Follow the Hummingbird (The Dream Tamer Chronicles Book 1)

by Elena Carter

  She shrugged and started walking down the street. The air was so humid that she felt as if she was swimming in the fog.

  There were lights on in some of the windows of the houses she could see. She still couldn’t figure out where she was, but she was glad it wasn’t dark. The lights in the windows made her feel like she wasn’t alone. Although, there was something strange about those lights too. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly.

  Tina stopped for a moment. She stared at the nearest street light, then at a window in a house at the end of the driveway. She tried to figure out what they had in common.

  The realization made her shiver.

  It looks like I’m in a black and white photo, Tina thought. There’s no color here. None.

  The world around her was absolutely monochrome.

  Tina stretched her arms out in front of her and examined them closely. Her skin had its usual color, and her pale pink nail polish shimmered under the street light. Tina let out a sigh of relief. She peered down and saw she was wearing a dark blue dress and pink converses.

  I sure look colorful for this place. Tina scoffed. I must really stand out. Which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The last thought caught Tina by surprise and gave her goose bumps. She instinctively reached for her necklace. As she rubbed the smooth glass between her fingers, she took deep breaths to try and calm her pounding heart.

  Everything is going to be okay. So it’s a black and white world, what’s so terrible about that? Tina attempted to smile, but her heart kept beating faster and faster. She could almost hear its pounding in the frightening silence of the street, and that scared her even more.

  I wear too many colors, and I make too many noises, she thought. It’s way too easy to spot me. He will hear me. He will hear my thumping heart.

  Fear consumed her.

  I don’t belong here. And I’m scared. Which makes me a perfect victim.

  Tina wanted to stop panicking, but couldn’t help it. She searched for any suspicious shadows.

  How the hell do you find a shadow in the fog in a black-and-white world? Tina’s thoughts raced, and her hands were shaking.

  I need to calm down. I need. To. Calm. Down. And. Breathe.

  She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, closing her eyes. And then repeated the procedure several more times. The breathing exercise seemed to help. Her hands weren’t trembling as much, and her heart rate was slowing.

  Tina opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. Same milky fog, same street lights with their cold white light, same silence.

  I guess I’ll keep on walking then. I’ll get somewhere eventually, Tina thought.

  As she walked, she tried to make as little sounds as possible, carefully lifting her feet and putting them down gently.

  A dog barked, and she froze. It was so unexpected that she didn’t know what to do—whether to be scared, or to be happy there was someone else there.

  It’s just a dog. At least, it sounds like it. Can’t see it yet. But it’s not the creepy shadow I was afraid of. As far as I know, Umbrus doesn’t bark. That would be too ridiculous.

  She wasn’t sure she’d managed to convince herself, but since even the thought of his name made the blood freeze in her veins, she decided to stop thinking about it and search for the dog instead.

  It barked again, closer this time.

  Two figures emerged from the fog, a young girl with a dog on a leash. The dog would have looked like a golden retriever, had the world not been black and white. There was no color in the owner’s appearance either.

  Tina’s jaw dropped.

  The monochrome world surrounding her was weird enough, but seeing people—walking and breathing beings—that looked like a cut-out from a retro photograph, was too much.

  She stared at the girl and her dog, not able to say a word.

  They strolled in her direction. The girl had headphones on and was looking straight ahead. Straight at Tina.

  Or, rather, straight through Tina.

  Tina couldn’t move. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The girl and her dog were walking directly to her.

  Or, rather, directly through her.

  The girl with the headphones passed through Tina, as if her body was a hologram.

  Tina didn’t feel anything apart from shock.

  She stood still for a few more moments. When she felt she could move again, she turned and saw the retriever was looking over its shoulder at her. As their eyes met, the dog whimpered and tried to hide his tail between his legs.

  He can see me. Or feel me somehow. She can’t, but her dog can. What am I, some kind of a ghost?

