Chapter 1
- I was running.
I didn’t have a destination or a time to be there. I was just running. I had to get away from him. He was the reason. I didn’t care if I was running so fast that my legs couldn’t keep up with my body, or that my lungs felt as though they would burst into flames. I just had to keep away from him, because if I stopped for only a second, then he would find me. And it was never fun when he caught up to me. Whenever he showed up, he would always show me the same thing: visions. Not the good kind either.. He would always show me things about death and destruction, and horrible events about me and my family.
So, I kept running. I was not in the mood to wake up screaming tonight. I knew this was all a dream, but I also knew that I had NO control over it. I had no way to wake up. Trust me, I’ve tried. As I ran, the darkness seemed to be closing in, like it was alive. I ran faster, for this was the sign that he was near. I wanted to wake up, to get out of this darkness. But I knew I couldn’t until he came. And then came the voices. They seemed to be coming from the darkness. I slowed to a quick walk, trying to catch my breath. This was a mistake. As the darkness lifted, I could see him standing just a few feet from me. I stopped and stared at him, unable to move. He stood there, his back to me. Move, I cried out in my head. Come ON! MOVE! But even though my brain was telling my legs to move, my legs would not listen. At this point, I couldn’t even breath. I watched in horror as he slowly turned to face me, his piercing green eyes meeting my frightened blue ones. That’s when the visions came. A flash of blue light, a figure falling down into darkness, a woman in a red cloak laughing as her hands burst into red flames, a hand reaching out, a blue crystal swinging from a silver chain, then a pain shot through my chest, and I screamed.
- I sat bolt upright in my bed, clutching my chest. My heart began to slow down as I took a few calming breaths. I heard footsteps coming from the hall, then my brother burst in.
“Ri! Are you alright?” I tried to answer, but I couldn’t get the words out. Hunter walked over and hugged me.
“Was it the dream again?” he asked. I nodded, and he sighed.
“Ri, you need to calm down. It’s not real. I’m here, you’re here, we’re safe. Nothing bad has happened.” I took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears on my face. Hunter let go and stepped back.
“You good now?” he asked. I nodded. “Yeah, thanks, Bro.”
“Alright, try to go back to sleep,” he said as he headed for the door.
“Hey bro, do you, uh, mind staying here until I fall asleep?” I asked.“I kinda don’t want to be alone right now.” Hunter nodded and sat down at the end of my bed. A few minutes later, I laid down and closed my eyes.
- After he knew his brother fast asleep, Hunter quietly slipped out of the room and softly closed the door. He walked down the hall and into the kitchen, where he then proceeded to pick up the phone and dial the same number he had been calling for almost a week. The phone rang a few times, then the person on the other end picked up.
“Hello?”
“Dad, it’s me. It’s about Orian.” He heard his father sigh, then say,
“Again?”
“Yes,” Hunter said. “I’m beginning to worry. He’s been having the same dream for almost a week now, and he keeps having the SAME dream. This isn’t normal.”
“Look, I know you’re worried,” his father replied. “I’m a bit worried myself. All of this talk about death is really upsetting. But he needs to remember that they’re just DREAMS. Not reality. Now, if that’s all, I need to go. There’s still some work that needs to be done before Orian comes in tomorrow.”
“About that,” Hunter said hurriedly. ” Would it be ok if I come in tomorrow instead of Ri?” There was a pause, then he continued. “I mean, you said so yourself yesterday. He’s been too tired to do much these days. I think it would be a good idea for him to take the day off tomorrow so he can get some rest.”
“Hmmm,” his father thought. “Maybe that IS a good idea. Could you come in around eight tomorrow?”
“Yes!” Hunter replied. “I’ll be there!”
“Alright then. See you tomorrow,” his father said. There was a click, and the phone went silent. Hunter sighed in relief and put the phone back on the charger. He was going to the lab tomorrow. He had always wanted to see the lab. And now, he was going to WORK there! He headed for his room, peeking into Orian’s just to make sure he was asleep. He was sprawled out on his bed, the blankets twisted around his legs. Hunter closed the door and went into his room. Tomorrow was going to be a great day.
- Luckily, I was able to get a bit of sleep that night, so by the time I woke up the next morning, I only felt like half a zombie. When I reached the hall, I smelled bacon, so I went into the kitchen and found Hunter sanding by the stove, a pack of bacon sitting in the pan.
“Morning bro,” I greeted. Hunter turned and smiled.
“Oh, good morning Ri,” he replied.
“What’re you doing up so early?” I asked as I grabbed an apple from the fruit basket.
“Oh, I’m helping dad at the lab today,” he said as he flipped over the bacon.
“But... isn’t that MY job?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, it is. But dad and I both agree that you need rest, so you’re getting the day off.”
“Sweet,” I said. I looked at the clock and grinned. “So. What time did dad want you in?”
“He said around eight,” Hunter responded.
“Well, it’s almost seven fifty,” I told him. Hunter gasped, looked at the clock, then threw the pan down onto the burner.
“Oh no!” he cried as he rushed to the front door. “I’ll be late!” He grabbed his coat, put it on and threw open the front door. “Now, I want you to rest today, alright Ri?” He said as he hurried outside.
“Yeah, sure. Ok,” I said as the door closed. I laughed as I watched him hurry down the street. Yeah, he wasn’t gonna make it to the lab on time. Suddenly, the smell of burning bacon hit my nose. Oh crap! I rushed back into the kitchen, grabbed the pan, turned off the burned and scraped off the burnt bacon. I sighed and set the pan down onto the counter. I’ll clean it later. I went back into my room and plopped down onto my bed. Might as well do some of that resting Hunter wanted me to do. I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost at once.
- I woke up in a strange field. I sat up and noticed a bunch of colorful flowers around me, and a few trees along the edge of the field. Then, from, from the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I turned and saw two figures facing each other, both with hatred on their faces. One was wearing a bright yellow shirt while the other had on a light blue sweatshirt. They were talking to each other, and I could easily make out what they were saying.
“How could you?” the guy in yellow asked, dread and sadness in his words.
“How could I what?” the guy in blue asked, a grin spreading across his face.
“How could you kill all of those people?” Yellow asked.
“You mean destroying that realm?” Blue said, shrugging his shoulders. “What can I say? It’s what I do.” Yellow pulled out a golden sword and pointed it at Blue.
“You will pay for this,” He said coldly. Blue laughed.
“Oh, so we’re doing that, are we? Very well.” He also pulled out a sword, although this one was black. I watched as they ran towards each other, their swords aimed at each other’s chests.
- I sat up in bed and took a deep breath. So wait, that was only a dream? I really need to stop going to sleep on an empty stomach. I looked over at my clock and saw that it was only seven fifty-five. This was going to be a looooooooong day.
