When I opened my eyes, I was standing on a stone balcony suspended from nothing. The evening sky surrounded me, a light breeze whispering against the skin on my legs. It chilled me, and I shivered through my thin nightgown. I hardly remembered falling asleep, but I knew this was a dream. It had to be.
Cautiously, I stepped over the stones, feeling the cold surface bite into my skin as I peered over the edge. Far below the balcony, a thick beautiful river flowed, stretching away for miles into the distance. The grass on either side was dotted with flowers. A shadow flitted across my vision, and when I moved my eyes, I caught sight of a figure wearing a dark robe on the horizon.
I blinked, wondering if it was a trick of the light since he hadn't been there during my initial look around. The hood was drawn up over his face, but the chill down his spine told me he had noticed me too. The grass around the figure's feet was brown and brittle.
Death, I thought, a second before the figure summoned a scythe from thin air.
He dipped the silver blade into the river, and I tried to quell my panic. Even in this lucid dream, I knew what seeing the Grim Reaper meant. I closed my eyes, hoping that when I opened them again, I'd be in my room with Cameron. No such luck.
I watched Death stroll down the riverbank, periodically dipping his scythe into the crystal water. At first, nothing happened, but after the fourth or fifth time, a tiny trickle of red flooded into the water. It didn't take long for it to diffuse throughout the rest of the river, the tang of iron in the air.
Blood.
I backed away from the edge of the balcony, using the edge to hide the bloody river from sight. The stones beneath my feet shifted, and I screamed a minute before the balcony gave out, plunging me into the hungry river below.
Something pulled on my arm, and I screamed again, lashing out with the fear that it was Death pulling me from the river. I gasped, my eyes flying open to Cameron's panicked face above mine. His wide eyes searched my face as he waited for an answer. Upon seeing him, I sighed in relief, lifting a hand to wipe the sweat from my forehead.
"What happened?" Cameron asked.
I swallowed, unsure if I wanted to tell him about my dream or not. "J-just a bad dream," I said quickly and coughed. "What time is it?"
"Six in the morning, the buttcrack of dawn, just as we agreed."
I groaned at the idea of starting my day so early, but the thought of going back to sleep was just as unpleasant with the hazy memories of the dream fogging my brain.
"Come on, Maya. Don't make me dump cold water on you."
I swallowed again and ran a hand over my face before taking the moment to study him again. He was already dressed, his blue robe folded neatly over the edge of my bed. I wondered if he had even gotten any sleep.
"Okay, okay," I said, tossing the blanket off me.
Standing on shaking legs, I moved over my closet, straining through the darkness to find something to wear. I snagged a pair of camouflage pants, a black t-shirt, and a pair of hiking boots. Clothes bundled into my arms, I passed Cameron to go into the bathroom and dressed.
I stood in the middle of the bathroom for a long moment, just staring at my heart-shaped face in the mirror. I looked tired, unamused, worried—everything floating through my mind showed clearly on my face. Sighing, I trudged over to the sink to comb through my hair. It fell into its usual wavy composition as I poked at the bags under my eyes.
Disgusted with my entire reflection, I left the bathroom. Cameron sat on the bed, staring out the window. His leg bounced with his anxiety to get moving. I tossed my nightgown onto the bed beside him, and he turned to look at me.
"Are you finally ready to go?" he asked hopefully as I looked at the clock.
I yawned again. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"That's good enough for me," he said and turned to lead the way out of my room.
I didn't move, staring at my bed longingly. So close yet so far.
Cameron looked over his shoulder. "Come on."
"I'm coming, I'm coming," I mumbled and dragged my feet all the way to the hallway.
Cameron smiled, flashing pearl white teeth as he led the way to the kitchen. He kept going to the door, but I skewed away from him as I moved to the nearest cabinet. He paused, watching me as I pulled a bag of coffee out. I dug out a spoon and took a bite of the grounds, forcing myself to swallow it. Gagging on the strong taste, I put the spoon back in the sink and the container back into the cabinet. It didn't help me much, but it made the day seem much more tolerable.
"That's better," I said.
Cameron grimaced. "That looked horrible, but if it helps you get a move on then okay."
"Let's just get going," I said to him.
He nodded and moved to open the door when faint knocking sounded on the other side. With a confused twist of his face, Cameron opened it. A girl with copper-colored hair stood on the porch, her pink shirt ruffled and dusty. She leaned to one side, her face exhausted.
It was Cameron's sister, Fiona. I had only talked to her a handful of times, and I was pretty sure she still didn't know my name so it surprised me she could find my address so easily.
"Fiona, what are you doing here?" he asked after a second of silence.
"Mom sent me to find you; she wanted to know where you went because you never came home last night," she replied.
"I went to the fireworks show with Maya and Clarissa, and then I spent the night here," he replied shrugging. "So what? No damage done."
Cameron made a point of not mentioning Cory, and I respected him for it. Fiona and Cory had dated at one time in the past, but like all the girlfriends past, Cory had cheated on her. Fiona had ended the relationship immediately, and like the kind older brother he was, Cameron had done what he could to comfort her and make the situation better.
"So you forgot to tell Mom. She was worried something bad happened to you," she said.
"I meant to," Cameron offered.
"But you didn't. Anyways she wants you to come home to help us rearrange the furniture in the living room," Fiona told him. "We can't move all of it on our own, and you promised to help."
He groaned. "I know I did, but I got stuff to do; can't it wait until later, when I'm bored?"
She shook her head. "Mom says now. It'll only take a few minutes for you, and when it's done you can come back and stay as long as you like."
Cameron sighed, caught between the eagerness for our adventure and his duties to his family. "Alright," he said finally and turned to me. "You should head out there anyways, Maya and I'll catch up to you."
Fiona looked past him, seeing me the first time since her arrival. "Hi, Maya, good morning."
I nodded, not really agreeing it was a 'good morning' but glad to see her anyways. "It's good to see you again, Fiona."
"I'm sorry to rip Cameron away from you like this, but you know how moms get," she said shrugging.
I didn't comment because I didn't know how moms could be.
Fiona must've realized her mistake because she added, "I promise he'll be back before too long."
"Yeah, it's okay really. He's annoying in the morning," I laughed.
Fiona smiled. "You got that right, sister, okay come on, Cameron," she said turning to leave.
Cameron waited until Fiona stood on the sidewalk beside the street before he turned to look at me. "Well, this sucks," he said, pushing a lock of his long hair out of his face.
I bobbed my head, and he ran after his sister. "Be back in a flash!" he called over his shoulder.
Cameron bolted down the street, and Fiona let out a frustrated sigh as he passed her by. "Cameron! Wait!" she called, running after him.
I smiled as I watched them go before turning my attention to the horizon. Orange was beginning to push up the pink band that was already there. If I wasted anymore time, the park would be full of government officials.
If I wanted to do this, I'd have to hurry to get to the park.
On the horizon, orange was starting to push up at the pink band that had already been there. I knew that meant there wasn't much time until the reporters would be swarming the area. It wouldn't be long until the sun would be visible over the horizon line and that meant I needed to hurry to get to the park. Problem was, I still wasn't convinced this was a good idea in any aspect.