Elevate

What brings you here on such a night,
under satellite?
The sirens echo like it’s such a chore.
Oh, the blood and mortar.

I escaped to a quiet resort, into
a room full of all sorts of people,
people who remain, waiting to be elevated.
Out of order.

Fixated on those who reside above.
Separated from the commotion of a world ending.
I never noticed them before,
they who never stop fighting for more.

And the echo reaches us, but they stay,
come what may.
Sirens screech on repeat, each time
more unaware of how it started.

We will be fighting to come out on top
until here and now is there and then,
even after the bombs send us to oblivion.

***

So here’s my attempt and getting back into transcribing my dreams.

It began with a siren. Like air raid sirens but not. There were no planes in the sky. I remember seeing a torrent of vehicles in standstill traffic. Knowing there was no way I was going to get out of the bomb zone through that, I drove through yards, parks, etc. It wasn’t long after I left that the explosion came. It was like a targeted strike from a satellite. The destruction of an entire city happened in an instant basically out of nowhere. I nearly wrecked between watching the pillar of fire in my rear view mirror and the resulting shockwave. I kept driving through the countryside until I eventually came up on a little resort several hundred miles away, a resort that seemed completely out of place with the rest of the scenery I had uttered demolished on my way there. It was as if no one had cared to let them know of their imminent demise. Or maybe it was because they really were safe here. And it was that thought that convinced me to take up shelter there, if only for a moment.

Inside a hotel, I stopped to catch my breath and get a drink, still shaking from what had just happened and terrified that I still might not be out of danger’s reach. I made a few frantic phone calls and only got one answer. A friend. He told me that I was the intended target and to destroy my phone immediately. Panicked, I hung up and smashed it with my foot. Something told me that I was too late. Surely they knew where I was. And surely I’ve unintentionally killed so many innocent lives. “Why run?” I think. “What’s the point? I can get rid of the phone but I’m sure I’ll be spotted by a camera eventually. And only more people will die.” (Quick note: I never actually questioned why I was being targeted so maybe I was up to no good)

So at this point, I have no idea what to do next. I head for the door but then I stop and wonder again if that’s the correct decision. Can I really live out this man hunt? Probably not, but every fiber of my being wants to try it’s damnedest to survive. I continue marching toward the toward when an overly crowded elevator room catches my eye. It’s practically filled to the brim with people with just barely enough room for a single person to squeeze through. I’m not sure what drew me in but I went in. The whole room was fairly quiet despite all the people, which is what really confused me. Scanning the room for why the hell everyone is just standing around, I see an elevator door. The light above the door is lit on the number 27, the last number. But there’s a sign on the elevator door. Out of order.

Reading the sign gives me a sort of vertigo. I don’t understand. I can’t understand. But at the same time I don’t want to break the silence in the room. Why are they all here? And I as turn about, looking for some semblance of evidence as to what could be so important, I notice that they’re all people of color. I feel my eyes about to cry so I stare back at the sign as I try my best to inconspicuously wipe my face. And then I hear the sirens again. I immediately look for the door but I hesitate again. And I look at all the faces around me. I can tell that they’ve heard it too, that they know what it means. But not even a single one of them leaves. They all just stand there waiting on an elevator that will never come.

And in the moment that I try to warn them, try to get them to run, I wake up.

***

Hope you liked it! I’ll try to stay away from pushing what I think it means to the forefront and let you make your own connections!