Nightmares (Death) Book 1

The Mark

I tried to go to rest, I really did, except I found myself staring at the ceiling every 5 minutes.  What if I fall asleep and it happens again.  What if I watch mom or my dad get murdered.  Or Charlie again?  It was too painful the first time, I can’t do it again.  I just stared into blankness and wondered about myself.  What was in me that I could not control?  What had I done to have been given this defect?  My hea was drowning in questions that I struggled to answer, since I had none.d  What was this academy that they were taking me to?  Who am I going to meet there?  Is anyone else going to know what was happening to them, or was it just me that was in the dark?

I tossed and I turned.  Blankets on and off.  Eventually my body gave in before my brain and I fell to rest.

I woke up the next morning as it nothing had happened that night.  I had not had any “Nightmares” as Kim called it.  Nothing, not a glimpse of anyone.

I rolled out of bed and went to the washroom to rinse my face.  I looked myself in the mirror and I recognized myself as the same person I was when I had gone to sleep last night, except there was something different about me this time.  Nothing physical but something mental, and I knew there was something wrong with me.  I looked all over my body for something physical that had changed. I searched my legs, my arms and it wasn’t until I lifted my shirt and found a new mark that I had accepted that something was different.

I found a symbol on my rib cage.  The kind of things that prisoners and had to identify themselves as the permanent scum of society.  It was a small black bird, completely filled in right on my rib cage.  I took a towel from the closet and tried scrubbing it off with soap and water.

10 minutes later, my skin was crimson and the bird would not leave.  I threw the towel in hopelessness and went back into my room to get dressed.

“Honey, your father and I need to have a talk with you.” My mom said to me as I ate my eggs.  I knew what this was about but Charlie seemed confused.

“Just Holly, Mom?” He asked.

My mother nodded and smiled, and Charlie picked up his plate and brought it into his room.

“We have a bit of explaining to do…” She began intertwining her fingers and placing them onto the table.

I nodded taking another bite.  Dad took a sip of his tea let out a breath of relief after.

“Holly, we just want to start off by telling you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you.  Nothing.  You are very special in every way…” Dad began.

I raised my eyebrows.

“You are.” My mom agreed.

“And that none of this stuff has nothing to do with who you are on the inside, just what you’re made up of.”

“What I’m made up of?”

“Yes.  You see the dreaming trait is something in your genes,” She paused, “Surely you’ve learned about genetics in regular school…” She began waiting for me to verify.

I nodded because I had.  I understood most of it.

“This is a recessive gene, do you know what that means?”

I nodded, “That means that only if you and dad both have it, then I will get it, right?”

“Exactly.” My dad said.

“So you both have gone through exactly what I’m going through right now?”

They both nodded.

“What are the odds that I would get it if it’s a recessive gene, huh” I said relaxing and leaning back on the chair.

“Actually quite high.” My mother said leaning forward.  I furrowed my eyebrows waiting for a further explanation.

“At Solominator, you must pick your mate for life.  Someone that you will have children with.  Dreamers must be kept pure dreamers, or else they will have birth defects like being psychic, the ability to read minds, or communicating with spirits.  These may seem like gifts, but almost all die under the age of 25.”

“BUT the bonus about you is that you’re in the Nightmare, death category so you will have a long while until you get up to the dream, love category.  In which, you will work hard all year and in the end you will dream of your mate, and they will dream of you.” My mother said smiling looking at my father, as if it brought back memories.

“What if I dream of no one?” I asked curiously.

My mother sighed “If you dream of no one, you will be genetically altered back into a mortal and erased of any dream and memory you had at Solominator.  Of course this is rarer than a dream and a non-dreamer having a child which is 1 in a quadrillion.”

“What if I don’t truly love who I am mated with?”

“Your brain works so that it knows before the rest of you does.  Don’t worry so much about this, this will be your last year, which could be anywhere from 2-10 years away depending on the progress you made and how many ladders you see.”

“Ladders?”

“Ladders are how you move up in Solominator, just as you graduate here.  In your dreams, if you see a ladder going up, you move up to the next level.  If you see one going down you go down a level.  There are 6 levels above you, two more nightmare categories and three dream categories….” Began my dad.

“The nightmare category you are on is death.  Death is the bottom, because it is the darkest and hardest to get through, but everyone starts off in different places.  Some sixteen year olds are starting at Solominator and being forced to pick their mates this year, but not you, so that was fortunate.”

“Sweetheart, I know this is a lot to take in, but you’re ready for it.  I promise.” My mom said standing up and kissing me on the forehead, and taking my plate.

“You’ll do very well Hol” My dad said placing his hand on my shoulder firmly.

I hear the tap begin and my mother do the dishes.  I walked into the kitchen with Dad’s mug and plate.

“So does that mean Charlie will be at Solominator too?”

“In about 3 years.  You may be done, or he may finish before you, but we just have to wait and see.”

I nodded.

“Oh and Holly…” She began turning off the tap and looking at me, “Did you get your symbol yet?”

I was confused for a moment and then I remembered the mark.  I bet this is going to be another complication in this.  I lifted my shirt just enough to expose the black bird.

“Ah.  A bird.” She said smiling.

“Is that good?” I asked.

“Extremely.” She answered.