Digitals Saga

My Nonexistent Substitute Teacher From Hell

…They came from a universe not unlike our own. Creatures of conscious energy that need to feed on sentient life forms in order to replace the energy constantly lost or dissipated. It was only a matter of time before they got to Earth, driven by the urge to preserve their feeble lives. The creatures function to destroy and from the destruction they rise anew...

...From the seeds of evil arise the Digitals...

CHAPTER ONE: 

 THE NON-EXISTENT TEACHER FROM HELL

Sam saw the woman again. It was so vivid this time. Her translucent pale skin, graceful physique, rich ocean-blue eyes. She was beautiful and exotic, angelic and almost elfish. Sam didn't know her of course, she was too perfect for a place in reality. He couldn't help but shudder at the thought of what he had just dreamt. This time was different, this time the women had talked.

As it was in dreams, even the strangest surreal environments seemed to coincide perfectly with the laws of physics. Looking back at it now, the world in the dream was perhaps a little too vibrant. The trees were too green, the sky too bright, and the air too clear. The flora was rich in color. The full spectrum of light was represented, and even though it was hazy, Sam swore that they were colors there couldn't be perceived in reality.

The woman spoke or rather thought at him. Even though it didn't matter now, it angered Sam that he couldn't remember what she told him. His alarm had ripped him from her too abruptly, erasing the warning or message she expressed. He cursed his alarm for forcing him back into reality.

Sam sat up in Bed feeling his chest pulsating. 6:00 am read the alarm in blaring green numbers. Most kids had smart phones that kept time and held alarms, but Sam wasn't a normal kid. He didn't have a smart phone and distrusted his old phone's alarm settings as they were always resulting in problems. His mom, the powerhouse of his small family, was too strict to allow "those kinds of devices" in the household. Sam was lucky to get away with his dinosaur of a phone. 

Stumbling through the darkness Sam headed for the bathroom. He shook the dizziness from his head and the ringing from his ears. He noticed the light go on in his sister's room and the shuffle of footsteps on the house's ancient upper floor. He let the water run from the shower head for a few moments while he brushed his teeth and gurgled a mouthful of Listerine. When it reached a temperature he liked, Sam allowed himself to be absorbed into the stream of warmth that quickly washed the night worries away. 

He heard Rebecca, his sister, enter the bathroom and turn the faucet on. 

"Hey Sam?" Rebecca called from outside the curtain.

"Yeah," he croaked with a voice still thick from a deep sleep. 

"Can you drive me home today, Sarah can't make it to volleyball practice and it's too late to set up another carpool? The flu is going around and it's tearing the team apart. Did you know three girls from the team are already out for the week?"

Sam grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around his waist. “Yeah, of course I'll take you. It might be a while, I have to meet with my biology teacher about the test I took last week, but I think I can get there no problem."

"Thanks Sammy," she said before taking a swig of mouthwash.

After picking out some clothes, Sam packed his backpack for the day while grabbing an energy bar for breakfast. He noticed a letter on the counter. It was from his mom, letting them know she was going to be late that night and telling Sam he could either order in or pick something up for dinner. She also told them she loved them.

It had been hard on his mom after their father disappeared. No one expected it; Mr. Levi just vanished one day. He went to his office as usual and just never came home. The police department called later that day. It turned out he never even made it to work. His Prius was found deserted on the Starbuck's parking lot he went to every morning. The police looked for months for Sam's father. Chasing the scarce evidence and looking hopefully through security footage and similar cases, desperately searching for links in the great mystery. Eventually the case was dropped and all that was left of Mr. Levi were the memories.