TUNES

EIGHT: THE DREAM

It was night. You could hear the droplet of waters falling from the sky. Lightning lit up the skies as thunder roared.

Pink ran as fast as she could through the school hallway toward the clinic.

She slammed the door shut behind her, ensuring it was locked so her pursuer couldn't get in. Then she began frantically searching for Raymond's wand.

"Pink!" Jennie's distorted voice echoed through the hallway, her deep footsteps thudding as she scratched the walls with her claws. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Panting in fear, Pink tore through the clinic, her search growing more desperate.

"Where is it?" she muttered, her eyes scanning every corner of the room.

Jennie's laugh echoed down the hall, making Pink's heart skip a beat.

Silence followed.

No footsteps.

Pink's fear deepened.

Where was Jennie? Had she given up?

Suddenly, there was a loud bang at the door. Jennie laughed maniacally from the other side.

"I've got you now!" she yelled as she pounded on the door, trying to break it open.

Pink collapsed to the floor, swallowed by terror. Then she noticed a small wooden cover beneath a large bear rug.

Quickly, she moved the rug and slid the cover open, revealing the wand hidden beneath.

She grabbed the wand and stood, pointing it toward the door just as Jennie burst in. She smiled wildly, twitching her neck from side to side as her bones cracked.

She looked different, like a human beast, covered in furs with glowing red eyes.

Pink trembled in fear but held the wand tightly.

"There you are!" Jennie smirked, clearly relishing the fear in the air. "Oh, how I've waited for this day." She slowly advanced, savoring the moment. "Don't worry, this will be fast and painless."

Jennie stopped when she saw the wand in Pink's hand and gasped.

"The wand!"

In a flash, she snatched it from Pink, who barely put up a fight.

"Do you know how long I've searched for this?"
Jennie exclaimed, lifting the wand triumphantly.

With a flicker of lightning, she bent it until it snapped in two. Her laughter echoed through the empty school hallways.

She turned back to Pink with a sinister grin.

"Now, where were we?" Jennie lunged forward, sinking her teeth into Pink's neck as Pink let out a piercing scream...

Clary woke up panting.

What was that?

Another vision, and a disturbing one at that.

Her parents were out of town, so there was no one to tell at the moment.

It was already morning. She spent a few minutes thinking about the dream before getting up to bathe and prepare for school.

...

At school...

After the first period, I headed to the clinic for a check-up. I'd been feeling down since the incident.

I knocked on the door and entered without waiting for a response.

Inside, I saw Raymond sitting behind his desk clustered with files. Clary sat across from him. They both turned to look at me as I entered, startling me.

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked, standing still.

"No, not really," Raymond said. "Ms. Broadway was just telling me about a dream she had last night." Then he turned to me. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, I've been feeling a bit off lately. I just wanted a check-up," I replied.

"Alright then, have a seat."

I sat on one of the sick beds as he brought over his equipment to check my pulse, blood pressure, and temperature. There was an uncomfortable silence as Clary avoided making eye contact with me.

I turned to Raymond, who was already checking my blood pressure, and broke the silence.

"So, what was the dream about?"

Clary glanced at me briefly before lowering her gaze.

Raymond cleared his throat, glancing at Clary for permission.

She nodded slightly, so he summarized the dream she'd just shared.

In shock, I struggled to contain myself.

"Are you serious?"

Raymond nodded, stepping away as he finished the check-up.

"I had the same dream," I blurted out, watching both of them stare at me, equally surprised.

Clary stood up, turning to Raymond.

"How is this possible?" she asked, more confused than I was.

"I don't know," Raymond replied, "but you two having the same dream feels like a warning."

He walked to the middle of the clinic and moved aside the large bear rug, revealing a small hole in the wooden floor. From it, he pulled out the wand.

Clary and I gasped.

"That's exactly where it was hidden in my dream," I said, almost unable to believe what was happening.

"This wand must not be broken," Raymond said, muttering a spell under his breath that made it disappear.

"Why?" Clary asked.

Raymond sat back down.

"The wand is a symbol of order. Every magic performed with it contributes to the order of the world. If broken, every spell I've ever cast will be undone. Imagine the chaos."

The thought of the catastrophe that would bring sent a shiver down my spine.

"So, why would Jennie want to destroy the wand?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but my guess is that Nemus put her up to it," Raymond said with a sigh. "I used magic to ban him from the school grounds, to keep him from causing trouble."

"That would explain why he's allied with Jennie," Clary said.

The thought of Nemus breaking the wand and returning to haunt my nights filled me with dread.

"But it can't be true. I mean, it's just a theory, right?"

"I don't know yet," Raymond replied. "No one knows for sure what Jennie is up to."

His uncertainty scared me the most. I kept asking myself,

"What is Jennifer planning?"

After a moment, Raymond handed me my results.

"Come back if anything else is bothering your health," he said as we stood to leave.

As I reached for the door, Clary touched my shoulder, leaned in, and whispered,

"Don't tell Pink about this."

I wanted to ask why, but somehow, I already knew the answer.

I nodded, and we left the clinic.