Chapter 6
Time to Explain
Sandy was waiting for Aspen as the bus rolled into the school grounds again. She'd let her hair loose, and it hung like a curtain around her petite body.
"Hey." She smiled as Aspen jumped from the vehicle. Other students walked around them in groups, laughing and chatting loudly.
"Hey, where's Dylan?" Aspen asked too quickly, then mentally kicked herself, not wanting to sound eager.
Sandy grinned and played with a small dream catcher that she wore around her neck. It looked suspiciously similar to the one that Dylan wore.
"He had to divert the Chancellors. He'll be here later."
"Excuse me?" Aspen stopped looking at the necklace and stared at Sandy in shock. "Did you just say he diverted the Chancellors?"
Sandy burst out laughing and hugged her backpack. "Yes, dummy. Didn't you know it was real?"
The bus rumbled to life next to her, and she jerked as Mamma Megs honked the horn and waved good-bye.
"Excuse me?" This time she asked the question in a state of shock.
"Ooh, Dylan. I like the way you make me feel all tingly inside." Sandy giggled. "I told you you'd regret saying that." Aspen stared at her blankly. "Hmm, I can see this is going to take longer than I thought." Her friend dropped her smile and sighed dramatically. "Let's meet at lunchtime and I'll explain it all to you."
Nothing could have shocked Aspen more, and she closed her open mouth abruptly.
"Come on, you'll be late for class." Sandy walked toward her class and Aspen followed her blindly. Once they reached her history class, Sandy pointed to the door.
"See you at lunch," she mouthed silently, then disappeared into the throng of kids that surged through the hallway.
Aspen walked to her desk in a daze, barely noticing the scents of chalk and pine disinfectant that permeated the classroom she slumped into her chair in a state of bewilderment. Dylan's seat was conspicuously empty behind her.
After looking around the class, she caught Miriam's angry gaze from across the room. Her stepsister was dressed to kill in a low-cut tank top and a tight pair of Wranglers. Chewing a piece of gum vigorously, she sealed the bubble against her lips before popping it over and over. Aspen looked down and opened her books to avoid any further confrontation.
The lessons dragged on far longer than usual, and it was difficult to concentrate in any of her classes. She couldn't wait for lunch to start. Luckily Miriam hadn't spoken to her at all, and she was grateful for the small respite.
Finally the lunch bell rang and she ran to the cafeteria to search for her friend. Sandy waved to her from a table in a semiprivate alcove. Aspen dashed over and dropped her bag on the floor. Holding out two sandwiches stuffed with lettuce, tomato, and ham, Sandy motioned for her to sit and handed her a juice.
"Here, you look like you're starving. I'll talk while you eat."
Aspen bit into the bread hungrily. The dream catcher charm that dangled from a suede cord around Sandy's neck seemed to glow under the fluorescent lights.
"So, where to begin?" Sandy smiled and slotted a straw into her juice box. "You, Ms. Walker, are part of a very powerful race called the Dream Walkers." She tugged at the straw with her mouth after the announcement.
Aspen couldn't speak after she'd bitten off a large piece of bread, and she tried to chew without choking. Once she'd nodded her head, Sandy smiled and continued.
"We've been in existence forever. Our purpose is to protect children from nightmares."
Aspen swallowed awkwardly and looked around to make sure that they were out of earshot before hissing, "What are you talking about?"
"You haven't been making this all up." Sandy's mouth quirked into a half smile. "We've been waiting for you for a while. A Dream Walker only gets their full powers after their sixteenth birthday, which means you should get your powers tomorrow."
Aspen took a smaller bite of the huge sandwich in front of her. Other students chatted loudly around them, and an annoying fly tried to land on her bread. She shooed it away with her hand.
"My dreams, are you saying they're real?" she asked in disbelief.
"Close your mouth before you swallow that fly." Sandy laughed. "Yes, they're real." She lifted the dream catcher charm in her hand. "You'll get a present for your birthday tomorrow. You'll be wearing one of these soon. It's a Dream Walker necklace."