  The girl pulled on the leash impatiently, interrupting their eye contact. The dog obeyed and followed the owner. Tina watched the receding figures.

  I can’t believe it. I’m a ghost in this world. Fleshless. Colorful, but fleshless. In a monochrome world. Can it get any weirder? Tina shook her head.

  The girl and her dog were no longer visible, hidden by the fog.

  Movement on the ground caught Tina’s attention.

  A large dark gray shadow crawled out of the fog and slithered in her direction.

  For a moment, Tina was fettered by fear. And then she turned around and ran.

  Panic consumed her. She ran, stumbling, falling down, and then struggling to get to her feet as fast as possible. Moving fast and breathing was hard in the thick fog. Tina’s heart was going crazy, and her lungs burned with every labored breath. She wasn’t even looking where she was running.

  When she tripped over something and fell face first again, she heard a light clink as her necklace hit the road surface. Getting up, Tina grabbed the necklace to check if it was broken. The stone was intact. Her cheek stung, though. Tina ran her fingers along her jaw and stared at her hand with smudges of blood mixed with dirt. Anger took over the fear.

  Enough! Tina’s silent scream echoed through her head. Get a fucking grip and calm down. Now!

  Her internal outburst had a sudden sobering effect. She straightened her back, took a deep breath, and turned around. At the first glance, there was no sign of the shadow.

  Tina stood still, staring into the fog and breathing deeply. Her heart rate slowed.

  There wasn’t any movement on the street. The fog seemed to have gotten thicker, though. It was hard to see anything, and Tina thought the shadow could be just a few steps away.

  I need to get out of here, she thought. I wish I knew how.

  As she turned around and was about to continue walking, a bright flash illuminated before her eyes and disappeared in the fog before she even blinked.

  A couple seconds later, the tiny flash emerged from the fog and stopped in front of Tina, hovering a few inches from her face.

  Tina smiled with relief.

  “Hey there,” she greeted the hummingbird. “Are you here to help me? Can you please get me out of here?”

  The bird turned around and flew into the fog. Tina followed, still holding her necklace. Her colorful guide disappeared into the fog every now and then, but kept coming back as if to check if Tina was following.

  They made a couple turns. Tina had no idea where the hummingbird was leading her, and how long she had been walking. She concentrated only on not losing sight of her guide.

  All of a sudden, what looked like an outline of a door emerged in the fog. Tina made a few more steps forward and discovered it was indeed a white wooden door with a brass handle. It stood in the middle of the street. There was no building, no walls around it, just a lonely white door standing on the asphalt, surrounded by shredded clouds of fog.

  Tina looked around. There was no sign of the hummingbird.

  I guess this is the destination, then. Tina shrugged. I definitely don’t want to stay here, so the only choice is to check out what’s behind the door.

  She grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. Behind it was total darkness. Tina twisted and glanced at the black-and-white world behind her. She thought of the shadow lurking somewhere i
n the fog and shivered. Gazing into the pitch-black space ahead of her, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and stepped over the threshold.

  When she opened her eyes, it was still dark. She clutched the necklace around her neck in her left hand and gripped something soft in the other hand. It took her a moment to realize she was lying in her bed, holding a pillow.

  “Can’t believe you finally found the time for me.” Mike took a sip of his coffee and leaned back on the bench.

  The little park in the downtown was quiet on the Sunday afternoon. Tina figured that everyone was most probably out of town for the weekend, and that was exactly why she suggested to meet Mike for a coffee there. She needed a calm place to talk, and she wasn’t in the mood for being in a crowd.

  “Me neither.” She laughed. “Seriously, though, I’m sorry for disappearing. I’ve been having a bit of a crazy time lately.”

  “Wanna tell me about it?” Mike raised one eyebrow. “Or is it a big secret?”

  “No secrets, Mike.” She shook her head. “It’s hard to explain. I’m trying to figure things out myself.”

