Knight Flyers

by Ann McCune

  “I bet someone will. Maybe we could go to Denver and go dress shopping this weekend.”

  “I don’t have a car to drive,” I mumbled, dress shopping sounded worse than wearing one.

  “My mom is going to let me borrow hers. Well, let me know if you want to. A few of the other girls are planning to go too. I better get to class.” She got up, taking her trash with her.

  “Yeah, I’ll let you know,” I said, shocked for the second time in the past ten minutes.

  The bell rang, and I robotically got up and threw my trash away before mindlessly walking to shop class, thinking about what Shawn had said. The only way he could know about the princess thing was if he was in my dream. How could that be possible? People couldn’t share dreams, could they?

  I had to confront him about it, and I planned to before class started, but he wasn’t there. I went to my locker and put my coveralls on then went to my station, thinking I would corner him during class. I watched students file in, but Shawn never showed. Where the heck was he? Was he avoiding me?

  I made it through class, barely getting anything done, but at least I had shown up. I couldn’t stop thinking about Shawn and how he knew what I dreamed about. Not showing up was as good as admitting he was somehow entering my dreams. Did I really want to know we had been sharing dreams, though? Dreams were supposed to be private, thinking about him being in mine made me blush, again.

  When I made it to history I sat next to Billy like I weighed a thousand pounds and my legs could not bear the weight any longer.

  “What’s wrong?” Billy asked, turning to look at me. “Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to take you home?”

  “Stop asking me that, I’m fine.” I opened my history book but kept my eye on the door waiting for Shawn to come in. He never did.

  After school, Billy and I walked to his truck, and I looked over at Shawn’s Rubicon. He was sitting in the car with the music blaring. “Billy, give me a second.” Not waiting for a response, I walked over and knocked on Shawn’s window.

  Shawn jumped, looked at me, and shook his head. I made the universal motion for ‘roll down your window.’

  “We need to talk,” I said, folding my arms in front of my chest.

  “What do we need to talk about?” he asked, raising his eyebrows like he had no clue, but I noticed his grip on the steering wheel tighten.

  “You know what? How do you know about my dreams?” His avoidance was making me angry, and I didn’t get angry off very often.

  “I’m sorry, I have no idea what you are talking about. Look, the rest of the crew is on their way over here so can you please let it go?” He pushed the button to roll up the window, ending the conversation almost before it begun.

  I turned around and looked behind me. Jo, another girl, and a boy were walking toward us. “This isn’t over,” I yelled at the window then walked over to Billy’s truck.

  “What was that about?” he asked once I was in and buckled up.

  “I just needed to talk to him about something we went over in shop class,” I said, lying. Billy didn’t need to know Shawn was starring in my dreams.

  “Okay, did you find out where he was during history?” Billy turned out of the parking lot and drove toward my house.

  “No, I forgot to ask him.” I looked out the window. Shawn was hiding something, and I needed to find out what.

  “What are you doing this weekend?” Billy asked, changing the subject.

  “Hopefully, I’ll be Jeep shopping with my dad. First, I have to convince him to let me get another Jeep, not a Subaru.”

  “You’re kidding?” Billy asked, squishing his face together like he took a bite out of a lemon.

  “No, I got into a fight with him last night about it. I would rather walk than drive a Subaru.”

  “Yeah, you want another Wrangler?” He sounded bummed about it.

  “Of course. I loved mine. I just need to convince my parents they aren’t a death trap.”

  “How are you going to do that?” Billy asked as he pulled into my driveway.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll figure something out. What are you doing this weekend?” I asked, picking up my backpack, and setting it in my lap.

  “We are taking our end-of-the-season snow-machine trip. Do you want to come?”

  “There is no way my parents would let me go. I’m already hurt, and they’re worried I’ll get hurt again just walking down the stairs. I better go get started on my homework. See you tomorrow morning?” I asked, opening the door.

  “Yes, your chauffeur will be here tomorrow to pick you up. You need to find a ride home from school though. We’re leaving right after to get our sleds ready.”

  “Thank you, but I will be docking your pay for not being at my beck and call.”

  “What pay?” Billy asked, laughing.

  “See you tomorrow.” I stuck my tongue out at him, shut the door, and walked to the door to the mudroom, digging my keys out on the way.

  I went up to my room and grabbed my laptop, then went back downstairs and set myself up at the dining room table. I needed to work on my homework and start looking for a new jeep, but the words from the goblin had been running through my mind all day. I pulled up my favorite search engine and stared at the blank search box. I had no idea how to spell what the goblin had called me. I knew it wasn’t English, but from there I knew nothing. It didn’t sound like any language I had ever heard before. I started typing, taking an educated guess. Martro Veioimaour, was the best I could do, and it auto-corrected to metro Vilamoura. I was pretty sure the goblin was not asking me how to get to Vilamoura by bus. All the other websites I found wanted to translate it from Spanish to English. It wasn’t Spanish, I could tell by the accent. I didn’t know how to explain it, but it wasn’t a romantic language. With no idea where else to find the answers I needed, I gave up and started looking for a new Jeep.

