I stood and gazed at this awful smelling yard of bones and burning flesh. Was I to blame for this horrible place that looks like hell? Should I have been considered a devil of truth and justice, turning everything I saw to ashes? My ripped black cloak played along with my nervous assumption as does the only light that falls upon this planet. I stared at the ball of gas that released its warmth and light on me. Was it saving me or was it dooming me like all the rest? I became more and more uneasy as the temperature increased. I could almost see the energy of the sun embracing me. I was afraid if I went with the sun that I, the person to blame for these piles of ashes, would also be turned to ash. I was sure the sun was not a happy place to be, yet I was sucked into the giant sphere like a feather being sucked into a vortex.
“Acacia!” I heard Oliver attempting to wake me. I held my forehead to ease the pain from sitting up so quickly. “Did you have the dream again?” he asked me. I opened my heavy eye lids and looked at his forehead that was creased with concern. I sighed.
“Yes”, I told him as I sat there drenched in my nightmare. I had been having the same dream since my eighteenth birthday and every time I would wake up with someone beside me with the same concerned expression. I swung my long legs over the edge of my queen size bed so I was in a more appropriate sitting position. Oliver silently continued to stare at me and waited for me to expand on my answer to his question. However, I wasn’t in the mood to tell him right now as the vivid images of death and destruction was still alive in my mind. “I need to get in the shower” I simply told him.
I walked into the kitchen where mum was silently staring at me. I tried to ignore her wide eyes while pouring a bowl of cereal. I hoped that she would say something because the silence was getting painful.
“So, are you pumped for your first day as a ‘check out chick’?” mum asked me trying to put a note of humour in her tone. I appreciated her effort to try and have a normal conversation with me but it wasn’t working as I could still hear the loud curiosity in her voice.
“I’m feeling a little nervous. I’m probably feeling more nervous about waiting for someone to mention what happened last night”, I said in a rush of words that didn’t come out as smoothly as I’d hoped. If I couldn’t hear their nervous breaths, I’d think they had stopped breathing all together.
“Sweet heart, we’re just worried. Last night you were louder than you’ve ever been. You kept screaming ‘they’re coming’. Do you know what that means?” she asked me. I was frustrated enough without a ridiculous question like that.
“How am I supposed to know?” I retaliated with too much volume in my voice than was necessary. I sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long night, I’m tired and I’m frustrated. Can we talk about this later?” I asked her. She simply nodded and gave me a warm smile as if to tell me everything was going to be alright, before I made my way down the narrow hall toward the front door.
