Just a Dream

“They’re here for you.” 

My chest tightened. I looked at my mother for guidance. 

“You need to come with me.” 

She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. I could see her hands shaking as she slowly undid the lock. We ran outside and jumped into the gray minivan. 

The sky above our house was dark and ominous. The heavy clouds promised rain while the wind began to slowly speed up. Not a single star could be seen. 

We pulled out of the driveway and began driving. I looked out of the window but saw nothing. I was unsteady and dizzy. 

“April…” she started to say. I looked at her. My eyes pleaded with her to tell me the truth. 

She made eye contact with me for only a second and then took a deep breath. “It’s time for you to know the truth.” 

_____

The clock changed from 11:59pm to 12:00am. Witching hour. One hour before two women had made a desperate escape. Or had they…? 

I was groggy and confused. The moon offered only a small amount of light. The shadows seemed like cold, black sheets draped over the corners of the room. I turned over on my side and fell back to sleep. 

_____

“So that’s it?! You didn’t bother to tell me this my whole life?!” 

“I didn’t want you to be worried. I always had everything under control.” 

“I think I had a right to know that dad’s crazy, alien, enemies were coming after me because I’m some sort of freak with powers!” 

“I wasn’t supposed to be the one to tell you! He was! This is all his fault anyway!” 

All of the sudden I understood why mom never wanted to talk about dad. She was furious with him. If all the crazy things she said were true, then he had left us because he thought he was putting us in danger. But then, we had never heard from him again. Now we were left to deal with this situation all on our own. 

“I don’t understand…” I said. 

My mother sighed. “Your father had strange powers. He could… do things… no one else could. But his whole life some strange people had been looking for him. A few years before he left, your father discovered these people were not human. They weren’t even… from Earth. He left to ‘keep us safe,’” my mom said with a bitter laugh. “But now they're after you because you also… are different.” 

“But what can I do?” I asked. 

All of the sudden something landed in front of the car. My mom slammed the brakes and swerved to the side. I screamed as the car skidded to a halt. When I looked out of the window, two glowing eyes were staring back at me through the mist. 

_____

With a gasp I woke up. I looked around. Just my room. Afterall it was only a dream. A very strange, detailed dream. But still a dream… right? 

I got out of bed, pulled on my robe and walked downstairs. I poured myself a glass of water and drank it quickly. I walked over to the window and looked outside. Storm clouds were beginning to form above our neighborhood. I sighed and walked back upstairs. 

It was strange. I felt more tired than I had earlier. It felt like I had been doing a lot of physical activity. Which I definitely hadn’t been. Almost as soon as I laid down, I was asleep. 

_____

All of the sudden the lights went out in the car. The car just completely went dead. We were thrust into pitch blackness. Then came the sound like nails scraping against a blackboard. 

I nearly choked trying to keep myself from screaming. The rain was now coming down in heavy sheets. It ran down the windshield like a waterfall making it impossible to see out. 

“Mom…” I whispered. 

“Get out of the car and run.” 

“But—” 

“Do it!” 

“Why?” 

“Because I said so! Now go!” my mom yelled. She was answered by a high pitched screech. 

I opened the door and bolted. 

_____ 

When I opened my eyes I was looking at the picture of my mom, dad and I. I had his face in my memory. I knew every detail. I memorized it so that if he ever came back I would recognize him on sight. 

My dream made me think of him again. I sighed and went back to sleep. 

_____

I ran into the woods on the side of the road. I didn’t stop to think about where I was going. I just ran like my life depended on it. Which it probably did. 

I could barely see where I was going. My foot caught on a root and I fell over. Before I hit the ground cold hands seized my shoulders. 

_____

I woke up and gasped. I could have sworn that I could actually feel cold fingers digging into my skin. I shifted my position and closed my eyes. 

_____

I screamed and tried to struggle. 

But then I heard a voice that I hadn’t heard in many years. “Quiet. It’s me, your father. Don’t struggle, we have to find your mom.” 

I broke free and looked up at him. I knew instantly that it really was him. He put a finger to his lips and beckoned to me. I followed him through the trees. We heard a rustle and whipped around. 

My mom came charging towards us. She stopped when she saw us and for a second we all stared at each other. 

“Trish…” my father started to say. 

My mom walked up, slapped him in the face, grabbed my hand and pulled me away. 

“Trish, I know what their weakness is. They can’t be cold. We have to go North.” 

“Then we’ll go North,” she answered curtly. “C’mon April.” 

I looked around and saw three pairs of glowing eyes staring at me. I screamed. 

_____

My voice was hoarse when I woke up. My blood ran cold. That was not a dream. 

The door of my bedroom flew open and I saw the silhouette of my mother standing there. 

“They’re coming for you.” 

I was hit with sudden déjà vu and realized what my “power” was. 

If I was right… then we needed to leave. Now.