Aspen reached out and stroked the charm. A hum of energy spilled over into her hands from the trinket.
"You'll be able to tell which clan we belong to by the pattern. We're from the Power clan. We have the ability to control electricity, but there are other clans like the Water clan, the Wind clan, and the Fire clan. All are Dream Walkers too, just from different clans."
Aspen continued to chew, although the bread could have been cardboard for all she cared.
"Each clan consists of people with similar looks. Our clan has fair-haired, blue-eyed girls and dark-haired boys. Members of the Fire clan have red hair and so on. Our goal is to fight and destroy Chancellors."
"The people chasing us?" Aspen asked.
"Yes. They're divided into groups themselves. Each group has a leader with a specific nightmare they're meant to inflict on innocent children. When they succeed with their nightmare, they draw strength and form more Chancellors."
Sandy picked up her juice and pulled a long drink through the straw before continuing. "We have to keep practicing and increasing our powers to stop them. The Chancellors have a small window of time to make a bad dream, only ten minutes, but they grow stronger when children wake up screaming. You'll know when they are about to appear. The sky turns purple, or Lavendula, as we call it, and the temperature plummets." She batted at the fly, and it sparked and sizzled into a tiny pile of ash on the table.
"If it's Lemona, that's when the sky is yellow, they can't come out. We have about an hour between each period of Lavendula in order to find a way to stop them." Sandy sat back in the chair, as if waiting for Aspen to process what she'd just said.
Aspen swallowed the last of her sandwich and said nothing, waiting impatiently as Sandy sucked at her juice.
"There's so much to teach you," Sandy went on. "It's your birthday tomorrow and you'll officially become a Dream Walker. We'll welcome you into our clan, and I'll tell you all about us then."
"You can't be serious," Aspen wailed. "There's still so much I need to know. You can't stop now."
"There's plenty of time, my friend. Right now, we have to deal with someone unpleasant." She motioned behind Aspen, who turned to see her stepsister barreling toward them with Amber, Justin, Doug, and Kyle in tow.
"Great." Aspen sighed. "Just what I need now."
"Don't worry. I'll show you how to take care of them." Sandy winked at her.
Shrinking back in her seat, Aspen waited for the confrontation.
"So, if it isn't Blondie and her sidekick," Miriam huffed as she reached the table. "Did you think you could outsmart me?" she growled. "What did you do to my TV last night?" Grabbing Aspen's wrist, she twisted it sharply. Aspen winced in pain and leaned forward.
Sandy reached over to touch her other arm, and in the next second, a spark of electricity snaked across Aspen's shoulder right through to Miriam.
The surge hit her with a solid smack, forcing Miriam to fall back onto her bottom.
"Ouch! You little freak." Shouting, she pulled herself up using Amber's leg as a support. Amber grunted as Miriam stood up.
"Whatever game you're playing isn't working on me, you stupid dumbass," she ranted.
Aspen didn't say a word and smiled bravely. The air smelled like singed hair, and she wondered when her stepsister would notice that the fine hairs on her arms had been fried.
"Miriam." Justin frowned. "Let's go." He turned around and everyone followed him.
Miriam's face was thunderous and her cheeks were bright pink. "I'm not finished with you, not by a long shot." With that, she stalked off after Justin.
Aspen la
ughed loudly and clung to Sandy's arm as the group left the room. "Now that was worth every minute." She wiped away tears of amusement. "I think that was the funniest thing I've ever seen. You'll have to teach me how to do it."
Her shoulders shook with laughter for a few seconds longer before she straightened up suddenly. "Hold on, if my dreams are real-I touched Dylan and told him he makes me feel good. Oh no!" she wailed. Her cheeks burned and she ducked her head in embarrassment.
"I told you that you'd regret what you said later." Sandy chuckled and pushed her seat back.
"Don't worry," she went on. "If your powers are so strong before your birthday ceremony, you'll be dynamite after tomorrow. Whatever Dylan thinks won't matter then." She got up from the table and her long tresses swayed against her arms. "Come on, time to go. I've still got a lot to teach you."
Aspen and the Dream Walkers Page 6