Page 32 of Against All Odds

Meaning I was fucking dreaming. My desperate, delusional brain had made it all up.

Without another word, the second Rebekah walked around me to stand next to her doppelgänger; the two of them watching me without a word. Standing next to each other, I noticed how identical they were – impossible to tell the difference.

I clenched my teeth as shame, anger and hurt fought for dominance. I cursed myself – all of this only because I saw her at Catchphrase the other day. “I’m not playing this fucking game,” I spat to the demon – I didn’t see him yet, but I knew he was there. “There was no need to bring Rebekah into this.”

“That was all you, foolish girl.” A laugh boomed through the air – low and devious, eliciting goosebumps all over my skin. “Your poor, needy brain was so starved for her touch, you actually made up this scenario of her kissing you – as if she would ever do such a thing. Pathetic, isn’t it?”

I glared at the two Rebekahs. Despite their stoic expressions, their near-smiles seemed to taunt me. “I’m not playing,” I repeated, too pissed off to be scared. “I want to wake up.”

I tried to blink my eyes open, but while it usually worked in a lucid dream, it never did in this kind of dream. There was no other way to wake up than to play, and I knew it.

The demon’s snort echoed through the now empty walls. “You know you have to play, you fool. You know what happens if you don’t choose.”

I didn’t reply, only further narrowed my eyes. For a moment, I considered refusing to play – even when I did play, I nearly always lost, so why even bother trying?

But the memory of the pain was too unpleasant not to try.

“None of it matters,” I spoke through gritted teeth. “Neither of them is real. This is all a dream, and I—”

“Choose!” The demon’s voice boomed, so loudly, I flinched. “You have five seconds.”

“Fine,” I groaned, closing my eyes for a moment. I looked between the two Rebekahs, trying to spot the slightest difference, but I found none. Both had the same smudged lipstick on lips that would never kiss me, the same dreamy look in their bright blue eyes that would never look at me like that.

That should’ve been the first tell.

“Her,” I said reluctantly, nodding to Rebekah on the left.

“Wrong!” the demon barked, followed by his wicked laugh.

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the pain.

“Ehm. Should I come back later?”

My eyes flew open. Both Rebekahs dissolved into air. The demon’s laugh stopped abruptly, its echo fading.

My jaw dropped at the sight of the woman in front of me. She was tall, her raven hair tied into two space buns, dressed in all black – from the spiked boots to the leather jacket. Her pale blue eyes were narrowed, as if she understood this situation as little as I did.

This had never happened before. I’d had these dreams too many times to count, and they always ended with me waking up in my own bed – more often than not with a sharp, burning pain in my neck that lingered for minutes.

I blinked slowly, unable to take my eyes off the stranger. She looked as if she came straight from a dark fantasy film – and she had interrupted my nightmare.

When I said nothing, one of her eyebrows quirked up. “Well?” She stepped closer, her boots echoing in the empty hall. “What the fuck is this?”

I frowned, surprised by her blunt language. It didn’t match her breathtaking elegance, but yet, there was a strange charm to it. “This is normal for me.” I flashed a wry smile. “I’ve been having these dreams since childhood.”

The strange woman’s brow furrowed as something close to judgment crossed her sharp features. “About Rebekah?”

“God, no.” I lowered my gaze, my face burning with the remnants of my humiliation. “The doppelgängers. But you interrupting… that is new.” I carefully glanced back up at her. “Who are you?”

“My name is Seren.” A pause. “You could say I’m your… guardian angel.” The corner of her mouth twitched slightly, as if she didn’t fully agree with that. “Or spirit guide? Whichever the fuck you prefer. And I’m here because if I don’t intervene, you’ll fuck up both of our chances to get into Heaven.”

For the second time in this wild dream, I was speechless, rooted to the floor.

“My—my guardian angel?” I forced out.

Seren’s lips pressed together in a thin line as she skittishly looked around the empty corridor before scooting closer to me. Out of habit, I stepped back – intimidated more than scared. “Listen, I’m not sure how much time we have.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and I watched her movements, entranced. “I’m new to this thing – astral projection, I believe it’s called – but one thing I know is that I can only project myself into your subconscious when you’re dreaming, usually those few minutes before you wake up. Though it will feel like much longer for us both.”

My eyes widened further with every word she spoke as she gave me a brief recap of the situation.