Vagrant (Sandstorm Prequel) {DISCONTINUED}

3) In Which I Learn my Dream are Wack

I had a weird dream that night. The Child Snatchers captured me -- only they didn't look like the two people who'd taken my friends with sandwiches and pins, and it was a larger group. A burning man, someone with a Star Wars gun, and a winged couple -- what, were they supposed to be angels? The only halfway normal looking one in their group was this guy in a parka. He looked mean and, frankly, evil, but he called me something. Deserey? I wasn't sure where the name had come from. Maybe my subconscious was trying to tell me to pick a better name than Desmond. 

They were fighting these other two lunatics, both dressed like they were going to Comic Con. I couldn't tell, but I thought they were all fighting over me. I tried getting away, but it was no use. They got me. Took me to this house with these other kids around my age -- I think it was an orphanage, maybe.

 There was a woman there -- said she was me from the future. She was everything I wanted to be, which I guess made sense since it was a dream. Long, curly hair the same shade as the midnight sky. Glowing brown eyes, deep and wide. Gorgeous, dark skin that somehow made her look like the queen of the world. Her lips were full, sharp jawline and cheekbones. And even though her arms were thick with muscles and her breasts were only average size, she still looked pretty feminine, which seemed strange to me because I'd never seen a girl without makeup before. But she didn't need it in order to look like a work of art. I had a hard time believing I could ever look anything like that. 

The rest of the dream was spent in the house. I didn't know what the significance of it all was. The other kids they'd taken were a bunch of dumb asses -- and ya know they say people in your dreams are people you've met before, but I had never met any of these kids before in my life. 

I figured I'd wake up when the fight broke out, because I was usually jolted awake when my dreams got violent. This time I stayed asleep, and the dream went on. The kid with the burnt jacket started it. He was big and burly with stupid beady eyes, and an ugly snarl curling on his lips. Every now and again he'd light a match and stare at the flames like he thought the fire was the most beautiful thing in the world: a little fire baby. 

At some point he'd leaned over to the blonde girl on the other side of the room, whispering something to her, which resulted in a slap to his cheek. I wasn't sure why I did it, but I reacted by jumping forward and kicking him in his shin. 

"You bitch!" he hissed, tackling me to the floor. Things got sort of fuzzy after that. My vision was blurred, I couldn't remember who's fists went where. At some point I bit him, I think, because he growled and smacked me over the head. My heart was pounding. Adrenaline shooting through my veins. It drove me to keep going. There was shouting. I couldn't tell if it was from us or the other kids. 

The fight only stopped when someone stomped into the room and shouted, "Hey!" I was yanked off the fire baby, tossed over to one side. I could only see red, trying to get back at him. Wasn't even sure why, just something about his face made me want to fight. He was still trying to attack me from the other side of the room too, but someone stood between us. They had their hands out, holding us both back. It took a few minutes for me to calm down. Slowly, the energy started draining from me, and it began to dawn on me how tired I was. I must have had at least a dozen bruises and minor injures. My lip pulsed. Knuckles sore. Head throbbing. The muscles in my arms and legs were cramping up. I wanted to sleep for a million years. How could I feel so exhausted in a dream? 

"What the hell is going on in here?" She was a blonde woman. Kinda like the girl, except her eyes are a lot sharper. She was much more fit too. 

"That little weirdo said that he liked the way I smelled." The blonde girl turned up her nose at the fire baby. She really was pretty hot. Skinny, but somehow in good shape. Her blue eyes mimicked the sky, and she even managed to pull off those Dora the Explorer bangs. It was just that she talked way too much, and her voice was grating.