Sweet Dreams

by J. Clarice

  Scarlett tried to yank her fingertips from the silver but they wouldn’t give. She grunted and pulled with all the force she could muster. The muck pooled around her ankles and it didn’t help that it felt like cement and held her in place.

  “LET GO!” She yelled at the block, hoping it would give.

  Scarlett’s arm began to feel like it was going to rip if she continued. Her chest heaved and tears of frustration made their way down her face. She stopped pulling and that’s when she finally felt it. Her finger slid forward. She slowly spread her fingers wide and found that they were able to move while still in contact with the silver. Seeing the handprint, she gently lowered the rest of her hand and for a split second, everything quieted and paused.

  It didn’t last.

  A jolt ripped through her body as guttural shrieks left her throat. Cracks appeared throughout the dark wooden doors and light began to flood the room. Her eyes slammed shut as the brightness stung. She tried pulling away from the handprint but to no avail; it held her in place. The muck was at her knees and the creatures not far behind.

  Fierce winds appeared out of the blue and knocked Scarlett off balance, causing the rest of her body to fall into the muck. A sharp pain emerged from her right shoulder and she screamed with every ounce in her. Her throat was raw and heat spread like wildfire through her body. The handprint held its ground and kept her captive.

  Scarlett’s arm, twisted at an unnatural angle, couldn’t be felt anymore. She struggled through clenched teeth to try and lift herself upright. Her body uncontrollably shivered from the muck’s coldness when something poked in the back of her mind. Scarlett stilled and paid attention to it despite the rising muck. It slithered around her and she could feel it attempting to get in. Blaring alarms sounded throughout Scarlett’s mind and deep down she knew it couldn’t be let in at all costs.

  ‘There needs to be a way to stop this,’ Scarlett hopelessly thought as she felt herself tiring out.

  Scarlett managed to hook her hand around the heart surrounding the silver and pull herself up. With the muck climbing to her waist, she couldn’t get far. Her hair stuck and pasted to her skin that was mixed with her sweat and the black ooze. She squinted her eyes to see but quickly shut them, as the light still managed to stab them.

  If she didn’t try anything else, she knew she’d die there. Through her throbbing headache and burning eyes, Scarlett managed to catch sight of another bright silver print to the left of the right one. When it got there she didn’t know, nor did she care. A pull in her chest had her fighting with all she had left to slam her left hand down on it. Scarlett’s body twitched as a sharp zap traveled through her body.

  She stopped feeling… everything.

  Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body tipped backward as the prints released her hands. Scarlett couldn’t hold herself up and didn’t want to. Silence surrounded her ears as the winds slowly ceased and the snarls disappeared. She kept her eyes shut, as they were too heavy to open, but through her eyelids, she could tell the harsh light dimmed to a soft glow.

  Her arms were gently being lifted and Scarlett softly groaned in pain. She barely managed to open her eyes enough to catch a glimpse of the gateway in front of her. The chains had vanished and the room blushed like the light of the sunset. Despite the events, the sight of it brought a weak smile to Scarlett’s lips. She groggily turned her head to see who was carrying her only to find that no one was.

  She was floating.

  Scarlett felt the wind moving beneath and circling her body. Her mind couldn't dwell on this fact; any more and she was sure to be driven off the point of no return. She hardly knew if she’d be able to recover from this.

  The wind shifted and began to lower Scarlett. Soft blades tickled her exposed skin and the grass molded to her body. Scarlett was in no rush to find out where she was. Her eyes slowly shut, and once closed, there would be no opening them again.

  Scarlett’s breathing lightened and became haggard. Her limbs were like dead weight and her body was shutting down. Her mind was off to a familiar place; the darkness.

  But something was different.

  Something changed.

  As her mind drifted off, the regular darkness no longer greeted her.

  Instead, in its place, it was light.

  Three

  As Scarlett’s mind left, the man watched her body lay still on the cool grass. She would’ve fallen hard had it not been for his power. It was a risky move to aide in any way, but he needed to ensure her safety.

