Discovery

by E A Foley

  “Yeah, I’m kind of with Cirrus on this one. From behind you two are a bit hard to distinguish,” Zarina added her two cents with her usual smile as she rocked back and forth on her toes. Her wavy brown, shoulder length hair with its side-swept bangs moved in time to her rocking.

  “No, we are not! She keeps her hair down. I keep mine up,” Iris began. “Her hair is much more golden than mine.”

  “And you are in way better shape than I am,” Violet added with a smile.

  Iris stopped fuming and looked at Violet. Realization at how ridiculous she was being crashed in on her. She looked back at her friends. They all smiled and shook their heads at her.

  “Sorry. You’re not going to win this one. You know you two look similar from behind, so deal. I get that you’ve been mistaken for each other a lot, and that sucks, but there’s no reason to turn violent over it.” Aerianna’s tone ended the conversation.

  Iris looked to Morrigan for support, but all she got was a shrug. Finally, Iris sighed and nodded. “Sorry, Cirrus.”

  “Uh, it’s alright,” he said tentatively before switching his focus to Violet. “Hi babe, have a good morning?”

  “It was fine, you?”

  Iris ignored their conversation. She stepped closer to Aerianna to make room for Cirrus and switched her focus to what the rest of her friends were talking about. College applications. Again. She grimaced and made a mental note to actually start those that evening, even though she knew it was futile. With band taking up most of her non-class time from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday and her need to still memorize the march, she already had too much homework and she’d only completed one academic period for the week. Besides, it wasn’t as though she was going to get into any of her colleges of choice. She was probably going to be left behind while the rest of her friends went off to school without her.

  Her bad mood continued throughout break. She followed Aerianna to their third-period class. It was easier to allow Aeri’s six-foot, broad-shouldered frame part the sea of students rather than walk next to her. As soon as they entered their AP government class, Iris wished she’d never gotten out of bed that morning. The images taped to the walls meant a politicians pop quiz; which Iris bombed and Aerianna aced. It added to her homework load.

  The short walk to fourth period put Iris back in front of a still fuming Mr. Wright. Sometimes she wished she was only in concert band like Zarina. Today was one of those days. It appeared she was not the only one who hadn’t memorized the march in its entirety. When the wind instruments ended a full twelve measures after the percussion, Mr. Wright broke his conducting baton against the top of his stand for the third time that year. They all sat through another round of yelling and were once more released late. At least no one could blame Iris for it. Even herself.

  By the time she sat down at lunch under the shade of one of the C building’s overhangs, Iris was exhausted and pretty sure her eyes would remain brown for the rest of the day. At least the fog had finally lifted enough for her to slip on her sunglasses.

  Despite Violet’s attempts at conversation, Iris refused to say anything. It was easier and less exhausting to just eat lunch and listen to how everyone else’s day was going. When the bell rang to signify the beginning of passing period for the fifth class of the day, Iris and Violet joined the throng of bodies meandering their way to the south-west corner of campus and the twenty-one extra buildings that had been plopped down in one of the former parking lots over a decade ago.

  “Welcome ladies. We’re watching a movie today, so grab a seat and get comfortable,” Mr. McLain told the pair.

  It was the best thing Iris had heard all day. They grabbed the two remaining beanbags and settled in. Once the rest of the class arrived and took seats at desks, the lights were turned off and Iris was asleep in five minutes.

  Iris walked through a field of grains taller than her. The top floor of a massive plantation-style mansion drew her eye and set her course. The grains ended in an abrupt change to manicured lawn that stretched out in a perfect radius around the mansion. It meant she’d be exposed. Her heart raced at the thought. She needed to get inside that building unseen.

  She waited a few minutes, concealed by the tall grasses and lack of a moon. No one moved around the base of the mansion. She had to make sure no one was watching, masking their movements in the dark just as she was.

  She picked up a rock, took a few steps back into the surrounding cover, and threw it as hard as she could to her left. It landed with a thunk. Silence filled the air. She took a step and a bird flew out from the tall grains a few feet from her.

  Iris’s head snapped down. Hard. She was pretty sure she’d cricked her neck. Violet giggled next to her in the dark of Mr. McLain’s classroom. The movie still played. The thundering of Iris’s heart continued for several minutes. It helped her keep sleep at bay for the rest of the period.

  “Have a nice nap?”

  “No. I was trying to figure out how to get inside this mansion in the middle of a field. I stared at it for a while. I think I was trying to find out if there was anyone watching it when I stepped on a bird and it flew at me. Scared the shit out of me in the dream. If it’s not the bird, it’s something else.”

  “That’s weird. Wait . . . what do you mean if it’s not the bird it’s something else? Have you had this dream before?”

  “I think so. It feels really familiar.”

  “But you never remember your dreams.”

  “It’s more that I only dream about mundane, day-to-day things.”

  “Is that why you always feel like you have déjà vu?”

  “Yup.”

  “Huh. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Enjoy sixth period!” Iris called to Violet’s already retreating back.

  “You too!”

