Sweet Dreams

by J. Clarice

  She wasn’t even sure it was one.

  It had the pale face and body of a man, but its slender arms were abnormally long. A jagged hook curved from them and replaced where hands were supposed to be. Scarlett stared at the thing's face and met slit snake eyes and a mouth full of jagged shark-like teeth.

  The thing’s eyes brightened at the contact. “You’re perfect. We’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

  It took a step closer to Scarlett who took one back. She paled as an alarm rang through her mind. This nightmare was incredibly vile and worse than the mindless ones; it had a conscious mind.

  “What the hell are you?” Scarlett panted, still out of breath from the last nightmare.

  A hook appeared from behind the thing that matched the ones on its arms. Its tail rose high above its head and positioned to strike.

  “Our king will be so pleased.” Goosebumps lined Scarlett’s body as the things hollow voice hissed.

  Before she could register its words, the thing whipped its tail with lightning speed towards Scarlett’s head. She ducked and released a bolt of her power which it dodged with ease.

  The nightmare knew what it was doing.

  Scarlett built a shield of blackness around herself as the thing struck against it. It used its arm hooks to spear Scarlett but her wall didn’t budge. The thing got close and widened its mouth showcasing the rows of jagged teeth. A nauseating stench fell over Scarlett and she scrunched her nose while holding steady.

  Something moved in the corner of Scarlett’s eyes and she turned to the right to see the nightmare’s tail rise from above. She covered herself with her arms as her shield held its place.

  The strike never came and a shriek pierced Scarlett’s ears. She lifted her head to find the nightmare backing away and its hook no longer attached to its tail. Black muck gushed from a clean slice and Scarlett dropped her shield when she found who saved her.

  Cain faced Scarlett with grey flowing from his palms. His neck throbbed as his lips were drawn in a snarl. Cain's chest rose with anger and she knew it was because of her. Black muck dripped from his armor and speckled his face while his hair was slick with it.

  His eyes burned with fury while hers shone with ice. The nightmare caught Scarlett’s attention as it barreled towards Cain. He released his power in small contained darts that were barely noticeable even to Scarlett. His body moved with agility as he perfectly struck without getting a single scratch. The nightmare slowed and weakened as if its long limbs grew heavy. Black muck oozed from the cuts and holes decorating its body.

  The nightmare let its arms fall limp and didn’t move even as Cain lifted his arm for the final hit. It knew it wouldn’t win. “He’ll be here soon. He’s missed you.”

  Cain growled as he released his power to silence the nightmare’s final laughs. Cain’s shoulders rose heavily and he twisted taking long strides towards Scarlett.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” He calmly asked. To Scarlett, it sounded anything but calm. She resisted the urge to back away and cringe. Instead, she glared at Cain and sneered.

  “I’m in the damn battle, what does it look like?” Cain opened his mouth but Scarlett quickly cut him off.

  “What was that thing and who was he talking about?”

  She watched as his eyes flashed and hardened as he spoke through clenched teeth. “Now is not the time. If you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of a fucking battlefield. Save the questions for later.”

  A nightmare crept up behind Scarlett and Cain wrapped his arm around her waist to swiftly turn her. He’d brought up his other hand and blasted the creature head-on. Dust floated to the air and blended in with the mix of others. Scarlett’s mouth gaped and she realized their proximity. Their armor molded together and Scarlett’s hand was on Cain’s chest. She hastily backed away, glanced behind Cain, and caught sight of a flash of green.

  Pushing Cain out of the way, Scarlett swept the field for another flash of green when she found it. Her father wielded his Dreamer bracelet against a nightmare. He wore his helmet and his fully armored armor dripped with black muck. Scarlett sagged in relief and made her way towards his direction. Cain followed closely behind and caught sight of it at the same time she did.

  Roger fended off the nightmare before him and wouldn’t have been able to stop it even if he’d known. Scarlett’s heart fell to her feet as her face contorted with raw terror.

  “DAD! NO!”

