Incubus

Prologue

"Now, Jenna, be a good girl and go with the nice doctor," her mother chimed, looking at her daughter's small, confused face.

Jenna, still looking rather confused, tilted her head at her mother and the doctor standing next to her, calculating her next move. "I don't think so," she replied, crossing her arms at her mother. She was only five and not yet educated in the ways of life or common sense, it seemed, though she certainly knew how to act haughty and spoiled. She tilted her face up and away from her mother, mimicking the rich, snooty characters on her favorite television shows; the shows she would never watch again.

"Jenna, dear, you don't want me to take away your owl, do you?" her mother questioned, holding up her small barred owl stuffed doll in front of her. She had conveniently hid it in her purse specifically for this purpose, knowing that her daughter wasn't intelligent enough yet to realize that where she was going, there would be no owl dolls, television shows, dresses, or her mother; none of the material things Jenna loved so much, no, not unless she dreamed them up.

"Owl!" Jenna cried, throwing her arms out of their crossed stance and instead around her poor, dirty owl doll.

"Are you all ready to go now?" her mother asked carefully, looking down at her with something like regret; like she was giving her an apology.

Jenna huffed. "Fine, mommy, I'll go. Can I take Owl with me, please?" she asked, only adding the last part a few moments later.

Her mother looked towards the doctor, who shook his head no just as quickly. Though, he soon changed his mind as a large sum of money was wavered in his face. "Oh, I don't see why not..." He reached up and delicately plucked the money from her fingertips and glanced down at Jenna, who was now happily playing with her owl doll. Doctors didn't need to deal with children of their own, in fact, they weren't even allowed to have them. They were the only ones left to deal with the sick and injured, even the government workers. The doctors were the only ones that weren't pawns on the government's chess board, making them almost useless in everyone's eyes. They were barely paid for the same reason, and yet, they still chose the job regardless.

"When can I speak with her next?" her mother asked softly, hoping for an answer that wasn't cryptic; guarded by meaningless words that were usually spat out by doctors of his department.

The doctor stared at her for a moment, mouth wide open and eyes calculating why she would ask such a question. Not many mothers cared anymore about seeing their children, let alone holding a conversation with them. He grabbed a nearby clipboard and leafed through the next few pages, looking them over briefly before moving onto the next. "How does today, eight years from now sound?" he asked her.

"Perfect."

"Are you sure you'll be able to make it that day?"

"I'll make time for it, I'm sure. Just make sure you get her off the machine by that morning and competent enough to speak."

"I'm not sure I can-"

More cash was thrown on the table, though it was no surprise to him, considering she was one of the wealthy citizens of the world, as were all the talented parental figures of the world then; the ones that acquired the greatest amount of intellect. "Okay then, I'll make sure that's done..."

"Good," she replied.

"Ma'am, may I ask what your current career is?"

"Singer, currently, I plan on switching over to photography by the end of the year, however." The goverment must have gotten sick of hearing her singing on the radio, no doubt. Maybe they even threatened to send her back into the unknown horror she was about to send her own daughter into.

"Ah, well, if you ever want to schedule any more appointments with your daughter, feel free to do so. We'd enjoy seeing you again."

Of course they would. The doctors were all greedy back then; every single one of them.

Jenna's mother nodded, looking down at Jenna solemnly. "I'll try to schedule one after my next visit, alright?"

"Sounds good to me, ma'am," he replied, smiling brightly but barely manging to keep it looking genuine. Going by seemingly unnoticed, Jenna's mother nodded and gently walked Jenna closer to the doctor. "Mommy will see you when you wake up, okay?"

Jenna nodded vigorously, her dark brown flying in every direction as she did. "Okay, mommy!" She put her owl doll on her head, as if to distract from her now messy hair, and smiled. "Owl will miss you too!"

"And I'll miss Owl," she responded, giving her a faint smile. Jenna nodded to her, nearly knocking her owl off her own head and smiled back. Her mother kissed her cheek quickly and was out the door within moments, leaving Jenna to stare at the doctor wide-eyed with her innocent-looking blue eyes.

"Don't do that," he demanded.

"Mommy said I have to go with you," she replied. "So, go somewhere already, or..."

"Or what?" the doctor questioned. What the hell could a small child like her do? He was waiting patiently on a very amusing answer, and a very amusing answer was exactly what he had received.

"Owl will eat you! She'll beat you with her magical orange owl beak until you turn green and then she'll eat you!"

Sighing, the doctor shook his head. "No, no she will not. Or else, I'll break Owl's little orange beak and throw her in the garbage. Are we clear?" he questioned. Now he remembered why he had decided to become a doctor and not some king of the celebrity world; because if you were a doctor, you weren't required to have children; no, you simply had to break their spirits and send them into a medically induced coma; a hibernation of sorts.

Just like he was about to do with Jenna.

Jenna's lip trembled slightly but she didn't dare cry. In fact, she grasped her owl doll even tighter and stood up straight. "I'll throw you in the garbage, you big fat meanie!"

The doctor sighed in an annoyance and grabbed Jenna's arm. "Okay, okay, whatever. Just come on," he huffed, opening the door to the back room. He led Jenna inside a room that consisted only of a monitor, black light, and a large bed that Jenna would be laying on for the next eight years. After those eight years, she would visit with her mother, and then be pushed right back into the dream sequence for another few years, until her mother decided to schedule a new meeting.

"Jenna, why don't you lie down on the bed? Rest for a while," he said, his voice low and soothing. "This will only take a moment."

"Well...okay!" Jenna replied, tossing her owl onto the bed. She hopped onto the bed alongside the doll and clutched it tightly as she held it to her chest. "She has to sleep like this, otherwise, she stays up all night," she explained, mostly to herself. "'Cause she's nocturnal, Mommy said so."

"Okay, Jenna...," the doctor said, slightly irritated. "Hold still and go to sleep."

Jenna did stay still, very still, in fact. She didn't whine or snap at him when he injected the intelligence serum into her and by the time he had gotten the process of putting her into a medically induced coma, she was already sound asleep. The innocence on her face was precious and heart-stopping, as most children were, which was just the issue for the doctors. In order to insure that they only thought of themselves, they were paid little and weren't allowed to marry or have children. They had to act cold-hearted, ruthless, and most of all, they had to throw innocent children into the most dangerous position the world had ever seen: The Dream Sequence.

The Dream Sequence...

It had seemed perfect and it, indeed, had worked perfectly for hundreds of years. How long did the government actually believe it would work however? All life has to end at some point; all dreams have to cease to exist; those who sleep always must wake up at one point; and...

Every once in a while you don't get to have a dream; you get a nightmare.

So, yeah, this is something that I'm working on for my InkPop account. Buttttt, you can't post in chapters on there, and I'd kind of like some feedback before I post anything on there, since I'll be posting the full finished product on there once I'm done and if I change one thing once it's done...well, I'll have to go back and change a lot of events after that too.