False Reality | Book Three

Chapter II

The sky outside matched my bland mood as I walked down the sidewalk. I was tired. So tired. The exhaustion weighing me down almost forced me to fall to the concrete sidewalk and sleep. In fact, that seemed like a really good idea. The ground looks so welcoming right now. Luckily, a bolt of thunder makes me snap out of it, but then I almost crumble. I hate thunder. I hate everything about it. The fact it's the echo of lightning when the sky literally reaches down to strike the earth to release molecules spontaneously. The fact that lightning can kill you. The fact wind can pick up like a tornado and toss me around. Who likes storms?

Crazy people.

My bright idea of walking to and from school quickly shifts to a dumb idea and I feel like running home. But it's such a far run. I need to find the motivation in my system to run.

As if sensing my thoughts, Zeus quickly lets thunder clap more and I am sent sprinting home. The first raindrop lands on my cheek, and I merely glance up just as a bunch of rain starts to pour down on me. I skid to a halt and look up to the sky with a pout. "Really?" I shout to no one. I look insane but I don't care. Running on three hours of sleep will do that to someone. "Why do you hate me?" I growl to no one. I just get a flash of light and the booming sound of thunder in response. I high tail it to my house, practically falling across my covered porch in a heap of exhausted, relieved, overworked, scared, panting mess. Wow, all these words have a negative connotation.

Something inside of me tells me I should probably unlock the door, but I cannot seem to make myself turn around and grab the keys to the door in my backpack. In fact, laying perfectly still seems like the best idea. Ravenna is at the mall with her friends, and my guardians are at work. I wonder what would happen if I slept out here...the thought doesn't seem to bad. That is, until, a clash of thunder has me scurrying around to find the keys in my backpack. I rip off my shoes once inside of the house and toss my backpack onto the table before plodding up the stairs. Sleep chants my name as I walk to my room, my feet shuffling across the soft carpet.

I collapse--something I've been doing a lot today--on my bed and let out a little sigh of content as the familiar icy mud smell washes over me. I have no idea where the smell comes from, but gladly welcome it. It always seems to calm me, even when I am screaming in my sleep. I remember one time I was in a rather terrifying nightmare when suddenly, that icy mud wrapped around me and all the scary nightmares fled. 

Like now. 

All the horrors keeping me back from properly sleeping fade and I fall into a blissful (not really) sleep.

___

The first thing I hear is panting. It sounds like a dog in the desert after it just finished running a marathon. It took me a second to figure out what the noise was, but it takes me even longer to find out it's coming from me. I look down and gasp. My feet are racing across the cracked pavement as I chase after something. The area around me is a blinding white color. I call out, but my voice is unrecognizable. It's powerful and intimidating. "Wait!" I scream. I look at myself again. I'm wearing a black hoodie with black tennis shoes. "Stop! Come back!" The ground shivers.

I then turn to see what I am chasing after. I'm shocked to see it's a boy. But he isn't running away. He's standing still, his face covered by his hood. His eyes are locked on the ground. No matter how much I run, he seems to be out of my reach. I scream and scream even start to plead, but he doesn't even lean toward me. I think it's a statue at first, but then his gaze suddenly flicks up to mine. My heart stumbles to a painful stop.

"Cassie?" His voice is unimaginably soft.

Relief pools in my stomach at his voice for an unknown reason. Even as I stare into the soulless black pits that are his eyes. "Come back!" I shout again. He isn't even moving or going anywhere.