Sweeter Dreams

Chapter Two

Adam pounds on my door. I groan and stand before the door that separates me from that vile demon.

 “Hey baby!” he yells whilst continuing to pound on the door. I scowl and yell back.

 “What! What the heck do you want, Adam?” I snarl. I can totally picture the look on Adam’s face when he says this. Arrogant pig.

 “Baby, you know what I want,” he said cockily. I rolled my eyes.

 “But seriously… Come out. There’s a guy waiting for you.”

 I growled, opened the door, and shoved my way past Adam. I walked past the front hallway and yanked open the door to see…

An old man. Well, he wasn’t exactly old. He looked like he was in his mid fifties. Salt and pepper hair, tall and lanky frame, a tattoo swirled across his neck, and strange colored eyes. They were green with blue around the edges and golden flecks in it. It suddenly occurred to me who this man was. I didn’t know how, but I couldn’t see it before.

 “Grandpa?” I whispered. My head must be playing tricks. There is no freaking way he can still be alive. No way. He’s dead. He died in a car wreck. I saw the pictures. All these thoughts swirled through my head and before I could comprehend what was happening, I had pulled him into a big hug.

 “Grandpa, are you real or did I accidentally take LSD at school?” I asked. I felt his chest rumble with laughter. He rubbed my back comfortably. He smelled exactly like he used to. The smell of clove filled my nostrils and I inhaled deeply.

 “I forget the humor you had, Lyla. And no, I’m damn sure you did not take LSD at school,” he chuckled. I pulled back to get a good look at him.

 “But the car wreck,” I insisted. ‘The pictures… Nobody could survive something like that.” The pictures were honestly the most horrid thing I had laid my eyes on. The car had flipped over and flames were flickering out of it. The windows were smashed and there were huge dents everywhere. I shuddered.

 He gave me ‘the look’ and patted my back. “Lyla. We are Vitas. We can survive anything.” I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on my face.

 “Ice cream?”

“I think it’s been a while. Let’s head out.” Grandpa started to walk me towards the street. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned back. I ran back to the front door and yanked it open.

 “Adam! I’m going out. Don’t follow me!”

 “No promises, babe!"

 I ran back to my waiting Grandpa and we began to walk towards the park in silence.

 “Wait here, okay?” Grandpa said sternly. I rolled my eyes.

 “Sir, yes, sir,” I responded. I sat down while Grandpa ran off to grab the ice cream. It was tradition. Whenever Grandpa would come to visit, we would walk to the park and he would get the ice cream while I waited on a park bench. It would always be the same flavors. He would get pistachio for himself and I would get a very nice coffee with chocolate. Hmmmm… chocolate.

I leaned back on the park bench and looked up at the sky. It wasn’t exactly my definition of a beautiful day, but I thought it couldn’t get any better because my Grandpa was alive. I felt another presence sitting beside me. I ignored it, thinking it was just another park attendee. I looked over to see who had sat with me. It was a young man, around his early twenties, with black hair. He was handsome, with features that would make any woman go wild. But there was something odd about him. He turned his head slightly so that his eyes met mine. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I saw his eyes.

 They were completely black and soulless. It looked like no life had ever came into his eyes. Yet, here he was. Sitting and breathing.

 “Wonderful day, isn’t it?” he said. His voice was rough and deep. “Lyla,” he added. I jumped out of seat and was about to scream for help when I heard him say strange words.

  “Dormit!”

 I was suddenly feeling very, very sleepy. I could see a strange red fume coming from him. My knees began to buckle and I staggered forwards. I clutched the park bench with one hand. My breath came out in ragged gasps.

 “Ignis!”

 That voice…It sounded so nice. So sweet. My lids were getting heavy and I nearly collapsed if it hadn’t been for that voice.

 “Oh no you don’t!” Someone pulled me up to my feet and yelled right in my face.

 “Resurrectio!”

 I suddenly felt more alive then ever. I blinked a few times and it felt like a fire had moved through my body.

“Adam?” I said confused. He shook me a few times. I smacked him with a free hand. “Ow!” he grumbled. He set me down.

 “Are you alright?” he asked me. I nodded and turned to the strange man. He was lying on the ground. He had a burn on his face and a pool of blood was around his head. His eyes were staring up at the sky, but there was no mistaking it now.

He was dead.

 I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. I grasped onto Adam’s shoulder for support. He saw where my gaze meant and shook his head slightly.

 “Sorry about that. I was really angry and when I get pissed… Well, someone ends up hurt,” he muttered, “or dead.”

 I shook my head, trying to comprehend what just happened. Mysterious dude who said weird words, Adam, spells, fire, dead body… Oh God… Please help me.

 “What happened?”

 It seemed to be that Grandpa could rise from the dead, but also had wild ninja skills. I nearly had a heart attack when he popped up.

 “Malum spy is what happened,” Adam sneered, “ I just happened to take care of it.”

 My Grandpa looked less then pleased to hear that. He rubbed his temple a few times and sat down on the bench, ignoring the dead body that lay before it.

 “When will you tell her?” Adam said uneasily. Tell me what?

 “Tell me what? What didn’t you tell me, Grandpa?” I asked. I heard nothing come from him. Finally, he said, “Let’s go somewhere private.”

 “Sanctuary?” Adam asked hopefulness in his voice. Grandpa nodded.

 “Sanctuary.”

I honestly had no idea where we were going. We had been driving for hours. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating, but we had been driving for a really, really long time. My feet had already fallen asleep and that burst of energy I had at the park was gone now. I felt numb. And tired.

 “Are we there yet?” I groaned. No answer. Great. We’re playing the silent game now are we? Fine whatever.

 We finally stopped in front of a rundown factory. We all stepped out of the car.

 “This is the sanctuary?” I asked skeptical. I was expecting to see crystal blue waterfalls with flamingos and pretty flowers everywhere. Instead, I got a old, worn factory with many windows missing, a roof that looked like it was going to collapse, and might have a rat infestation.

 “Sanctuary,” I mumbled and looked at it again. “Can’t wait.”