Everything in my dream happens for some reason, right? It can usually reflect on your day, or force you to act on what you might be worried about. What I'm trying to say is that your mind should remain in the past, not because it wants to, because we can't see the future, no matter what we try.
So then, how in the world was I able to see those purple cracks happen in that awful dream? That dream where I had realized that my mom wasn't coming back? My arms and hands were covered in the same purple stuff that I am seeing now. My dreams shouldn't be able to see the future.
For the first time, I was actually looking at it. It was just a single vane on my arm, and on my other arm there's another one, but it's smaller. It wasn't like a skin disease, but it was under my skin. Whatever I had affected the vane specifically. My arm felt fine, I just became really worried.
I started asking myself questions again. Maybe this is a mutation? Or the consequence of using my powers? Is this a punishment for my bad doings? Is this going to affect other people? Is it going to hurt me and keep growing, or is it just there? How did I get this? Where did it start from?
I hurried into the shower, I didn't want to think about it anymore. I didn't want to see the vane, or myself anymore. I stood in the shower, trying to clear my thoughts of that stupid purple vane on my shoulder. I didn't need anything else to worry about right now. I had enough anxiety already.
I got out of the shower and changed into my pajamas. I didn't look at the mirror at all. Gabriel was already in bed. His parents kissed him goodnight and told me to sleep well. I hope I can. I pull out my phone to see what's going on in social media.
"Ezra, you can't be on your phone." He whispers to me. I turn off my phone.
"Why?" I quietly ask.
"Because of my parents! They're going to kick you out or something if they know you are on your phone. Especially after I was caught on my phone, they will probably think I got that habit from you or vice versa."
"Sorry. I guess I forgot." I told him.
I waited in silence for me to drift to sleep. It was much earlier than I usually would go to sleep, at least before my schedule got all mixed up. I stared at the ceiling blankly. All that sleep I got today is probably why I don't feel tired.
Maybe I could wait an hour or two until everyone is asleep, then go on my phone. I need my phone to feel comfortable. I hate being restrained like this. Maybe me and Gabriel could convince his parents to give us a later bedtime. It seemed like Gabriel had changed their minds easily about letting me stay.
I don't know how much time has passed since Gabriel's parents turned off the lights. I think I can hear that Gabriel is asleep. My eyelids started to get heavy, but I forced them open. I should stay awake, or else all this waiting has no purpose. I was bored, but also trying to fight back my urge to go to bed like a normal person.
Then, my thoughts came in. Without anything to distract me, my thoughts were able to roam free in my head. I was thinking about my vanes. I was thinking about Maya, and what she has done. I was thinking about Gabriel, who could convert into a Supporter if he wanted to depend on someone else, or if he was exposed to too much information. I was thinking about my mom, where she could be at, and how she was doing.
I wanted to escape my thoughts, so I closed my eyes, and I fell asleep. No longer would I have to think constantly about my worries. I would wake up, and I would feel refreshed, and have a good day with Gabriel.
I forgot about dreams and nightmares though. I was walking in the streets. There were people all around me. It was a partly cloudy day, and the sun felt good on my skin. I had my backpack on, so I assume I am going to my house or to school. Based on the size of the crowd, which wasn't too large unlike the mornings, and the age group, I was going to my house.
I got to my house quickly, and I went inside. Some things were different from what I remember. The island was smaller, and we didn't have a small coffee table next to the couch. I didn't notice though. I put my bag away and grabbed the laptop from inside of it before closing the closet. I went upstairs and I laid down on my bed. It seemed like my room was way closer to the stairs than it should be.
"Ezra, I'm home!" I hear my mom say. That was fast. I didn't even get time to open my phone. I went downstairs, which was closer to my room, and I talked to her.
"How was your day?" I ask.
"It was good, as usual. What about you?"
"My day was fine. I had a test in math, but I think it went well." I told her. What was going to happen that was going to make me regret sleeping?
"By the way, Gabriel came over. He wants to show you a game." She tells me. Gabriel enters the house, holding his phone.
"Why didn't you text me earlier?" I asked him.
