Twisted Dreams

by Marissa Farrar

  As I gawped at the spectacle, the first woman slipped off the road and between the trees, heading deeper into the forest.

  “Hey, no!” I called out. “You don’t want to go in there! Something bad is in the forest.”

  I knew it was true. Though I’d seen nothing to make me think such a thing, my instincts were rarely wrong.

  A dream, I realized. I was dreaming one of those dreams. A dream that was trying to tell me something.

  Though subconsciously I knew I was dreaming, I couldn’t stop myself from reacting, from trying to change an event that wasn’t even happening yet, if it was going to happen at all.

  One by one, the people followed the woman, disappearing between the tree trunks, vanishing into the darkness. I ran to those who remained on the road, clutching at arms. “Don’t go in there, please, don’t follow her!” But no one listened. No one even appeared to notice me.

  They could have been sleepwalking, but more than anything they just seemed … empty.

  I woke the next morning with absolutely no idea where I was. For a few wonderful, peaceful seconds, I’d completely forgotten about the events of the day before, but then they all came crashing down on me, and inwardly I shriveled.

  Would someone, the police or people from the carnival, come and talk to me about my foresight of the accident? There was bound to be some kind of investigation, despite no one being seriously hurt.

  Then I had Brooke to deal with.

  I concentrated, but got no sense of anyone else in the room. No breathing or low thud of a heartbeat. Still facing the wall in the same position as I’d fallen asleep in, I cautiously rolled over to face the rest of the room. Brooke’s bed was empty.

  The absence of my roommate made me check the small alarm clock on my bedside table. Shit! I hadn’t remembered to set it. It was almost eight thirty, and my class started at nine. I couldn’t be late for my first class.

  I grabbed my wash bag and a change of clothes, and raced to the bathroom for the world’s fastest shower. I dried and dressed, dumped my stuff back in my room, and ran out of the building and toward campus. My first class was math—not my favorite—and I quickly checked the small map with my schedule, trying to locate the room I needed to be in. Luckily, I found it right before the bell went to mark the start of class, and burst through the door, flushed and with a sheen of sweat on my forehead. Most of the students were already seated, and I quickly scanned the room for a spare chair. My eyes met with a wide grin, and with a thrill I recognized the girl I’d met yesterday, Laurel, beckoning me over and motioning to the spare chair beside her.

  I darted across the room, but someone else, a skinny guy wearing too-large jeans, tried to take the seat.

  “Sorry, dude,” Laurel said, reaching out to block him. “That seat’s taken.”

  The boy cocked his eyebrows in disbelief, but didn’t bother to argue, finding a different chair near the back of the room. I slid in beside Laurel.

  “Thanks,” I said. “I overslept.”

  “On your first day?” She had laughter behind her voice.

  “I know, great start, huh? The thing is, I never oversleep!” Most of the time, I didn’t need more than three or four hours’ sleep a night. It was the reason I’d been able to make the drive up to Sage Springs in so little time. Yesterday’s events had obviously taken their toll on me.

  She leaned in, conspiratorial. “Dorm beds that comfy?”

  I grinned. “I guess they must be.”

  A man walked into the room. He was handsome, in a clean cut kind of way, with salt and pepper around the edges of his dark hair, and creases at the corners of his eyes that looked to be more from laughter than age. I couldn’t help myself. I stared at him, knowing my brow was creased in concentration, a couple of lines appearing between my own eyebrows.

  “Settle down, everyone,” he called out. “My name is Doctor Spencer, and I’m your math professor for your first year.”

  I recognized him, I knew I did, but I just couldn’t place him.

  “If you can open your text books at trigonometry …” Groans rose around the room. He laughed, “Come on, it’s too early in the term for you to be jaded already.”

  He turned to his own book, a serious expression replacing the smile, and instantly I knew where I recognized him from. Dana’s future. I quickly glanced around, wondering if I had missed her. But she wasn’t in this class, of course she wasn’t. She must be taking his class at a different time. Was that how they’d meet, I mused. Or did she already know him? She said her family was from around here, so their paths might have already crossed.

  Doctor Spencer put us to work, talking us through the exciting world of lengths and angles of triangles. He was engaging and funny, not what I’d expect of a math teacher at all. He made the next hour pass quickly, despite the tedious subject, and eventually the bell rang and we were allowed to go.

  I stood from my seat and gathered my belongings, heading out into the corridor.

  Laurel fell in beside me. “So, did you hear about what happened at the carnival last night?”

  I stiffened. “What do you mean?”

  “There was an accident. One of the cars of the Waltzer came off the platform. People were inside, and it flew into the crowd. But apparently some girl seemed to know what was going to happen before it did.”

  “Really? No way.” I mumbled, ducking my head down. “You weren’t there though?”

  “No, my family has a thing against the carnival people.” Her lips twisted. “They can be a bit over protective.” She must have realized something. “So you were there then?”

  I felt my normally pale cheeks flush with color. “Yeah, I was there.”

  “But you didn’t see anything?” She eyed me curiously.

  I glanced away and mumbled, “No, I didn’t.”

