Groaning under the weight of boredom, this class is a slow torture. Stuck up front, I'm forced to stay wide awake, can't even catch a quick nap without risking trouble. The teacher's drone raises the question: How do they expect anyone to stay tuned in?
Turning my attention to Mika, a burst of color in this dull room, her red hair and radiant smile offer a brief escape. If there's a silver lining to this lousy seat, it's her.
"Hey, Mika, any of this making sense to you?" I ask, hoping for a shared moment of confusion.
She grins, a beacon of rebellion. "I lost track ages ago. You're not doing any better, right?"
The teacher shoots a disapproving look our way, prompting a quick headshake from me. The clock, my only ally in this temporal struggle, seems to slow with each stolen glance.
In a daring move, I decided to risk a momentary escape by closing my eyes. A blissful second passes before reality unravels. Math class and its humdrum surroundings fade into an abyss of infinite darkness, crackling with an ominous energy. Mika's whisper cuts through the void. "Zach, wake up." Her words echoed back at me from all sides.
I try to move or speak, but my muscles betray me, and dread tightens its grip as panic takes hold. Her voice echoes in the void, asking questions that underscore my fear. Another voice, a disembodied presence, cuts through my mind with inaudible words.
"Who are you?" I manage to murmur, struggling to be heard over my own racing heartbeat.
With a deafening roar, the voice commands, "WAKE UP!" Lightning flashes, thunder booms, and then, abruptly, I'm back in math class, gasping for air.
"Our sleeping beauty is awake," the teacher says, his calm demeanor thinly veiling the anger beneath. He points to the door. I grab my bag, sprinting out of the classroom with record-breaking urgency.
The bell signals the end of the school day, ushering in the weekend. Passing Mika on my way to the exit, she calls out, "Zach, wait!" Intrigued, I turned, and we decide to walk home together. Our paths usually diverge after school, but today is far from ordinary.
"What happened in there?" Mika's expression reveals genuine concern.
My heart quickens at the thought. "I don't know, I guess I fell asleep," I offer, wary of divulging the bizarre truth that might label me as unhinged.
"Why do you want to know?" I counter, secretly hoping for a proclamation of genuine concern.
"You didn't wake up; even the teacher came over to check." she observes, her words sending a shiver down my spine. Stuck in that otherworldly place, it seems I appeared merely asleep. Something isn't adding up, and the mystery deepens. I can hardly wrap my head around what just went down. I closed my eyes for a split second, and suddenly, Mr. Baldy was practically breathing down my neck.
Baldy, or Mr. Shine as we sometimes called him, suited his shiny, bald dome perfectly. Rumor had it that he shaved it because his hairline nearly reached the back of his head. We both chuckled at the nickname exchange.
"So, anything exciting happen?" she probed, her persistence starting to give me an odd vibe. Why was she so intent on prying into whether something extraordinary occurred? I'd already insisted I just dozed off. "No, nothing happened. Just your standard sleep-deprivation saga," I replied.
Her intrigued expression melted away like snow in sunlight, and she flashed a smile. "Alright then, see you tomorrow!"
I waved as she strolled toward her front door. The journey home breezed by faster than expected. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.
Walking the remainder of the way home, I found an empty house awaiting me. Mom must have left for her nursing job's late shift. Odd for her to leave so early, but I shrugged it off.
Opening the back door, the dog shot past me, its tongue hanging out as it twirled around, playfully chasing leaves in the breeze. I envied its carefree existence, where eating, sleeping, and playing were the only agenda items. Laughing at its autumn leaf-chasing antics, I pondered my own complicated life. I hate fall, but the dog seems to revel in it.
The peculiar classroom episode crossed my mind again. It wasn't a dream; I was frozen instead of sleeping. There had to be some meaning behind it, right? In stories, the protagonist usually has a revelation after a while, so I decided to let it play out.
Going to bed that night, an unsettling feeling lingered, if 'strange' even does justice to describing it.
"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead." A soft female voice called out, and I opened my eyes to find myself lying in a dimly lit forest, the hooting of an owl shattering the silence of the night.
Taking in the surroundings, I marveled at the dream unfolding before me. She lay next to me, her brown hair shimmering under the starlight, dressed in a black gown.
Suddenly, my body moved involuntarily, as if I were a mere spectator in my own dream. "They'll be here soon; we should get moving," she spoke calmly, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
Navigating through the forest paths, or at least, watching myself do so, I heard a voice that wasn't mine. "Have you heard anything from Matt yet?" I questioned. This wasn't my dream; where was I, anyway?
As the two strangers conversed, I was trapped, forced to witness every moment unfolding before me. They eventually met a group of armed men gathered around a campfire, all clad in black armor with swords hanging from their right shoulder to the left lower back—a peculiar sight.
"Thieves? Is that what's happening? Do I have the power to see through criminals' eyes?" I couldn't contain my excitement, but luckily, my exclamations went unheard.
Leaves rustled behind us, and everyone scattered. Racing through the forest, breaking branches in our wake, I felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins. The screams of men echoed, and I could see and hear everything clearly in the dark. The woman crouched next to me, brandishing a sword.
"Ally, when I say so, you run for your life, okay?" I spoke, my voice deeper, my strength magnified.
"No, I won't leave you alone here!" She whispered.
"You have to survive; it's an all-or-nothing battle. Matt's squad is at least another day away. You have to live, tell them to retreat."
Before she could respond, an arrow aimed for my head sliced through the air. With lightning reflexes, I rolled out of harm's way. "Go, now!" Drawing my sword, I charged forward, giving her the chance to escape.
Engaging in a swift sword clash with the man before me, the scenes unfolded too quickly to comprehend. Spinning, I used the momentum to strike, and the man perished before I could fully grasp the situation.
Racing back towards the campfire, I found lifeless bodies scattered around, but none adorned in the ominous black armor I had seen earlier. Instead, they wore dark green vests patterned like leaves. Anger surged within me, summoning dark clouds overhead as I clenched my fist.
Footsteps echoed from all directions, converging on me. As they closed in, I unleashed my power, sending lightning arcing in all directions, striking down the approaching men without even glancing their way.
Amid the chaos, a woman's scream pierced through, redirecting my focus. Charging in like a tempest, sword first, I cut through everyone surrounding her with the speed of lightning.
After the battlefield fell silent, I rushed to the woman. "Alice, stay with me!" I held her close, feeling her fading heartbeat.
"Please, don't leave me!" The blood-soaked armor bore witness to the tragedy, tears streaming down my face.
She attempted to speak, muttering under her breath, "I... Love... y-"
Abruptly, my mom burst into my room, shaking me from the dream. Sitting upright, I met her worried gaze. Not wanting to sound unhinged, I kept the details to myself. "I'm fine, Mom. Sorry about the commotion," I replied, puzzled about her sudden entrance. "Why were you screaming? I just got back from work!" she asked, still dressed in her nursing uniform.
"Just a bad dream, Mom," I dismissed, opting to shift the conversation. "How was work?" I inquired. "It was alright," she said. "It's late; you should get some sleep now." With a reassuring smile, she left the room.
Staring at the ceiling, I tried to make sense of the vivid experience. Was it all just a dream?