Chance, The Guardian part 2 Pandemic

Chapter 1

Dreaming was a choice. With a yawn, Chance focused on what it was he wanted. A dream to come, for him to be able to learn something new, as the others said there was something coming. Something bigger than any of them had dealt with in the past, although there were books written of times in the past when something similar happened.

It was easier than it ever had been for Chance to get his mind to do what he wanted it to. Learning what he was changed everything, in so many ways. When he looked in the mirror he no longer saw someone who was never going to be anything, but someone who was important to the world, even if most didn't know the truth. For those who walked in dreams it was easier to keep the truth from those who weren't born to it.

As he fell into sleep Chance knew the dream he had would be truth. It was part of who he was. Opening his mind to what was to come meant he could see more than the average person, and those who made the choice knew better than to do it the night before they had an early shift. Dreaming the future always took a lot out of him. This would be no different, and yet it would, from what he heard, as what was to come wasn't something anyone might have been able to imagine.

The street he stood on was one Chance knew well. Getting a job in a grocery store was a suggestion from Christina, as she knew he wasn't quite ready for college, and it gave him a chance to earn some income for himself. It was a freedom he'd never had before. One which changed his life for the better, even with certain parts of it being more complicated than he anticipated. Especially the socializing. They were all kind, but opening up to people was still hard. Too many memories of a time when people looked down on him for who he was.

Pushing those thoughts aside, certain with Jason's coaching he'd be able to get past the blocks, Chance looked around. It was quiet. More quiet than it should have been. He looked up at the sky. From the position of the sun it was about the time when the shop would be full of people, most of them out getting lunch.

Stepping into the store Chance stared. Everything was different. There were plastic screens between the tills, and the self service machines. A few people made their way through the store, following what appeared to be a one way system, with masks on. Blinking, he thought of all the stories he'd been told by the others. About the illness sweeping through the world which they knew for certain had something to do with the demons. Like always they were doing everything they could to make it possible to take over Earth.

"Chance?" Jason's voice came from behind him, and Chance turned, their eyes meeting. "When you called you said you were planning on doing this, so I thought I'd join you."

"You're supposed to be in class."

"Missing one won't do any harm, if this is really what's coming." Jason raked a hand through his hair. "Some think it could be stopped before it happens, but in order to do that we need to learn more about this, because stopping it will mean being in the right place at the right time."

"Likelihood is it's already too late. The demons will have prepared for this for a long time. We all said they were unusually quiet." Chance sighed. "Finding out more will be easier to do if we find a computer somewhere."

"From the looks of things this is one of the periods when all the libraries are closed."

"Which isn't a problem for us." Chance looked at Jason. "We can still get in there to use one."

"Should we?" Jason ran his tongue over his bottom lip. "How do we know we can't somehow pass this on, if we were to pick up the virus in our dreams? The demons know about us. They want to get rid of us more than they do everyone else, because we're the ones who can stop them, and that... I don't know. There are so many things I've had on my mind recently."