Incubus

Chapter One

The scent of lavender fills the air around me, and I am awake again.

I sit up on a black and white checkered floor, my vision blurred by the two colors that my mind is trying to blend together. I am unable to focus on any one spot on the floor, and for a moment I wonder why. I run my fingers along the tile, feeling the dirt sprayed across it and the thin dent that runs along each tile, separating black and white. I can feel every sensation, so I must be awake. I don't remember where I learned this, but I know. No one can feel when they dream; not sensations, anyway. They can feel emotions, I think. That's what I remember of it. I've heard of such things called dreams, but I have never once had one. Or, if I did, I probably don't remember it. People aren't supposed to remember dreams, now are they?

I shake my head at myself and force myself up from the ground. There are staircases encasing the exterior of the room, going up and up and up...to somewhere I can't see. They seem to be never-ending; some sort of impossibility...but nothing is impossible here. Nothing I've tried here is impossible, anyway. I look up, searching for sky, but all I see is millions of binding black and white stairwells, one after the other. I see people, all in black and white, strolling across them. They talk to each other and I see their emotions displayed on their faces, but hear nothing. The building is silent.

I try my voice. "Hello!? Jenna is here! Anyone!?" I hear my voice bellow through the room, bouncing off every stairwell and every tile on the floor, but no one looks at me. No one, not even one person, looks over to me and I look down, feeling utterly alone. I walk away from where I once stood and search for a way out of the building, wondering why no one can hear me; why no one will look at me. My hair flies into my face, and I realize it has faded to black. My raise my hand up, to make sure my skin is still a warm peach color, but it isn't. It is pale; the color someone reaches once they become completely lifeless.

I want to panic, but the scent of the lavender entices me to stay calm, to be tranquil. I smile a bit, despite myself, smelling the scent of the plant and continue walking. After a few moments, I forget what was wrong in the first place, and carry on. I find the entrance to one of the staircases and rush up it, into the unknown. A girl with pale skin, like myself, and platinum white hair approaches me. I look her in the eyes, assessing her. Her irises are black. I am unable to see the difference between them and her pupil.

"Hey, Jenna," she greets. I don't hear her voice, but I somehow know what she is saying anyway. It is implanted inside my head. I look towards another person, focusing my thoughts on him. I still cannot hear his conversation. Confused, I turn back to the other girl, remembering what had me so worried in the first place. I feel something isn't right, but I suppose I am just paranoid. Paranoia is just as common as depression, after all. Suddenly, I remember the girl was speaking to me and rush to respond.

"Hi?" I squeak.

She stares at me for a moment with a confused look on her face. It looks as though I responded too late.

"I'm sorry...I was just trying to remember your name," I lie. I don't remember her name though. I don't remember any of these people, actually.

The girl nods a bit in understanding. "I'm Melanie," she explains. She scoffs lightly, as if in disbelief, and shakes her head. "I can't believe you don't remember me. I mean...," she scoffs again, "I'm your best friend...I just-"

I laugh and attempt to make it sound genuine. "I'm kidding, Mel," I remark. For a split-second, I wonder if my use of the nickname is incorrect...it just felt so right to say it. I also wonder why everything feels so out of my control at the moment.

I watch as relief floods over her face, and in an instant, my paranoid thoughts are out the window. She resumes walking up the stairs and I scurry along behind her, holding tightly to the rail. "I thought for a second you were serious! Gosh, Jenna, don't do that to me!" she scolds.