The Dream Weavers

Chapter 1

          The branches and brambles of the forest around her smacked against her body and cut her skin. Leaves tangled themselves in her hair as she ran. And ran. And ran. Blood trickled down her face, smothering itself on her shirt. A large branch suddenly loomed in her way and WHAM! She fell to the ground, gasping and panting. Whipping her throbbing head around to face the other way, she saw the creature coming closer. Now it was running at a faster pace, as if it received a sudden burst of energy. 

          "No, no, no!" she yelled, frustrated and terrified. As if things couldn't get worse, she looked down and saw vines wrapping itself around her legs. Kicking and screaming, the girl fought her way out of the vines' grasp and wobbly stood up to prepare her final stand. She doesn't know how long she's been running, but she was exhausted and knew that she can't go on any longer. Grabbing a large branch off of the ground, she bravely swung it over her shoulder. "COME AND GET IT, WINNIE THE POOH!!" The bear charged her full speed and jumped up to pounce, claws outstretched, but he didn't know one crucial fact: his prey was the star batter on her softball team. 

          "ROARRRRRRRRR!" The makeshift bat connected with the beast's head as momentum flung it to the side. Though she successfully gave a blow to the head, stripes of blood stretched across her stomach from where the bear's claws lightly swiped at before being attacked. Quickly jumping back up, the bear growled and slowly circled its victim. Injured and alone, the girl stood, warily eyeing the beast. Suddenly its jaws unhinged and spoke, "So its true, you're the youngling with the Special Power." 

          "W-what? What are you talking about...."

          "He sent me to eliminate you before you could become a threat to Him. Don't take it personally," he snarled. The last thing that she could feel was the warm breath of the creature as his jaws became to engulf her entire body.

          "AH!" I screamed, shooting up from my pillow. Bedroom. Safe. No monsters. Safe. Gone from forest. Safe. These thoughts shot through my head as I threw my covers off of myself. "It was just... a dream," I mumbled to myself as I groggily slid out of bed. But suddenly, a wave of pain crashed over me and I crumpled to the floor. Blood. It was there on my shirt. Right where the claws had sliced me. Trembling, I fought the urge to cry out and I slowly pulled up my shirt to inspect the wound. Gashes trailing along my stomach and side stood out against my pale skin. Deciding to immediately take action, I power walked to my bathroom where I turned on the sink. Taking first aid supplies out of my cabinet, I cleaned the slashes with alcohol. I winced from the stinging sensation overtaking my nerves, and I pulled out the Neosporin to apply it. When I was finished, I walked out of the bathroom and changed into a new t-shirt and then sat on my bed. 

          Questions without answers flooded my head. What the heck just happened? If those claw marks are really from that creature in my dream, then was that really a dream at all? Who was the "He" that thing talked about? What special powers do I - Without warning the door creeped open and my mother stepped in with a concerned look on her face. 

          "괜찮아?" she asked me in Korean. Am I alright? Physically, no. Mentally? ABSOLUTELY NOT, I wanted to yell. I opened my mouth to tell her about all the crazy things that happened, but suddenly a flashback to the event popped into my head.

           "W-what? What are you talking about...."

          "He sent me to eliminate you before you could become a threat to Him. Don't take it personally."

          If he was... sent to hunt me down, wouldn't he also try to kill my loved ones if I tell them about it? That's what happens in all of the books and movies, right?? *turns to reader* (A/N: AHAHA YES FOURTH WALL BREAKS *furiously rubs hands together*) It's better to keep them in the dark if we are really in danger. Better play it smart and try to figure out... what in the world did I experience?

          "Ahaha, of course I am fine, mom. Why w-wouldn't I be?" I nervously laughed. 

          "I just had a feeling. Is this about Mark?" 

          Sigh, Mark's my best friend recently turned ex. We dated for a few months until we decided to resume being close friends since our relationship didn't feel quite right. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy friend, but he's better as a big brother kind of guy 

          I knew what I had to do to get rid of my mom quickly. It was harsh, but I was playing my distressed-moody-upset-teenage-girl card.

          "Look, I don't want to talk about that. Can you please just leave me alone? I need to have some time to think," I firmly told her with a cold look. I'M SO SORRY MOM. I inwardly bit my lip and crossed my fingers hoping that I seemed convincing.

          "Emmelia, I'm so sorry for bothering you." She gave me an encouraging, loving smile and then said, "Breakfast will be ready whenever you are. Hope you feel better, sweetie." She blew me a kiss and then gently closed the door.

          I wanted to cry right there on the spot. My mom is just so amazing. She's not like the typical Korean moms who are more stern and wouldn't tolerate my occasional outbursts and rude teenager sass. She's just... perfect. But right then, even though I wanted to run into her arms and cry and tell her everything so I wouldn't be alone, I have to keep this from her. From everyone. I may sound paranoid now, but I'm sure I can figure things out and get to the bottom of this. Getting off my bed to relocate to my spinning chair, I rolled over to my desk where I had my Mac computer. "Time to do some hardcore researching," I said, cracking my knuckles.

(A/N): Hope you guys liked the first *actual* chapter of the story! I'll try and update as much as possible and won't keep you (and myself) waiting for what happens next. Constructive criticism is much appreciated; I want to know what I can do better as a fellow author-in-training!