"I did text you, and you said that it was okay for you to come over." He told me. I looked at my phone, which was now in my hand. Yes, I had texted him.
"Okay then, let's play that game that you were talking about." I tell him. We both go sit on the couch, while my mom goes upstairs. Gabriel gets up and plugs his phone into the TV.
"This is a great game, I promise! So what you do is that you are able to join other people's games or make your own. You can do whatever you want in other people's worlds. As long as it is allowed though. You can try to survive, create games, or find friends. I'll show you how to play." He explains.
He uses the TV tablet to play the game on a server. This game really reminds me of Mineblox. I watched him for a while. I think he plays Survivor and explains all the controls and quirks to the game to me while playing. He's hurling a lot of information at me all at once. I don't really listen to him.
"Dinner is ready!" I hear my mom say. There's three plates of lasagna out on the table, and she is waiting for us. "Gabriel, do you want to eat here?" She asks him.
"My parents might not like it, but they know you, so sure." We both go over to the table and eat. It seems like everything is happening so fast, but I am sort of enjoying this change. It was like this was before everything bad had happened.
After taking maybe two bites of dinner, it was all gone. It was like time was skipping or something. Both of them were done with their lasagna too. "Thanks mom, the lasagna was great!" I tell her, and Gabriel nods.
"Thank you. I know that both of you like it." She tells us. My mom goes back upstairs again for some reason. Me and Gabriel go back on the couch, and we both just sit there. I started thinking, since we had nothing else to do.
I know something is wrong here, I can feel it. It felt eerie here, maybe like something was watching me, I don't remember why though. It's nice here, and I feel safe here. It was back in time, before something had happened. I don't remember what that is though.
"Is something wrong?" Gabriel asks me.
"Uh, no. Why?"
"It just seems like you're distracted by something. If anything is bothering you, you can tell me."
"I know." I pick up the remote and turn the TV on. "Do you want to watch something?" I ask.
"Yeah."
"I'll just scroll through the channels." I say. We both look at the TV, wondering what would be okay to watch.
Five minutes later, my mom comes downstairs again. "Ezra, you should get ready for bed now." She tells me.
"Okay then. I guess you gotta go Gabriel-"
"Don't worry, he can stay for a few more minutes." My mom tells me. "He will be fine."
"Well, uh, I guess bye." I say, and I go upstairs, past my mom. Why and what did she mean by a few more minutes? Whenever he's here, he's usually not even here when I have to go to bed. I was going to go brush my teeth, but then I realized there was no bathroom, along with the hall being shrunk down so much. I just go into my room, and lay down on my bed.
Suddenly, I'm downstairs again. It's now morning, as I could tell from the light streaming in from outside. I'm getting my backpack on. I turn around, and Gabriel is also there. My mom is cleaning up all of our breakfasts.
"Gabriel, shouldn't you be at your parent's house? It's a school day." I think it's a school day. I don't know.
"Don't you remember last night? You were able to convince my parents so I could sleep over. On a school night! It was pretty remarkable."
"I don't... yeah. I do." I'm really confused. I had never said anything to his parents last night. They would never allow him to sleep over on a school night, with none of his things, and not planning a week ahead. I went to bed as soon as my mom told me to. I don't even remember getting my pajamas on. Something weird is going on, I know it.
"Well, you two better go now, you're going to be late. Have a good day!" My mom says.
Me and Gabriel go out the door. My mom was never always in a hurry to do something. Now, it seems like she is always rushed. There's people walking to work and to school outside. Even though I see it every day, this feels different, and not in a good way. It feels like I'm forgetting something.
"I wish we could take the bus. Your house is so far away from the school."
"Well, we could if you want to."
"No we can't. Today all the busses are closed. You can't get on any of them. I think it's for maintenance or something." He tells me. "Are you sure that you are alright?"
"I'm fine. We can't go on the bus for some other reason. I don't remember what though."
"If you can remember, just tell me."
We keep walking, and we pass by Central Park. It seems so green and quiet. It's different from what I remember. I don't know why though. I should know. I keep focusing on it. I want answers to why I cannot remember things.