  A chill in the air lingered and had him tensing upon his arrival. Another had gotten there before him and their presence could still be felt. As much as he wished it weren’t true, deep down he knew what had commenced.

  It would only be a matter of time before they made their move.

  For, they knew.

  Four

  Scarlett awoke to a yellow room. It had light yellow walls and a giant heavily curtained window directly in front of where she lay. She sat up and to her surprise, her body wasn’t aching. She lifted her arms to find her right in a sling. It throbbed with the tiniest movement. Slowly getting up from the bed, Scarlett was relieved when both legs still moved and were intact. She took a step forward and wobbled on her feet. She couldn’t walk straight and had to grab onto the bedpost with her left arm.

  Someone had taken care of her. That part was obvious, but who was the question. Her ragged birthday dress was changed to an unusually long white dress and her hair was brushed and washed. If it weren’t for her arm, she’d have a hard time believing any of the previous damage happened.

  Cautiously, Scarlett made her way towards the door that lay to the right of the room. She worked her way around the bed and knew that it was going to take her a while to get anywhere until her legs eased up. She wobbled as she exited the room and entered a hallway with no other doors and windows in sight.

  Scarlett took her time. When she reached the end of the hallway, she was huffing and puffing with beads of sweat developing along her brow and back. Her legs were finally getting used to walking again. It must’ve been the muck that did something. Her feet kept stepping on the annoyingly long dress but at the moment, it was the least of her worries.

  Taking a peek around the corner, she spotted two figures in a living room and kitchen area. A long, curved couch covered half the room while a bar and kitchen occupied the other side. No TV was in sight, nor any sort of phone.

  Both of their backs were turned towards Scarlett and one was in the kitchen while the other stood pacing the living room floor. She was close enough to hear their conversation when the one pacing turned enough to give a view of their face.

  Scarlett’s eyes widened and her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Her heart filled with relief and warmed at the sight of a familiar face. She quickly limped her way out from behind the corner and into the living room.

  Jenna’s head snapped up at the sound of Scarlett’s movement and they both stilled as their eyes met.

  “Jenna?” Scarlett’s voice cracked, as she was the first to break. Wobbling, she barreled towards her sister’s waiting arms. They embraced each other as if it were their last and Scarlett let the dam break as she sagged against Jenna. Tears and sobs slipped out of Scarlett as she squeezed her eyes shut.

  Jenna held onto her sister, feeling her pain, and let her let it all out. She needed to.

  Jenna knew what would become of Scarlett if she didn’t. She patted down Scarlett’s hair and whispered, “You’re alright Scar. You’re safe now.”

  Scarlett grasped at those words and held them dear.

  Not knowing that they were the first lies she’d hear.

  A throat cleared, startling the sister’s embrace. Scarlett backed away from Jenna and looked around her shoulder to lock eyes with sky blue ones. They belonged to a sandy blond-haired male who stood on the living room carpet. He wore light green armor that perfectly molded to his toned body. The man stood at around Jenna’s height an
d looked to be her age.

  Jenna turned around and moved towards him as she reached for his hand.

  “Scarlett, this is Chad.” She paused and slightly closed her mouth, hesitating. “He is my partner.”

  ‘Of course…’

  Scarlett didn’t feel all that surprised. She knew that her sister must’ve had someone else in her life. However, she was wary of the man beside Jenna. Scarlett stayed quiet and made no move to greet him.

  Chad tried to take a step forward, but Jenna’s hand tightened around his and prevented him from doing so. Instead, she let him go and took a step forward herself. Jenna opened her mouth to speak but Scarlett beat her to the chase.

  “What happened? And, where are we?” Scarlett asked as she inched backward. Her voice cracked at her second question, but she held strong. She needed answers.

  Jenna bit her lip and scrunched her brows with worry. “You might want to take a seat, Scar.”

