The Moon Mark

Chapter Two

That whole "Water Poisoned" incident? Makes for some great sleep. After Zach and Gwen had gotten me back home, I changed into my pj's and tried to sleep. I gave up an hour later of just staring at the ceiling with too many thoughts running through my head. I slipped into my living room for a TV marathon.

I fell asleep for an hour or two only to be awoken by a call from my work. On the other end of the line was Leah. She had taken over for Katie until she could be located and questioned. The police believed it was against her own will to do what she had done.

"And if you need a week off from work, you are allowed. It'll just cost some of your vacation days." I told her I was okay and could still work. I was lying, but she didn't press further. She hung up without another word. I flopped back onto the couch to try and get some sleep. No such luck. My mind was reeling and there wasn't any way to shut it off.

Even after the whole incident died down publicly, which took a painfully long two weeks, my sleeping pattern had broken and became inconsistent. Well, more than usual.

Surprisingly, Zach was affected. Almost nothing messed with his sleep. The only thing that really kept him up was when his mom visited him. Zach never survived all nighters with Gwen and me (so we always planned something to prank him for when he woke). Yet he came over at three one night when I had texted him.

I found myself texting him every now and then during my sleepless nights. I figured I'd do it with any of my friends, but they would be cranky with me or kill me (one quite literally).

Zach was over three weeks after the incident when she decided to visit. We had been watching a movie, but it had ended with both of us awake. Zach's eyes were highlighted with dark circles. I'm sure mine was the same; I hadn't slept in a long time.

"When did you last sleep?" Zach murmured next to me. His eyes were half closed. They stared into my own, and I felt a warm emotion coming off of them. I was too tired to try and interpret it. His feet were stretched out onto my coffee table. My feet could barely reach it, but his were more than able to. Zach was about a head taller than me. Around him, I felt like most my friends felt around me (since five eight is considered tall for girls).

"Probably one or two days. The usual," I guessed. I started yawning but I tried to stifle it. Yawning made my eyes tear up and hurt. Zach poked my cheek teasingly.

"How long have you lasted before?"

"Longest was about three days. I crashed in the middle of the third day. That was a fun little adventure for my friend." He laughed a little, resting his head further into the couch cushion. His frosty blue eyes closed for a couple of seconds, and I let my gaze go off him. My eyes wandered until they were looking through the window next to the TV. The moon wasn't visible and the stars were drowned out by the lights; it left me staring at pure blackness. It was lonely, as if there were nothing else in the universe except people.

"Magena," a soft whisper came from beside me. "Do you believe what she said?" His voice was hesitant. His eyes were open again and filled with multiple emotions. I could pick out guilt.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a one time thing to scare us." I didn't mention how what she said didn't seem like just a prank. How she knew so much about us. Katie barely knew me; she would much rather boss me around than have a heart to heart conversation with me. I didn't want him to think Katie really did frighten me.

"You're smart Magena. I know you don't think that." I sighed. Zach closed his eyes. I stared forward, listening to the quiet noises around me. The lights were off and we didn't have a blanket, though summertime meant we didn't need one, yet it was oddly comfortable sitting next to my best friend. I closed my eyes and let the soft noises lull me into the darkness.

I was hoping for a dreamless sleep, the only kind of sleep that didn't bother me. I didn't normally have dreams, since Mom was in charge of that field (we didn't have a dream element yet and probably never would. Mom said one childbirth was enough). But when I did, it was Mom trying to get a message across. That could mean really weird dreams or terrifying nightmares. Tonight was a new kind of dream.

I was sitting in a red plush chair in front of a white marble stage. No sunlight was reflecting off of it, but I could see a glowing dot that probably represented the sun. On the stage, five people stood. Each were on there own platform and stared straight ahead. Emotion reading wasn't possible in dreams, so I had no idea what they felt. Two the left of the middle, a girl with golden hair and a boy with sharp blue eyes stood. Two the right of the middle, a girl with cute nerdy glasses and a girl with black clothing were positioned. In the middle was a man in his forties. He had my hispanic look.

"What are their names?" a deep woman's voice said next to me. I turned to see what was best described as Leah. The woman had Leah's face and hair, but her body was different and faded. Even in the dream Leah's eyes were intimidating. Leah stared at me like I had committed a crime.

"That's easy," I said, but I lacked the confidence I used in my voice. I sounded vulnerable and unsure, the last thing I ever wanted to be. "They are... uh... their n-names..." I began to stammer, something I did when embarrassed. Dread filled me. I wasn't remembering their names, yet I knew who they were. I had said their names many times before, but my knowledge and memory weren't connecting. I glanced nervously over to Leah. Her hands were beginning to clench up.

"What are their names?" This time she said it a bit more forcefully, as if she was going to hurt me if I didn't know. "Tell me, Camarlo!"

"I-I can't... I can't remember!" Leah began walking towards me. I tried to move, only to find my hands cuffed to the seat. "It's a trick! S-something's not right here!" Leah growled like a tiger. Dread clung onto me.

"This is no trick. You brought this upon yourself!" Leah placed her hands on my shoulders. "This is YOUR fault. You couldn't even remember your own father!" The dream began to crack as Leah disappeared. Blue pieces of the sky began to fall around me, heading into nothingness. On stage, everyone but the man disappeared. The man's brown eyes moved to me. His face was ragged and depressed. Behind him, a woman began to form. She came first by her large, silver wings I knew too well. My mother was everything I was not. She had gentle, soft blonde hair with smooth pale skin. She wore a dress that seemed to match the moon and night sky. Just her appearance was elegant and graceful, something I'd never be. Her silver wings held her suspended in the air above my dad.

"Magena!" Her soft, harmonious voice called over the destruction. "What have you done?" Larger pieces began to fall. Mom's pale gray eyes, the only thing I had inherited from her, stared at me. Hot tears had appeared against my will. They always did whenever I saw my parents together. I felt weak, and my mom was here to witness it all.

"Why can't I remember Dad? Why can't I remember any of them?" The chair that held me fell apart, freeing me. I tried to reach for my mom. The moon on my cheek burned, a new feeling I didn't want to get used to. Dad soon disappeared with everything else, leaving me with my mother. She let herself began to fade away.

"Oh sweet daughter," she whispered, her voice fading. "What have you done?"

I was alone in the darkness. Alone and left with Mom's last thought:

Didn't you know what the Moon Mark does?

A/N: Chapter Three will be up soon. I felt if I continued after this, it'd ruin the feel. So for now, enjoy.