  Laurel either ignored my awkwardness or didn’t notice. “What class have you got next?”

  I was glad for the distraction. Checking my schedule, I said, “Looks like English Lit.”

  She grinned. “Great. Me too.”

  I wanted to feel pleased at our shared classes, remembering the hope I’d had at getting to know her the previous day, and also my lack of friends, but the mention of the carnival incident had set me on edge. The last thing I’d wanted to do was lie, but I couldn’t stand the barrage of questions I knew would have followed.

  A familiar blond head bobbed through the sea of students toward us. My gaze darted around, hunting for an escape route, but there was none. Flynn’s eyes were locked directly on me.

  “Hey, Beth,” he said, coming to a stop directly in front of me, his large body blocking the way. “How’re you doing? I’ve been worried about you.”

  “I thought I told you it wasn’t your job to worry about me.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, I know it’s not my job, but that doesn’t stop my brain from working. You seemed really upset last night, which I totally get, but then that carny guy was hassling you …”

  I could feel Laurel watching the interaction with curiosity.

  “I was fine. It was just a shock.”

  “You never explained how you predicted what happened.”

  Laurel butted in. “It was you? You’re the one who warned everyone?”

  The heat in my face increased. “I saw a screw pop out and roll to the ground, and the plate was coming loose.”

  “But you just said you didn’t see anything?” Laurel said, confused.

  “Sorry. I didn’t want everyone to know.”

  I looked past Flynn’s shoulder to see two police officers striding down the corridor toward us. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding,” I groaned. Was anyone going to give me a break today?

  “Miss Bandores?” The male counterpart of the police duo asked, his eyes flicking between me and Laurel.

  I lifted my hand as if answering in class. “Yeah, that’s me.”

  “My name is Officer Logsdon,” he said, then gestured to the woman at his side. “This
is Officer Russo. Sorry to interrupt your first day, but I’m afraid we’re going to need to ask you a few questions. Is there anywhere we can talk?”

  Practically the entire school had stopped what they were doing, and now stood silently watching the interaction between me and the police officers. So much for keeping my head down and fitting in. I didn’t know the campus well enough to know what rooms would be free, and I certainly didn’t want to take them back to my room. Despite having an uncle in the police department (well, he was more a family friend than a real uncle), I still had an innate fear of authority. I was always certain I was doing something I shouldn’t be, or would let something slip about what kind of creatures made up my family.

  All I managed as a response was a shrug.

  The officers exchanged a glance. “How about we talk in the patrol vehicle?” Officer Logsdon offered.

  I shrugged again. “Sure.”

  The sea of students lurking in the hall to find out what was going on now parted like the Red Sea as the cops walked between them, followed by a sheepish me. I kept my head down, my long hair falling over my face, my stomach in knots. Most of these people probably didn’t know what the police wanted with me, but I doubted it would stay that way for long. I understood how the gossip mill worked. Even if people didn’t know what was going on, they’d probably make something up until they did.

  I followed the officers out to the parking lot where my own rental car was parked. The cop car stood out like a beacon. The only thing getting more attention than the car was me. Officer Logsdon opened the back door of the patrol vehicle and I slipped into the back seat. Both officers climbed in the front and twisted back around to speak to me.

  “I’m guessing you already know why we need to talk to you,” the female officer, Russo, said.

  I hazarded a guess. “The accident at the carnival last night?”

  She nodded. “That’s right. We had a number of people report that you predicted the accident about to happen and were actually trying to move people away from the ride only moments before the car spun off.” She picked up her notes, “A Riley Draiodh said—”

  I cut her off. “Who?”

  “The young man working the ride. He says you seemed absolutely certain of what was about to happen. You told him the car was going to spin off into the crowd of people, something which happened only moments later.”

  I shrugged, while storing away the knowledge of his name for turning over later. Riley Draiodh …

  “It was a lucky guess,” I told her. “I saw a screw come loose and the car looked like it was lifting off the platform. Anyone else who noticed it would have assumed the same thing.”

  “But no one else did notice, did they? And there must have been fifty people standing around that ride.”

  “Are you trying to say I had something to do with it, and suddenly changed my mind and so warned everyone to get out of the way?” Despite my fear of authority, I couldn’t help the sarcastic tone that entered my voice.

  “Is that what happened?” Officer Logsdon said, not a trace of humor on his face.

  “No, of course not! I only got here yesterday.”

  Officer Russo continued, “This is very serious, Miss Bandores. Several people were hurt in the incident, and the carnival has been shut down. If you know anything, I suggest you tell us now. It’ll only look bad on you if we find out at a later date that you withheld information.”

  “I don’t know anything else!”

  My heart had fallen at the mention of the carnival closing. Did that mean the boy, Riley, would leave now? It seemed strange to think I might not see him again. I wasn’t sure if it was one of my predictions, but I’d felt sure our paths would cross again.

  The female officer checked her notes again, though I was certain she’d already planned exactly what she was going to ask me. “We also had an incident on Route Forty-Six yesterday afternoon in which you seem to have been involved.”

  I’d had to report the accident in order to claim on my insurance for damage to my car.

