This week is a bunch of completely random old doodles I found while going through some old books. There's something extremely satisfying about getting all your notebooks together and seeing which ones still have space for more thoughts.
This first doodle could do with some explanation though, as an insight. I have some pretty intense dreams at times that are vivid and stay with me. A lot of the time they're frightening and terrible, but ultimately forgetable. Occasionally I have a dream that sticks with me because it made ome kind of impact, so I try to write it down or draw a little doodle. This was one of those doodles, which keeps this frightening scene in my mind, even years later.
I was hiding in an alley and there was some kind of monster at the other end, so I looked for an escape. To the right was a steel staircase leading to a rusty steel door. It screamed with friction as i pushed it open, revealing a dark, wet room. At the time I had a small dog called Remi, who ran excitedly between my legs and into the darkness, yapping as she went.
Everything inside me wanted to stay on the outside, choosing the fear I knew over the unknown possibilities that lay ahead. All I could hear inside was metal scraping and water dripping. Something threatening moved within. I had to get Remi, so I forced myself inside, whispering her name. I stood on a catwalk, that felt like those old warehouse offices, overlooking the production floor. There was a control panel and some other machinery, and a trench dug into the floor that led down a rickety staircase to the floor below.
I flipped some levers and tapped on some dials, which turned on a few lights behind me. I still couldn't see much, but I made out a few shapes below. One was a large beast moving slowly and labouriously through the trench that circled more machinery on the floor.
As my eyes focused, I could make out the beast some more. It was smooth and kind of scaly, but it was covered in a thick translucent mucus that slowly flowed over its surface. The thing looks in pain and let out a low moan as it dragged itself through the trench. That sound of scraping metal was coming from its chains that locked it in place and forced it to travel its journey over and over again.
In the corner on the far side of the room, I spotted Remi running out through a hole in the wall, so I started down the stairs to the floor, and the beast. It seemed to take forever and it was terrifying. I knew that every step was a risk that the beast would hear me and start heading in my direction. I was following its trench, but it was stuck circling the machines that held the center of the room.
What followed was a long and drawn out set of movements where I crept down the stairs, then over to the machines. I knew if I flicked the right levers and got it all running again, I'd be free and it would all be over. The beast kept circling and scraping its chains, so every so often I'd have to leave the lights and levers to hide by the wall and wait for it to pass. I'm glossing over this sequence because it was horrific and tense, but ultimately repetitive and without time. Such is the way of dreams I suppose. It's easy to get caught in a loop.
Eventually, of course, I was discovered and had to run for my life as the mucus laden beast pulled at its chains in an effort to chase me down. I don't know what happened to Remi in the end, but I think she got away. Needless to say I woke up pretty shaken and gave the real Remi lots of hugs, much to her surprise.
Not that dogs ever want to turn down hugs, so I'm sure she didn't mind.