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24 - Rare Dreamer

 As soon as his flaming hand hit the wall, the sound of a thousand glass plates breaking emanated throughout the night. I was showered in pieces of ice and they pricked my skin like tiny needles. Steam surrounded me and I couldn't see anything for several humid seconds. Searching through the haze for Zero, I panicked when I couldn't see him.

"Zero!!" I called out.

I suddenly felt arms around me and as soon as I felt his warmth, the steam was sucked away and we were surrounded by stars. Floating through the night sky, I dug my face into his shirt and breathed in his scent. Burning wood and campfires. My whole body grew warmer and I felt instantly better.

"You remembered my username?" His chest vibrated as he spoke.

"Um," I cleared my throat, "Not really. Cot told me."

He chuckled. I pulled away to look at his face and he was already smiling at me. One eye brown, and the other grey. I smiled back. His jet black hair blended in with the sky all around us and his crooked smile made me melt even more.

"You got that from me didn't you?" I lightly touched the right side of his face. Indicating that his single grey eye was mine.

"I sure did," he said. "The brown one's mine. What else did Cot tell you?"

"What you told me before." I thought back to the night when we were on the roof of the academy. "How I ran out of REM sleep and that I was given a second chance."

He nodded. "Sounds right."

We floated through space for a few moments as we clung onto each other.

"What was I like?" I asked. My voice got lost in the empty air. It was frightening to think about how we were floating through an infinite space of nothingness. "What kind of a person was I?"

His arms squeezed around me and he took a deep breath. Rubbing his thumb on the small of my back, I could see his face lost in passed memories.

"You were one of the best lucid dreamers I knew. You knew what to do, how to fall asleep, and how to wake up. On the first day, we both woke up in the forest where some campers were. You woke up on the beach this time, right love?"

"Yeah," I replied. I frowned. "Wait, is that why you smell like burning campfire wood? Because you woke up in the forest?"

He nodded. "You used to smell like me, but now you smell like the ocean."

I heard him take a whiff of my scent.

"Don't do that, that's weird." I laughed.

"I can't help it!" He laughed back. "It's not common for Dreamers to wake up in the forest, so I knew we were special from the beginning. Your previous username was also Anonymous. So when I saw the name in the dream log again, I was excited yet scared that it was you again."

"Scared?" I rose an eyebrow. "Weren't you happy I was back?"

"I was," he nodded. "But it's a tragedy you had to come back to this awful place."

"It's not... that awful is it?"

"Now that we're together, it'll be okay." He kissed my forehead.

"Why did you name yourself Zero?" I looked up at him.

"I didn't have a choice," he whispered.

"I don't understand..."

"I'll tell you when we're not floating through space, love." He winked.

"So," I began, "I chose Anonymous twice? Is that even possible?"

"Yeah," he said. "The... Rare Dreamers, who are given a second chance, have occasionally similar moments to their pasts. You chose the same username, started out with the same number, 23, and was scared to sleep."

"I was scared of sleeping?"

"When we found out that Dreamers could run out of REM sleep, you were scared to the bone. But that was when we lived in the Leader Village together."

There was another moment of silence.

"I'm sorry," I broke the silence. "I didn't make it into the leader village this time."

"You blacked out in the last scene. Didn't you, love?" His voice was calm.

I nodded.

"That's okay," he whispered. I felt him kiss the top of my head again. "We'll figure it out."

"What happens to the rest of us? The Awakened Ones who don't get to live in the Leader Village?"

"You continue to live in the academy. You are no longer called Awakened Ones, but Dreamers. You continue to go to class, record your dreams in the dream logs, and follow through on what you have to do by listening to the instructions from your leader, who is now Winter."

"I don't like Miss Red's classes." I sighed.

"I used to hate them too," he chuckled.

"Zero," I started. "If we woke up in the forest at the same time, how did we both become leaders? Only one person per batch can become a leader."

"Back then," he inhaled. "A girl and boy leader was selected."

"But this year we only ha-."

"Anon," he interrupted. "After you disappeared, the doctor ordered for one leader to be selected. Why? I have no idea, but he wasn't happy about his Dreamers running out of REM sleep."

"How long was I gone for?" I whispered.

"Just two years."

"And how many Rare Dreamers were there other than myself?"

"I believe there were six others."

How can people run out of REM sleep and come back? I thought they grew insane and turned into...?

"Hey," I said. "What about Macbeth and Cassie? They turned into monsters and I can only guess what happened to the other Dreamers. Did the doctor do something to them?"

Suddenly, everything was pitch black. It was as if the stars all around us were covered by a thick black fabric. I couldn't see a thing, but I still felt Zero's arms around me. My breathing grew uneven and I felt my pulse quicken.

"I think they were experiments."

A/N: What do you guys think?? Why did Macbeth and Cassie turn into weird... monsters?

Also, do you guys like anime gifs or normal people gifs? Comment and vote it up!

Lastly, share this book!! I REALLY WANT OUR DREAMDOM TO GROW!!!! :D