Dreamer

Chapter Five

"Ash!" I screamed, bolting upright in bed. Then I groaned. My entire body ached; it felt like every bone was broken. Gingerly, I laid back down onto my pillows. I wiggled my fingers and moved my arms, neck, legs, feet, to make sure nothing was broken. Convinced I was okay, my mind started racing. What had happened to Ash? Was he okay? I began to panic. What if he got hurt? Or worse...

No. I couldn't think like that. Besides, if I was alive, he would be too, right? I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. I knew I had to go back, I had to make sure he was okay. But I was scared. I had no idea what could happen once I went back to my dreams. It was clear my abilities weren't working right, and my dreams were obviously nightmares. It would be dangerous to go back to them. But I had to.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to make sure Ash was okay. Willing my mind to slow and shut off, I fell asleep.

My dream appeared with a loud whooshing sound. Dead, brown grass rushed up all around me, growing up to at least six inches. A gnarled, leafless tree shot up from the ground next to me, nearly hitting my arm. I sprang up onto my feet and threw my hand over my mouth, stifling a scream. My heart pounded loudly in my chest. Just find Ash, and get out of here, I thought. Yes. I would find him. Then this would all be over. I could wake up and think about what was happening. For now, Ash was all that mattered.

I took off at a run. It seemed like the field just went on forever, all dead grass, and trees every few hundred feet. There weren't many places Ash could hide.

"Ash!" I yelled. An eerie silence had been settled snugly over the field since I arrived. It was unsettling, and made me afraid I would never find him. But I had to. I had to.

"Ash!" I yelled louder. Nothing.

I slowed to a walk, my breathing heavy. All around me was barren trees and brown, crunchy grass. Sure it was silent and weird, but nothing truly scary had happened. Somehow, that scared me even more. How long would it take for something terrible to happen? And how bad would that terrible thing be?

A crunch to my left made me whirl around, arms in front of myself protectively.

"Who's there?" I called out. My voice sounded shrill.

A cough. And then, "Re... Reve?" The voice was small and scratchy and somehow familiar. A tall figure stumbled out from behind a tree, tattered, ripped fabric flowing from her shoulders past her feet.Knotted ringlets hung past shoulders that were slumped over slightly, in defeat. She raised her hand to brush some of her hair away from her eyes, when I saw a ray of light being reflected back at me from her hand.

"Sephora?!" I yelled. I ran as fast as I could toward her, and flung my arms around her."Where have you been?!"

That's when I realized something was wrong. I pulled away from Sephora and saw that she was covered in blood. Where her dress was ripped I could see gashes on her skin, oozing blood. Her dress was covered in stains, as if she had been getting hurt for days.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice quiet. The back of my throat prickled, threatening tears.

"I was captured..." She said quietly. Her voice was raw. "They kept me there... Cut me..."

"Who? Who's they?" I asked, panicking. What the hell was going on? Sephora began to sway, and then fell forward. I managed to catch her and lower her onto the ground. I cradled her head in my lap and stroked her hair. Tears spilled from my eyes and blurred my vision. The shards of mirror in her dress poked me and made me bleed, little drops staining the lace, but I barely felt it.

"Sephora!" I yelled, but her eyes were already fluttering shut. "Sephora!" Strangled sobs escaped my throat as I curled over her. My body shook as my tears fell, leaving silvery puddles on her dress. "No no no no no," I kept repeating. Sephora, my lifelong friend, was dead.

I don't know how long I sat there, but eventually I laid Sephora on the ground and stood up. I wanted to bury her, but I didn't trust my abilities. They were too unpredictable, and I didn't want to accidentally harm Sephora, whether she was dead or alive. I picked her up, surprised at how light she was, and carried her with me. Eventually, I came to a thicket of trees. Not caring about what lay inside, I entered the canopy of leaves. Sunlight streamed through, reflecting off the golden leaves fluttering around me and littering the ground. It only took me a few seconds to realize where I was. More tears threatened to spill over as I walked through my woods, where I had spent countless hours throughout my life talking to Sephora and Rags, having tea, playing games, or just sitting in trees and thinking.

I reached Sephora's boulder and laid her on top of it. I put her hands, linked together, on her stomach. I ran my fingers through her hair, working out the knots. I straightened her dress out, and managed to cover up most of her wounds with the lacy fabric. There were no flowers in my woods, so I picked up some glittering leaves and places them in her joined hands. Then I crumpled some in my hands, dissolving them into a golden, glittery powder. I sprinkled it in her hair, making it shine again. She was beautiful, in life and in death. Tears rolled down my face as I said my final goodbyes. I kissed Sephora on the forehead, and walked away without looking back.

I stumbled through my woods, tears continuing to leak out of my eyes and run down my face. My chest ached, with physical or emotional pain I didn't know. I had to find Ash. I had to know that he was okay, and not hurt like Sephora. I wouldn't be able to handle it if he was gone too.

"Ash!" I called out, but my voice didn't carry. It was too rough and filled with tears. I tripped and hit the ground hard. A sob escaped my lips, and in seconds I was crying harder than I ever had. I stayed curled in a ball on the golden ground, letting my body shudder with sobs, until I woke up.

The next day was Saturday, which was lucky. I didn't have to go to school and deal with the stares from both students and teachers. I peeled myself out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. I turned the hot water on and let it run over me, not caring that it burned. Dark bruises blossomed over my chest and arms, and small cuts were all over my hands. I viciously scrubbed at the blood still clinging to my skin. I didn't know if it was mine or Sephora's. I didn't want to know.

I thought about my dream. It had been just as terrible as falling down an endless hole, as terrible as the storm, Rags dissolving into sand and being blown away, as terrible as being chased through a house by loud, angry voices. Why was this happening? It just didn't add up that after sixteen years of dreams, they suddenly became terrible nightmares. Maybe I was always destined to be a Tormenter? But even then my dreams wouldn't have been so nice for that long. Nothing was making sense.

And then there was Ash. I hadn't found him last night. I hadn't seen any sign of him either; no lost shoe or leather jacket anywhere. He was gone, as far as I could tell. But, said a little voice in my head, you thought Sephora was gone too. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I had no idea what was going on.