Broken Nightmare

My surroundings are foreign. I feel frightened, but not for myself. Where am I?

I’m desperately searching for someone in a crowded room. The walls glisten from the detailed luxurious living style protruded here. Bustling crowds and groups of people parade up and down the rooms, dancing along to the music.

My heart pounds. Palms sweat. Someone’s hurt; I can feel it in the pit of my stomach.

From a distance, I can hear a quiet whisper. “Elana . . . I need you.”

I force myself to run. The tension builds in my chest, as if my ribs are crushing my lungs. I press my hand to my heart, but the beating never slows.

Darkness moves in around me as a low, rumbling growl gets closer.

“Hurry, Elana. Where are you?” There’s the voice again. It’s louder this time. And female.

I stop and try to figure out where I am, but not a single thing is familiar. Where am I?

For the first time I notice the absense of people. Where did they go? Everyone disappeared.

I’m in an endless, shadowy, marble hallway with ceilings vaulted as high as they can go and the picture-less walls so bare, they make me feel as though it’s the same room I was in moments ago.

Completely alone, I can hear the voice calling. “I’m here, Elana. Over here. Please, hurry.”

The anguish in the voice brings frustrated tears to my eyes. I’m powerless. And unsure. “I can’t find you!” I call out. “Tell me how to find you!” Tears stream down my face as I lose control of my emotions.

My heart pounds like a drum. What’s happening to me?

I press my hands to my aching chest again, just as a dim light appears up ahead. It’s calming somehow. The pain in my chest begins to dissipate.

That’s when I see it. There’s a faint silhouette, but not enough to know who it is. They aren’t moving. They lay on the cold tiles-lifeless. Blood makes a large pool around them as I see the life fading from their body.

“Hurry, Elana. There isn’t much time!” The woman’s voice is full of more panic than it was just moments ago.

I push myself up off the floor and back on my feet. I have to move. I have to help.

I try to run, but my legs are heavy as lead. I force myself to move, but I’m stuck in slow motion.

“Elana!” The voice cries out. Desperate. Pleading.

“I’m almost there!” I shout. “Hold on!”

I run. But it seems the distance between us never lessens. My frustration doesn’t cease as I continue trying to run.

“Elana, are you okay? The voice deepened and got louder. “Elana. C’mon, wake up.”

I woke up, gasping and begging for air. It was a dream.

“Elana,” someone whispered. “Elana, are you alright?”

I focused on the hand tingling my arm in a strange, familiar way. Focusing my eyes, I followed the hand up to a familiar gorgeous, worried face. Nathan hovered over me, concern filling every aspect of his emotions.

“Wh—what are you doing here?” Great, Elana. You’re going to scare him off.

“I—uh—I . . .” He studdered. “I thought . . . Nevermind.” Nathan excused himself and headed to the door.

Nobody has ever been able to wake me from my dreams. Trust me, Liam tried when he thought I was having a seizure one time, “Wait,” I called to Nathan’s retreating back. “How did you wake me up?” I questioned. Maybe it’s a ‘supernatural’ thing.

“What?” He asked, turning around to expose a confused look.

I suddenly felt foolish. He had no idea what I was talking about. “You woke me up from a vision. Nobody’s ever done that before.”

Nathan looked surprised, then hid his emotions again. “I just heard some screaming, so I woke you up. Try not to be too loud next time,” and with that last comment, Nathan fled my room.

Well, sorry to inconvenience you, I internally yelled at him and threw myself angrily against my bed.

I felt the movement again. It was Nathan. I was detecting where Nathan was. Why? I don’t know. But it only seemed to work on him.

I felt him go into his room, then leave again with something in his hands. Following his movements, I detected him going into the wrestling room under the house. I checked my alarm clock on the nightstand. The blaring numbers shot 2:16. What is he doing awake and in the training room at two in the freaking morning?

Rolling back over, I rested my head on my pillow. My body screamed and begged for sleep, desperate to have anything to help it run on, but my mind fought it, turning over and over the series of events.

At home, I had a notebook I would write down all dreams in. It was one of those five subject ones, the kind that you can kill a freaking army with. Not only did that help with coping with all the bad dreams I had, but that way the dream was fresh and I was able to interpret every detail to help anybody.

Crawling out of bed, the cold air circled me, shooting my arms and legs with instant goosebumps. Rubbing my arms, I made my way over to the dresser. It was a long shot, but if everything else was brought here, what was still a chance it remained in the bottom of my undergarments drawer.

Scavenging through the drawer, I dug straight to the bottom. Please be here, I begged silently, wishing I could get it out of my head as soon as possible.

My fingers touched a soft paper cover. I pulled out a stack of paper held together by fragile spiraled metal. I let out a breath when I noticed they even kept the pen intact. The embarrassment of them going through all my clothes were brushed aside as I silently thanked whoever grabbed my belongings for getting my notebook. I just hope they didn’t read it.

