Dream Catcher

Chapter 1

The girl was poetically beautiful. She had ivory skin and hair so black it melted into the shadows. Her eyes were the deepest midnight blue. Tonight, she was wearing a long, pale blue dress with capped sleeves and buttons down the front. They were in the same place they always met, Santa Monica beach. The last rays of sunlight bounced off the water and waves lapped gently at the shore. He watched her walk towards him, his eyes trailing slowly across her face and down her body, trying to memorise every detail about her. Her elegant mouth curved up into a radiant smile as she came towards him. He reached out his arms to pull her close to him as the smile dropped of her face, replaced by a look of pure terror. No not again. Please not again. He desperately tried to reach her, but his hands grasped nothing but air. The sky had darkened, and a loud clap of thunder shook the beach. He could see the shapes climbing out of the water: huge octopus like creatures with long tentacles and blood oozing from their suckers. They advanced on the girl who seemed frozen in horror. He couldn't move, no matter how hard he struggled. He cried out for her. He watched helplessly as the demons launched themselves at her. She screamed out his name-

Jack woke up, gasping and drenched in sweat. He looked at the clock on his nightstand. 3.15am. Every night for the last week, he had been woken up by the same, repeating nightmare. Jack clenched his fists and willed his breathing to slow. He looked across the room and saw the gentle rise and fall of Ethan's, his roommate, chest. At least he hadn't woken him up this time, thought Jack ruefully. Ethan had been alarmed the first time Jack had woken up screaming. Jack had refused to talk about it and insisted he was fine and they both go back to sleep. The next night, Ethan thought Jack was playing a trick on him. After the third time, Ethan was no longer amused. Jack had reluctantly told Ethan about the nightmare. He didn't mention how he could almost feel the wind and the ocean spitting at him. The girl's screams would echo in his ears all night. Ethan wouldn't understand. He just put Jack's dreams down to stress. It was nearly the end of the second semester, which meant the Easter holidays were right around the corner. That and exams. Jack had been falling behind in the last few weeks. His grades had slipped enough for someone to notice. That someone told the Headmaster. After a long and dull conversation, Jack had been told to pull his socks up and get his grades back on track or he could pack his bags.

Jack sighed and lay back down. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take these restless nights. He could never get back to sleep after he woke up, so afraid of what he might dream about. He glanced around the rest of the room. It was quite spacious, with a bed, wardrobe, desk and nightstand for both himself and Ethan. In the corner by the window was an armchair.

St Xavier's Boarding School for Boys didn't allow many personal items. Jack had brought with him a handful of t-shirts and jumpers, two pairs of jeans, his favourite pair of dark blue sneakers, some books and a framed photograph of himself and his mother from a trip to New York about five years ago. When Jack had come to the school six months ago, he'd hated everything about the place. He'd longed for his familiar two story detached house in London with the cherry tree in the back garden, and the swing he'd made with his mother. He missed the smell of her perfume wafting through the window as she gardened. Jack hadn't wanted to drop everything and move halfway across the world to go to boarding school in California. After what happened though, he supposed he didn't have much of a choice.

He'd arrived at St Xavier's late after a terrible plane journey filled with turbulence. Jack hated to fly. He'd offered to pay for the boat ride to the West Coast but his father has laughed and shoved his passport in his hand. One hour later they were saying goodbye in the Heathrow Departure lounge. Jack knocked on the door and was greeted by a tall, thin boy with a shock of red hair. Jack and the new boy had eyed each other warily before the boy had sighed dramatically and stepped back to open the door.