  The girls parted ways and Iris went to her sixth and final class of the day: physics. Class went by in a blur of building trebuchets and calculating trajectories. There was no need to talk, which suited her present mood. Once the final bell rang, Iris grabbed her backpack and started the long trek through campus and across the football field to the backfield entrance parking lot where her assigned parking space was.

  She was lost in thought about her dream from fifth period and drove home on autopilot with no complaints from her old car. Though she longed to grab a book off her shelf and immerse herself in a new fantasy series that presented a better reality than the one she dwelled in, Iris had too much homework. She sat down at her desk and pulled her math book out. But fifteen minutes later her head was nodding, and she decided a nap would be much more productive.

  Iris stood in the darkness at the base of the mansion and slowed her breathing after the sprint from the tall grains. Warmth emanated faintly from its walls. Even the cool of the night couldn’t penetrate the building’s exterior. She crept on silent feet in a counter-clockwise direction around the building and scanned the first floor for a door or window she could use to enter the premises.

  It was dark but not late, so she could take as long as she needed. The lack of an exterior guard was both a positive and unnerving. The lack of any foliage closer to the mansion was just unnerving. Iris’s fingers found something promising a little way above her head. She looked up and thought she could barely make out a faint outline of light. A window ledge. She stretched out her arm, rose onto her tippy toes and . . .

  Slam

  Iris’s eyes popped open and her body pitched forward to hit the floor with an audible oof.

  “Iris?” Her mom’s voice called from the living room.

  “Owwww,” Iris groaned as she picked herself up off her bedroom floor. “I’m doing homework.”

  “You all right?”

  “Yeah. I tripped on a book.”

  “Okay. Be more careful. Dinner will be at seven.”

  “Thanks.”

  Iris rubbed the shoulder that broke her fall. How the hell did she get a full five feet from her bed? She didn’t have a history of s
leepwalking. She wondered if it was something a person could develop as they got older. Maybe with the excitement of the dream . . . But what had caused her to fall? It was like she really had been up on her tippy toes reaching for something. But that was absurd.

  No, it isn’t a small voice in the back of her mind said.

  Chapter 3

  The floor rising up to meet her woke Iris from an unrestful night’s sleep. This wasn’t uncommon for Iris. Well, the floor part was only common for the last week or so. She felt worse than usual. She sat on the floor for a few moments before her alarm went off.

  What the hell woke me before my alarm? She wondered as she crawled forward on hands and knees to turn the annoying thing off. As much as she wanted to, she decided climbing back into bed was a bad idea. She asked her phone what the weather was going to be like as she grabbed clothes from her dresser without paying much attention. The forecast was the same as it always was in northern San Diego County. Fog followed by sun.

  Her mind was completely distracted by the dream as she showered and dressed for the day. She rubbed at her shoulder and dwelled on how she’d now woken up on the floor for the fifth time in eight days. The frequency was increasing. If this kept up, she was going to need to line her floor with wrestling mats or several air mattresses.

  School went by in a blur of distraction. By the time lunch arrived, she had no idea what the topics were in any of her classes thus far.

  “Spill!” Rozlynd demanded when she sat down against the C-building for lunch.

  “What?”

  “You’ve been a walking zombie all day and Aerianna said you didn’t take any notes in AP gov.”

  Iris blinked at her as she tried to figure out what the hell Rozlynd was on about.

  “The dream . . .” Zarina prompted.

  “What dream?” Iris tried to deflect the topic. She averted her eyes in an attempt to keep their shifting shades hidden.

  “The one Violet told us you had in class yesterday and possibly before,” Morrigan supplied.

  “Traitor,” Iris grumbled to Violet. At least she had the decency to blush while her eyes darkened in mirth.

  “So, spill!” Rozlynd demanded again.

  “It’s nothing really. I dreamt I was doing some recon around this massive mansion.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why the recon?” Morrigan clarified.

  “Oh. I was looking for something. Or someone.” Iris shrugged in an attempt to get off the topic. Even talking about it filled her body with adrenaline and increased her heart rate.

  “Think it means something?” Rozlynd asked.

  “What? Like I feel stuck on the outside while everyone is inside? No. I’ve felt that way my whole life.”

  “Well, if you have it again, you’ll have to share,” Rozlynd insisted.

  “Sure. It’s just a stupid dream. Maybe it has something to do with making a decision about college applications and . . .”

  “Did you actually start them?” Zarina asked.

  “No.” Iris averted her eyes and spoke to the ground. “I was going to, but then I fell asleep and the dream started again.”

  “Dream? Iris actually dreamt about something? Did hell freeze over?” Cirrus joined in as he took a seat next to Violet.

  “She dreams sometimes. We went over this.”

  “How is whether or not I dream a concern for either of you? Hell, how is it a topic of conversation?”

  “Umm . . . I think we were talking about homework, which led us to being hungry, so we talked about food, which led to lunch, which brought up my dream about eating lunch, which brought up you not really ever dreaming. That sound about right, babe?”

  Violet shrugged.

  “Well, it sounds like a typical Violet conversation to me,” Aerianna interjected to nods of agreement.

  “So anyway . . .” Rozlynd brought the conversation around. “Don’t most of your dreams come true?”