Sitting back on my bed, I pulled my covers back over my chilled legs, trying to maintain my warm body heat. Flipping open the notebook, I took the pen out of the spine and flipped to the next available page.

I furiously scribbled down the series of events, scrapping my brain in a scrimmage to replay the dream. Every detail I could remember made its way down to that notebook paper.

I finished it and read it again, underlining or circling any details that can tell me what this was or when this might occur. I stopped when I came to the voice calling to me from the emptiness. I knew that voice. But who?

A thundering came from my door. I glanced at the alarm clock, 8:04. Wow, I didn’t even realize how much time I spent on that dream.

More knocking echoes through my room. “Yeah?” I asked, as I jumped from my bed and raced to my dresser, stuffing my notebook in the drawer again.

Hyene poked her head in my room. “Breakfast is ready!” She joyfully called, then turned around again and all but skipped down the hall. Someone’s a morning person.

I dragged myself out of my room and made my way down the hall and staircase. When I walked into the kitchen, everybody was already sitting, the only chairs vacant were on either side of Hyene. I pulled out the chair I sat in yesterday and sat down, staring at the meal placed in front of me. Eggs, hashbrown, and sausage were steaming from my plate, toast resting on a smaller dish next to it. Sitting In front of the food was a mug, steaming with warmth. I grabbed it and took a sip. Hot chocolate again.

“How’d you sleep, Elana?” Lydia asked me in between bites. Everyone else seems to have worked up and appetite, scarfing down their food.

I picked up my fork. “Fine, I guess,” I answered, stealing a glance at Nathan.

She nodded and continued eating.

After breakfast, everybody pitched in to help clean up, then Spencer pulled me down to the basement for ‘training’. Apparently, I was supposed to ‘develop my full capacity’.

I followed Spencer, not knowing where we were going. There was something I was dying to know, and I thought Spencer might be willing to tell me. “So, Spencer, can I ask you a question?”

He shrugs, not looking back at me as we exit the kitchen to go towards the family room. “Shoot.”

I bit on my lip while forming my question. “How did you all . . . get this place?”

Spencer opens the basement door and starts to descend the stairs. “You mean, do Shape Shifters work?” I opened my mouth to apologize for sounding rude, but Spencer kept speaking. “Well, Stephan’s family owns a company. Who knows what it is. But, they have so much money, they were able to create this sanctuary for all the supernatural being who have nowhere else to go.” Spencer walked over to the first door on the right and swung it open, allowing me to go in first.

“He bought this place seven years ago, starting this program. It was dirty, run-down, smelled, and didn’t have any ventilating system,” he said the last one like it was the end of the world and I laughed under my breath. “But, he worked on it, updated it, cleaned it, and put in at least half the place with ventilation. His son Nathan did a lot to help, his ability being structural x-rays or whatever. Then, he started this program thing.”

Spencer chewed on his left lip ring as he recalled his story. “I was one of the first ones, being abandoned by my parents and living on my own. I used my powers for, well, not the best things. I stole drugs, manipulated women, and, well, let’s just say I wasn’t in a very good place. Stephan found me when I was seventeen, brought me here, and helped me get my life together. Without him, who knows where I would be.”

I listened to Spencer’s story with respect growing for the leader of this place by the second. That is the second person already he had helped in their most desperate time. That I knew of, that is.

I walked in to find a small meditating room. The walls were a beautiful shade of light blue, resembling the sky. There was hardwood floor, with yoga mats facing each other, awaiting their next use. There were a few paintings on the wall, being mainly flower vases or fruit.

I moved towards the middle of the room, standing and waiting for further instruction. Spencer came in behind me, taking off his jacket and shoes again, before removing his socks and coming to the middle of the room.

“Can I ask you one more question?”

Spencer smirked, “Yeah, sure.”

I followed suit, taking off my socks and putting them next to Spencer’s. I returned to him in the middle of the room.

“How did all my clothes get here?”

Spencer smiled and looked at me. “I brought them after I erased your family’s memory of you. Nice underwear, by the way,” he said and winked at me.

Ignoring the last statement, I felt worry come over me. Sure, I expected their memories to be tampered with after hearing about Spencer’s ability, but what if my family never remembers me again? Could I really return home if their minds were wiped from me?

Spencer noticed my frown and started the lesson. “First we’re going to learn how to unblock your mind from the supernatural world,” he said while lowering himself to the first mat.

I took the mat across from him and he continued. “This allows somebody to get into your mind, such as Trysten did earlier. But this time, you won’t pass out.” Spencer smirked before closing his eyes.

I heard the door open and a timid Junto walked in. it was strange to see such a large, confident man act so shy. “Stephan said you needed me?”

Spencer looked annoyed. “Yeah, go over there, I haven’t even taught her yet.”

Junto nodded and sulked over to the corner, eyes glued on the hardwood floor the whole time.

“Now, Elana, look at me,” he instructed. His eyes were a little lighter than Nathan’s, but still dark. “I need you to do everything I tell you, okay?”

