Flutter (The Discover Series) (42 page)

I reached up to grab the both door handles and stopped short when I finally lifted my head to pull them close. I sucked in a deep breath when I realized I was no longer looking at my back yard.

I wanted to ignore it, part of my mind was screaming at me to turn around and ignore what I was seeing, but I couldn’t follow the command and I lifted my other foot to take a step further outside the door. The blaring inside my head suddenly stopped as it realized it had lost the battle to keep me safe. I was only partially aware that this was probably a very bad idea, but there was only so much I could ignore and this was not it. It was like I had stepped into another world.

“Close.” The voice whispered.

I could hear it outside my head and knew that it was not someone I was making up. Its laugh was like hearing nails being pulled across a chalk board and I shivered against the piercing sound.

“I’m very much real
,
Sara.”

I searched the scene in front of me, but I couldn’t see anyone, but I didn’t really expect to. The voice seemed to float around me, not really coming in any particular direction.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Hmm, how should I answer that?”

“It usually helps if you give a name.”

The laugh came again and I flinched holding my hands against my ears to block out the sound.

“Please stop doing that.” I begged, and the sound was gone.

“My apologies.” It said. “What was it you asked? Oh right, who am I? I guess you could call me, what is it you refer to this as…a nightmare.” It wasn’t really asking me as it held the conversation alone. “Yes that’s it. For now we’ll just call me the nightmare reaper.”

“That’s comforting. Glad I asked.”

It snickered and the sound was only a step down more tolerable then its laugh.

“I see what they mean.”

“What who mean?”

“We’ll call them reapers too. They are who I’ve sent out to watch you.”

“Watch me? These answers only seem to be getting worse, but” I couldn’t stop myself, “why do you have
reapers
watching me and what exactly is a reaper?”

More snickering.

“You don’t disappoint
,
do you Sara.”

“I don’t know
,
there has been some debate about that lately and the verdict is still out.”

“You’ve got spunk, I like that.”

“Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.” It said politely, missing my sarcasm.

I still couldn’t see anything and I took a step out further until I felt the ground beneath me shift and change. I should have been afraid and although I wasn’t exactly comfortable I was in a little state of awe. My dreams had never taken me into so much vivid detail before. Everything was crystal clear and I found myself wanting to explore. I took another step turning around to take one last glimpse of my room and I spun in a complete circle. My house was no longer there and I stood there completely surrounded now by what I could only think was a jungle.

“Correct.” It confirmed my thoughts. “Fascinating
,
isn’t it?”

“It seems I have a very vivid imagination when I sleep.”

“Silly girl.” It said. “You know, there aren’t many who can do what you’re capable of doing.”

“Creating nightmares? I hardly think I’m unique in that way.”

He talked over me as if I hadn’t said anything at all.

“It’s quite an inconvenience on my end actually.”

“Yeah
,
well join that club. There are a lot of things I find inconvenient these days. Why do you have these reapers watching me?” I asked again before he could distract me again.

“To keep an eye on you.” It said very simply.

“You’re responses are very vague.” I complained.

“Don’t worry about any of that right now. My introduction was merely a test.”

“You didn’t actually introduce yourself, but I’ll play along. What was this test and why am I being tested?”

“To see just how strong you are.”

I thought about that and it couldn’t hurt to ask. “Did I pass?”

“Of course you did. “

“Glad to know I’m living up to expectations.”

“I knew you would be strong, but exactly how strong you are, was the real question. I have my work cut out for me, but everyone has their weakness. Even you
,
Sara.”

“I don’t understand anything you’re saying.”

“No you wouldn’t would you. Just like right now, you’re always in the dark and it’s not very easy finding your way around is it?

“It’s even harder when I’m being talked to in riddles. So
,
if you’re done I’d like to go back to bed now.”

I yawned and stretched the muscles in my neck and shoulder, hoping to relieve some of the tension that was embedded into the tissue, weighing me down.

The ear piercing laugh had me gritting my teeth.

“Sorry.” It said, not really meaning it.

“I take it I said something funny, which means I’m not going back to bed yet
,
am I?”

“Sorry, but no. You may have passed my test, but –” he sighed annoyed, “my idiot reapers didn’t see this coming and now you’ll have to face them.” It sounded excited about the last part.

“Somehow that doesn’t sound as much fun for me as you seem to think its going to be.”

“You’re right, maybe not for you.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” I was too tired to feel anything inside this dream. Including fear at his words. “Let’s get this over with, I’m tired and I’d like to wake up soon.”

“Yes I suppose you would. You look tired.” The snickering was really starting to get on my nerves.

Was everything an inside joke I didn’t understand? I thought.

“As you can see I haven’t been sleeping very well.” I said as I stood here talking to basically myself.

“Are you sure that’s what it is?”

I frowned. “Well, now I’m not.”

“Goodbye Sara.”

I waited for some thing to happen following the new silence, but nothing did and I could sense that I was alone again. I could hear the sounds of wildlife beyond the tangled mess of jungle landscape in front of me. Like every time before, everything seemed so real. I could feel the damp debris below my feet and feel the sultry humid air hanging around my body, making my skin sticky with it’s after effect.