Then I see it. The sky is dark and cloudy instead of blue and clear. Instead of everything being so bright and happy, all the colors seem dull and bland. All of the grass in Central Park is flattened and dying. People are cheering and shouting at someone on a stage. I look next to me, and Gabriel is gone.
This is what I couldn't remember. I get closer to the people. There's so many of them. I am just barely able to see who the singular person on stage is. Maya. She had done all of this. She is the reason why I have to live like how I am now. Not like this, but different.
Everything seems to stop, like time has halted. "Didn't you want things to go back to the way they used to be?" I hear someone say. I look around, but I don't see anyone talking.
"Yeah, I did." I reply.
"So why were so quick to second guess everything when everything was perfect then? You got what you wanted, but I guess that wasn't enough."
"I guess I knew that something was wrong. I wanted things to be exactly like they used to be, not perfect, like how everything wanted to be here."
"Living a perfect life is even better than living in the present. You could stay, and-"
"But why would I want to stay? I don't want to live in blissful ignorance. I don't want to be living a lie. I don't know where I am, but I don't like it here. Take me back!"
"Things are only going to be getting worse from here, Ezra. I just wanted to protect you from it. I guess you want to do things the difficult way."
I woke up. I looked around. It took me a minute to realize that I was in Gabriel's house. I was also trying to process that everything isn't as simple as it was compared to wherever I was at before. Things are different, and I have to change it on my own. I can't just pretend that everything is fine, because it's not.
I wonder why I have been having such vivid dreams recently. Before anything had gotten really bad, it was like I couldn't remember a dream I had for more than five seconds. Now, I could probably recite everything that I saw and heard. I wish they weren't like that. I had enough to deal with, and I didn't need my dreams making it worse for me.
I hear things tapping on the roof. Like tiny pebbles or something. I get up so I can look out the front door. It's raining. Not a lot of it though, it's just sprinkling. I don't know if I had rained before this, while I was alone in my house, but I know it has rained several years ago. Just once though.
I hear Gabriel getting up. I go back to my homemade bed and I sit down. I pick up my phone. It's seven in the morning. I check the weather, even though it's accuracy has been getting worse and worse. It says it's going to rain all day, even though it looks like it's already starting to stop raining.
"How long have you been up?" Gabriel asks and stretches.
"A couple of minutes." I tell him.
"It's a bit early to be up. I think we should go back to sleep." He says, and lays back down.
"You can, I'm going to stay awake." I tell him. I should be avoiding sleep as much as I can. I don't want dreams that make me want to stay asleep forever.
Later, we are watching the news. We have been hearing something going on outside, but Gabriel told me that we couldn't go investigate it. It was because he isn't allowed to go outside, only for necessities, or else his brain could turn into mush. He was able to convince his parents that they shouldn't go outside because there was a virus.
"Protestors are still marching across the city, demanding Maya 'to set the people free'. Currently, they are announcing that they are peaceful, but who knows? They could get angrier, threaten people, and could hurt innocent Supporters roaming the streets. They could break out into riots in rage, their minds torn with the devil inside of them. These people are broken, and they only want to try to get into your mind so you can be brainwashed, and can become evil like them." The news lady had said.
"What she's saying is so stupid. She literally cannot tell the difference between brainwashing and the undeniable truth. The people who are protesting aren't going to hurt anyone if they want to save people. There could maybe be two bad apples that hog all the attention, but most of the people are trying to help others so they won't waste their life away by Maya!" Gabriel rants. We are both laying down on his bed, arms dangling off, staring at my phone, which is on the floor.
"They are planning to all attend Maya's, our savior's, speech in the afternoon. The people protesting have not said what they are going to do there, but Maya is saying to be cautious while attending. This does not mean you shouldn't go, oh no, this means that you should definitely come to see what will happen."
We get a shot of Central Park. Once a place thriving with plants and small animals is now dead and desolate. Plants trampled by brainwashed people, animals scared of the loud sounds. It reminds me so much of my dream. The park that I took granted of really has changed, hasn't it?