That’s what Trysten said before I almost drowned in my own mind, I thought, but just nodded.

“Alright, close your eyes,” I followed his instructions. “Now, I’m sure you’ve found your boundaries before? Find them again.” He instructed.

I’ve only found them once, so it took me some time. The concrete walls separating myself from the rest of the world stood tall, reaching to as high as I could see.

“Alright, now, find the gate. There is a spot along the wall that has a handle. Pull open the door.”

I took my time walking around the round fortress confiding me. But I found no door, only endless circles of cement. “There is no door,” I voiced.

“Then you haven’t allowed yourself to have a door. Don’t be scared. Let yourself have a door.”

I focused on the walls. Make a door? How do I do that? I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep breath, teaching myself not to be scared of the past actions that will be forever drilled into my head. I opened my eyes again to reveal the cement wall still there and searched the perimeter again. This time, there was a knob sticking out of one of the blocks. Taking another deep breath, I grabbed the handle, twisted it, and pulled on the door.

Nothingness surrounded me as I looked into the pit of abyss. The darkness was so overwhelming, I felt scared of the dark for the first time in my life. My legs carried me away from the opening and next to the frame of the door.

“What’s wrong?” A voice asked me from the darkness.

I take a few more deep breaths before answering. “Nothing, its all fine. What do I do now?”

“Now, it just takes practice. After a while, you will be able to open your walls within seconds. Now, though, we’re going to work on getting a supernatural ability into you. Is the door still open?”

I nodded and he continued. “Junto is going to use ice on you. It will look really cool, but don’t look at it or you will have another drowning experience.”

I heard rustling from outside my walls and looked around. I didn’t see anything. I peeked back out the door and saw the lightest blue form, coming right for me. The floating water came closer, circling and swirling as freely as it pleased. The hypnotizing pattern held me stiff in my tracks again as I watched it swirl over and over again.

“Move, Elana! Move now!” Someone yelled, but it sounded distant.

The light blue made its way over to my walls and bust through, freezing everything inside me to the bone. I felt a tingling, almost like icicles were hitting my body and I felt my inability to move anything. The coldness was suffocating, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Within seconds, the blue had flooded my perimeters that once kept me safe.

I was going to freeze to death unless I tried to block it out. I found my walls again, the ice no longer flowing in, but swirling around inside of my fortress instead. My instincts told me to push the ice out.

I didn’t know how to do this, but I had to try something if I wanted to live. I collaborated some ice, picturing a bubble around all the light blue, the pushed it. I pushed it with all I had in me. Pushing it as if my life depended on it.

My arms started to ache and I still couldn’t feel my legs, but I pushed the color again, giving it another shove, then it finally disappeared into the nothingness past my walls. My vision started fading, turning as dark as the abyss.

“Elana, Are you alright?”

A distant, groggy voice called to me through a blackness consuming me. My head pounded, my arms chilled as I tried to focus. What happened?

I tried to pull my eyes open, but with little success. I was so tired.

“Elana, please,” the voice called to me again, closer and more understandable this time.

I tried again to peel my eyes open, and this time, I succeeded. Three men are standing over me, worried looks on all their faces. But the one that stood out was Nathan’s. Spencer and Junto were behind him, with a little less worry, but still enough to know this wasn’t good.

“What happened?” I questioned. The last thing I remember, I was walking into a room with Spencer behind me.

“This is normal. We need her to go back to her room and sleep, what she did takes an incredible amount of strength.” Spencer informed. But what did I do that made me so tired?

Nathan wrapped his arm around my back, then my legs, and effortlessly lifted me into his arms. I instinctively put my arms around his neck as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

Already out of strength, I closed my eyes and focused on the faint hum of where Nathan was touching me. I’ve never felt anything like it before, but the simple act left me without a worry. I felt myself melt into the comfort of his arms.

“Elana,” Nathan whispered as he gently released my body onto a plush surface. The tingling left my legs and back, along with my side that was pressed up against his hard chest. I suddenly felt cold, and instinctively reached for the warmth that left me. The soft surface he laid me on was comfortable, but I instantly longed for his touch instead. Although I didn’t have it for long, I missed the silent lightning that comforted my body.

“Elana, I need you to focus for just a minute, okay? Look at me,” Nathan softly instructed while grabbing my chin as I slowly opened my eyes again. “Do you remember Claire is changing tonight? What time was she born, do you know?”

That was one of the few things I could remember at the moment. Probably because it didn’t just happen a few seconds ago. She told me she was born at nine-fifiteen. She was proud of it because it was a collaboration of her two favorite numbers.

“Nine Fifteen,” I answered very slowly.

“Okay, you cannot come down during that time, you understand? You have to remain in your room, promise?” He silently begged, eyes pleading with mine.

I nodded and closed my eyes again, too tired to keep them open any longer. I felt warm lips press to my forehead, making my body explode from pleasure, before slowly leaving the room. Finally, I let sleep take over me.

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