Dysphoria

A Rope

Chapter 02: A Rope

Alexis' eyes flew open as her knees gave out from underneath her causing her to fall to the floor. She writhed as a strange new sensation coursed through her body. After taking multiple deep breaths, she rose to her feet again. Once she had regained her footing her eyes scanned the strange scenery that surrounded her. Before her was an eerily dark forest which went on for as far as the human eye could see, and towering off in the distance stood a massive blue structure that rose far into the sky. "It's my dream," Alexis said aloud in disbelief. It was the exact same forest where she had done battle with her mysterious opponent multiple times. "But it's so real this time," she observed brushing her hand over the trunk of a nearby tree. Unlike her other dreams which felt as though she was reliving a moment in history with small bits and pieces missing from the experience, everything in this dream felt like it had truly existed at one point or another. "Of course it is," a clear, authoritative voice replied from behind Alexis. "It's practically part of reality, didn't you already know that?" Alexis turned to get a better look at the speaker, the voice belonged to a young girl who looked to be around the same age as Alexis. She had bright curly blond hair and dawned a business suit akin to something a well respected lawyer would wear. The most striking feature she possessed were bright neon green eyes which shared space with creamy white pupils instead of black ones. "My name is Suzanne, you can call me Suzy if you like. I'm your newly appointed manager,"

"My what?" Alexis stuttered still confused and unsure of why someone she had never met before had appeared in her dream."Your manager," Suzanne replied arching an eyebrow and pointing to the clipboard she held in her right hand before writing something down with a pen she pulled from her front shirt pocket. "Combatant seems to lack proper hearing capabilities and may suffer from a variety of attention disorders." She read aloud after she was finished. "Uh huh," Alexis muttered completely disregarding the indirect insult. "You are a combatant, correct?" Suzanne questioned.

"Um, no. I don't think so," Alexis answered honestly causing Suzanne to mumble something incomprehensible and sigh agitatedly. "Aren't you Alexis Nortley?" She asked. Alexis nodded hear slowly in reply. "Well according to my list right here..." Suzanne began pointing again at her clipboard, "you've just been recently granted a sigil. The mark of a combatant."

Alexis woke with a start, her head was pounding and she was drenched in sweat. "Holy shit," her friend Kineta whispered. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Alexis grumbled in reply. Raising her head to better orient herself, she realized that she was in math class. Kineta grabbed Alexis by the chin forcefully and turned her face towards her so that she could get a better. "Whoa, you don't look so good, what happened?"

"I must've fallen asleep during Mr. Court's lecture,"

"Yeah, no kidding. Didn't get enough sleep last night?" Alexis shook her head.

"No, I got enough. I'm probably just feeling under the weather." Kineta nodded in reply and turned her attention back to her teacher. "Hey, whats her problem?" Alexis asked pointing towards a teary eyed brunette. "Who? Jessica? Apparently she entered a national spelling bee or something last weekend and was eliminated just before the final round," Kineta told Alexis.

"Huh," was the only thing Alexis said before opening her math textbook to today's lesson.

Alexis was the first one out of her class, not waiting for more then a moment after the final bell had rung. She sprinted down the hallway, desperate to escape the school before the stampede of other students swept her away like a piece of moss being carried away by a wave, but halted when she saw the crying brunette from earlier exiting the girls washroom. The girl look drained, completely pale, her face lacking any emotion. Her entire body was shaking and her breathing was both shallow and heavy. Alexis checked the girl's eyes for signs of redness or tears but there were none. The girl had not been crying recently and instead looked as though she was completely disconnected from the rest of the world. "Hello!" Alexis called out in greeting, "are you okay?"

"Wha-?" The girl stuttered, surprised to be pulled out of her thoughts.

"My names Alexis, whats yours?" Alexis asked.

"Jessica," the girl replied.

"Jessica," Alexis started inwardly. "I already knew that." "It's nice to meet you!" Alexis said smiling and then offered her hand to the other girl. "Y-yeah..." Jessica replied before timidly accepting Alexis' handshake. "I just noticed you were a little bit dazed," Alexis continued. "Is everything okay?"

"Dazed?" Jessica repeated.

"Yeah," Alexis began to explain. "You were looking kind of out of it. Y'know, staring out into the distance an all."

"Oh! No, I'm fine, really," Jessica assured Alexis. "Just... Tired is all."

"Okay." Alexis replied. "Well, see you around!"

"Yeah," Jessica agreed managing a faint smile.

The conversation Alexis had with Jessica stayed with her the entire walk home. Something seemed really off about Jessica. Alexis had seen her around school a few times before, and each time she did Jessica had been a very upbeat kind of person. Very similar to Kineta in a few ways. Even Alexis who had only learned of Jessica's name earlier the same day noticed how strange it was for Jessica to be acting in such a somber manner. Originally Alexis had thought that the absurdity had just been caused by Jessica's disappointment from losing her spelling bee, but Jessica bore no sad expressions during their earlier conversation. Instead, she seemed to be more disconnected and desperate than anything else. The thought of Jessica's melancholy mood reminded Alexist of the dream she had had earlier in class. "Combatant huh?" She said aloud. The emotions she expected Jessica was experiencing were very similar to the sensation Alexis first had when her dream had just begun. Alexis wondered at the significance and toyed with the possibility that the two unrelated events were somehow connected. She never got the time to finish that thought however as she managed to arrive home much faster then she expected too.

Alexis' nose twitched. A faint breeze cooled her face which had begun to cook due to the bright sun in the sky. The air was clean and free of humidity, while the odd cloud would offer it's shadow to Alexis as protection from the heat given off by the giant ball of fire far which lay far off behind the sky. Alexis found herself to be very comfortable, until a thought jogged her memory and ended her comfortable nap. "What the hell happened to my bed?" Startled by her realization that she was no longer in her own room, she rose to her feet without a moments hesitation. It only took a second however for her to realize where she was and put her uneasiness to rest. In the distant horizon towered the same giant blue structure that she had awoken to the last time she slept. She was in her dream again. Alexis smiled before analyzing her surroundings a little bit more. No longer was she in that creepy forest. Instead, a gorgeous beach lay in the forest's place. The sand was both bright and clean, and the water was clear. A variety of vegetation littered the coast as well. Palm trees, moss, bush, and various types of flowers had dug themselves into the sand. Behind Alexis was a jungle which seeped with wildlife and greenery. "Good evening," voiced an assertive tone. "Welcome back."

"Suzy?" Alexis called out. "Is that you?"

"Indeed it is," replied Suzanne stepping out from behind one of the jungle trees. "If you have returned, then that must mean you are interested in becoming a combatant?"

"Why are you talking like this should made sense to me?" Asked Alexis.

"Last time," started a very confused Suzanne. "We discussed your potential and your possession of a sigil."

"I remember you bringing up the terms, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh!" Replied Suzanne looking very surprised. "You have not been informed on the 'ins and outs' of being a combatant?"

"No," Alexis answered.

"Very well," Suzanne laughed. "I will return tomorrow night with the proper equipment so that I can better prepare myself on educating you." She turned and began heading back through the jungle. "Feel free to enjoy the beach!" Suzanne called from behind her shoulder. "Good day!"

"Yeah, bye..." Alexis whispered back feeling confused. "Is this really all a dream?" She asked herself before finding another spot on the beach to rest on.