A Midnight Mind

Chapter 24: Teeth

GETTING CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT, said one of Violet's sticky notes.

"Yep," said Neil. "Nervous?"

I'M SCARED OUT OF MY FREAKING MIND. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

"Sorry."

THIS WHOLE SCENARIO IS SO INSANELY WEIRD. I HATE JUST WAITING LIKE THIS. I FEEL LIKE I'M LOSING MY MIND. OR I'VE ALREADY LOST IT.

The words on the notes were getting increasingly sloppy, like Violet's hands were shaking when she wrote them.

"Relax, Violet," said Ethan. He hoped he sounded relaxed himself, but didn't think he did. "You're doing great. Way better than I handled it."

"I hate to say it, but he's right," Neil added. "Trust me when I say that situations like this are extremely rare. This is the second time I've ever heard of a rogue projection anywhere near Shirewood, and the first one happened so long ago I barely even remember it. Also, rogues usually just exploit the Worldmind for personal gain, not hurt other psychics. If they did they'd get themselves scrubbed."

SCRUBBED?

"Yeah, it's like... prison for rogue projections. Sort of. Anyway, don't worry. You're not exactly my favourite person, but you're one of us now, and you're going to be just fine."

It was a while before there was a reply. When it arrived, it said, YOU BETTER BE OKAY TOO.

"We will be," said Ethan. This time he definitely didn't sound relaxed.

LESS THAN A MINUTE NOW.

"Okay, here we go," Neil said. "Less than a minute to midnight. Hold your fadeblade in the air so Violet doesn't accidentally walk into it. Good. We ready?"

Another encounter with the dream man, Ethan thought. Could I ever be ready?

"Ready," he said.

"Stand here, next to me. Cover the exit, but not too close to the door. Give room for Violet to get behind us. There we go. Get ready, Violet."

No notes were added. Either she thought there was no time to write them down, or she couldn't keep her hand steady enough to write them.

An uncomfortable silence filled the bedroom. Ethan didn't know exactly when midnight would strike without a clock of some kind. His arms tired from holding the fadeblade straight up with both hands. He felt like he was on a Star Wars poster.

It's had to have been more than a minute by now. Had to. Heck, it's probably at least 12:01 by now. The dream man must be gone. He must have really been a dream, and now he's--

Right in front of them.

It was the first time Ethan had seen the dream man actually appear, shifting into the middle of the bedroom much the same way Neil looked when he projected somewhere.

The man was as ragged as ever, skin hanging off his bones, eyes drooping to the point of being permanently closed. Dried blood was caked all over his hair, his skin, his clothes. He stooped forward, knees bent and wobbling, barely keeping himself upright. His wide face stood out starkly from his rail-thin body, giving him an even more eerie, asymmetrical look, like something out of a Greek mythology book.

He rose his talon-like fingers and looked down at them in disbelief.

"I made it," he mumbled, sucking saliva through his teeth as he spoke.

It was then that Violet's projection appeared, standing on her bed and looking confused. When she spotted the dream man she let out a sharp shriek and looked around wildly for Ethan and Neil. Eyes locking with Ethan's, she moved to leap off the bed, but realized that doing so would send her crashing into the dream man, so she stopped in her tracks. The dream man was directly between the three of them, but he didn't seem to notice anyone else was in the room.