright. We'll see you in a while."

     Duncan sighed as the nurse shot something into his arm. He was glad to be back among Th e alarm clocks and the smog and even the nuclear weapons. He was just happy to be home. He thought that he would never leave again.

     "see what I told ya, kid?" The voice seemed to come from all around him.

     Duncan smiled. "is that you, spitt?"

     " 'course it's me. Who were ya expectin', Kermit the frog?"

     Duncan tried to laugh but it hurt too much. "I thought you were dead."

     "how many times I gotta tell ya, ya can't kill what ain't real. An anyhow, ya can't get ridda me that easy. You might as well get used ta havin' me around, 'cause I’m gonna be here for a long time."

     Duncan felt good about that. "what happened to Hossh? I can't seem to remember."

     "ha! The big lizard's gone fer now. How long he stays gone is up ta you. I'll help ya all I can but yer the only one who can make sure he don't come back."

     Duncan settled back into his pillow. He felt more alive than he had in a very long time. No matter what the future had in store, he could handle it. He could do anything as long as he believed in himself.