The Bleeding Worlds Book One: Harbinger

Chapter OneThe Fine Line Between Dreams and Nightmares

It could've been a battlefield. People dashed about, bartering deals and shoring alliances. The noise level ebbed and flowed from dull roar to deafening thunder. At random intervals complete chaos would ensue as projectiles launched to screams of "take cover."

Just another Friday in the school cafeteria.

Headphones in place, volume high enough to drown the noise, Gwynn pulled his hoodie tighter over his head, hoping to remain at the eye of the storm.

 His seat resided at the centre of the cafeteria. His seat. If asked, he'd never call it that, nor would anyone in the school have a clue where such a thing might be. Yet every lunch hour, here he sat. No one else ever occupied the seat. The Chair always sat vacant awaiting his arrival.

Something poked Gwynn's shoulder. He reached up to brush it, assuming it a stray bit of thrown food. He jumped when he met another hand. Gwynn tried to compose himself. He yanked out his headphones and swept his hood back.

"Hey Gwynn. Mind if I sit?"

"Sure." He stammered. "What's going on Sophia?"

Sophia Murray had occupied his dreams since he'd been old enough to have dreams about girls. In all the time he'd known her, they'd exchanged few words, but something drew him to her. Unlike Gwynn, whose feelings of isolation and being different kept him alone, Sophia travelled in the popular circles and all of school society seemed to revolve around her. But unlike those others, who cared little for school, looks and material wealth being far more important, Sophia strove to succeed. Her answers were intelligent and her eyes never filled with the vapidness of her other friends.

Gwynn couldn't concern himself with the games, gossip, or competitions of his classmates. He didn't belong. Though he lacked an explanation why, he'd always suspected Sophia was much the same.

Sophia gave her blond hair an absent-minded twirl around her finger. "I wanted to say thanks again for your help with Mr. Baker's assignment.  My mark would've been crap without you."

Gwynn's heart pounded in the back of his throat. He regretted the speed he had fired down the cafeteria's lukewarm dollar store pizza. 

"No worries.  You did as much work as I did."

"We made a good team." She stopped playing with her hair and gave her bottom lip a bite.  "Maybewe could be partners again some time."

"Sure. I'd like that." Gwynn flushed.  He hoped he didn't have the sweat to match.

"So..." Sophia averted his eyes, her hands fidgeting.  "Do you have plans for tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow?" He gulped on the word.

"Yeah. You do know it's Halloween, right?"

"Right, Halloween." He'd forgotten. No sense keeping track of celebrations when he didn't receive invitations. "Um, I don't think so."

Gwynn's stomach knotted. He had a recurring dream where Sophia asked him out—a nightmare that ended with him on a table, his pants around his ankles and everyone laughing while they pelted him with food.   Gwynn suppressed a shudder and swore that even if she begged he would not stand on any tabletops. Quite the opposite, he had a sudden urge to crawl under the table and beat his head with one of the tacky orange cafeteria serving trays.

She smiled at him, and all thoughts of retreat melted away. If she asked with that smile, he wouldn't think twice about getting up on the table, nightmares or not.

"Think maybe you'd wanna hang out with me and a few of my friends?"

"Sure."  He tried not to cringe, waiting for the moment his pants would hit the deck and food would start flying. But the world appeared oblivious to the momentous event occurring in his life.