  She screamed her throat raw and threw her power to try and shield her father from what headed his way.

  Roger heard her shout and glanced up to see Scarlett rushing towards him. His eyes widened at the sight of his daughter in battle.

  “Scarlett? What are –?”

  Roger stopped mid-sentence as he lowered his head. He caught sight of the jagged hook that traveled its way through his back and out of his chest.

  Scarlett’s blast made it a second later and cut the hook from the tail it’d been connected too. Her father stayed standing and slowly lifted his gaze to Scarlett who flew towards him. She saw a small smile spread across her father’s face as he mouthed his last words. ‘I love you.’

  Scarlett’s heart broke as she continued shouting for her father. The nightmare that he’d been fighting off rushed in and covered Roger from her view. It wrapped its jaw around him and a blinding rage filled Scarlett. Not caring who saw, she threw an onslaught of power at the nightmare until it exploded before her eyes.

  Lowering herself before her father, Scarlett dropped to her knees and hesitantly placed her hands on his chest. Tears glistened her eyes as her chest caved.

  “No. Please no.” Scarlett harshly bit her lip and she squeezed her eyes shut.

  “Daddy, please come back.”

  She stared at his pale still face and hoped he would move. ‘Please, don’t leave me.’

  The field around Scarlett paused at her cries. The nightmare’s laid eyes on her father on the ground and let out shouts of their own before retreating to the Dark Realm. Scarlett rocked herself by her father’s mangled body and cradled him to her chest. Something clawed and tore at her heart, making a hole. It chilled, burned, and numbed her all at once.

  Hands placed themselves on Scarlett’s shoulders and attempted to separate her from her father. She violently twisted and blasted those who tried as she clung onto her bloodied father. The fight stopped and the Dreamer’s surrounded Scarlett. Her moans of pain and sorrow filled all of their ears as they bowed their heads in mourning.

  Roger Blackdall was truly… gone.

  Twenty-Three

  The king weaved his power between his fingers as he oversaw the nightmare’s returning from the battle.

  Everything was going according to plan and his blood thrummed with joy. All of the pawns in his masterplan were blindly positioning themselves. They’re wrapped around his fingers, much like the tendril, he’s manipulating. Aside from the slight hiccup from one of his own, everything was intact.

  His father would be proud.

  He smirked and walked back inside the grand hall. Taking his place on the muck dripping thrown, his tendrils flared as he sat and surrounded him like overgrown vines.

  The grand hall was roofless and the never-ending darkness of the Dark Realm provided all they needed. They could perfectly see as if it were day. The columns rose high and lined the sides of the room while black marble covered the floor.

  The king’s council stood in a half-circle in front of his throne. They kept their heads bowed, each a gruesome sight. Few Nightmares were Highs while a majority were Lows. The Highs, the most sophisticated and conscious nightmares, were the King’s council. They did what he couldn’t and communicated with the nightmares for him. He didn’t have what his father had… yet.

  He’d get it soon enough but in the meantime, his Highs would have to be his translators.

  “Tell me.” He waved his hand for one of them to begin the report.

  “Roger Blackdall has fallen, my King. And th
e rest have been successfully recruited.” Its gruesome voice reached the King’s ears and resulted in a pleasant hum.

  “That… That is what I love to hear. It’s all going as it should?”

  “Yes, it is, my love.” A soft, enticing voice filled the hall.

  The king turned his head to find the love of his life striding her way towards him. Her armor shifted from that of a Dreamers to the attire of their people. Her red dress showed her slim waist with side holes and large slits on the legs to let the fabric rest between her legs as she walked. The top was low and fell off her slender shoulders. They showcased the bruises around her neck and his eyes filled with hunger at the sight of her.

  He waved his hand and the nightmares scurried out of the room, grateful to be spared of being an audience. “Come to me.”

  She’d stopped at the foot of his throne and reached for his outstretched hand. He guided her onto his lap and she sat him between her legs.

