

Demon Budgeting

Dreamed 2011/9/27 by Wayan

I find myself trapped in a rerun of a cop show--not a shoot-em-up, an ensemble drama set in an enlightened San Francisco precinct, as much social work as crime fighting. I recall the scene I'm in--saw it years ago. A female cop I think is cute, one of my favorite characters, visits a little house in the Marina district, and finds the single mom she sought is out, but left the door unlocked and her toddler there alone, trying to reach for food. Mom is a decent sort but clearly overwhelmed; the cop was forced to bring in social services. An angry demon pounds on the door. Dream sketch by Wayan. Click to enlarge.

But the scene I'm in doesn't go the way I remember, at all. I'm a cop without backup--either here ahead of the TV cop, or instead of her. Alone, I find the door unlocked and baby crying, so I have to go in for the kid's sake. My cop instincts lock the door behind me to be safe.

As I find and pick up the baby... Boom! Knock on the door. BOOM! Like thunder.

Can't be the mom--she'd have a key. Peer through the curtain...

A hulking man, pop-eyed, glaring, veins bulging... with horns. A demon! Lurid-colored, it seems more Tibetan than Christian. I can't possibly fight it--and not just because I'm too small. Such demons can possess people who fight, turn them into temporary demons.

Silent. Lie low. Boom! BOOM! It tests the lock, rattles the door, but doesn't smash the door in. Maybe, like a vampire, it can't enter uninvited. Bearded cheerleader with helmet and spear says 'Rah Rah' . Dream sketch by Wayan. Click to enlarge.

At last, it leaves.

But later I'm back at the precinct... and the demon's there before me. And it knows its stuff. Possessed the precinct captain! Takes over a lieutenant, too. Both men's faces bulge, turn blotchy colors, chins bulge, then cheeks, noses... no horns, so the demon can't manifest fully or control both simultaneously, but it can distort them, make them both furious, building to a quarrel. Creepy, but at least the demon's stretched so thin I figure the rest of us are safe for now. A Tibetan demon possesses two cops, who fight each other. Dream sketch by Wayan. Click to enlarge.

Some cops try to play peacemakers, but this IS a police station, so the chorus line of Greek heroes that's resident in every American police station is delighted that their officers are losing it and joining the saintly ranks of berserkers.

"Fight! Fight!" yell the Greek heroes. Well, they're not all Greek--there's a Blonde Barbarian or two in the mix. But in their little blue and white Greek tunics (except for the sequined pink kilts of the Barbarians) they just seem like the butchest, ugliest cheerleader squad in history. With spears.

Gleefully the Hero Squad drags the two blotchy officers out onto the Marina baseball fields to fight.

We cross a footbridge. I pause and toss a discus over the stream. Wobbly, weak toss--it skips once and goes under.

So much for my Olympic chances. Not all of us are cheerleader (oops) hero material.

I tell the other lieutenant "Don't worry. It looks bad, but this demon can't possess either guy longterm."

"Why not?"

"Well, the show's special effects budget isn't huge, and getting their faces to pop out like that really costs. They're blowing it all on this one fight scene--it can't last long. After this you can go back to, you know, real acting."

He looks relieved. I told you, they're more into social work than fighting. Takes a demon to prod them into it.

Notes in the Morning
An alien grows spikes, horns and colored cheek patches when angry. Dream sketch by Wayan. Click for dream text.

'Speak of the Devil', cover of comic by Gilbert Hernandez. Click to enlarge.

Later That Day

LISTS AND LINKS: TV dreams - I'm Just Not Myself Today! - identity-bent dreams - weird dream jobs - cops - parenting & babies - hunted! - nightmares - weird dream beings - demons - transformation - anger & violence - heads & faces - color in dreams - masks & disguises - dream health advice - predictive dreams - dream ESP in general - an earlier Hernandez-inspired dream: Bonk Veronica
