Cross Brick

I was in a compound: a factory, storage, housing, hospital, all walled in. There were many buildings but everything ran together. Everything was dusty as well. The compound was lit by dull blue light, as if it were filtering in from dirty windows on a cloudy day. As such there were deep shadow. At best the high, skinny halls and prison like apartments were dimly lit. The walls were gray. The people too.

I’m not sure what we all did. But one day I was working in a dank factory room full of pipes. I was sweeping the floor. On a table in the middle of the room I noticed a strange brick. It was a little larger than the average clay brick, but otherwise the same. It was rough, light weight, and brown. Its color stood out from the rest of the gray in the dream. On one side I discovered a carved raised cross. No paint. Nothing fancy. Just a cross. Immediately I felt uneasy. With it in hand, I looked around cautiously, and decided to head back to my apartment and hide it.

Out in hall an alarm sounded. A voice came on over a scratchy intercom announcing a breach in security and that any suspicious objects should be reported immediately. There was a high probability of bombs or chemical weapons deposited in the compound. Immediately the hall filled with frantic people. They stared at my brown brick. My heart told me to hide the brick. I could not turn it in. They (compound management) would just destroy it. It was special and I could not allow that. I tucked it under my shirt so no one else would see it.

I wound my way through many halls. The voice came on again. There was a small brown object deposited in the compound. That object was extremely dangerous. No one was to touch it, if found, and it was to be reported immediately.

I looked around and saw that a few who had seen me with the brick were still near. They swiveled to face me. I ran. They chased.

Many daring and close encounters happen. I was trapped. I ran into a small garage of sorts. The buildings had all gone into a lock down and I could not open the large door. The sound of feet could be heard in the hall. I noticed the trash compactor built into the wall of the garage and jumped on it immediately. I threw the brick down the short shoot and crawled in after it. I remember clearly the cross brick sitting in the garbage in front of me. It resonated so strongly in me. I couldn’t surrender the brick now if I wanted to. My will was drained; but not in a bad way. It was more as though my resolve had solidified.

I plopped down into the trash bin. The one side was open to the compound. I felt a rush realizing I had made it out of the building. As I climbed out of the bin and lowered myself and the brick to the ground, I realized I was in the center of the compound. Walls and guards were all around. I was far from free. But I was out into the dim blue sun, and that was something.

Then I woke up.