Electus

Chapter One: Again

Chapter One: Again

It had happened again. The same recurring nightmare Anna has envisioned for the last month. Mitch and Heather - two people whom she had never met before, yet feels as though she's known them for years. 

This isn't the first time Anna has dreamt about Heather, and she doubts it would be the last. Since the age of fourteen, Anna has seen Heather in recurring scenes that last upto three months and all result in Heather being in some kind of danger - However, this was the first dream which depicted her death.

Usually, the dream stops upon the entry of the cave; but this time, the dream continued beyond.

And those monsters.

Not easy faces to wipe from memory. 

Anna has looked into dream meaning many times. Dr. Google could answer almost every question she had. Caves represented an exploration into our 'deeper selves', Driving signifies life and journey; Death of a stranger (or death in general) could represent anything from fear to instability - however this just wasn't true. None of these meanings resignated with how Anna was feeling at all. She had a wonderful, easy life - great friends, loving family in which she was the only (spoiled) child, good grades - nothing seemed to add up.

Heather was someone Anna had casually tried to discuss at dinner once, in a very vague manner, only for her parent's to suspect she had schizophrenia.

"This... 'Heather'," her mother started, "how long has she been bothering you?"

"Not bothering me, mom. Just... I see her sometimes - but I've never met her."

"Never met her? Does she speak to you?" the father asked.

"No, dad. I just see her doing things."

"Like what?"   more questions - why did I even bring this up?

"I see her like... I don't know... fighting and stuff."

"Fighting who? You?"

"No, not me! I'm not in these dreams! I see her fighting people - but I don't know why so don't ask."

"Honey, do you need to see a councillor?" her mother had tilted her head in a sympathetic way. 

"No. Never mind. It was a joke. A stupid joke." Anna had tried to dismiss it, but it was an issue that her parents decided to check up on nearly every week; throwing questions about Heather around so casually you would think that they knew more about her then Anna. Anna, of course, lied about her encounters, saying that she wouldn't know how Heather is because she doesn't see her anymore - until one day, the questions stopped. 

Heather was forgotten about and Anna was not going to bring her up again. 

After seeing Heather nearly every night for the last three years, her most recent encounter - the dream depicting Heather's death - was almost upsetting. Heather, despite having never spoken, felt like a close friend to Anna. Anna would sometimes wonder if Heather was a real person, does she dream about Anna too? It seemed like a stupid question and was often dissmissed in Anna's mind as being 'paranoid' or 'obsessive'. 

Although it was nearly midday, Anna continued to lay in bed - her long brown hair spread like a fan against her pillow - as she further contemplated her dream.

It was stupid, she told herself - she was being over-obsessive. 

In a petty attempt to change her train of thought, Anna pulled out her phone and started checking through her messages. She didn't understand why her friends messaged her so late - they all knew she had a strict 9:00PM bed time. 

The iMessage group chat she was in meant that ever morning she would wake up to at least 30 new messages from the night before. 

The conversation was talking about a meet up later that day and Rebecca's house. Anna swiftly replied, saying she'd be there.

Running downstairs so fast it became more of a sprint, Anna raided the cupboard for a 'breakfast-lunch' type meal. She had loved the holidays because it allowed her to sleep in and be as lazy as she wanted. Anna knew she had final exams coming up this term, but was never bothered to fully apply herself to her studies because she already knew what she wanted to become - a 'vetenary nurse'. A course which required a low final mark that was able to be taken outside of university, in a TAFE course. It only required about six months work experience. 

Because of this, Annas effort and appliction to study was very little.

After finding enough food to fill her stomach, she turned on the television and started flicking through channels. 

"... Silly Spongebob!..."

"... application to these..."

"... в сегодняшних новостей..."

"... Last week on RuPaul's..."

"... police have found an unidentified body..."

Anna stopped flicking and tuned in. 

"While the body remains unidentified, it is clear that the death had occured some time last night. Three reports of missing children were filed in the local area..."

Anna paused her Foxel tv. As the news anchor announced the three missing children reports, three flyer-like images appeared on the screen. They were all headed 'MISSING' in big, black, bold letters and detailed some various rewards.

One was for a negro girl who looked about eight and had thick corn-rowed hair, named Elaine. The second was for another girl, who looked to be an indistinct nationality named Gina; and the third for a girl who looked to be seventeen... named Heather.

Anna couldn't believe it. 

"Mum!" She called, "Dad!"

But she knew no one was home - they were both at work.

Taking out her iPhone, she takes a pixilated photograph for evidence, then places it back down and studies the girl on the screen. 

Dirty-blonde hair, blue eyes, crooked-smile and off-centred teeth - this was the girl she had seen. The poster provided a last name, but the news-station had blurred it, most likely to protect the identity of minors. 

Anna pressed play and continued the news program. 

"Police are urging anyone with any information to call 993-573-453."

Pausing the television again, Anna typed the number into her home telephone and switched it off. As the line rang through twice, Anna hung up. Why was she calling? How valid is a dream - about monsters of all things - as evidence? Well.. It's not, she told herself. 

Still, she had to let someone know. 

Now there was hardcore evidence towards Heather's existance, should she tell her parents?

Anna pulled out her iPhone again to study the image one more time - it was definitely her. 

This is a fifteen on a Crazy-Scale from one to ten, she thought. 

All there was left to do now was wait.