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I blanked my mind, forcing myself to think of nothing but the darkness I saw behind my eyes. I focused on nothing as I willed myself to fall asleep.
This was something my father had also worked hard to teach me how to do. He thought being able to fall asleep at will was a skill any good dream walker should be able to do. Uncle Quint could do it at will as well. Unlike me, he hadn't had a nice, patient teacher. Instead, he'd had grandfather who'd used physical pain as a means to motivate. My father had learned the same way, which is the only reason I knew what had been done to my Uncle. He never talked about grandfather or about his childhood. But my dad had shared with me, thinking one day I would need to know so I’d be able to better understand Uncle Quint. I was glad he’d taken the time to share with me and thought it made all the difference in our relationship because if I hadn’t known then I probably wouldn’t have put up with half the shit I did from him.
I crossed my arms over my stomach and sank deeper into the mattress as my mind began to drift off.
Sleep came quickly and before I knew it my world was incased in thick grey smoke that billowed all around me. It was so thick that my ankles disappeared and my feet were non-existent.
I groaned internally as I shifted my weight heavily from foot to foot.
Being here hadn't been my intention and proved just how sleep deprived and messed up my head was. I had simply wanted to go to sleep and dream of nothing, think of nothing, for a couple of hours max so I could start fresh and refreshed once I woke up again.
What I wasn't trying to do was project myself out of my body and into a walking dream. I was too tired for this shit and didn't even want to know who I was subconsciously looking for and seeking out.
I ran my hand over my tired eyes as I put one foot in front of the other and started making my way through the smoke like fog. Standing in one spot, waiting for someone or something to come at me was entirely useless and would do me no good. I'd still be tired but time would feel like it was dragging on against my will. I'd gone that route before when I'd been dragged under against my will and only chasing after sleep and wound up right where I was now.
Sludging through grey.
It felt like I'd walked for hours before a noise to the right stopped me where I was. I cocked my head to the side and listened intently. My ears straining to hear the slightest thing.
Silence greeted me.
I clenched my fists tightly at my thighs and trudged on.
On nights like tonight, I had to ask myself if this really was a gift or a curse. What if I never woke up and was stuck here to wander aimlessly? I shuddered at the thought. I never wished to know such a horror and wouldn't wish that fate on anyone, not even my worst enemy.
Five minutes drifted by in a stupor.
Then twenty.
Twenty minutes turned into an hour.
After a while, time really held no meaning for me. I was exhausted and my eyelids drooped heavily. I wanted nothing more than to wake up so I could try to fall back asleep again and maybe actually sleep for a change. I needed it, desperately.
As time wore on, my body began to feel weighted down, as if I'd been drugged, and I almost sat down on the cold ground and closed my eyes despite the fact it would bring me no relief.
A scream, high and filled with panic rent through the air as my tired body jerked back to life almost as if someone had flipped my switch back to 'on'.
I took off, running in the direction of the scream as another one ripped through the air.
I tripped over something I couldn’t see and went down hard. I lay on the ground, sprawled out on my stomach with my cheek pressed into the cold, damp dirt. I lay there for a split second as I blinked my eyes in stunned disbelief.
Some unseen force pushed on my chest from beneath me, beneath the dirt, and my body flew backwards. I was airborne for a few seconds, my arms and legs wind milling uselessly through the air before my back crashed into the dirt and the breath was once again knocked out of me. My body seized as I struggled to draw in air.
“What the fuck?” I grunted painfully as I rolled over to my knees. I put my palms in the dirt and shoved my upper body up out of the dirt.
Once I had my feet under me again I tried to control my breathing enough to reach inside myself and draw a layer of my magic out and wrap it around myself like a comfortable blanket. A protective blanket, using my magic like a shield.
Just what in the fuck was going on here? I had never been attacked in the dream plane before. It was always just me, whoever I brought with me, and the object of my thoughts. I hadn’t brought anyone with me and I didn’t think I’d been thinking of anyone when I fell asleep, at least no one who’d physically assault me.
A chill crept down my spine and I whirled around, searching for the person I’d felt watching me. No one was there and nothing but the rolling fog greeted me. I didn’t need to see them to know they were there, I felt the eyes on me like a physical touch.
Another scream rent through the air from behind me and I whirled around in that direction, momentarily forgetting the person watching me, the invader of my dreams. Completely forgetting I’d just taken a header and face planted right in the dirt. The only thing that registered to me being the horrifically shrill screams that continued to grace the air waves.
My neck itched as I ran, letting me know that the person who'd attacked me with their magic and had been hiding away watching me was still watching me and likely following me. I had a feeling that whoever this person was they were the reason behind the screams even though they were following me and nowhere near where the girl screaming was.
I made it to the edge of the fog where it abruptly stopped and I skidded to a halt, coming up short at the sight that greeted me. The clearing was as familiar to me as my own backyard. It was the clearing on the other side of Marcus's house, where we usually did our full moon rituals and drew energy down from the moon while offering up pieces of ourselves to it and Mother Nature. I'd been here hundreds of times before in reality. But I'd never been here before in my dreams, I'd had no reason to come here outside of my waking hours.
I hesitantly stepped out of the fog as I cautiously looked around me. I was more aware of what could potentially be behind me than I was as to what was going on in front of me even though I was facing ahead. The danger was behind me and it deserved my attention more than some screaming female I did not know did.