  “Well, yes, but that had nothing to do with me. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  She studied my face and I shrank. “That happen to you often?”

  I bristled. “Not normally. Must be something about this town.”

  She responded only with a “hmm,” and scribbled something on her notepad.

  “Anyway,” I said. “Is it okay if I go now? My next class will start soon, and I don’t want to be late quite so early in the term.”

  They exchanged a glance.

  “All right,” Officer Logsdon said. “If we need to ask you any more questions, I assume we can find you on campus.”

  “Yes, I’m staying in Caraway dorm.”

  Officer Russo leaned across the back of the seats and handed me a card. “If you hear anything or think of anything else, please give us a call.”

  My fingers closed around the card which contained her name and number. “Sure. No problem.”

  That seemed to be good enough for the moment. I climbed out of the car and tried to ignore all of the curious glances and whispers behind the backs of hands directed at me. I slouched further, trying to make myself as small as possible, wishing I could shrink enough for people not to notice me altogether. Sudden hot tears burned at the backs of my eyes, an overwhelming homesickness sweeping over me. Why had I bothered to come here? My parents had been right. I should have stayed close to home rather than trying to form a new life for myself. I could never escape what I was.

  I slunk into my next class without even looking up to try to spot Laurel. I took a seat near the front and tried to concentrate as my new English Lit professor introduced herself and started to explain the course. Lifting the lid of my laptop, I did my best to hide behind it.

  By the end of the lecture, my stomach was growling, signaling lunch time. I’d not had time to eat breakfast that morning and was starving. I didn’t want to go into the dining hall, but I couldn’t keep hiding.

  You saved lives, I told myself. You shouldn’t be ashamed of what you did. You should be proud. So what if people are talking? They always talk. Give it another twenty-four hours and they’ll be gossiping about some other poor soul.

  I wasn’t a coward. I needed to be strong, and if that meant walking into the dining hall with my head held high, then that was exactly what I intended to do. I could hear my parents’ voices in my head. You’re tough, you’re strong. You’ve already been through more than any of these people could comprehend.

  I slipped my laptop into its case, and then put it in my bag, together with my text books. The bag was heavy, but I barely noticed as I slung it over my shoulder and headed out of the lecture hall to join the river of students. From my tour earlier in the year, I knew where the dining hall was located, so I headed there. The south dining hall was a new extension on the old building, with slanted glass panels as a roof which let in huge amounts of light. Round tables with comfortable padded seats were positioned around the middle of the large space. A number of leather couches were grouped together in one corner. The double doors were already propped open in expectation of the busy lunch period. Many of the tables already had students sitting at them. Most of the students who were relaxed and chatting easily with each other were older, second and third years. The few people lurking awkwardly around, trying to figure out which queue they were supposed to join, or with trays of food in their hands, wondering where to sit, were newbies like me.

  There was a certain amount of comfort in knowing I wasn’t the only one who felt out of place.

  I joined the line for food, resolutely ignoring everyone else. I debated the salad bar, and decided after the day I’d already had that I deserved a burger and fries. I even added a chocolate milkshake to the mix. I’d probably have every other teenage girl in the room gasping in horror at my selection, but my half vampire genetics didn’t allow me to put on weight. My weight had stayed exactly the same since I was fourteen
. Besides, I wanted the comfort of some serious fat and carbs.

  With relief, I spotted an empty table. Quickly, I crossed the dining hall and slid into one of the chairs, placing my tray on the table. I lifted my burger to my mouth, taking a huge bite, but I wasn’t allowed any time to immerse myself in the comfort of processed food as someone sat down opposite me.

  “You know that’s not good for you?”

  I lowered my burger to stare into his green eyes, and chewed and swallowed too fast. “What are you, Flynn? My substitute parent?”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Far from it, I’d hope. And I’d really hate to be your parent. Considering the cops turned up for you at school today, I think you’d drive them into an early grave.”

  I had to bite back a smile at the idea of my vampire father and vampire-blood taking mother meeting an early grave. “The cops only wanted to ask me a couple of questions,” I told him, wiping grease off my chin.

  He leaned forward. “And what did you tell them?”

  “Exactly what I told you.”

  I refused to enlighten him about anything else. Though Flynn had so far seemed like a good guy, I didn’t really know him. He might take whatever I told him and spread it around the gossip mill. I had a feeling enough people were talking about me already.

  Another figure approached the table, and I glanced up to find Dana, the school’s newspaper editor, standing there. She gave me a smile and slid into the seat next to Flynn.

  “I hope you guys are finalizing the article I gave you to work on.”

  I glanced guiltily at Flynn. “Yeah, sure we are.”

  “Great, cause I need it by tomorrow to get it into the first print run.”

  I made myself smile back, though the last thing I’d thought about was the article. “Not a problem. I was just running over a couple of facts with Flynn.”

  Dana glanced to both sides of herself, and lowered her voice. “To be honest, Beth, I can’t help wondering if I should take you off this report to work on something more interesting.” She seemed to remember who she was sitting next to and glanced at Flynn. “Sorry, Flynn.”