The man flashed a light on him, then raised his weapon to his face and snapped it to the raise position again.
"I recognize you, sir. Any special instructions?"
"None. Just continue on your post."
Inwardly, Hense was reaching the boiling point. That hadn't been what he'd intended to say, dammit! He——
"Pardon, sir," the guard was saying, "but how about this man here?"
Now, Hense realized, there must be something really going on. Dream creatures just couldn't walk out of a man's mind and show up in front of an alert guard. Or had he completely lost gyro synch? He——
Michaels broke in again. "It's all right, guard. Just continue on your post. And keep an especially sharp lookout from now on."
"Yes, sir." The guard snapped his weapon up to his face again, then holstered it and turned to continue his tour.
Hense looked after him.
It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.