  “Is it working? Because I’m always ready to help, you know.”

  “Kind of. And yes, I do know. Thank you.” She nodded.

  A light wind played with the leaves in the trees, and a few sparrows hopped on the grass, looking for food.

  “Promise me you won’t think I’m crazy,” Tina said.

  “Can’t. I know you’re crazy!” Mike shrugged, and they both laughed.

  “Then you won’t be too surprised, I guess.”

  “Is it about your dreams? We haven’t really been talking since your sleeping marathon.” He wrinkled his forehead.

  “It is. Actually, that marathon was just the beginning.” Tina paused to have a sip of coffee. “I don’t even know where to start. There’s been so much happening.”

  “Start anywhere. We’re not in a rush. At least I’m not.”

  “Me neither.” Tina chuckled. “Okay, here we go …” She cleared her throat and started telling him about her recent dreams.

  Mike listened without interrupting or revealing any emotions. At first, she felt a little tense because she was expecting a negative reaction from him—a chuckle, an eye roll, or maybe even a sarcastic comment. She didn’t know why she was sure he’d react that way. But, as she watched his poker face while confiding in him, Tina became more relaxed and comfortable. In fact, it felt good to be able to share her experiences with someone apart from Natalie.

  When she got to the latest dream, she hesitated, but then took a deep breath and reached for the silver chain around her neck; the one holding the purple glass pendant as close to her heart as possible, following Armen’s suggestion.

  She wasn’t quite ready to show it off, so she was wearing it under the shirt—the length of the chain allowed her to hide it from curious eyes. However, she decided she wouldn’t keep secrets from Mike, so she pulled it out and showed it to him.

  “I have a feeling this pendant saved me. I’m sure I brought it from the dream for a reason. Look at it. Have you ever seen anything like it?”

  Mike shook his head.

  “Isn’t this crazy? I mean, I’m not even talking about all the sand in the bed. But this—this is proof I actually went there. Wherever that was. It wasn’t just a dream. This is real; it’s not my imagination. You can see it, you can touch it, the jeweler even made a pendant out of it.”

  Mike reached out to feel the smooth surface of the glass. He rubbed his chin.

  “I don’t even know what to say, Tina. This is … strange and weird and unbelievable and cool at the same time.” He shrugged. “Really, I’m lost for words. You know how much of a skeptic I am. I see now why you were avoiding me.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “It’s okay, Tina. Really. I understand.”

  “I was confused. Still am, to be honest. But at least now I’m able to talk about it.” She tucked the pendant back.

  “Look, I need you to know that you can always talk to me. About anything. Especially when you are confused and lost. After all, what are friends for?”

  “Thank you, Mike.” Tina took a deep breath. “You know, I really feel relieved. This is all very overwhelming, and pretty scary too, and it’s good to know I’ve got someone to lean on.”

  “You can always lean on me. Just promise me one thing, will you?”

  Tina raised her eyebrow.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful. And you’ll always come back from wherever you’re wandering. And don’t take that necklace off.”

  “I’m still not sure if it was the necklace or the hummingbird, or maybe even both, but I’m definitely sure the shadow was there for me. And it wasn’t just a nightmare. I could feel it. I could feel the danger. It was hunting me. It could smell my fear.”

  Mike shuddered. “Makes my blood freeze hearing about it. I can’t even start to imagine what you must have felt.”

  Tina nodded.

  “Tina, I’m really worried about you. But I have no idea what to do to help you, even though I really want to. It scares the hell out of me.”

  “I’ll be fine, Mike.” Tina placed her hand on his arm. “This was my second encounter with the shadow, and see, I made it.”

  “I’m happy you did. But you need to figure out how to make sure it leaves you alone for good.”

  “I do. And for that, I think I need to keep going there. I need to talk to Greg again.”

