Dreamer

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

I walked down the long, empty hallway of Alden-Conger High School, my combat boots squeaking on the floor. I was exhausted; I stayed up all night writing in my journal and trying to figure out who the hell Ash was, and why he was in my dreams. He seemed like he was a real person, but how could he have ended up in my dream? If he was a Dreamer he would have had to decide to do it, he couldn't just end up in my dreams. He also would have had to be pretty close to me, at least in the house next door, and as far as I knew no teenage boys named Ash lived next door to us.

It just didn't make sense.

The mystery consumed me. I wanted to sleep, to talk to him and see him, but I was afraid. Something was definitely not okay with my dreams. So, I stayed up all night, thinking and refusing to let myself sleep. And now I was paying for it.

I had gotten up late and gotten to school late, and now I was walking down the deserted hallway to English. My feet ached from running through the forest barefoot, and the scrapes on my hands stung. School was the last place I wanted to be. I was dreading the looks I knew I would get when I walked in to the classroom. I sighed and pushed open the door.

Fifteen pairs of eyes bored into me as I walked up to Mr. Welsh's desk to give him my late pass. He said nothing as I dropped the slip of paper onto his desk. The room was utterly silent as I walked to my desk. The chair felt unusually hard and uncomfortable, and I could still feel everyone staring at me. I knew one glare with my inhuman eyes would get them to stop, but I was too tired to bother. Mr. Welsh began his lesson, his voice droning about this semester's research project. I doodled in my notebook.

"You will need to partner up," Mr. Welsh said. My head snapped up. There were sixteen of us, which meant I would have to have a partner. This was not going to end well. "I've picked your partners for you-" the class groaned in unison "-you will get to pick your partners next semester. Now, we'll be going to the library on Thursday..." I ignored him. This was not good. Not good at all.

I got partnered with a boy named James Crowley. He said nothing to me and would sneak glances at my eyes every few minutes. I just ignored him and started the research. I'd do the project on my own if I had to; I knew he was never going to warm up to me.

Physics wasn't quite as bad. We had lab partners, but mine at least treated me like a human being. She didn't say more than she had to to complete the assignments though. But, it was better than nothing I guess.

The day passed just like the day before. Everyone was wary if not afraid of me, even the teachers. I was treated like an outcast; shunned  by the entire school. I couldn't wait to graduate.

After school I drove home and went straight up to my room. I paced back and forth across the hardwood floor. I couldn't decide if I wanted to dream or not. I desperately wanted to see Ash again - a feeling I still didn't completely understand - but I was afraid of having a nightmare again. It was unsettling. Dreams the year before I turn eighteen would give insight to whether or not I was going to become a Dreamer or a Tormenter. Things had looking good, but were taking a drastic turn.

I ran my fingers through my hair in the way I always did when I was stressed. I couldn't decide what to do.

Flip a coin, my inner voice said. It was a good idea, since I couldn't decide myself. After rooting around my room for a few minutes I found a quarter.

"Okay," I said to myself. "Heads, I dream. Tails, I don't." I took a deep breath and flipped the coin. Heads.

Shit.

I was in a barn. It was large, empty, and dark. Rain pounded on the roof, and wind swung the doors on their hinges as if they weighed nothing.

"Ash!" I screamed over the hammering rain. I doubted he'd be able to hear me if he was anywhere close. The wind screamed around me, or maybe it was actually someone screaming, I couldn't tell. It was total chaos, the biggest component of a nightmare.