sometime in 1996 . . .
the slides
I was at some sort of day camp, possibly related to a sport.
My mother was in charge of a group of women on one team, and I was there to run errands for her.
Everyone was eating barbecued things.
One woman caught my attention.
She was actually getting fatter as she ate.
Others around her jokingly muttered, "Not again."
Once she had become quite large, she began to dance around, and fell to the ground.
A strange smile spread across her face, and she began running toward a nearby lake.
A bridge spanned the lake, and I had a memory of standing on it looking down at the water at some point.
The woman reached the water and jumped in.
She immediately disappeared beneath the surface.
I thought I was the only one who noticed, but when I turned around, everyone in the area was moving toward the water with one woman leading them, a determined expression on her face.
She seemed to be angry at the water.
As people reached the shore and began jumping in, the scene turned to chaos.
People were drowning everywhere. Yet more kept moving into the water to help others. My mom was near the shore, and was one of the few still standing.
I cautiously walked into the water near where she stood, intending to ask her what was going on.
The water was much deeper than it seemed, however, and I was instantly in over my head.
My shoes stuck in the mud at the bottom, and it seemed that the like itself was actually trying to drown me.
I pulled frantically at my feet, trying to jump to the surface about a foot above me, but I couldn't.
Calming down, I pulled my feet out of my shoes and removed the gloves I had been wearing.
I swam to the shore, being careful not to touch bottom, and climbed out of the water.
Later, I was with others in a lodge or cabin that looked like a sort of restaurant.
We were talking about the incident.
A woman commented that it was sad that people died, but it was worth it. I didn't understand what she meant.
The scene changed, and I was with a few people my age in a small room with several washing machines and about a foot of mud on the floor.
The mud must have been from the lake, as it was pulled at our feet with every step.
I was sitting on a machine, and suggested that we go to 'the slides.'
Several people looked at me as if my suggestion were incredible.
I've encountered the slides before in another past dream.
They are located in a There is a large underground swimming pool area that is dark with dim bluegreen lights in various places.
Pipelines and nettgin run along the walls.
On the cement pool deck are round holes about 5 feet wide.
A plastic liner forms a tunnel in each one, and water pours down the tunnel with you as you slide.
On the wall above each hole are carved symbols and names of different 'gods' and 'demons.'
The tunnels lead almost straight vertically downward to another very deep pool below, and upon reaching the end of a tunnel, you must throw something into the symbol of a corresponding entity on the wall of the lower room.
Something very bad will happen to those who don't comply.
I don't believe this, and have dared to go down the tunnel before without fulfilling the requirement.
A few of us went down to the pool. One girl jumped into one of the holes right away, reaching the lower area in just a few seconds.
Her voice was suddenly in my mind, asking, "Quick, what's the Greek name of ____ (a demon's name)?"
I didn't know the answer, and I don't know what became of her.
A fat guy went next. When he reached the bottom, he cried out in pain.
Alarmed, two others jumped into a single tunnel, and I was sure one was going to land on the other at the bottom.
I jumped last, and when I reached the bottom only the fat guy was there. He seemed fine.
Later, however, I was in a hospital room, and the fat guy was in traction and covered in bandages and casts.
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