The Dream

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Everything is white. The wind howls wildly and becomes deafening to the point she must cover her ears. The only break in the colorless sea is a blurry black dot. She takes a step forward but sinks into the ground to her mid-calf. Each forward step she takes, she sinks, having to sacrifice her hearing to push out with her arms. She trudges closer until she is nearly on top of it. She brushes away the slurry of flakes around it and picks it up. It's metallic, a pin of sorts. She examines it for only a moment before a bird swoop down to take the pin.

Carmen startles awake on the warm, volcanic rock, jabbing her elbow into a nearby stalagmite. She hisses and cups her elbow into her opposite hand and rubs viciously to try and soothe the pain. After the pins and needles disappear, she wipes her hands over her face and groans lowly. Her whole-body aches from sleeping on the rock, and she's drenched in a layer of sweat and morning mist. She jerks herself to her feet, frantically searching for some indication of the time; a futile endeavor once she realizes there's no clocks. She sprints outside to see the sun already above the horizon. After a quick curse, she drops and becomes one with her wolf form. The freshly brewed dream poured from her mind into the abyss of forgetting.

She sprints down the mountainside toward the center of the island, her heart and breath racing with her feet. Once she is within eyeshot of the central hut, she decreases her speed to a speed-walk while simultaneously shifting back into a human. Carmen sneaks in through the crowd to get her breakfast; easier said than done when everyone else keeps eyeing her with a smirk. She nabs a plate before her mother can see her, and retreats to the safety of her closest friends.

"Well, looks like someone had a late night." Teases Neyla.

Carmen raises an eyebrow in confusion, when Neyla points downward Carmen follows her finger. The realization strikes; she is still in her clothes from last night, and she sweaty. She rolls her eyes and scoffs before bowing her head to hide her face. She swallows the food with minimal chewing, only just realizing how hungry she is as she shoves another mouthful.

"Please tell me you weren't with Tess. You know she's nothing but trouble and you promised!" Begs Diana.

"I wasn't with Tess." Carmen mumbles.

"So then, who were you with?"

"No one."

"Ah. Classic 'sleep it off in a bush.' Been there. Would explain the clothes, but not your late arrival or flustered skin." States Alo.

"I wasn't sleeping in a bush either!" Snaps Carmen.

"Okay there's no need to get snappy." Neyla raises her hands in defense.

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired, I didn't sleep well last night."

"Well, if you weren't in a bush, nor at Tessa's, and didn't sleep well. Where were you? What were you doing?" Asks Diana.

Carmen looks up at them, she chews the inside of her lip before stealing a glance over her shoulder. She sees Ben and Clara sitting and talking with some tías (aunts). She swallows thickly then turns back to her group, all of them looking at her expectantly. After a moment of debating she sighs defeated, they'll find out one way or another.

"I-I went up the mountain." She mumbled.

The three of them scramble closer, screaming out "what?!" In perfect unison. Others glare their way but return to their meals when Carmen shushed them and motioned with her hands for them to sit back.

"What did you see?!"

"Nothing. Just like last time." Carmen said bitterly.

All of their shoulders collapse in disappointment. They look toward the table before Diana reaches out to take Carmen's hand. She retracts from the touch and hugs herself tightly. They say nothing but she can feel their sympathetic stares burning into her, the same stares she gets from everyone else.

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