Beautiful Dreamer

Chapter Nineteen

I was looking over the edge of my balcony, when suddenly I saw a blinding white flash of light, and I tripped and fell over the edge. I saw myself plummeting down at high speed, yet I felt like I was floating in a pool of water, free of weight. I saw flashes of pink and green.. And then I hit the bottom of a lake and woke up with a start.

I blinked groggily once the panic wore out. I stared out into the darkness of my room. It was probably well past midnight. I shook my head and laid back down. I stared at the ceiling, watching the occasional shadow of a car's lights pass by. I rubbed my eyes in exhaustion. I didn't know what was happening anymore. The week leading up to my birthday had begun and ended at such different points, that there was no point in thinking about it anymore. I'd done enough of that while trying to sleep that night.

And now I had this knew dream to worry about. I don't know why I'm even acknowledging the fact though. I have a dream almost every time I sleep. I groaned—this was going to be fun. I closed my eyes, wanting to sleep at the same time as not wanting to dream. As if that was ever going to happen. But by some miracle I began to drift off.. And not a single dream came to me.

I awoke again in the morning to my Mom shaking me lightly. She looked spooked.

"Why.. What happened?" I asked, startled.

"Um.. I just got a text." She showed me her phone. It was a series of messages from an unknown number. It said, 'The clock is ticking. Your brother is bleeding. Four more days to go. Hurry up if you want him back.'

I stared. We were running out of time. We had to hurry up. I got up to get ready. "Mom, get supplies ready. We will spend today planning rigorously. Then we leave tomorrow at first light. Tell Pam and Cal to prepare as well. We need to hurry the hell up."

"Yes, I'll get to it.." she left the room in a hurry.

After I was done getting ready and having breakfast, I sat down at the most comfortable spot on our sofa. I kept the notebook and pen ready on the side table. I sat down, trying to relax myself, but I couldn't. My mind was racing, and I felt stressed and anxious. I tried thinking of peaceful things, like people I love. I thought the first person to come to my mind would be Simon, but it was Mom, sitting beside Grandma. Then, to my surprise, followed Pam. Then came Candy, and then Cal.. Finally I calmed down, and I began thinking of the plan. The darkness I saw through my closed eyelids slowly began to fade into a hazy vision. I found myself walking once again into the building in the woods. I believe they were called the Young Pond Woods. There was a large pond in its heart. It used to a lake, but it dried up. I think Mom knows where it is. She might be able to drive us there.

I entered the building for the second time, this time marching straight in. I walked around the main lobby, checking out the signs that indicated what lay through each passage leading further into the structure. I found one that said visitors, with a winking smiley face at the end. Maybe that was where they kept their hostages. I walked down the hallway. I passed doors with signs that read 'Foreign', 'Local', and 'Special friends'. I had no idea what they meant, but I guessed it wasn't just "friends" they kept in there. I tried each door, until I got to the one marked 'Special friends'. Unlike the others, it was locked. I tried the handle many times, but to know avail. I grunted in frustration. I felt dejected. I had thought I could go anywhere in my dreams..

Hold that thought. What if I can? Like, literally? Suddenly excited, I slowly moved my hand towards the door. My fingers touched the wood, but I kept moving it forward. And then, as if I were a ghost, my hand went straight through.