"If protestors say they are peaceful, they aren't going to hurt anyone. If they want to save people, like the ones in the crowd, then they aren't going to hurt them. If they would be hurting anyone, it would only be Maya, but she's covering herself up with tens of thousands of people. She probably knows that everyone will be safe, but just wants to spark fear and anger towards the protestors that are trying to help them. I can't believe how so many people can just believe someone when they say there is hope." Gabriel says.
"You really are not happy with the news and propaganda, huh?" I say to him.
"Of course not! I'm bored at home, we don't have school so we can't see other friends, and people are getting taken away by Maya. She started all of this, and it's not gonna get better anytime soon. You should be upset at this too!"
"I am upset at it, very upset. I guess I just don't show it as much as you do. And eventually it might get better, I mean, there are people protesting outside right now at Maya. At least some people are on our side." I try to cheer him up.
"Yeah, and who knows, maybe if I can convince my parents, then maybe we could join them. I dunno. I just don't see the opportunity of me being able to persuade them happening any time soon." He explains to me.
"Maybe you don't have to tell them. Maybe we can go without them knowing." The idea that he has sounds really cool. It would be great to get outside once in a while. I would also be able to meet those people who believe that Maya is bad. I would also be helping to get rid of Maya, and fix my mistake.
"Are you saying that we should lie to them? My parents wouldn't like that."
"If you don't want to, then that's okay. Maybe we can... make a little white lie or something."
"Like what?"
"You can only go outside for necessities, like groceries? What if you tell your parents that you're going to get something, like food, or medicine, or whatever, and then we protest with the other people? After we are done, we can quickly go get something and come back. Easy, right?"
"Eh, that's not really gonna work. I can only go outside on certain days now, so I don't go picking up other people. I'm always supposed to have my phone on me too so they can track me. They'll know right away that something's wrong."
"Your parents are so strict. I didn't even think they could use GPS. I can't imagine what you have to go through with them. So what should we do then?"
"We can probably just sneak out through one of the windows. It's super risky to do, and they'll threaten me again if they catch us, but we are doing it for a good cause."
"Why would we have to go through a window?"
"There are sensors on the door that can detect when it's open. I went through the window to get to your house."
"Then why did we go through the door when I first came here?" I asked.
"It's because it was easier, and I don't think you would have been able to do it then anyways. At least I didn't go through the door when I was going to get you, or else they would have come to your house while I was still there."
"Won't your parents get really mad at you for sneaking out? You're going to completely lie to them?"
"They will not let us out if we go with your way of things. They aren't as nice as they first seem to be. I know them, and I know how to trick them."
"Alright then." I say. I guess I haven't ever seen his parents when I'm not here before. He's lived with them for all of his life. My idea was stupid anyways.
"I guess we should get dressed." He says, "We wouldn't want to be outside in our pajamas."
"No we wouldn't." I didn't know if he was trying to joke around or not, so I just went with it.
I went into the bathroom to change. I didn't want to be out there with so many cameras. I can't believe Gabriel just gets used to it. I would hate to have a recording of every moment of my life, and I think everyone else would agree with me. I also don't want to show my arms and shoulders.
When we were both ready, he opened up the window that was above the kitchen counter. I noticed that there wasn't a screen on this one, compared to the one on the other side. He must have removed it. When the window was fully open, and a draft of cold air was coming inside, he climbed up on the counter, and went through the window.
"Okay, now you try!" He tells me.
"I don't know if I'm going to fit." I say to him. I crawl up onto the counter, and I squeeze out the window. I almost fall onto the ground, but I am able to catch myself. The ground is partially wet from the rain this morning.
"Can we go through the door next time? If we are going to do this escape thing as a regular, maybe we could shut off the sensor on the door."
"Nope, we can't do that. They will notice that we tampered with the door, and it won't go off like it should when I'm allowed to go outside. Let's go, we don't want to miss out on anything that happens." He quickly explains.
We both go out on the streets, as we are looking around for the protestors. There are no Supporters patrolling the streets, like what had happened when I went to Maya's speech. They could be busy with the protestors. "Shouldn't we need our badges just in case we get caught?" I ask.
"I don't think we will need them. I don't think we should wear them in front of the protestors. They might like the idea of staying low at certain times, but now, we need our voices to be heard."
