Pull up to a large hotel, park and walk in. Hundreds of kids mill around in a giant hall (seemingly second floor, railing around a large rectangular hole in middle). We file out onto buses, drive into a city. File into a giant round theater, seats are around giant round pillar in center, screens on outer wall. We enter through center pillar. Sit with a band, comment that it's times like these I wish I had my clarinet. Someone yells at me down the row, holds up my clarinet case.
Show ends, we're told to we have to return to the hotel on our own (doesn't occur to me in the dream how far hotel is since we bussed in). Wander through city, meet up with some girl and wander by stores before entering one. T-shaped theater with tiered seating at each end of the T, each facing a cloth hanging on the opposite wall. White board names 3 shows playing (Excel Saga, Robotech, something else?). Girl I went in with sits in the row behind, sprawled on 2 seats. I watch some, then leave. Pass two girls on a grass hill looking for the one I was with, point them toward the theater (both were just shadows). Keep walking through the park, come upon rows of condos, all the same, all painted white or yellow. Suns up now as I wander through the rows of condos.
The start out spaced apart, then get closer together and start looking odd before they're just giant shelves. Wander through the shelves, someone is behind me, not following just heading in same direction. A couple shelves have doors, out of curiosity I kick a door open. A big dog lays inside, growls. I keep moving, not out of fright but apathy. I hear the dog tear out of the room, growling, toward a pair of girls. Person following me turns and follows dog. Hear girls say he has a tumor, they don't get attacked. Continue walking, turns into a hill, shelves no longer have doors. Hill gets really steep, come upon short, grassy cliff. Look around for a way up, see a girl on my left hiding in the shelves shadows. I smile, grab a short shelve and put it at the base of the cliff. Girl steps out, says something about us being told to be calm and not run(?). I look at her and smile, but continue piling small shelves, then climb up, with her following.
We're in a dark room, with garbage on the floor, clearly no used for a long time. We're talking, but I'm not sure what about. She mentions that she's not a she or a he, but more of a hey (said in the stereotypical gay way). He has dirty blond hair, pulled back in a ponytail. He's wearing a green jacket, possibly with Tinkerbell on the left breast. He's slightly shorter than I. We're wandering around and looking when we come to the end of a hallway. It ends in a drop (~5 ft) that opens up to a taller hall. On the wall to the left is another sheet hanging like a screen. A movie suddenly starts playing, two guys tied to chairs with chains around their necks. A motor starts, the chains tighten around the mens neck, choking them and eventually beheading them. I look around quickly, the movie can't have started itself. I see his ponytail bob around a corner of the deeper hallway on the left and look down to see a rope jangling (apparently the trip wire). I drop down and follow.
At the end of the hall are two plush leather chairs with straps, they seem familiar. I turn the corner to the right, short hall, and again. He's standing in front of an open door. I look in and see another empty dark empty room with trash littered on the ground (reminiscent of Fallout 3, but didn't notice that in the dream). We hear something strange in the hallway we just left. I take her hand and we peak around the corner. 2 guys dressed in black robes are chaining two guys into the chairs like in the film, the lights flicker like lightening. The guys are struggling and screaming. We both scream and run down the hall with the room. It eventually lightens and we turn a corner to find ourselves in the lobby of the hotel, towards the back. I rush up to friends leaning on the railing, dragging him with me by the hand. They ask how I got back since I wasn't on the bus. I tell them we got back through a haunted house (extremely ecstatic and flustered from the running). I turn to him and we're both smiling and out of breath, then we hug tightly laughing. We pull back, still smiling, then kiss.
Then I wake up, cursing. Roll over and get back to sleep.
I comment that I should get home. Still holding my hand, he says not yet, I have to wait for his ride. Then he asks the time, suddenly jumpy. It's 11pm. Says his parents have already left, they would only wait until 1030. He runs to the phone at the counter, dragging me. He has a conversation on the phone, they're not going to pick him up. He turns to me with down-turned eyes, says they're not going to come back for him in a sad voice. I smile at him, offer a to drive him.
And wake up again.
