Dreamborn

The silver ribbon wrapped around Alira's arm sparkled underneath the light of the pale moon overhead. Any new member of the Commission of Dreamborn Reconnaissance would have recoiled in surprise upon seeing it shine bright, but she had been captain of this squad of four for almost three years now. They knew the power that single strip of ribbon had. Knew what it meant to Alira, especially in this night.

The captain had unconsciously touched the ribbon once she realized where they were. Their target had entered the dreams of a teacher at the only school in the city of Nocturne. Now Alira was forced to gaze up at the rococo mansion in front of her. The Noxangelus Boarding School, her childhood home—and the place where all her dreams took place for four years. Those dreams were once an escape from her waking life, and now she needed to destroy it, along with its creator.

Alira felt a hand on her shoulder. "We don't have much time," her second in command muttered to her, which she could only answer with a simple nod. She glanced down at her watch, its face indicating where their target hid.

"Behind the school. Ready your weapons."

The soft, uniform hum of their blasters warming up was the only sound they made as they rounded the corner of the building. It took all of Alira's willpower to not look at her father's cherry tree resting just a few feet away from the corner. A mere stump was all that remained of that tree in the waking life. Here in this dream it was intact, just like how it was when she found him hiding behind its trunk that fateful night twelve years ago.

Upon seeing the boy's midnight blue eyes flecked with silver that night, she knew what he was, what his race was infamous for. Dreamborns were what they called themselves. Humans who could only live feeding off of the dreams of those who slept. Her seven-year-old self was ready to pinch herself awake and avoid this Dreamborn from trapping her in a nightmare, for nightmares satisfied their animalistic hunger better than any other type of dream, at the cost of the dreamer's life. To gain her trust, he gave her the ribbon that coiled around his small arm and said he couldn't harm her so long as she had it on. His ribbon, her most cherished gift, seemed to grow cold as if sensing that its former owner was nearby.

The playground behind the school was just like how she remembered it before it was demolished in favor of newer equipment. He hadn't seen the newer one, hadn't seen any of the changes in the school property for nine years. He was taunting her without even knowing. Reminded her of a past they could no longer have.

"Get down Captain!" Alira was so stunned by the sight before her that she had neglected to check her surroundings. She felt her second in command shove her away in time for a blur of shadows to spear him instead. She could only hear his screams ring in her ears, unable to help him as more shadows descended down on them. They spun around the team, a swirl of black wind that did not let them see what now laid ahead or above.

Alira's braid whipped against her neck as she turned in all directions. She'd seen this form of his power in videos from field reports but had never witnessed them firsthand. If she hadn't seen footage of him wielding this pure darkness, she would have never believed he was their master.

The captain set her blaster to "Illuminate". She'd seen every scrap of footage of dreams where he unleashed his powers. Had seen not only the potential of his gift, but also its weaknesses. She had come prepared.

Raising her blaster over her head, her grip unfaltering despite the high winds around them, Alira fired a single shot into the air. A blast of blinding light struck the shadows that domed above them, bright enough to eat away at the darkness. The light exploded once it consumed every shadow above. Smaller orbs of light rained down on the wall surrounding the team until the winds died down to a standstill. Only then did Alira lower her weapon.

"Status report." She turned to her remaining team members. Only two remained.

"I'm not picking Ryer's signal," one teammate answered, checking her watch. "No sign of Sarene since those winds picked up."

Two soldiers down, and they still hadn't even encountered the Dreamborn yet. Alira clenched her blaster with both hands and sent a silent plea to the sky that her two teammates were still alive. She would have to search for them after they caught their target. If he didn't catch them first.

Alira checked her own watch. The Dreamborn had moved while they were distracted by his attack. Now his location was inside the school, possibly where his victim endured her nightmare.

"Let's move." The three recons broke through the back door. The Victorian-inspired interior was as dark as the night sky peering through the large arched windows. The elegant, wrought-iron chandelier that once hung majestically over the imperial staircase laid shattered and devoid of light on the white marble floor.