"Right." We keep walking around, trying to get closer to the voices, but staying away from Central Park. How do you know so much about how to do this?"
"I didn't really learn how to do this, I just kind of acted. I guess if I did it from somewhere though, it would be getting away from my strict parents."
"Maybe it is better to have strict parents? I wouldn't have needed to know anything about that."
"I don't want to say that you're wrong, but you're kind of wrong, but I guess you're right at the same time."
"Wait, they are looking over there!" I tell him, and point down one of the many endless streets. We can both see a small group of people with signs pass behind one of the buildings.
We both run towards the crowd, as they continue to move. We are able to get to the back of the crowd. Gabriel had tapped on one person's shoulder. "Hey, are you guys a part of the group that hates Maya?" He asks.
The person nods. "If you guys need any assistance, then go to the front. The guy with the blonde hair is the person who's leading us." They point to the beginning of the crowd.
We struggled to get to the front, because as I had predicted, the Supporters were trying to block us as much as they could. "Why didn't you ask them, Ezra? Kinda had to step in there. You're always the person who's so extroverted and talkative to people." Gabriel whispers to me.
"I'm just a little tired from waking up early." I make up an excuse, as we get to the front.
I wait for Gabriel to talk, but he nudges me instead. So I walk up to the guy in front, who's carrying a sign. "Hi." I say, he turns his head towards me.
"Are you two new? He asks.
"Yes, we are. I was just wondering what... we could do to help?" I say, and turn towards Gabriel to see if I was doing okay. I turned back quickly to make sure the guy didn't think badly of me.
"The important thing to do is try to convince the Supporters not just here, but across the entire city to join us. The bigger crowd we have, the bigger impact. One of you guys can carry this, we will be making more tomorrow."
He gives the sign to me, which is just a small wooden pole, and paper that has words on it. It says: "We want our freedom back!" It was written in colorful markers.
Gabriel enters the conversation. "We can help you guys make them if you need any help." He says enthusiastically.
"The signs aren't hard to make, we are just having a shortage of supplies. If you can lend any utensils or beams to us, that would help a lot."
"What about your parents?" I whisper to him as I pull him away from the conversation with my one free hand.
"We will be fine if we are just grabbing supplies. For now though, let's not worry about them." He says. I don't understand why he doesn't worry about his parents when we are disobeying them like this.
I held up the sign higher, as I started to move to the edge of the crowd. I wanted to see how the people here were attempting to make people not Supporters anymore. Some of the people were going up to the Supporters and telling them how they would miss their family. Most of the Supporters didn't care though.
I looked at Gabriel, as it looked like he was having fun. "Hey Gabriel, do you want a turn to hold up the sign?" I ask him.
"Sure." He replied, and I gave him the sign. It's the best that I could do to distract him while I watched, and not doing much. I wasn't taking, or trying to stand out, I didn't want to do that yet.
I watched the people from the side of the crowd as they talked to the Supporters, trying to change them back. One of the people in the crowd, who had light purple hair and light blue skin, tried to hug one of the Supporters, but was pushed. He almost fell to the ground, but the people behind him were able to catch him. I could see that the people wanted to do something to the Supporter, but they just walked past them, as they were peaceful people.
It's ironic to see that some of the Supporters were using force to "protect" themselves. The news station had said that they would expect the protestors to become harmful. Maya's the one who probably said that though. It's actually the Supporters that were brainwashed by Maya that were more likely to become harmful. The act of it is horrible, but it's painfully ironic at the same time.
One of the protestors was actually able to get to one of them though. I watched her talk to one of the Supporters. I could barely hear her, but she had said something like: "What are your pets? Your family? Do you know if they are still out there? Do you think they are worried about you?"
You could see their face contort in sadness, as they tried to hide the pain. They weren't able to take it anymore. They started to cry, and the woman who had been able to help them hugged them in response. The Supporter had taken off their badge, threw it away, and started walking with us. It was hard to believe, but it was possible to change people's minds. Maya's curse was able to be broken if you tried hard enough.
