Dreamscape

Chapter 1 ~ Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Boom! Crash! The rain pelted down on the glass of the car window. Making the outside world look like it was melting away into nothingness. The sky was dark and dreary, reflecting the way Lana felt at the moment almost perfectly. The world outside the car door was being ravaged by the huge, plummeting drops of grey water. The only light was that of the headlights on the cars that seldom passed by Lana's vehicle. Penetrating the muddy, dismal expanse of sadness for a split second before morphing back into the icy fog and freezing raindrops. The grey, asphalt was coated in a thick layer of clear, grey water, and the rolling hills on either side of the road were as waterlogged as the earth could get. At this rate, it had been pouring so much, Lana thought if she rounded up all of the water that had fallen from the swirling, smog colored clouds, she could put out the earth's core once and for all. Lana knew she was exaggerating, but she couldn't help it. She had just lost a friend that had been near and dear to her. They had never met in real life, but this person had always been there for her when she needed it. Whether it be a day where nothing could go wrong or a day exactly like this, he had always been there. It almost didn't matter that they had never met face to face. But now... he was gone. And Lana had no clue if what had happened to him. He had just up and disappeared from her life. Drifted away like a dandelion puff in a gale force wind like the one that was tearing around the car at this very moment. Making it rock slightly. Splash! The car hurtled through a groove in the road that had filled up with water; splashing the murky, muddy liquid all of the window at the front of the car. Lana's father swore as he turned on the window wipers. Lana's mother sighed and leaned back in her chair. Lana's little brother snored quietly, strapped into the seat beside her tightly. Lana just continued to stare out the window. Letting her breath fog up the glass, then using her finger to draw little figured in the condensation before it faded away... just like her friend had. Of course her parents had chosen this week of all weeks to head down to their grandparents house, down in the country. Lana normally loved it up there. So much open space and places to explore. It added a spice to her life she could only normally get out of the books she read... or wrote, really. But today, Lana was in such a foul mood, not even seeing her cousin could bring her out of this slump. Not at the moment, at least. The weight of it all was still pressing down on Lana, and it was more than she could bear. Lana blinked, brushing away the tears that had been building up in her gaze. Lana sighed, pressing her forehead up against the cold, slick glass.

"Why don't you draw, Lana? It'll take your mind if things." Came her mother's soft, comforting voice from the front seats, "Hopefully, by the time you're done, we'll be there."

Lana finally looked up from the car door and nodded to her mother. She couldn't wallow in her own sorrow and pity forever. Besides, she didn't want her cousin to see her like this. She needed to be happy. She needed to be able to smile and not know she was faking it. She needed to get her mind off of things. The storm outside reflected her emotions perfectly. Maybe if she cheered up, the storm would go away. Lana slowly knelt down to that she was touching the top of the book bag that rested on her feet. The bag was dark purple with black, intricate markings sewn into its sturdy, soft fabric. Just as Lana reached in to pull out her drawing book, she heard her father's voice resonate through the car's interior loud and clear as he swore once again. BANG! Lana's head slammed against the back of her father's chair as her father slammed on the brakes.

"Stupid fudging deer!" He roared in his low, rumbling voice. Honking the horn in the middle of the steering wheel as loud as he could.

Lana's mother sighed in an exasperated manner as the deer that had been standing in the middle of the road scampered off into the surrounding trees. Now, Lana had trained herself to hear words her father wasn't actually saying. She knew when she heard fudging, he was really uttering something much worse, but she had been told never to say them, so she had trained herself never to hear them, either. Lana thought this was quite ingenious. Right now, Lana fought the urge to shout out "Fudge" as she sat up, rubbing her head in a soothing manner where it had collided with the hard, stone grey, plastic back of the front seat. In her other hand, Lana clutched the top of a fat, spiral spined book. The cover was a light grey, but scrawled across it in multiple colors were doodles of all shapes, sizes and kinds. From the pages, sticky notes of all neon hues stuck out in every angle, as well as other sheets of blank white paper she had stuffed in there for semi-safe keeping. In a household with a little brother and a bunch of his childish, rowdy friends constantly running a muck, nothing was truly safe from their grubby, dirt-coated little mitts. As her father stepped on the gas and the car continued to trundle down the road, Lana placed her drawing book down on her lap and looked over at her brother. Joshua. He was small and pudgy, like most children of his age were. His large head lolled to one side and his fat little limbs hung at his sides. The top of his head was covered in a mop of dirty blonde curls that tumbled over his closed eyes and down around his small, monkey like ears. A small trickle of clear spittle spilled out of the corner of his open mouth and down to his stained shirt. Lana knew it had once been a dazzling white with a little yellow ducky sewn onto it in the middle. Now it just looked like puke. Lana watched her brother sleeping for a few seconds, but that wasn't why she had turned her head over in that direction. It was because of the thing that sat in between Lana and her drooling baby brother. Lana looked down to the seat beside her. A pair of large, red and white eyes met her gaze contently. A wide, warm smile spread across the creature's minty, greenish-blue face. It was a small, stuffed plush of Lana's favorite Pokémon. Bulbasaur. Lana had named him Camo, because of the blue spots that covered his stumpy little body. Lana scooped up the Poképlush in her arms and squeezed it tightly. Lana didn't care how old she got, she would never go anywhere without Camo by her side. He was her starter. Lana knew this was childish, but she didn't care. Camo comforted her. And at the moment, she needed all the comforting she could get. After squeezing Camo to her chest for a few seconds, she set him down on her lap, letting him replace the spot of her drawing book, which she now held in her hands. Lana flipped through the pages until she found an untouched page. A clean slate. Lana decided she draw another picture of her and Camo. She's mark it with the neon green sticky note later. Lana bent over again, holding everything in her lap, and reached into her boom bag once again. Luckily, this time, no deer interfered with her father's driving. Lana pulled out a small, black pencil case and placed it down on Camo's head. She knew he didn't mind. Lana unzipped the case, took out what she needed for her task at hand, and started drawing.