  Scarlett complied, feeling her defensive walls lower as she sat on the brown couch behind her. Jenna moved towards the seat beside Scarlett but decided against it and took the one opposite from her. Chad leaned close to Jenna and whispered in her ear before looking over at Scarlett. She not once took her eyes off him. Chad could feel her stare and as he straightened, he cracked a small close-lipped smile. Scarlett didn’t do anything in return. She didn’t trust him, or anyone for that matter, except for her sister. Chad made his way out of the living room and turned around a corner, disappearing.

  Scarlett's walls lowered more with him gone. Chad was unknown and her mind was already in chaos. The only thing that calmed it was her sister’s presence.

  Jenna wiped her palms across her thighs and cleared her throat. She straightened her shoulders and kept adjusting herself while Scarlett sat stone still. She did not want to risk breaking the rest of her already shattered walls.

  “Scar, I’m about to explain some things that might not seem possible, but they are. Just don’t freak out okay?” Jenna started as she gestured for Scarlett to stay calm. Scarlett moved slightly towards the edge of her seat and remained silent as she waited for Jenna to continue.

  “YouAreSleepingRightNow,” Jenna rushed out as she clasped her hands and squeezed them together.

  Scarlett blinked, having not heard Jenna correctly.

  “I’m what?” Scarlett raised her brows as she dryly laughed. She knew she was awake. There was no way she could be asleep. She’d hit herself and had a twisted arm in a sling. Everything’s been too vivid to be anything else.

  “I said, you are sleeping right now.” Jenna paused and took a breath. “We are not on Earth, but rather in Ever Realm. The home of the Dreamers.”

  Scarlett stared at Jenna who looked at her with all seriousness. Another dry laugh escaped Scarlett’s lips as she rethought her sister’s words. “You’re lying to me.”

  Jenna stayed silent and asked Scarlett something that quickly seized her laughter. “What’s the last thing you remember? Before your gate event.”

  Scarlett stiffened and couldn’t wrap her head around Jenna’s question. “How do you know about that?”

  As much as Scarlett didn’t want to remember, her mind found itself going back to the night of her eighteenth birthday. She’d gone upstairs and needed to return to her family to discuss the serious issue they needed to share. Instead, Scarlett laid on her bed and the ceiling was the last thing she’d seen.

  “You fell asleep and woke up in a dark room and came across a gruesomely chained gate,” Jenna pushed on. “You woke up inside your mind, Scar. Not on a physical plane, but a mental one.”

  Something built in Scarlett’s throat and she choked on it as her eyes began to shine. “No, you’re wrong. That can’t be true.”

  Jenna had to be messing with her. There was no way and none of it made any sense. The weight that had been hovering over Scarlett crashed down on her shoulders.

  “How else could I know exactly about the gate Scar? I know you’re smart enough to know when something is real and right. Your hand getting stuck to print felt and was real. Those creatures chasing you as you got stuck were real. That almost death experience was… real, Scarlett.”

  Scarlett hastily stood up. The pressure behind her eyes grew and pushed tears forward as a stray slid its way out. She put a hand to her chest and struggled to grasp at anything. “Bullshit! Quit messing with me!”

  Jenna stood and took a small step towards Scarlett whose chest rapidly rose. "Scarlett, please calm down, I’ll finish explaining everything, but I need you to sit down.”

  “SHUT UP!” Scarlett snapped and stormed past her older sister causing her to flinch. The room had gotten warm and she needed to get outside. Scarlett left the living room and entered a hallway with a ceiling to floor curtained window. She yanked the fabric aside and widened her eyes at the sight that greeted her. A night sky full of stars in every direction… surrounded everything. As if they were floating in outer space, no ground could be seen below. Scarlett stumbled away from the window and weakened at the knees, collapsing to the ground.

  “What’s going on?” She asked in a faint whisper. Hands wrapped themselves around her torso and lifted her off the ground. They were big and it had to have been Chad that helped.

  ‘Where were they? What happened? Was it not just a bad dream?’ Scarlett didn’t know what to make of anything. A sliver of her hoped that it wasn’t true. That it was all a bad dream.

  Next thing Scarlett knew was that she was being lowered onto the couch and didn’t bother getting back up. Jenna kneeled in front of her and got their faces on the same level. She reached for Scarlett’s hand and held it in between her own.