  Tina sat on the ground under a tall pine tree. Confusion filled her because she didn’t remember how she got there. It was as if she blinked, and when she opened her eyes, she was sitting cross-legged on the grass, holding a paper cup in her hands. She looked down and saw it was filled with nuts. She blinked several times.

  “Here she comes,” a voice whispered from behind her.

  Tina jumped up, startled, then she realized it was Greg’s voice.

  Before she could turn around to see him, she felt his hands on her shoulders. He gently turned her to the left, pointing at something in the bushes.

  “Look. Isn’t she a beauty?”

  She twisted in the direction Greg was pointing and an animal emerged from the thick bush. It took Tina a moment to figure out what it was. She had never seen anything like it before—a squirrel with tangerine orange fur the size of a large dog. Tina froze, not sure how to react. The animal looked so strange it was a bit scary, but at the same time, she felt it was absolutely harmless and even timid.

  The giant squirrel stopped, two big curious eyes focused on Tina.

  “It’s okay,” Greg whispered. “Give her a second.”

  Tina nodded, not taking her eyes off the squirrel.

  “She’ll smell the food and come closer, but she needs to make sure there’s no danger.”

  “I also want to know there’s no danger,” Tina murmured without turning her head. She tried not to blink.

  “What, from her? They’re the sweetest creatures you’ve ever seen, trust me.” Greg chuckled softly.

  “This sweet creature is huge.”

  “Well, this is what squirrels are like in this place. It’s why I brought you here. I know you like them.”

  “I do.” Tina smiled. “It is cute, it’s just … strange.”

  “Won’t argue with that.” Greg nodded. The squirrel leaned forward, sniffing the air. “See, she smelled the nuts.”

  Tina slowly took one nut out of the cup and held it up in the air. “Come here, you orange cutie.”

  The squirrel’s nostrils moved faster. After a moment of hesitation, she made a jump forward.

  Tina shuddered.

  “It’s okay. Don’t be scared.” Greg squeezed her shoulder in encouragement. “She’s scared of you, actually.”

  Tina took a deep breath and extended her hand, the nut lying on her open palm.

  “Come on, don’t be afraid,” she whispered.

  “Are you talking to her or to yourself?”

  “Both.” Tina laughed.


  The squirrel got closer and closer. The long orange fur shone in the sun rays. One more leap, and she was sitting within a hand’s reach from Tina.

  “She is beautiful.” Tina couldn’t help exclaiming, although, she didn’t want to scare the squirrel away.

  The squirrel snatched the nut from Tina’s palm and put it in her mouth. The movement was so lightning-fast, Tina didn’t even have time to get scared.

  “See? She’s absolutely harmless. And really hungry, too,” Greg said.

  Tina put a handful of nuts from the cup on her palm and handed them to the squirrel. She realized they were regular size nuts, while the squirrel was huge.

  “That’s not going to be enough, is it? They’re tiny,” she said to Greg.

  “They are. But to her, they’re a special treat.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “These are hazelnuts from your world. Ahem … Our world. Here, in this place, squirrels eat other things.”

  “What things?” Tina was trying not to concentrate on the way Greg said ‘your world’. It stung, but she didn’t want to think about it at the moment.

  “Fruit. Very … exotic fruit.”

  “Why is this one eating hazelnuts then?”

  “They’re really curious creatures. And I taught this one. I’ve been bringing her food from different places for a while now, and she got used to it.”

  “So she’s only eating from my hands because she knows you?” Tina frowned.

  “No. They do not trust people easily. If she didn’t want to come near you, believe me, we wouldn’t be able to bribe her with anything.” Greg laughed.

  “Okay, so she likes me then I guess. That’s good to know.”

  “Of course she does, babe. How can anyone not like you?” Greg whispered in her ear, wrapping his hands around her shoulders.

  Tina closed her eyes and leaned back, relaxing in his embrace.

  “This is too good to be true,” she whispered. “I don’t want to wake up. Please don’t let me.”

  “I won’t babe. Not yet. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something—”