Marathon of Dreams

By Jason Langin

What if your dreams could become reality? And not in the metaphorical sense but the real deal - if it happens in your dream it happens in real life. For teens Luke and Nathan, their abilities to dream will be put to the ultimate test as they partake in an international competition unlike anything they have ever experienced. In the Marathon of Dreams, the boys (and their competitors from all over the world) will use their unique dreaming abilities to concoct skills never before imaginable. If successful? The world's greatest prize. In this exciting adventure, culture, confidence, and camaraderie rise to the forefront in an unforgettable story for all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jason Langin
• Release date: Apr 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370399383

Jason Langin

Jason Langin is a middle school language arts teacher residing in the greenish suburbs of the great city of Philadelphia. A Brooklyn, NY native and graduate of Villanova University, Jason has published five novels for middle grade readers. He has two beautiful daughters. In his spare time, Jason enjoys writing, reading, riding roller coasters, listening to music that is much too loud for his age bracket, and performing with his improv troupe.

Book preview

The Marathon of Dreams

By Jason Langin

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2017 Jason Langin

Published by Jason Langin on Smashwords

Cover art by Reagan King

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Chapter One – Dreamers

People who insist on telling their dreams are among the terrors of the breakfast table. – Max Beerbohm

Man, I don’t believe that crap for one minute.

Why?

‘Cause. There’s no way you could remember all that stuff. You probably make it up each morning before you come here.

I’m tellin’ you, man, I don’t, Nathan said emphatically. I just have a good memory.

A good imagination is more like it.

It was lunchtime at Elston Howard Middle School in Detroit. And the conversation with Nathan Michaels and his friends was progressing as it usually did – with Nathan recounting his dreams from the night before and his friends not believing him.

Still, his friends always seemed to get a kick out of them. They were so creative and inventive; Nathan could barely believe that they came from his own head. But they did, and they weren’t made up. Nobody had dreams like Nathan did.

On this particular day, Nathan was telling about his dream in which his younger sister Ruthie and he were walking home from school. Besides the two of them, however, the normally busy city street was empty.

Suddenly, an army tank started plowing down the street headed towards them. Nathan grabbed his sister by the hand and tried to hurry her down one of the alleyways, but the buildings started moving, pushing close together and blocking any means of escape. Nathan and Ruthie started running as quickly as they could, but the tank was gaining on them easily.

It was then that Ruthie slipped and fell onto the street. Nathan looked back at his sister who was about to get squashed by the all-terrain vehicle. But instead of watching her come to a flattening end, he darted back towards her with supersonic speed. He was there in less than an instant, and then, picking his sister up in his arms, Nathan started spinning around like a top. In doing so, Nathan drilled a hole into the ground to safety.

Of course, the story always took on a little added somethin’ somethin’ as Nate would say as he reenacted the dreams sound effects and all.

You must have been reading Flash comics before you went to bed, Nate, Nathan’s friend Todd said with a laugh. That sounds like something he could do.

Hey, man, Nathan said. I’m just tellin’ you what happened.

The bell rang. It was time to go back to class. 

It was hard for Nathan to concentrate in his social studies class when he was still juiced up from talking to his friends. They often told him that his dreams were as good as watching an action movie. They were right.

Some nights, Nathan was a superhero. Other nights he was a kung fu warrior or an Air Force commander. There were no limits to what he could create in his mind.

The only problem with that mind of his was that it rarely stayed focused in his classes. He was often caught daydreaming or doodling in his notebooks. It all seemed so boring to him – wasn’t there something more exciting he could be doing?

Nathan!

Caught again.

Yes, Ms. Dilkins?

We were discussing the Wonders of the Ancient World.

Sounds great.

The class laughed. Nathan wondered what was so funny.

Can you answer my question, Nathan? his teacher asked in an exasperated tone.

Sure, Ms. Dilkins. Can you repeat it please?

The teacher sighed and shook her head. What is the only one of the Seven Wonders that still exists today?