With every flight they stormed through, the Dreamborn grew further away from them until he was on the third floor of the school. Alira knew where he was headed. She had hoped she wouldn't have to confront him there.

As soon as they cleared the third flight of stairs, screams erupted from the empty hall. Alira recognized the voice of Ms. Crallsdor, her Dreamborns Anatomy teacher when she was sixteen. She could see the door at the far right end of the hall thrashing in the violent winds that raged inside the classroom. A nod and a swift movement of fingers from Alira had the squad moving down the darkened hallway.

In a heartbeat, the three were pressed against the wall nearest to the raging winds. "Stay behind me," Alira ordered as she set her blaster from "Standby" back to "Illuminate". She steadied her breathing and spun towards the door, her weapon poised at the threat inside the classroom.

Instead of dark winds surrounding a terrified teacher, she was greeted by the night sky and a gentle breeze. With her blaster still raised, the captain took in her surroundings. She was outside again, her crew possibly still inside and fending off the dark power on their own. Dread washed over her when she realized she wasn't on the ground, but on the roof of the school.

"I thought you said you were going to dream up some soda when we see each other again."

Alira closed her eyes once she heard the voice behind her. He sounded older but she could still recognize his voice like she heard it all her life. A shaky breath escaped her lips. He could have confronted her anywhere else, but he decided to do so on the roof, the last place they had seen each other nine years prior.

"And you said you'd never eat nightmares, Arien." The captain willed herself to open her eyes and turn around. There he was, an adult Dreamborn now with eyes as dark as night, the silver flecks standing out even more than when they were blue. The eyes of Dreamborns darkened the more nightmares they consumed—and those black eyes told her everything she needed to know about the destruction he caused in order to feed.

"Nearly starving to death can make you reconsider," Arien answered with a mad chuckle. His eyes narrowed, a piercing glare towards his once friend. "You wouldn't know. You being the child prodigy of the owners of such a prestigious school. Did they teach you how to use that little toy of yours?"

Alira clenched her blaster and the Dreamborn chuckled again. "Doesn't seem like they did. I've taken down enough of members of the CDR to know that you've set it on 'Stun'."

"I need to take you in for interrogation and to put you on trial," Alira countered. "Basic protocol."

"Funny. I don't remember that protocol applying to my parents."

Alira stiffened. She knew what had happened to his father—that was the whole reason why he had disappeared when they were eleven—but she didn't know his mother had met the same fate as well. What else had happened to him when he disappeared?

"I guess you're not as bad as the rest of the commission," Arien continued. "Still. You decided to join their little group when you said you despised them."

"I joined them to find you." Her voice came out quiet, contrary to her usual booming voice that sent any soldier running. "I thought you were dead. I needed to find you when you didn't return after a month."

The Dreamborn cracked a smile, a gesture once filled with joy and tenderness now depraved and emotionless. "Well, you did it, Captain. You found me. Bet you're regretting it now that you've seen me."

His eyes, those soulless eyes that seemed so wrong on him, glanced down at the captain's arm where his ribbon was. Alira followed his gaze—and let her guard down for a split second. A snap of his fingers sent a sharp wind past her arm, slicing the ribbon off of her arm. Alira raised her blaster towards the Dreamborn only to find him gone. Silence.

"I really was planning on returning in a month."

Alira turned to the direction of the voice, weapon still poised but Arien was faster. He pinned her against the floor, her blaster tumbling off of the roof. A sting of pain on the back of her head sent stars throughout her vision. All she could see were those eyes that were once so inviting. Now it seemed they would be the last thing she would ever see. A mockery of what she once knew.

"Your dreams were always sweet," she could hear her once friend say. "Maybe I'll eat them before I finish off that schoolteacher."