I was looking out at the other people, trying to see if I could recognize them. Most of them seemed to be starved, unwashed, and tired. Maya was torturing these innocent souls who had done nothing wrong. I also kept watching because I wanted to see other people try to convert people back.
I had a lot of fun being there. It gave me hope in my empty mind. That we could possibly get through this if we tried hard enough. That Maya could be taken down if we just keep going. It was such a refreshing feeling to have.
Unfortunately, the leader, which I found out his name was Ben, had disbanded the crowd in a hidden location. They had gotten a fair amount of people, and Maya's speech was starting soon. Some people spoke up about what we should all do next. We all planned that tomorrow we would go to Maya's speech. They couldn't take us all down if something bad happened.
Finally, I had something to care about. It feels like I have gone on for so long without a goal. I do still have goals, like taking down Maya, but it feels so far away. I still don't even know how to take down Maya, so it's more like a dream and less like a goal.
That night, I had another dream. I had hoped that I could go one night without a dream, but my mind never seems to listen to me. It seems like I cannot go just one night without another dream that is going to go screw with my head.
I was pushing something, a wooden cart with only two wheels. It was carrying apples. I was on a dirt path, heading up towards a house and a few other buildings. I could see a few other people around me, but they were too far away to recognize me. I think I was on a farm, before the war.
The path was extremely rough, and it was a hot afternoon. My feet were killing me and my arms were sore. It felt like me after a long day of soccer practice. I looked around more, and there were miles and miles of open area. In Xeinil, the most open area was the Central Park, and it wasn't even that big. There were many trees, and there were machines that I could hear, zooming by.
I continued walking, and when I got to one of the buildings, I put each apple in a large basket, which already had apples in it. I left the cart there, and I went to investigate what the machines were. I had to leave the dirt path, and I walked on the longish, dry grass. There were some trees that had some fruits in them, and a couple of them were on the ground, so I had to be careful of where I stepped.
I had stopped at a poorly-built fence, which had spiky wire attached to it. Beyond it was a steep hill that went downwards, onto a street. The machines were on that road, zipping by like, like, I don't know. They seemed to be going very fast. The road had gone on far beyond my view, as it seemed like they phased in and out of existence. Beyond the road were many green, rolling hills, and a large, winding river. If this is what the past looked like, it must have been amazing.
I realized that those machines were cars. We don't have cars anymore in Xeinil, they were too big and useless. It also was very stressful to learn how to drive them, and a lot of people died because of drivers who were not smart. Some of them also caused the air to get polluted, and one of the main goals that my mom had told me the city had was to be clean and efficient. There's a reason why we have transit instead.
I went back to the dirt road, to see what else was around here. I had noticed that there were small bunches of little moving things that were in the air, which I believe are insects. We don't have insects in Xeinil, because there weren't many left after the explosions, and they were considered to be annoying. The only reason why we would have insects is to help fruits and plants grow.
As I was walking back towards the apples, I had spotted a larger, but still kind of small, moving thing in the distance. It was grey, and wasn't moving much. I walked closer towards it, and I realized that it was a cat. Only a couple of my friends had pets. This one seemed to be scrawny, and worn down. It came towards me as I came closer towards it. When I was an arm's distance away, I kneeled down to pet it. I noticed that it was limping a little.
Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was missing one of it's legs. What could have happened to it that was so bad that it needed to lose a leg? Regardless, I pet it. It was very nice to me, and I enjoyed it. It's fur was thin and short, and in some areas it was white. It must be an older cat. It seemed more thin than any cat I have ever seen, and I don't usually see cats go outside like this. Maybe this one doesn't have to go inside?
"It's time for dinner!" I hear a woman say. I get up, and I walk towards the house, which is where I hear the voice coming from. She went inside, so I followed her in through the front door, and I went inside. The inside of the small, sky blue house reminded me of the pictures that I saw in my history textbook. Everything seemed so outdated. I wonder what year I am in.
I sit down at the table. Instead of being multiple chairs, it's just a big wooden bench. I notice that there is no modern-day technology here, there is just one clunky, small sized TV in the corner. It looked just like Gabriel's TV. There were also no phones, which are still kind of new even in my time period, but I was starting to suspect that one of the objects on a stand was a home phone.