  He pulled her close and ran his nose along the edge of her throat to under her ear and down her neck.

  “What brings you here?”

  She sighed in pleasure as she sunk into his arms. “It’s all set and the traps have been laid. We’ll be good to move soon.”

  “Any hiccups this time?”

  He felt her stiffen in his lap and he paused his trailing of her shoulders. “No, my love. I did everything as you’ve planned.”

  She relaxed as he lazily ran a finger across her collar bone and lightly lifted her head. “Good, good, we wouldn’t want any more repeats, now would we?”

  As he spoke, he willed his tendrils to trail up her spine and softly wrap around her throat. Perfectly filling the puzzle of her bruises. As much as it pained him to hurt her, his father taught that no mistakes should go unpunished no matter its size. He needed her to remember so she wouldn’t make the mistake again.

  His love’s chest rose as she felt the touch of the tendril. She closed her eyes and put her palm on his cheek. “I’m sorry for my mistake, my King. It won’t happen again.”

  He watched the way her lips moved as she spoke and heat pooled withing as desire radiated between them.

  "There is now need for you to go back. Your work there is done."

  She hummed and arched her back as he hurriedly covered her lips with his. She was his only and they would stay that way.

  His greatest possession.

  The king would celebrate the first milestone in his plan for the next few days with his love.

  He’d let the Dreamers have their grieving moment. This one little mercy.

  For it would be their last… because the next time he struck, there will be no one left to grieve.

  Twenty-Four

  Deaths in Ever Realm were final.

  A Dreamer's death on Earth gave the mind a chance to continue in Ever Realm. However, if the window’s missed and the Dreamer's mind doesn’t make it through the gate on time, their death is also final.

  Back on Earth, Roger’s death happened in his sleep from holding his breath and a seizure. The funeral was brutal.

  Scarlett knew the truth of how her father passed and it hollowed her from the inside out as it replayed over and over again at the forefront of her mind. Their last conversation pained her as she wished it’d gone differently.

  ‘If only I’d caught sight of him earlier.’

  ‘If only I’d been faster. Stronger. Bigger.’

  ‘I would’ve been able to save him.’

  ‘But I wasn’t.’

  ‘I failed him.’

  ∞

  He died protecting Ever Realm.

  Cher and Jenna hadn’t been on the field since they were doing control at one of Ever Realm’s Headquarters. Their security systems had gone haywire and the cages that held the dangerously high-level Nightmares unlocked. The Dreamers on duty hadn’t stood a chance. The locked up ones managed to escape with the retreating horde. Every single one of them.

  When Scarlett gathered herself with her mother and sister, they’d already been notified. Her mother’s cries were worse than her own and she’d heard them from afar. Jenna fled the moment she heard of his death. Scarlett understood her sister mourned in her own way. Jenna would lock herself up and push everyone away. Even Chad couldn’t reach her and felt the distance growing between them.

  All of Ever Realm’s headquarters were abandoned as everyone grouped in one. The Ever Realm Center beside the Youth Dreamers fit all the Dreamers left. They lost many, old and young, leaving the remaining in shambles. A darkness fell over the Realm at the death of one of their leaders and all the lost loved ones. Some of the stars disappeared with their deaths.

  Everyone huddled together at the Ever Realm Center, knowing they needed each other now more than ever. Their kind was slowly being wiped out.

  Thanks to her training, Scarlett hollowed herself. She caved and let the pain and rage churn while hunger for revenge grew. She’d get whoever did this.

  The attack came out of nowhere, at least that’s what the rest of the Dreamers thought. She knew better.

  Scarlett entered the hall and found Grandma Ruth standing on the corner.

  “Grandma Ruth? What are you doing here?”

  Grandma Ruth, although an old woman, stood tall and moved with grace. Her white willowy hair was in a bun and her armor was a light gold. She hadn’t been back in Ever Realm since her mother and father took over as leaders. She ruled alone for a short time before them.

  “My dear,” Grandma Ruth opened her arms.