  “If by come true, you mean I live them out because I only ever dream of mundane things like going to class and doing homework and such, then yes. I get déjà vu often enough to not notice it anymore.”

  “So you do dream often. You just don’t remember them,” Cirrus concluded.

  “Sure. I guess you could say that.”

  “Maybe . . . but the dreams you remember are the ones that come true, aren’t they?” Morrigan countered.

  “Remember when she dreamt about all of us going to play mini golf last year? She knew what we were going to wear and who was going to win and everything,” Aerianna said before Iris could respond.

  “She even knew our exact scores!” Rozlynd reminded them.

  “That was a little creepy, you know,” Zarina added.

  “I’m sorry if my dreams creep you out. I’ll be sure not to mention them to you anymore,” Iris said in a huff.

  “No, Iris. That’s not . . . I mean . . .”

  “We all think your dreaming of the future is awesome and you know it, so knock it off,” Rozlynd rescued Zarina per usual. “Besides, how cool would it be if you really were a spy or something, trying to save someone inside that mansion?”

  “I’m more concerned about the adrenaline. I was looking everywhere for guards and stuff and was trying not to be seen. I’m not sure I want this one to come true. Besides, how could it?”

  The bell for the end of lunch sounded and saved anyone from responding to Iris’s rhetorical question. They all packed up their lunches and Iris joined Violet and Cirrus as they made their way to the back corner of campus. Violet, it seemed, wasn’t finished with the subject.

  “All of your other dreams have panned out when you remember them. Why not this one?”

  “Are you even listening to yourself? Not only is this dream never going to come true, I don’t want it to come true. I’m not stealthy or skilled enough to be a spy or whatever I was. And what if I got caught? I had the distinct feeling I was trying to avoid that. Whoever caught me would probably fake my death so my family would stop looking for me and I would just be a nameless face being tortured for information I never possessed.”

  “Wow. How long have you been thinking about that one?” Cirrus asked.

  “Long enough,” she snapped and crossed her arms as her eyes blazed green. Looked down at her shuffling feet. It’d be amazing if I actually had the confidence to rescue someone from a building in the middle of nowhere. But it’s me, so I’d fail anyway. Iris shook her head to stop her train of thought. It was just a dream. “I mean, come on,” she looked back at Violet and Cirrus. “A mansion in the middle of nowhere with guards patrolling and alarms sounding and spotlights on top of the roof . . .”

  “You didn’t mention the spotlights before.”

  “What does it matter? It’s just a dream. A very real, freaky dream, but a dream all the same. I’m going to class. You coming?” Iris demanded of Violet. She could feel her eyes sear again. Why was she so upset about this?

  “Okay, okay. I’ll stop bringing it up. Take a breath and calm down.”

  Iris did as Violet suggested. She closed her eyes for a minute to block out all surrounding distractions and waited for Cirrus to say goodbye before opening them.

  “Better?”

  “Yeah. Thanks. I don’t know why this dream has me so worked up.”

  “Maybe if we stop talking about it you’ll be able to forget it altogether.”

  “Maybe,” Iris agreed as they entered the cool, dark classroom. “At least we get to keep watching the movie. That should help.” Iris looked for an open desk at the back of the classroom. She wanted to be as uncomfortable as possible to avoid drifting off once more.

  Unfortunately, she lost that battle.

  Her fingers found a perch on the ledge of a first-floor window. She lifted the window a few inches. No alarm rang out. Iris opened the window further and slunk into the dark room before shutting the window behind her.

  Fear and adrenaline coursed through her body. She n
eeded to calm her speeding heart, but first, she needed to move. Keeping to the walls, she crept forward. Somehow, she managed not to knock anything over or make too much noise. With slow precision, she turned the doorknob, cracked the door, and peered into the hallway.

  Light flooded her eyes. She tried to squint through it. The brightness was too much for her dilated pupils. She thought about pulling the door shut and fleeing back into the night, but she was already so close. Footfalls above her almost made her slam the door shut. She needed to go up. Of course she did. No one was stupid enough to hold a hostage on the first floor. There was only one option. She closed the door and locked it before leaving through the window.

  Her eyes searched for light from the windows above. Most were nothing but darkness. She needed to give her eyes time to adjust to the night again. Each second she waited was another one that could mean they’d discover her. Iris took a deep breath to relax and tried to bring forth the sensation of weightlessness. Deciding now was as good a time as any, Iris bent her knees and . . .

  An alarm bell sounded. Lights flashed on.

  Chairs scraped back as her classmates rose to leave. She’d missed the whole class period.

  “You all right?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” Iris sighed as she and Violet joined the press of students spilling into the hallway. “This dream just won’t leave me alone.”

  “Well, if you can’t stop it from coming, then let it come.”

  “I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

  Nope. A voice in the back of her mind said.

  Iris awoke the following morning and immediately knew something was off. She hadn’t abruptly entered consciousness like the last few times, but rather gradually became aware that she was awake. What woke her was a mystery. The only thought she had was something in her dream. She remembered slipping out the window, looking up for a light source, bending her knees and jumping. Her heartbeat increased further at the memory of her dream. Perhaps it was adrenaline from what she was doing in the dream.