The woman comes out of the other room, which had white tiles so it's probably the kitchen. I realize that it is my mom. I couldn't recognize her because of her having pink and green hair, she had blonde, curly hair. She also didn't have as much hair, but it was still long. I heard the door open, and I looked behind me to see two guys.
One of them was Rome. Of course he had to be here, why wouldn't he be? It seems like every time I was having fun, he would show up and ruin everything. He seemed to be a little muddy, and was trying to clean himself off. I didn't really want to look at him though. The other guy was much taller than Rome, probably taller than me, and he had black, spiky hair...
Oh no. It can't be him, I don't think I have ever dreamed about him before. I have only seen him in photos, not any videos or anything of that sort, and I have never seen him actually be present before. But he was really here now, and I never thought I would see him wearing blue overalls.
"Hello, honey." My mom had said, and walked over to him. She had kissed him on the cheek.
"It smells good in here. What's for dinner?" He spoke. I don't think I have ever heard him speak before. I felt so uncomfortable that everyone was thinking that everything was fine. Someone who was dead was now just here for some reason. It's not like I didn't want to see him or anything, I was glad that I was able to finally see him, but it just feels so, so weird.
"It's your favorite, casserole. You have all been working so hard out there, and I wanted to make sure that you all were replenished. Where are the other girls?" My mom said. What does she mean by other girls? Do I really have more siblings?
"The other two are just finishing up their work. They just need to finish rounding up the animals, and they will be done." It felt like I was so distant now, as static ringed in my ears.
"How was your day, Ezra?" My dad had said.
I didn't answer him. This is wrong. Everything I am seeing is all wrong. I'm dreaming, and I don't want to be here anymore. Before this, I was actually feeling like I wanted to stay here. Now, all of this just feels like a lie that has been plastered right in front of me.
I knew I was in a dream, so I would be able to control it, right? I tried and tried to change something, as they kept talking, as their voices faded to static. For some reason, I just couldn't do that. Instead, I woke up, breathing quickly.
I sat up, and buried my face into my hands. This was getting out of control. I wish I could do something about these dreams that haunt me. They aren't very scary, but they are forcing me to endure something that I don't want to do. It feels like it's getting worse every week, and it's never going to stop.
It was early in the morning. I didn't want to go back to sleep, so I stayed up, and was on my phone. It would get me away from my thoughts. Gabriel woke up more than two hours later. I heard the rustling from his bed, so I knew that he was up. He cleared his throat very quietly, maybe trying to alert me that he was up. I turned off my phone, and I looked at him.
"How long have you been up?" He asks me. I couldn't tell him how long I was really up for.
"Around ten minutes or so. Not that long." I explain to him. I didn't like lying in front of him, right at his face. He was a good friend, he was a good person too, and he didn't deserve to be lied to. Then there's me, who can now instantly lie to someone, including a good friend like him. A few months ago, I would have never been able to keep a lie. Now, it seems like I live totally different lives than what people might suspect me as.
A little while later, me, him, and his parents all had breakfast. It was made much quicker than what my mom did, since his parents worked much earlier, or wanted to I guess. It was just some toastable waffles that had chocolate chips embedded inside of them. They weren't as good as what my mom made, but I really do appreciate that they are still giving me breakfast.
Me and Gabriel had some time to waste before three, which is when the gathering would start. We watched a movie on this TV, which I had sort of felt uncomfortable when watching. It made me flash back to my dream that I had last night. Seeing the beauty of the past. Seeing Rome again. Seeing my mom before she had left. Seeing my dad in real life.
The movie was about a dog being lost, and their owner is sad about it. The dog is guided by other dogs and the owner is also trying to find it. Then the dog finds his owner's house, and realizes that he had given up searching for him months ago and he had got a dog just like him. Then the new dog had invited him over and everyone was happy, the end.
While I could tell Gabriel was getting emotional over it, I really wasn't into it. It's not because it had dogs in it, I was okay with dogs as much as I was okay with other animals. It looked super unrealistic for being a live action movie, probably because it was aired in the early twenty-first century. The whole plot of it is cheesy, and I couldn't empathise with the characters. It also didn't help that it was aired on Gabriel's old TV.
