B and the Magic Ring: times at the Rat Shack

I just had the most amazing epic dream about a magic ring that almost got me killed… In the dream I was younger and back in high school. Having just gone through a break up I was exploring a new suitor, a nice guy who I liked very much. He played guitar for a small band of misfits who all hung out in a backyard clubhouse that was known as the Rat Shack. I knew the place of course, and I loved the guys there, it was a spot my ex often frequented though not nearly as often and since I’d started seeing someone new I hadn’t needed to worry about him coming around. Micah, my ex, found me at my locker, causing me slight panic. I took a cursory glance around the halls to look for my boyfriend but came up short. With a swift dump of my books and a slam of my locker I whipped around to face him and, shooting a measured look laced with venom, asked what he wanted. He claimed he had something for me, something I’d left in his car if I would just come grab it real quick. Nervous Id be labeled as unfaithful if I followed him out of the school, I hesitated before scrambling behind. He parked in a far off lot most people ignored and his car was stuffed with trash. I wasn’t sure how he could find anything in there. From out the side of the door he pulled a small silver banded ring with three stones cut into unrecognizable characters like something from an ancient language. It wasn’t mine, I’d never seen anything like it before… but I felt immediately drawn to it, like an overwhelming sensation to put it on and protect it. I told him as much as he slipped it onto my hand where it glowed in response to touching my skin, the sparkling red and orange stones bled to an icy blue and then the brightest green where they stayed. Something ancient in me called back to it and I twisted the band around my finger, aware of the trace of heat it left. I climbed into the front seat of Micah’s car to talk to him about what he’d found but he swore he hadn’t had anyone else in his car, the ring just popped up. A knock on the window made me jump a mile, it was a police officer leaning against the car on his forearms. His eyes were bulging and darting around nervously making me uncomfortable, but when he motioned for me to roll down my window I obeyed. “Hey guys, didn’t mean to startle you, we’re providing random vehicle checks here at the school and we would really like it if you’d get out of the car for us.” I nodded in agreement and the officer left to grab his buddy. Something about the situation felt off, and without even realizing it, I slipped the ring off into my pocket where its energy thrummed against the side of my leg. I looked at Micah and told him we needed to get out of there but he was already on it, eyeing the cops suspiciously as they congregated near us. When he told me to hold on I snapped my seat belt into its lock and pushed against the back of the seat as he peeled out of the parking spot backwards, racing down a decline in reverse right along the edge of a town side drop off that went into a deep lake. I felt a wheel brush over the ledge and closed my eyes as he recovered, throwing the car into drive and speeding forward onto the main road. “So, you seeing anyone new?” He asked breathily, a bad attempt to lighten the mood. “No.” I lied through gritted teeth, hating the way my heart hammered in my chest. I heard the sirens first but it wasn’t until we took the incline of an overpass that I saw the red and blue lights flashing toward us. I felt sick to my stomach and without knowing what I was doing I slipped the ring back on my finger and cradled it against my mouth asking it to protect us. Suddenly the ring was floating off my finger and hovering before me, growing and thickening into a wide circle with a small hole in its center. Bubbles traced up its body, clinging to the glowing green ring as if it were submerged in water. When I touched it, it turned red. Bullets whizzed at the car but they never hit, they fell short as though stopped by an invisible wall and the next thing I knew the vehicle that chased us was careening off the side of the road. I had a bad feeling the situation wasn’t a one off thing. I think Micah felt it too because he assured me he knew the perfect place to go. I all but screamed when he pulled into the Rat Shack. Despite my growing fear I knew he’d brought us to the right place. “I lied.” I told him sheepishly, “I’ve been seeing one of these guys for a minute.” He raised his eyebrows at me but didn’t have anything to say to that. I fingered the ring in my pocket nervously as we got out of the car. Walking through the backyard fence I looked for my BF but found the space empty and moved into the clubhouse attached the parents house. The space was old with wooden paneled walls and a dark brown carpet that was a little too plush. The boys had set it up like a miniature studio / record shop, selling drinks, snacks, and unwanted records to anyone who wanted to drop by and hang out but wasn’t a main part of the group— I.e my ex. One of the boys there was named Hunter even though I kept thinking his name was Cole. He was big into the macabre and could often be found reading demon indexes and other mythical lore pertaining to our old world. He was blonde but had the attitude of a black cat. He didn’t want to help but gave in when my boyfriend came out of the main house to greet me. This is where the dream gets fuzzy :( essentially he told us the ring was from a different time and place but that it had chosen a timeline to plant itself in, seeking protection from someone pure of heart. Hunt warned us that many more dark beings would be around to try and take the ring from me and that they were powerful on their own but with the ring they would have the means to take over the world. It was up to me to wield its power and destroy all the time jumping demons who sought to kick start earths apocalypse. There was an epic battle at the end of the dream where I planted the ring into a folded up stapled piece of card stock and had created a few decoys around the house hoping it might trick the “final boss” into thinking he’d found the right ring so he might leave our world, allowing me to seal the gate shut behind him preventing any others from slipping through. His daughter, a tall, thin, beautiful blonde (she chose to present as human) killed him herself and was kicking my ass. At the end of the dream she realized where the real ring was hidden and was prepared to take it from me. She’d thrown me against a wall so hard my skull was bleeding. She came up and kissed me once, lightly, it felt like a send off and then I woke up.