Get her out of there

“Please don’t send me back,” Emma said, beet-red. “People keep dreaming me. I can’t hide as easily in the Dreaming.”

“You’re trying to hide?” Johanna said.

“Wouldn’t you?” Emma said, squirming.

Johanna paused. Emma looked around nervously again, arms clutched back against herself.

“Okay, ask a stupid question I guess,” Johanna said. “And I guess the fact you give people dreams of… that, when you’re near them, doesn’t exactly make people want to take you in.”

Emma blushed deeper.

“I thought it would be easier, out here,” Emma mumbled. “Not getting called to someone’s dream constantly. At least there, there was just one person. Here, I’ve been trying to find somewhere quiet, and there’s always more people, and they either stare or they’re sleeping and they end up…”

Johanna remembered the people she’d seen streaking through the building, and nodded in understanding.

“Well, offhand I don’t know any way to banish a nightmare, so this is new territory for me,” Johanna said. “And you look pretty harmless, though if you’re going to sprout horns or whatever, I’d appreciate a warning.”

“I won’t,” Emma said squeakily.

“Honestly, you seem like a laugh,” Johanna said. “Come on then.”

“What?” Emma said.

“May not know what to do with you, but leaving you here seems like a bad idea,” Johanna said. “Hilarious idea admittedly, but I got paid to deal with your weirdness, so off you pop.”

Johanna started walking. She eyed the lift for a moment, determining if she trusted it to work, before shrugging. If there was no other haunting going on, she wouldn’t mind skipping the stairs for once.

She called it, then glanced back to see Emma fidgeting, following along. She was a jumpy one, Johanna reflected.

The lift beeped. Johanna went in, and offered a hand to Emma; the nude nightmare darted in after her, understandably not taking her hand. Johanna bit her lip, trying not to chuckle.

“So. You always like that?” Johanna said, totally not sneaking a glance down.

It was genuinely impressive how deeply she could blush.

“It’s how I was made,” Emma said. “Not always in this body. I’m… a genre, I guess. This is me, and people who visit me, and…”

“So you just kinda make it happen?” Johanna said.

“If someone drifts off,” Emma said. “I don’t control it. Dreams around me… change, and it’s so wild here, they keep waking in the dreams and…”

The lift door opened. A naked woman was running up and down the hallways, awkwardly looking at every door, apparently lost - she saw the lift open and yelped, sprinting away down the hall.

“That?” Johanna said.

“That,” Emma echoed shyly.

Johanna chuckled, and started to absently walk down the corridor ahead of them. Still covering up with her arms, Emma walked after her. She started to hesitate as Johanna neared the front door; Johanna glanced back at her.

“You can stay inside if you want, but I don’t see that being any kind of solution,” Johanna said. “I can probably get you out of town if you want, somewhere quieter - no people, no dreams, nothing like that. Sound good?”

Emma’s eyes widened. “S-sounds perfect,” she said.

“Perfect,” Johanna said. “Just got to walk to my car. It’s only a couple of blocks.”

Emma squeaked; Johanna laughed playfully.

“Wow, you are easy,” Johanna said. “Kidding, it’s right outside. Not far at all.”

“Oh,” Emma said. She flushed. “That was mean.”

“I’m a Constantine, luv,” Johanna said.

With that, she pushed open the door. Emma made another high-pitch squeal at the cool evening breeze, but clung close behind Johanna, nervously peering out over her shoulder.

Striding more casually, Johanna walked out to where her car was parked, on the side of the road. She waved to her friend.

“Do you mind walking back? I feel like this one’s going to be shy,” Johanna said.

Realising someone else was there, Emma pulled her head back, just a glimpse of her bare side visible. Johanna did her best to keep a straight face.

“Er…”

“Oh, relax, pretty sure she’s harmless,” Johanna said. “Sorted the problem anyway. I see why your client kept mum with the details.”

“So she’s…” the other woman said. She paused. “This isn’t going to be another Ellie is it Jo?”

“Hey, that was one time!” Johanna said. “I mean it, she’s no danger. Just got to sort a couple of details out.”

She reached the car; no sooner had she opened the door than did Emma dive inside it.

“Well, be seeing you,” Johanna said, before slipping into the car herself.

It was getting late enough that the streets ought to be fairly quiet. Still, her nude passenger kept fairly low. Johanna offered a quick wave out the window as she pulled off.

This line of work was nothing of not a recipe for surprises. Johanna glanced up into the mirror, making sure Emma was still curled up in the back seat.

“So, do dreams, like, need to eat?” Johanna said.

“What?”

“Just wondering if you’ll need supplies,” Johanna said. “Or did you just run away to end up somewhere quieter?”

“I-I’ll be fine,” Emma said. “I just wanted somewhere to myself.”

“Well, I can do you that. Can’t promise the comfiest of stays immediately mind you,” Johanna said.

“I’ll be okay,” Emma said.

Johanna yawned, turning a corner. She sighed.

“I’ll be picking up a coffee first mind you,” Johanna said. “Driving in and out of the city at this hour wasn’t on my to-do list. Do you want anything?”

“I’ve never had coffee,” Emma said.

“Guess caffeine and dreams don’t go together huh?” Johanna said. “Well, you can stay in the car, unless you want to come out?”

A squeak was her only answer. Johanna smiled to herself.

Okay, maybe she ought to focus more. An embodiment of nightmares about public nudity, perpetually naked herself, and who twisted all dreams near her into embarrassing journeys. That was… new.

Johanna paused; she glanced at the clock, and made a face.

“Ugh. Is late,” Johanna said. “This drive is gonna suck.”

“Um. Sorry?” Emma said.

“Don’t apologise,” Johanna said. She paused. “Okay, question. That dream-control thing you do.”

“I don’t mean to, I promise!” Emma said.

“Relax about that,” Johanna said. “All that sleep-walking, people ending up out of their apartments, hallucinating… Does that always happen?”

“I haven’t been in this world for more than a few weeks. I don’t know how it all works,” Emma said. “I think it was just… that place. Too many entry-points to the Dreaming, it was overwhelming, and I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

“Is it dangerous, to wake them?” Johanna said.

“No. I didn’t want them to know I was there,” Emma said, still flushed.

“Hm,” Johanna said.

Well, it sounded as though Emma could theoretically be less dangerous, anyway. These days, Johanna reflected, she could kill for her nightmares being about something as simple as public nudity.

She paused. That was almost a terrible idea proposing itself.

She didn’t want to drive all the way out the city to find some quiet, secluded shelter for the runaway nightmare, and she didn’t want to have the same dream again. There was a hypothetical solution to both of those problems.

“Say…” Johanna began.