"Did you like it?" Gabriel asked as the credits started to roll down the screen.
"Yeah...I guess so." I told him.
We were both silent for a moment. I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through social media. "Are you alright?" He asks me after a while.
I look at him. He hasn't moved at all, or done anything since he last talked to me. "Uh, why?"
"You just seem a little bit worried, that's all. What's on your mind?" He tells me.
"I'm just thinking about my mom, and I'm just bored. I am also excited about going back outside, and protesting about Maya." I changed the subject.
"Yeah, that's gonna be fun. We will get to show everyone what we are about, and try to explain to them about how bad Maya is. But if you need to talk about anything, you can just tell me. I'm not gonna judge you."
I really did want to tell him everything. I wanted to tell him about how much I missed my mom. I wanted to tell him about my dreams, and how much trouble they are causing me. I wanted to tell him about my powers, which aren't a big deal for now, but I was worried about them too. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was for being such a bad friend. I wanted to tell him that I had killed an innocent child so I couldn't be caught. I couldn't do any of that though, and I decided to keep my mouth shut.
Later that day, we had escaped his house, and tagged along with the protestors. Gabriel had brought markers today to help with the signs. Before we started moving, we had made more signs. I noticed that there were a lot more people there. It must have been because people were directly trying to convert a single person back to normal. This time, me and Gabriel both had a sign.
Once we were ready, we all had walked towards the center of the city, and we had arrived there just as Maya's speech was starting. Boy, was she mad! She had to end her speech early to get control of her crowd. While we were in the middle of the park, we had stopped, and all of us were trying to convert people back.
I had noticed that Kyle, my good friend from school, was there. It was sad to see that he had become one of Maya's Supporters, but I decided to help him. He was looking at the crowd with a blank face.
"Hey, Kyle? Do you remember me?" I ask.
"Yeah. Are you with the people who are attacking us?"
"They are not attacking, they are helping. They aren't trying to hurt anyone, we are trying to make you see the truth."
"The truth is Maya. She is our God and savior."
I paused for a moment, as I was trying to think. "Do you remember back when we had won the soccer championship? What were you feeling back then?"
"Of course I remember. You have helped us win. I was feeling pretty good that we won."
"Then what are you feeling right now?" I ask him.
"...I don't know. But I will know that I will be feeling even better when I am able to meet the Wise One."
"Have you ever thought about trying to enjoy the moment right now? Why waste your life to maybe or maybe not get happiness, when you could be happy right now?"
"Our time down here is limited, but up there, it is forever."
"What about your friends? Will you ever see them again? What is happiness to you? What if... Maya is lying to you, or what if you will never become worthy for eternal happiness?"
"I... I... I don't know. My friends do mean a lot to me. Maya shouldn't be lying to us.
"It's going to be hard to believe, but you are being lied to. Millions of people are. You need to trust me, your friend, and break free from her."
He sighs in defeat. "You are right. She hasn't been making any sense. I want to join you guys."
I had been able to convert someone, my friend, back with us. I don't know where he's going to go, but I know the others will be able to take care of him.
We were forced to run when we saw smoke coming from ahead. Someone had said that it was a gas that was going to hurt us. I believed them, because my eyes started to water when I looked at it. Gabriel was still trying to protest, but I pulled him away so he was safe. We had to make sure that everyone was okay before we disbanded.
The next day, it was starting to sprinkle. Gabriel told me to grab a jacket when I said we shouldn't go, because it would be cold out. We weren't even able to open up the window, because Gabriel's mom wanted to play a board game with us. She had insisted that we play, so we weren't able to go. Gabriel's dad joined us a while later.
Even though we had missed one day, I was proud of being a part of that group. It made me feel like there was hope of taking Maya down. Hopefully, this could last forever.
YOU ARE READING
Supernatural Book 4: Ezra's Story
ParanormalEzra is a young teen who enjoys his life at Xeinil, the biggest and most developed city after a nuclear bomb had brought the planet to grinding halt. He is the best player on his soccer team, has many friends, and has a bright future ahead of him, o...
