Jude doesn't dream either. The reason he uses 'dream' and 'nightmare' is because those are the words he's heard the family use. They describe access to a reality that does not feel real, that even contradicts what people know to be true. For Jude, the bounds of reality have always been pushed out much further. He is like a fish trying to explain water.
Sitting on the bench, Jude sank into his thoughts. He remembered seeing Courtland from that place on the floor, but in that moment, with blood on his hands, he hadn't really been here. In those moments, he was only half listening to the people in the room, because the rest of him was listening to Them. He could hear Their murmurs, Their encouragements, Their plans. They told him what to do next. He was only a child, but in his mind's eye, he could see enormous tunnels, brightly-lit laboratories, crimson lasers, people in white coats arguing with one another. Sometimes he saw a lone person bent over their desk, their hands in their hair; the person would then look to their computer, and their face would change. They needed a rip in the tightly-woven fabric of space and time to join Jude and his kind. Money was needed to forge the dagger that would tear that tapestry. Courtland was just one of many patrons, as the family went from estate to estate, rattling their tin cup.
Jude hadn't talked to Them since he ran away. He didn't want to hear what They had to say.
Someone was calling down to him. He couldn't make out the word, but he heard the sound. He shouted back, "Yes?" It wouldn't matter if Near shut the door. No door was shut for Jude.
Sitting on the bench, Jude sank into his thoughts. He remembered seeing Courtland from that place on the floor, but in that moment, with blood on his hands, he hadn't really been here. In those moments, he was only half listening to the people in the room, because the rest of him was listening to Them. He could hear Their murmurs, Their encouragements, Their plans. They told him what to do next. He was only a child, but in his mind's eye, he could see enormous tunnels, brightly-lit laboratories, crimson lasers, people in white coats arguing with one another. Sometimes he saw a lone person bent over their desk, their hands in their hair; the person would then look to their computer, and their face would change. They needed a rip in the tightly-woven fabric of space and time to join Jude and his kind. Money was needed to forge the dagger that would tear that tapestry. Courtland was just one of many patrons, as the family went from estate to estate, rattling their tin cup.
Jude hadn't talked to Them since he ran away. He didn't want to hear what They had to say.
Someone was calling down to him. He couldn't make out the word, but he heard the sound. He shouted back, "Yes?" It wouldn't matter if Near shut the door. No door was shut for Jude.