  After a few minutes my Facebook chimed with a friend request. Surprised, I clicked on it. It was from Shawn Ericson. What was with this guy? Curious, I accepted his friendship then went back to Jeep shopping. I was looking at one that looked just like my old one only a year newer, blue instead of red, and it was located in Spruce, when a message from Shawn popped up.

  Hi, thanks for accepting my request. Sorry I was a dickhead today.

  I read the message shaking my head. You seem to be good at being a dickhead. No wonder it’s what your friends call you. Why didn’t you want to talk to me?

  I waited for him to respond for a minute. When he didn’t, I went back to Jeep shopping. Ten minutes later a new message popped up.

  It’s complicated. It is supposed to be a secret. I couldn’t tell you while Jo was there. I would’ve gotten in big trouble.

  So, tell me now. I typed back.

  No someone may be monitoring my computer. I can’t risk it, maybe I can later.

  I wondered what he meant by later, like tomorrow or in my dreams. It didn’t matter, he was being weird, and I had better things to do.

  Then you are an idiot telling me about some big secret you want to tell me but can’t because they might be monitoring you. This sounds like some big joke to make a fool out of me. When you want to be honest let me know.

  I closed the chat window and the lid on my computer. I didn’t want to think about him anymore. I got my homework out and got to work.

  Mom came home a little while later, changed her clothes, and went into the kitchen to start dinner.

  I heard the door to the garage close and the telltale sounds of my dad taking his boots off. “Hey, Dad,” I called.

  “Hi, honey, how was your day?” He sat across from me at the dining room table.

  “It was alright, just another day at school. Hey, I have been looking at cars and I want to show you this.” I opened my computer and brought up the Jeep I had been looking for.

  “But, sweetheart, Subarus are so much safer,” he said as soon as he saw the Jeep on the screen.

  “Dad, getting a Jee
p makes more sense. With the money I’m getting from the insurance company I could get this Jeep or this Subaru.” I clicked over to the ugliest car I had ever seen to show him the picture of the Subaru. “The Jeep is five years newer and has half the miles of the Subaru. I already know how to work on Jeeps, whereas I would be clueless with a Subaru. If it broke down I would have to pay someone to fix it instead of doing it myself. Plus, it’s older with higher mileage and would be more likely to break down than the Jeep. Shouldn’t we buy American whenever we can?” I held my breath knowing half of what I said was fluff.

  “Okay, sweetie, we will go look at Jeeps on Saturday, but if you get in another accident you are getting a Subaru.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I jumped up from my seat, went around the table and gave him a hug.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Mom called from the kitchen. I went to help her bring it out and spent the rest of the evening with them trying not to think about Shawn.

  I went upstairs to my room around ten, but the last thing I wanted to do was go to sleep. I didn’t want to see Shawn or the goblin in my dreams. I stayed up late reading and trying not to think about him. Unfortunately, sleep got the better of me and I fell asleep with the lights on and the book on my chest.

  CHAPTER 8

  I was in a room with white walls and ceiling. There were no doors, windows, or furniture in the room. I walked over to the wall and touched it. It was soft. Seriously? I was in a padded room? Maybe I was going insane, I thought to myself.

  “You aren’t going insane,” Shawn said from behind me, making me jump.

  I whirled around and looked at him. “You can read minds now?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

  “No.” He walked around me, looking me up and down as if trying to memorize the way I looked. I double-checked I had clothes on and let out a breath when I saw my jeans and T-shirt. “I thought the same thing when I came here for the first time.” After he walked around me, he backed up and leaned against the wall. “It’s safe to talk in here. No one can eavesdrop on us.”

  “This is a dream, isn’t it obvious no one can eavesdrop on us. This isn’t even a real conversation, it’s a dream,” I said, going to the wall farthest away from him and sitting down. “Why do I keep dreaming of you?”

  “Because I’m invading your dreams. How else would I know you hate being called princess?” He sat across from me and brought his knees up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around them and laced his hands together where they met.

  “How?” I rubbed my temples and laid my head on my knees, looking away from him.

  “It’s a gift. You have it too. No one has ever remembered a dream I entered before, and you remember them all.” His voice was calm and serious, so unlike Shawn from school or my other dreams.

  “Why couldn’t you talk about it at school today? Why do you think I’m going to believe you in a dream?”

  “I messed up, like I said on Facebook. If anyone finds out that you remember your dreams my dad will make me stay away from you. I want to protect you from the mares, if word gets out, you’ll be on your own when you have a nightmare.” He got back to his feet and stood over me.

  “What are ‘mares?’ Why should I believe you?”

  “Mares are goblins, who are between dimensions. They feed on people’s souls via their fear. They aren’t in our dimension, so the only way they can eat is by creating nightmares and feeding on the fear the nightmares create. If one gets to you, it won’t stop until you die of fright.” He paced back and forth across the room, running his hands through his hair. “I shouldn’t be telling you this but since one already tried to get you, I think you have a right to know.”

  “That is a pretty good story, but again, why should I believe you? I could be just dreaming all this.” I laced my fingers together and rested them on my head. Why were my dreams always so messed up?