She felt his hands on her head and she let out a shout. Her vision grew hazier and her eyelids heavy. Another gift of the Dreamborns, forcing their victims to lose consciousness with just a simple touch. She had let her guard down and now she and the rest of her team were going to pay the price for it.

* * *

"My mom says we have to go into hiding for a bit."

Eleven-year-old Alira looked up from her piece of chocolate when she heard her friend speak up. They were on the school's rooftop when Alira dreamt up a bar of chocolate for the two to share. Dreamborns couldn't live off of human food so Arien had never even heard of chocolate before. She couldn't help but giggle at his reaction when he took his first bite. She had eaten it so many times that she was able to dream up the taste perfectly.

"I thought you were safe," Alira replied. She had asked numerous times if he was safe visiting her in her dreams everyday with the CDC monitoring any energy anomalies at night. He would answer with a simple "yes" every time and nothing more.

"Not anymore." Arien looked up at the clear night sky, a solemn look strewn on his face. Silence filled the air and Alira saw his throat bob before he spoke again. "My dad was Dream Jumping with my mom and the energy they release when they jump was detected by the commission. My mom managed to get home safely but my dad…"

He shut his eyes and Alira quickly took his hand in hers. When he opened them again, those silver flecked eyes she had grown to love were brimmed with tears. "My dad didn't make it. They ripped him up like he was an animal and all I could do was see it through my mind's eye. Now they have my mother's energy readings in their database. With both of their readings in their hands, they'll have no problem finding me if I jump."

He buried his face in his hands, pulling away from Alira. "My dad taught me to only feed off of dreams and not nightmares, even though dreams keep our hunger away for only a day. He and Mom have lived without killing anyone…and those people still killed him."

Alira's hands shook in her lap. This wasn't fair. These Dreamborns were risking their lives day by day to not harm any person they Dream Jumped to, and yet they were still treated as parasites. She wanted to stand up in front of her parents, in front of her teacher, in front of the entire school and tell them they were wrong about the Dreamborns, but who would believe an eleven-year-old? She felt helpless that she couldn't help her closest friend when she so desperately wanted to.

"How long will you be gone?" Alira muttered.

"We can only last about a month without feeding," Arien answered. "Mom says that they should let their guard down by then."

Alira stared off into the endless sky in front of them. From where they sat, the stars seemed closer than ever before. She leaned towards Arien and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her head resting on his arm. "I'll find a way to help you. You and your family. I can't do much but my parents run this school and have a big influence on the city. Maybe I can convince them that not all Dreamborns are bad and they can convince the rest of Nocturne. I'll help some way, I promise."

She felt Arien grip her arm in an attempt to hug her back. "Thank you. You've already been helping a lot by keeping me company and not freaking out like you did the first time you saw me. I can't believe you were about to hit me with your dad's croquet mallet before pinching yourself."

Alira giggled, her hold on the Dreamborn tightening. "Promise you'll be back," she whispered, her lower lip quivering at the thought of her friend gone forever. "I'll dream up a chocolate cake so you can try some."

She felt his head rest against hers. She wished they could stay like that until the end of time and not have the woes of the world cloud their minds. "I will," he answered. "But dream up that one fizzy drink you told me about too. What's it called?"

"Soda silly. We'll have grape and strawberry and orange but only if you come back." She pulled away from her friend to examine his face. His eyes were brighter than she had ever seen them before. Even brighter than the ribbon he gave her when they first met four years prior. Beneath the shimmering glow however, she could see the worry he tried to hide from her. He gave her a wistful smile and she felt her heart sink.

"I will. I promise."

She wanted to believe him. She wanted to hold on to the hope that he would return to her dreams in a month and they would continue with their adventures as if nothing ever happened. But when the sky above them darkened with clouds and an enormous pair of silver-flecked black eyes blinked into existence just behind her friend, she knew he wouldn't return in the time he promised.

She knew they wouldn't see each other again in a dream.

But in a nightmare.