  Scarlett gave in and quickly returned the hug before putting distance. Grandma Ruth’s eyes were reddened much like everyone else’s. Gloom hungover the Center like humid air that stuck itself onto their every pore.

  “I’m going to help you and your mother get through this. No one should have to do this alone.”

  Scarlett nodded and felt the anger that rose in Grandma Ruth. They all wanted justice.

  Cher exited the room Grandma Ruth was in front of and wiped her face. Her red eyes shone with the pieces that were broken inside and Scarlett clenched her jaw at the sight of her mother. Two days had passed since her father’s death. The wound was still terribly fresh.

  “Are you ready?” Grandma Ruth asked and Cher shallowly nodded. They had a meeting to attend.

  Walking beside her hurting mother, Scarlett kept herself void of any emotion. They entered the room that seated five Officials and they rose. Scarlett's eyes shot to a certain Official that caught her attention.

  ‘Professor was an Official?’

  His gaze found hers and stayed for a second before he returned it to the table. She read the name on his chair.

  Official Samsus.

  Cher took a seat at the head of the glass table as Scarlett grabbed the one to her right and Grandma Ruth to the left. No time could be wasted.

  “What’s the status?” Cher’s voice bore through the room as she blankly stared at the Officials. Scarlett grabbed her mother’s hand under the table and squeezed it, her hand stayed limp.

  One of the female Dreamers that sat to the right of them lifted her head. Her armor was a light purple that fit her petite frame. Blonde short hair framed her face and her brown eyes looked down at the folder in front of her. The name on her chair read: Official Alich.

  “We lost three-fourths of our Dreamers in this battle, Miss. We’re at the lowest we’ve ever been and haven’t had a new Dreamer in a month.”

  Everyone felt the weight of her words. The possibility of dying out more real than ever.

  Dreamers were no longer thriving. They were withering away.

  “How did this happen?” Scarlett’s question startled the Dreamers as they snapped their heads up. “This attack didn’t come out of nowhere.”

  At the end of the table, Official Samsus straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. His dark copper armor now adorned with the full extent of his title. Extra armor padded every inch as blades lined his waist.

  “The attack did come at a
n unexpected time, but no, it was not out of nowhere Miss. There’d already been suspicious activity among the nightmares that we’d been tracking. They would travel in packs instead of their usual lone paths and appear more restless and daring. The ones we’d held captive started going wild and anxious to get out right before the attack.”

  Scarlett’s ears heated at the news. She took a deep breath and lightly squeezed her mother’s hand who had yet to move. She glanced at her mother and Grandma Ruth to gather their thoughts. Scarlett was elevated when she got a nod from her grandmother.

  “When did this start occurring?” Asked Scarlett as she returned her attention to Official Samsus.

  “About a month ago.”

  Scarlett inwardly wanted to scream. It all began when she became a Dreamer.

  “Do we know of what could be causing this?”

  Official Samsus hesitated and glanced at Cher. She wasn’t fully present and lost in her own world. He moved his gaze back to Scarlett and sighed. “We don’t know who could be starting this. It’s similar to the movement of Edgar’s work, so we assume it must be someone close to him.”

  Scarlett gave a clipped nod. She wanted to ask more on the subject but as if he knew what she was going to say, Official Samsus lightly shook his head.

  ‘He knows.’ A sliver of hope shed through Scarlett as she clocked his gesture. They’d talk later.

  Scarlett bit the inside of her lip and went over everything else when she remembered.

  “After the death of my father, they all retreated. Why?”

  “It appears the attack had two main objectives; to free the imprisoned Nightmares and… to put an end to your father.” Official Samsus gloomily presented.

  Scarlett’s nostrils flared as her temples throbbed with rage.

  A slam on the table caught everyone’s attention and Grandma Ruth’s fist was on the table.

  “Those bastards will pay for what they did to my son!”

  Tears made their way down her cheeks but her eyes were hardened. A silent agreement went throughout the room.