  “Because it’s the truth, and you’re like me, at least a little. You shouldn’t be able to remember your dreams when I am in them.”

  “Do you know how creepy that sounds?” I shivered. “Like you are giving me a date-rape drug, so I won’t remember what you did to me in my dreams.”

  “You had to take it there.” He shook his head. “I would never do something so horrible to someone. We have a code to live by.”

  “Does it cover stalking my dreams?” I asked. He was being honest for a change, but I was having a hard time not poking him.

  “No, and I’m glad. I like hanging out in your dreams.” He stopped pacing and looked down at me.

  “It’s better than the alternative,” I said more to myself than to him.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, pulling his eyebrows together in confusion.

  “Ever since the accident, I either dream of you or the goblin. You are much better then he is.” I ran my hand through my hair and stared at the floor.

  “Another one found you already?”

  “No, it was the same one.”

  “I killed that one, he can’t be stalking you.”

  “Well, unless he has a twin, it’s the same goblin.”

  “Do you have any weird marks or burns?” he asked, sitting down across from me, and taking my hand again.

  “No, just the bruises and the stitches from the moose.” Part of me wanted to pull my hand out of his, he was stalking my dreams, if I believed him, but the other part of me was savoring the feel of his touch.

  “That’s good but tell me about your dreams when he is there.”

  “Well, in the last one, I was on the dock and it was summer. I was waiting for Billy to pick me up in his dad’s boat, and the goblin came running toward me on the dock like he was going to tackle me. Before he reached me though he ran into an invisible wall and fell flat on his back. It was pretty funny.”

  Shawn let out a breath and looked at the ceiling. “Thank God, it sounds like you have some kind of protection.”

  “Why are you so concerned? This is just a dream. You aren’t really here.” I leveraged myself up the wall and got to my feet.

  “I am, and I’ll prove it to you tomorrow.” He turned toward me and licked his lips.

  “How? If you can’t risk your crew hearing you and word getting back to your dad how will you prove it to me?”

  “I am going to ask you how you liked the padded room.” He stood and walked over to me. “I promise, I’m telling you the truth.”

  “What are you?” He took my hand and squeezed it. Goosebumps broke out on my arm when we touched, and I felt myself blush.

  “I’m Martröð Veiðimaður, or a Knight Flyer, we protect people from the Mares, or goblins, as you called them.”

  Wasn’t that what the goblin had called me? “Wait say that again.”

  “Say what?”

  “What are you?” I asked, I didn’t even want to try to repeat what he had called himself.

  “You mean Martröð Veiðimaður?” He opened his mouth to answer but shut it and put his finger to his ear. “Crap, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Before I could say anything, he closed the distance between us and kissed me for the briefest moment. I wanted to kiss him back, but he was gone.

  CHAPTER 9

  The next morning, I was up and ready for school an hour early. Part of me wanted to find Shawn and find out if he was really invading my dreams but the other part remembered everything I said to him on the boat. The last thing I wanted to do was find out it was true. He knew about the princess thing, and he didn’t comment about my dickhead remark. Was it possible? How did he learn to enter people’s dreams? If he was saving people from the mares, how did he know they needed saving? I had so many questions I wanted to ask him, but I didn’t know when we would be alone for me to ask.

  I was downstairs before either of my parents and I decided to make breakfast. It would give me something to do other than think about Shawn. “I made pancakes,” I said to my dad when he poked his head in the kitchen. I set a plate piled high with them on the bar and set the
butter and syrup next to his plate.

  “Wow why are you up so early?” he asked, taking a seat, and digging into the food.

  “Just woke up early.” I would never admit I was up early because of a boy.

  “Are you going to hang out with the guys tonight?”

  “No, they’re getting their sleds ready for tomorrow. They are going on their annual end-of-the-season winter camping trip this weekend.” I went with them the year before, it wasn’t fun. I ended up being cold, wet, and soggy the entire time.

  “You don’t want to go?” He looked up from the table while I flipped more hotcakes on the griddle.

  “No, last year sucked, and I have a great excuse not to go this year.” I pointed to the stitches in my head. “I told Billy there was no way you would let me go.”

  “You’re right.” Dad laughed. “The last thing you need to do is play around on a snow machine, your head needs time to heal.”

  “I would rather go Jeep shopping tomorrow anyway. I’m going to have to take the bus home today though.” I made an ugly face and went back to the stove.

  “It will be fun.” He scraped his plate with his fork to pick up the last traces of syrup and pancake crumbs.

  “When was the last time you took a bus home, filled with kids?” The noise was bad enough, but my stop was the last one on the route, it would take over an hour to get home.

  “I never did, except field trips. My house was right next to the school. You’ll survive.” He got up with his plate and took it to the sink. “Thank you for making breakfast. I have to go. I’ll see you tonight, sweetheart.” He kissed the top of my head and went into the mudroom.

  Mom came in a little while later and I gave her a plate covered with food. We ate together until I heard the front door open, and Billy came in. I put my plate in the sink, grabbed my bag, and we left for school.

  “You’re bubbly this morning,” Billy said as he drove.