Chapter 2, The Dream
by Joel Brewer

My eyes were still in pain from the bright lights and it was difficult to lift my head up.

"Mark?", The teacher, Mrs. Holland, who was standing next to my desk, asked in a slightly concerned tone, "Did you fall asleep in class again?"

I tried to reply, but was only able to let out an exhausted groan and then a loud, obnoxious yawn. The other students began to leave the classroom, and Mrs. Holland pounded her fist on the table, "If you keep falling asleep in class, you'll never learn anything!" Startled by the sudden noise, I jump out of my seat.

"You have a bed at home, stop using your desk." She continued.

I rubbed my eyes again and blinked rapidly; then let out a second yawn, "Sorry, I just get so tired when you're talking." I finally replied.

She rolled her eyes, "I know my voice is soothing, and I know that writing isn't your favorite subject, but you are here to learn. I can't teach you if you're always asleep!"

I let out a sigh. She wasn't the only one who was disappointed that I can't stay awake more than thirty minutes. "I'll try to do better next time. I promise."

"Good." She responded, "Now get outta' here. If you wait around too long, you'll fall asleep on your walk home!"

I gathered the books and other supplies I had spread out across my desk, and began to walk out the door. Through the hallways packed with students eager to get home, I saw a strangely familiar-looking figure dash through the halls. I had assumed I was just seeing things, but the more I thought on it, the more I thought I just saw the First Mate from my dream! In real life! Curly black hair, and caramel skin tone--But her clothing was different--And she wasn't nearly as tattered and rugged looking. But I knew it was her. I immediately began to push my way against the raging sea of students; towards the direction she was headed.

As I ran through the halls, the number of students blocking my path started to decrease, but I started to lose track of which corners she turned. I had always skipped gym class to take a nap, so I could be ready for my later classes, but I was now regretting my decision. The walls of lockers, and the occasional door, seemed endless, and I soon found myself in an area of the school I had never been in before.

I stopped to observe my surroundings, "This must be where the upper-classmen's rooms are." I thought to myself, "Does that make her an upper-classmen?"

I started to get lost in my thoughts, but heard a voice echo through the empty halls, "Hey, school's over, can I help you with anything?"

I looked in the direction of the voice, and a tall man stood there. "N-no", I stuttered, "I was just trying to find someone, and got a little lost."

He walked closer, and I could make out more of his facial features. His eyes were a silvery blue, and his hair was very dark dirty-blonde. His hair-style was like nothing I had ever seen in real life before--He looked like a character from an anime, or manga, and a poorly written one at that! He stuck out his right hand to introduce himself.

"Hey, I'm Joel—Most people just call me 'J' though." His voice was soft, but still very masculine. "Do you mind if I ask who you were following?"

He seemed oddly formal for his appearance, and something about him was very familiar. I hesitated before answering, but quickly snapped out of my confusion. I grabbed his hand and introduced myself as well, "I'm Mark. I'm not sure that I know her name, but she had curly black hair, and darker skin. Oh, and she was about this high." I raise my hand to about how tall I estimated her to be.

"Oh, you must mean Talitha!" He expressed a bit of surprise in in voice, "It's strange for her to be here after school. She must've had to speak with her Mom."

"He seemed to know who I was talking about, but why did he call her 'Talitha'? Was 'Heart' just a piratey code-name?", I thought. "Surely my dream had more merit than just that—A dream. I had never seen that girl before, but I could somehow recognize her." I started to get confused.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts. "Well, thanks Mr. Joel-"

"You can just call me 'J'." He cut me off blurting.

"Alright then, 'J'. Can you give me directions to the front entrance?" I asked.

He pointed down the hall, and I went on my way. The entire walk home, I couldn't get J out of my head. "Why did he seem so familiar? Who was Talitha? Why does my dream seem to be leading me onto something?" My questions kept piling up.

"Maybe a nice, long nap will help me forget everything." I mumbled to myself.

Before I even knew it, I had walked all the way to the front door of my house. I let out a sigh and opened the door. "Hey Mom, I back." I took off my shoes and slid my backpack off my shoulders.

"Hey honey! How was school?" She shouted back from the kitchen.

I hung my backpack up on its hook, "It was fine." I responded, "I think I'm just going to go lie down."

My mother sounded a little concerned, as she poked her head around the kitchen corner. "Are you hungry? Don't you want to eat dinner?"

"Nah, I'm not that hungry." I smiled at her to show my sincerity. "Maybe when I wake up." After all, trying to figure out my dream made me a little nauseous.

"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything." She said as I started walking upstairs towards my room.

