The Untouchables

The nightmare is always the same.

It's starts with me.

I'm eight years old and I'm hiding underneath a table.

It's wooden and sturdy. The complete opposite of how I've ever felt.

I can see the front door. I can see the corner of the living room couch and I can see the plush doggy toy, Roy, is always leaving laying around.

I hear my father calling out for me. He's pretending my hiding place isn't the most obvious hiding spot in the world.

My knees itch because of the carpet but I remain very, very still.

I see his legs from underneath the table. Khaki pants and white trainers.

He's walking towards me still acting oblivious.

He's humming and muttering, 'now where could Maisie be?'.

Then the doorbell rings and he stops in his steps and turns around.

His footsteps are all I can hear in that moment. I still see his legs. Not his face, never his face. His upper body is cut by the mahogany. His crisp pants are the only thing visible.

He opens the front door and then... they kill him...

***

I wake up screaming and shoot up in bed, looking around desperate and afraid.

I hear footsteps pounding on the wooden floor and my bedroom door swings open abruptly.

Riley is there.

She's breathing heavily and holding up a shoe. Her eyes darting around the room wildly looking for threats.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She asks frantically

I try to tell my heart that it can calm down now.

It was just a dream.

The night air outside plays tricks on my ears as it blows the leaves off trees, hitting my window with muffled thuds.

I lay back in bed and place a hand on my forehead slowly counting to three just like therapist number 3 always told me.

There's a whole constellation of stars painted onto my ceiling.

Courtesy of Micah, my older brother.

A special gift he had left in when Riley and I moved into this apartment.

"Maisie, seriously. You're scaring me." Riley's voice cuts through my thoughts that had drifted away.

"It was nothing. Just a dream." I say more to myself before sitting up and looking at my best friend.

I can see Riley slowly letting her guard down, her tense body relaxes slightly.

Her wavy hair is wrapped up in a silk scarf.

I notice she only has one slipper on and still looks slightly disoriented.

I would have laughed if I didn't feel so bad for waking her. With all her training, Riley has gotten used to being a light sleeper. And not to mention she had spent years honing her reflexes.

Her showing up with a shoe might look funny but trust me, she could hurt you in ten different ways with a flimsy ballet pump.

Riley sighs and drops her shoe. "Another nightmare, Mase?" She asks as she walks towards my bed.

She doesn't have to ask for space as I scoot over and make room for her to slip in.

"It was nothing." I say quickly again.

I know she doesn't believe me immediately.

She frowns slightly, looking worried. "Yeah, right, 'nothing'."

She lets out a scoff.

Riley doesn't like to show much emotion. Especially to the world. God forbid anyone ever dare underestimate her or look down on her for something as flimsy as feelings.

She carries her self with an armour of nonchalance and sarcasm. Which could be annoying if you're trying to get to know her but I guess comes in handy in her line of work.

Riley is what we call a 'Defender'. Or at least she's training to become one.

The Defender's are a league of humans trained to aid the Touched - that's us - in their duties to the world.

Who are the Touched you might wonder? We're a group of humans born with enchanced abilities that make us 'extraordinary'.

So it's no mystery why Defenders who are ordinary humans have to undergo vigorous physical and mental training just to keep up with the Touched. Some defenders like Riley have been training since they were ten years old.

So, being tough is kind of in the job description.

But I've known Riley long enough to know that it's all a front. Riley is the type of person who can't go to bed without making sure her little sisters are all tucked into bed safe and sound. Who would sit with me in high school when no one else wanted to. And move across the country to start over with me.

Leaving our home far behind for the unknown.

She's my best friend. Which as the past would show isn't an easy thing for anyone to be to me.

"You know," she says as she looks ahead at my notice board in the dark, faint outlines of my schedules, pictures of friends and family and various lists cover it, " I don't want to do that little song and dance where I ask you what's wrong and you lie and pretend it's nothing and lalala, I force it out of you anyway." She speaks in a sing song voice.

I rest my head on her shoulder.

"Yeah well, we could always play your favourite game where we just ignore our feelings entirely. That sounds like fun to me." I pipe up.

Riley hits me lightly with Elijah, my stuffed Elephant. Another gift from Micah that he claimed he just picked up randomly when in fact he knows how much I love elephants. Something about the big brother tendency to never show affection lest that makes you look weak.

"Well played, grasshopper." She speaks.

I know she's looking at the night sky on my ceiling as well.

She lets out a breath. "You haven't had nightmares in a while, Mase."

She says seriously.

I finger Elijah's ear trying to mentally join the stars to form something that makes sense. Not much ever has in my life.

"I know." I reply.

I shudder slightly.

I think of how not too long ago, Mikayla was the one who would lay in bed with me after I would have nightmares, holding me and stroking my hair. Humming me back to sleep like our mum used to do. Well, now Mikayla wasn't here and God knows the days of her comforting me over this were long gone. But that was fine.

Because things have been good, great actually. My meds are regulated, the headaches disappeared and the voices too...

The gruesome pictures in my mind were supposed to leave.

The nightmares were supposed to stop.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Even as Riley asks I know we both know the answer.

"I just want to sleep." I speak.

Riley doesn't push. And I appreciate that about her.

"Okay, then." She speaks casually as she adjusts my comforter. "Let's sleep."

But I know it's bothering her as much as it is me.

She lies on her side and I do the same.

"Please don't hog the sheets or I will kick you and Elijah off this bed." She threatens.

I clutch Elijah and smile to myself grateful that inspite of everything, I always have Riley.

The stars cast a faint glow over us and in just a few minutes I can hear Riley softly snoring.

I remain up for some time staring up at the constellation and my mind drifts to a boy who once made me feel like the stars were truly made to be seen by me.

But alas, another person I probably would never see again.

At least not in real life.

Because the truth was, Kane Blackwood had absolutely no problems making cameos in my nightmares.