I wanted to stay put until the dream eventually got bored with my incorporation and I was finally able to wake up, but I couldn’t control the curiosity that was building inside of me. The urge to venture further into the dream managed to overwhelm me into submission and I closed my eyes and took off into the direction my feet led me.

The ground was littered with thick roots that struck out from the moist earth like booby traps and connected to gigantic trees that looked as if they made a path to the sky.  I used their thick, rough trunks to help guide myself through the traps so I wouldn’t fall face first.

I could smell the fresh clean puddles of water my toes kept finding, hidden beneath the fallen leaves –most of which were almost as long as I was. It wasn’t raining, but I could feel each drop of water as it slipped off the bright green leaves, falling down to the earth below and landing with a splash on my skin. The smell was so fresh and cool against my hot skin that I wanted to surround myself with it. I turned my face
toward
the sky and stuck my tongue out trying to grab the water with my tongue. I managed to get a few and it tasted like heaven on my tongue.

I maneuvered my way through the jungle’s maze, climbing over anything that got in my way. I couldn’t hear much, except for the wild life that was all around me, it made it easier to keep going when I didn’t try to figure out what was on the other end of each sound I heard, dream or not, you still feared the unknown.

I froze.

I didn’t breathe, scratch that, I
couldn’t
breathe, I didn’t even blink as I stood there listening to the sounds that I could actually identify. I didn’t need to squint to see the soft glow of light several hundred feet in front of me. It would have helped if it were a little brighter as I tried to focus on what the light was. The light swelled brighter and I realized it was a camp fire.

“What the hell?” The first voice said.

“Calm that fire down, before she sees it!” A second voice complained.

“Keep your voices down both of you.” The third one said.

She?
I thought.
Were they talking about me?

This dream had taken another weird turn and I was confused.

I quietly moved closer, careful not to step on anything that would made a sound and give me away to the three shadows. Right now that’s what they looked like as they were cast by the fire they sat around.

“If she makes our location we’re in deep shit.”

“We all know she is going too. This was a suicide mission.”

“Of course it was! It’s taking the three of us to hold this crappy thing together. We’re not much of a threat or match to her.”

Oh yes, please, more code talk.

I couldn’t make out what exactly it was that I was looking at, but as I got closer I realized there was no actual fire. I could see the glow of the light and I could see the shadows it cast, but I couldn’t actually see flames or bodies. It didn’t make any sense to me and I was determined to get closer.

I was still several feet from the glow of light and the voices, when I noticed something was off. It was like I was looking at a transparent wall in front of me and the closer I got to get it the more it rippled and the imagine in front of me shook. Just like in the dreams I had when I had been embedded into thick layers of ice.

Slowly I reached out touching the barrier in front of me causing blue streaks of electric ripples to form and spread out from where my finger was disturbing it. I was intrigued and I ran my fingers through the obstruction and watched as the colors blurred and blended between my fingers causing the entire wall to shake and tremble.

“Do you feel that?” I heard one of the voices say and immediately I snatched my hand back.

“Do you think it’s-“

“Hush!” the voice barked.

I hid behind the nearest tree, crouching low, watching as the shadows danced around, I still couldn’t make out their figures.

I was frustrated that I still couldn’t see them and I knew that it had something to do with whatever was the partition in front of me was. Feeling around the ground, my fingers searched until I found what I was looking for. Looking down at the smooth rock, I threw it
toward
the wall with all the force I could. I didn’t know what I expected to happen, but it certainly wasn’t
nothing at all
. The only thing I had managed to do was create more ripples that spread out even farther this time.

I sat there concentrating on the light - I didn’t know what else I could do to get rid of the wall. Looking down at my hands I remembered what I had done in my hallucination when I had created him. I thought back on what he had told me to do, shrugging to myself I figured it would hurt to give it a try again, but just like before I didn’t really know what I was doing.

Lifting my hands I cupped them together and interlaced my fingers before focusing on the center point between my hands. Closing my eyes I focused, seeing the light I wanted to create there. I could feel the power and the energy burning underneath the surface of my skin as it traveled to my fingertips, building there until it swirled out, flowing out of my fingers and forming a ball of light.

I smiled to myself.

I focused hard on the light on the other side, until the glow of the fire dimmed and hissed as it slowly started to burn out and everything around me was swallowed by the darkness. I could hear the anxious whispers of the three voices as they realized what was happening, something I had yet to do.

The ball of light swirling inside of my hands, flared bright with each breath I took, with each beat of my heart. Looking at the wall, I aimed throwing the light
toward
it and watched as it shattered almost like glass. Colors burst and bled in each other, until all evidence of whatever it had been was gone. It wasn’t until then that I could see the last of the fire go out leaving ribbons of smoke in its place. I could hear the shuffling of feet as the dark figures looked for the nearest shadow to camouflage with.

Turning around, I flattened myself against the tree and held my breath, listening for any sound that would give away their positions, but I heard nothing, but the hiss of the smoldering flames.

It took a few minutes for my eyes to readjust to the darkness and I was able to see again. I didn’t want to turn around and look behind me again because I didn’t know where they were and I didn’t know what would happen if they saw me before I could find them. I knew there was only one thing I could do.

Run