  “Scar, you’re a Dreamer.”

  ∞

  Scarlett stared out the window, marveling yet unbelieving at the fact that she was one of them. The Dreamers that walked and flew among the stars.

  When she first looked out the window, she hadn’t noticed them before as they’d blended in so perfectly. They went about their lives in sync and each minded their own. Jenna’s home was pretty far from the other stars, but close enough to be included. It’d taken a while for Scarlett to process everything her sister explained to her.

  ‘Hell, I’m still processing it,’ she thought to herself as she shook her head in disbelief.

  Jenna had been perfectly patient and helped Scarlett sort out her emotional thoughts. She made sure Scarlett understood everything she was being told.

  A Dreamer.

  A supernatural being that kept Nightmares in check and away from the minds of the innocent. They’re dream protectors and Scarlett was gifted with the genes to become one of them. Jenna told Scarlett that a Dreamer’s power isn’t activated until their eighteenth birthday. That night, they do their first dream to pass through to Ever Realm. Which is exactly what Scarlett went through. It was the reason she’d never dreamt; her mind was secretly gearing up for what it’d need to do.

  A curse had been placed on the Dreamer’s rite of passage. Before the curse, the gateway only had to be opened and walked through; a nice and easy transition. Now it’s chained and the Dreamers must find a way to open it before they get killed by the muck and creatures. Charming.

  Scarlett could’ve died. For real and in all ways possible. The thought chilled her to the core and she was grateful to have made it through. The view before her was beautiful, however, it did nothing to ease her fear. Scarlett didn’t want to acknowledge it, but a small part of her was thrilled to be part of something bigger, something powerful. It would take a while for that part to finally shine through. She was afraid to embrace her new reality.

  The door to the room Scarlett woke up in swung open. She didn’t need to look to know who walked through.

  “How are you holding up?”

  Jenna clasped her hands in front of her body and shifted from foot to foot. Scarlett didn’t say a word and bit the inside of her cheek. Jenna pulled her hands apart and sighed.

  “I get it, you don’t
want to talk. Just lay down, Scar. Your mind will return to your body and you’ll be able to talk to mom and dad once you get back.” Jenna finished and stayed a few seconds before lightly shaking her head and walking out the door.

  Scarlett didn’t move after Jenna left. As much as she loved her sister, she couldn’t help but feel a bit betrayed at having all this information withheld from her. It felt like a stab to her chest and cold water being dumped on her out of nowhere. She couldn’t open up to Jenna yet.

  Heavily sighing, Scarlett went to move when she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye. She stilled and didn’t move or acknowledge that she’d seen it. Something told her not to. A dark silhouette stood facing her while secluded from the stars. She could feel it like a pull in the back of her mind as it stayed still. It gave her a sense of unease and oddly, a peak of interest. A familiar push breached Scarlett’s mind and she blinked only to find the figure gone when she opened her eyes.

  Whatever it was, she recognized it.

  It was there at her rite of passage.

  Shaking off the chills, Scarlett reached the bed at the center of the room and laid down on her back. She stared up at the ceiling and slowly felt the effects of the past events. Her body sunk into the mattress and a deep exhale left her mouth. Drained, Scarlett didn’t put up any resistance and allowed the blanket of light and dark sweep her under.

  Five

  Twinkling lights met Scarlett’s gaze as she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a few times and lifted her head to find herself surrounded by her family. Roger sat at the foot of the bed while Cher kneeled at her side. Her grandparents were on separate chairs on the other side of the room.

  They all looked terrible.

  Her father’s black hair stuck in all directions as if it’d been yanked a thousand times. His dark brown eyes were hidden behind closed and reddened eyelids. He wore the same clothes she’d last seen him in but in a wrinkled state. Her mother didn’t look any better. Her brown curls were thrown into a messy bun and she still wore the yellow dress with a blanket covering her shoulders. Her eyes were red and puffy as tear stains lined her cheeks. A pressure built behind Scarlett’s eyes at the sight of her parents.