The city was laid out before me, it's glow much gentler than the black clouds above. With a gloved hand, I tugged my hat forward a shade. My eyes traced the barren streets and alleyways, and I didn't see a sign of anyone.
"It's the mystery," said a slightly metallic voice from behind me.
I turned to see her glowing form step from the shadows. She was literally glowing, strips of light embedded into her white outfit. It was as tight as a second skin, and even her face was powdered white.
Her heels clicked like a metronome as she stepped up beside me.
"You like to earn your answers." she said, staring at me with sky blue eyes. Her face stood out like a ghost with her black hair fading into the darkness.
"I was never one for a siren's song." I replied, remembering where I had seen her. I'm a bit of a Bogie fan, and playing with femme fatales never ends well. I walked away and doffed my hat, clipping it to the belt of my coat before slipping on my helmet. As I mounted my bike, she had another pearl of wisdom to share.
"You won't find your answer out there."
With one last look at her, I flicked down my visor and rode off.

There was a burst of dirt and gravel a few feet in front of me. I had ducked down to shield my face, then sprinted on through. The setting was different. It was during the day, the sky overcast, and this neighborhood had obviously seen better days. And I had a large silvery knife in each hand. And I heard running with scissors was bad.
I stopped before a corner and peeked around, seeing something large, metal, and bipedal. I didn't bother to look any higher than it's legs, those were scary enough. But the access panel on the hip looked promising. As it stepped closer, I ran out and grabbed ahold of it's thigh, rising up with it's next step. As it came down, I lifted myself up and used a knife to pry open the panel, revealing a few circuit boards inside, as well as few thin rubber hoses.
I slashed the tubes open and was rewarded with a spray of fluid. The machine crashed down with it's next step, and I jabbed my knife through the circuit boards reflexively hoping to brace myself. With a jolt, I realized how bad an idea that was and managed to let go as the live current gave me a shock. As I crumpled into the ground, I looked up to see the machine rear back and roar, it's shape reminiscent of Metal Gear Rex.

I closed my eyes and felt myself sinking. There was a nothingness, a void, but I felt the grit against my skin. Not like a sand or gravel, but more like a fine granule of sugar. I sunk lower into the mass, as slow as molasses, but it was relaxing. Soothing. I sank deeper and felt myself start to fade. Thoughts and feelings passed through me like smoke in the wind, and in the end there was a warm darkness.

It was early. The sun was out, but I could hear my brother heading off for school, and the neighbors stirring in their yard next door. I coughed, letting out some of my congestion into a tissue. I'm still fighting a cold, but at least I'm winning. Weird dreams aside, it seems I finally got some regular hours in as far as sleep goes.