Nathan wracked his brain to find the answer. He knew he had read something about that the night before in his textbook, but he was doing it while Batman was on television and couldn’t quite remember.

The Empire State Building?

The class laughed again.

No, Nathan. The Empire State Building is not quite that old. The answer of course is the Great Pyramid at Giza.

That was my second guess.

Of course it was, Nathan. Now if you’ll all turn to page 432 you’ll see…

But Nathan was no longer listening. He was thinking about pyramids. Pyramids held mummies. Mummies were cool.

Milo Olson sat back in his chair. He was thinking about how much Nunavut had changed since his childhood. His homeland was now an officially recognized Canadian territory.

For many years, Milo’s people had sought out the Inuit elder for his wisdom – not as Milo Olson, the famed tanner and skins maker, but as Last Wolf, the tribal spiritual advisor.

Milo was the oldest member of his tribe, and the last to recognize and practice the old ways. Milo was a well-needed reminder to his people of their past. In Native American symbolism, the wolf represented guidance. And since Milo was often looked to for guidance, he was known in tribal circles as Wolf, the Last Wolf.

On this particular occasion, the Last Wolf was dealing with a matter of personal importance. His great grandson Luke was visiting to recount one of his most recent dreams. As a strong believer in dreams and their meanings, Milo encouraged his great grandson to visit at every available opportunity. And those opportunities were coming with greater regularity than ever.

Milo felt a special closeness with Luke that he didn’t have with any of his other grandchildren. (He had 20 in total.) Luke was a quiet boy. While very proficient in school and at many traditional skills, there was still a certain disconnect between Luke and his peers. Sports, music, technology - these did not interest him in the least. Something set him apart from the others, and his parents couldn’t determine what the problem was.

But Milo didn’t see any problem at all. He knew his great grandson was special.

Hello, Great Grandpa, Luke said as he took a seat by the fire. Sorry to bother you again.

Milo laughed. Oh, how the young never understood what it meant to be truly bothered.

It is nothing, Milo said. Tell me, Luke. What is this newest dream of yours?

Nothing special, Great Grandpa, Luke said with a shrug. Just more animal stuff.

Oh. But what did I tell you about the importance of these animals?

You said they all meant something very important, and that we each have an animal that works as our guardian spirit. That’s why people call you Wolf.

Yes, Milo said nodding. That’s why I need to know about your new dream so I can see what our ancestors are telling you.

Luke proceeded to recount the events of his dream. In it, Luke was working outside his house gathering wood for the fireplace when he saw an eagle fly overhead. He watched as the eagle circled above his abode as if beckoning Luke to follow. Luke set down his logs and hurried after the great bird of prey. The eagle flew towards the nearby mountains and into one of the caves. Luke waited outside to see if the bird would return, but instead, a dog hurried out of the cave and approached Luke. He knelt to pet the dog, but the eagle never returned.

Indeed this is a powerful dream, great grandson, Milo said thoughtfully. I have told you before about the great eagle. Do you remember what it means?

You said the eagle stood for bravery. Luke listened with great reverence. He had learned to be patient with his elder. Unlike his peers, he had a true respect for the wisdom of the past, something he knew was missing from the modern era.

Yes. The eagle is the greatest symbol of courage. This dream tells me that you will be called upon in the near future to be courageous. You will be challenged, but you must not let this challenge make you foolish. Sometimes bravery and stupidity fall within the same category.

But why did the eagle leave, Great Grandpa? And what about the dog?

There are times for courage and times to be smart, Milo continued. Even the bravest of heroes must know what their limits are. You will reach your limit at some point, and courage will be outweighed by an even greater force – loyalty.

Loyalty?

Yes, loyalty. The dog represents the loyalty we hold for others – our family, our friends. You will be driven by your courage, but in the end your loyalty for your friends will win out and you will be a success.

Luke left his great grandfather’s cabin with the oddest feeling. He trusted the Last Wolf very much. He was very wise and knew much about the world and its ways. But this time, Luke was sure his great grandfather was mistaken.