As I laid in my bed I started to doze off again. I suddenly became extremely cold, like I was surrounded by ice. I stuffed myself under my blankets and fell into a dead sleep. My body started shaking, and I opened my eyes. But I was no longer in my room. I was in a strange new place—A field covered in snow!

I looked around in confusion, "What is this?!" I wondered. "How did I get here?!"

I looked off into the distance and noticed what looked like a city. I started walking, but I was still shaking uncontrollably from the blistering cold. I walked for as long as I could, but I collapsed, still a good mile from the city. As I lay motionless in the snow, I noticed the frozen waters beyond the field. And I recognized the hills and buildings as the ones I saw in my dream.

I could no longer feel my limbs, "Is this how I die?" I thought to myself.

My vision became blurry, and with that final thought lingering in my mind, I blacked out. I felt warm again for a moment, like I was back in my own room. My body wasn't shaking anymore. I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn't. It was like I was trapped in an endless darkness, void of anything. I could see nothing but darkness, and for a few moments, everything was silent. I couldn't hear anything, not even the beating of my own heart.

From the isolation of this darkness, I heard a small feminine whisper grow into loud shouting, "Hey. Hey! Wake up!"

In an instant, the darkness was cast away by another blinding light. I could hear and feel again! I tried again to open my eyes, only to be startled by a random girl hovering slightly over my face. I was so surprised that I tried to move faster than my body would allow me, and I fell off the side of the bed opposite of the girl. I sat on the floor, completely and utterly speechless.

The girl stood up straight, and smiled, "You're finally awake! We were worried you wouldn't make it!"

Once again, I found myself complete lost for words, and did nothing but stare at her. She cocked her head, this time with a more awkward smile, "Is something wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Before now, I hadn't realized that I was staring so intently at her face. I was looking without really knowing what I was seeing. A young, pale girl with long, flowing black hair, and bright, almost glowing, yellow eyes. I would've estimated her to be around 12-years-old. Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked a boy about my height, but he looked just like the girl. Except, older, and his hair was much shorter and spikier.

"Lara, what have I told you about bringing strangers into the house?" He exclaimed as he laid his forehead into his hand.

"Brother!" She shouted, "It's different this time! I found him lying in the snow outside the city!"

In return, her brother raised his voice as well, "I don't care what your reason is! You need to listen when I tell you to not do something!"

They continued shouting back and forth at each other for a few minutes. "Is this what it's like to have siblings? Heh, it's times like these that make me glad I was an only child." A smile crept across my face as I explored these thoughts.

However, I needed to pull myself back into reality, "I-I'm sorry. She's right." I interrupted. "I had collapsed out in the cold—If it wasn't for your sister I could have died out there!"

The older brother regained his composition, and cleared his throat, "No, I'm sorry. I should have listened to her when she said it was different."

I let out a sigh of relief, "I'm Mark. Sorry to cause you so much trouble."

He turned to Lara, ignoring what I had just said, "It's late. He can stay here for the night—Just show him to the guest room." Then he looked back to me, "If you'll follow my sister. It gets cold during winter nights—Unless you've got a place to be, you'll be staying the night here. We can finish this discussion in the morning."

For an few moments, I looked out the window that was positioned behind me, and saw nothing but dark, empty, snow laden streets. "How long was I asleep for?!" I wondered. "It was bright outside when I fainted!"

His sister walked over to me and started pulling my arm, "C'mon, I gotta' show you where you'll be sleeping."

I had no choice but to follow her—She wouldn't let go of my arm! For someone who looked so small and fragile, she was surprisingly strong. As we walked out the door I stopped to ask the older brother for his name.

"Well, since I'm staying here, can I at least know the name of my host?"

He raised two of his fingers to his forehead, as if to salute me, but kept his casual stance, "Anidas Rein, at your service."

Both of his arms were wrapped in clean, white bandages. For a moment I wondered why, but my thoughts were disrupted as I was dragged out of the room and down the hall. The room I was given wasn't anything special—It was a small room that only contained a bed and small lamp-stand. There was also a change of clothes lying on the bed.

"Thanks for letting me stay here. You're both very kind people." I said as I walked into the room.

"There's no problem." Lara replied with a grin, "We like helping travelers, even though it can be dangerous sometimes."

Anidas then walked into the doorway, "Lara, it's time you get to sleep. Let our guest rest. We'll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow."

Lara smiled again as she walked out of the room, and Anidas followed, closing the door behind them. I let out a sigh and fell backwards onto the bed. I laid there on the bed wondering what happened, where I was, and more importantly, how I would get back home. My thoughts were raging, and I couldn't slow them down. I raised my hand into the air, and looked at the rays of light glow in between my fingers.

"Guess I'll find out in the morning." I said aloud as I turned off the lamp.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Before I knew it, I had once again fallen asleep.

To be Continued...