Luke had no friends.

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Chapter Two – An Invitation to Dream

Keep true to the dreams of thy youth. – Friedrich von Schiller

It was 10:30 on Friday night – much later than Nathan’s parents usually allowed him to be out. However, they knew how excited he was to see the new Action-Man movie, and since the first showing he could get tickets for was at 8:00, they let him slide. Plus, he was going to be off the whole next week for midwinter break. But now that he was home, his parents told him that he should probably get to bed.

Nathan thought it would be impossible to fall asleep after all that great action he witnessed, but he was actually pretty tired. He slipped into his favorite pajama shorts and t-shirt and hopped into bed. He yawned, turned out the light, and curled the pillow up under his head.

But as he did, he noticed a crinkle from under his pillow. He figured he had left some comic books there from earlier in the day, but he flipped on the light switch to move them. He didn’t want to rip them like he did last week with his brand new Spider-Man.

However, his comics would remain safe. Instead, in his hand was a small piece of brown paper – almost like parchment that he had seen used for writing the Declaration of Independence. And on it was a note. It read:

Dreamers near and dreamers far.

Come one and all from wherever you are.

Your dreams are big – your dreams are grand.

Come bring your dreams to a wonderland.

But not some land of fairy tale fiction,

Where caterpillars speak and practice diction.

But a land where things are not as they seem,

For the things that are real are the things that you dream.

But to get there tonight you must wait.

You must stay up my friend until it is late.

For to enter this world of wondrous power,

You should wait to sleep till the witching hour.

And when you do, take care and beware,

Only come if you’re a dreamer extraordinaire!

What the heck was this?

Nathan was sure he had never seen it before. Maybe one of his buddies slipped it under his pillow earlier in the day. But that was impossible; nobody had been to his apartment all day and his friends couldn’t write a poem if their lives depended on it. Heck, they weren’t even smart enough to find one online! It didn’t make any sense.

He looked over at his clock – 11:24. Well, maybe he’d play along and wait to see what happened. The Spider-Man comic could use a reread anyway.

Luke read the note over and over again by the light of the moon. He wanted to bring the note to his great grandfather right away, but his parents would never allow him to leave at such a late hour. Plus, the snow had picked up greatly since he went to bed, and it wasn’t safe to be out alone. 

He turned on his desk lamp and looked at the poster on his wall. It was a print the Last Wolf had given him for his most recent birthday. It was a photo of a bear. The elder had told Luke once that the bear was his animal spirit. The bear is known as the dreamer because it hibernates each winter. The Wolf would often tell Luke that the bear knows things about the world that humans do not. Luke often wondered what things bears knew or what they possibly dreamed about.

But the dreams of bears were not what concerned Luke for the moment. He looked at his watch. He would wait until midnight.

It wasn’t hard for Luke to stay awake. His dreams of the past week had been enough to keep him awake for months. They weren’t quite nightmares, but they were disconcerting all the same. It was as if his dreams were trying to tell him something, but he wasn’t able to figure out what it was.

Luke yawned. He was tired, that was for sure. He looked again at his watch. It was 11:57. Finally, he could go to sleep, although he wasn’t sure what would happen to him when he did.

Within moments of his head touching the pillow, Nathan was sleeping. That was usually enough to send him off on some kind of great adventure within his mind. Who knew what exciting stories his brain would concoct on this night?

Nathan was such an experienced dreamer that on many occasions he could actually tell himself that he was dreaming. This was really helpful when he was having nightmares or any other sort of upsetting dream.

But in this particular situation, Nathan couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or not. Just moments after falling asleep, his vision became very cloudy. And the reason why it was so cloudy was because he was literally in the clouds!

Nathan looked around and saw that he was walking amongst the clouds. Standing before him was a tunnel of mist, through which Nathan could hear the sounds of people’s voices. He entered the cavern carefully and followed the noise. The feeling of stepping onto the clouds was indescribable. It was as if he were walking on nothing at all with