Anders Reality

PROLOGUE

Her heart pounded as tears, snot and mascara intermixed in streams running down her face. The sweat of fear matted her dirty blonde hair to her forehead. It didn’t matter they each had a death grip on her arms, she was frozen in place, not able to move.

She had always been so careful. Anytime she was here alone, she did everything she could to make sure she stayed close to the walls and always, always used her night vision in the pitch black of night. The one time she’d let her guard down for a minute and they were on her.

Where is it? he asked in a soft whisper.

She could only shake her head, her voice escaping her.

The two on each side of her looked nothing like her, but the one who leaned in close did. She gulped as he gripped each side of her jaw with his forefinger and thumb, You know who I am, right?

She could only nod her head as a breathless squeak permeated the town square, You’re The Taker.

He was the reason she was always told to be careful. Her father had sat her down and explained to her what she was and the gift she’d been given. It took her a little while to comprehend there was a whole other world only accessible to a select group of people through their dreams.

She was a Dreamer and it was her job along with the object called a tether on her wrist, to protect this world called Luceria. Her father had told her about a time when it was a wonderful magical place. The people may look cat like, but were human in every other way.

The voice of The Taker brought her back to the present as he said through gritted teeth, I’m only going to ask you once more. Where is it?

She glanced to her left looking at the one who was as black as night, his hand gripping her left arm, the claws poking into her skin. She knew he was called Panth and could see patches of his skin were discolored and looking up at his face, she could see his whiskers were all but clipped away. The other one was all white and called Turk and looking into his eyes, she saw how dilated his pupils were, reminding her of a cat before they attack. He was wearing all white, with red blotches all over him and his ears clipped. She imagined at one point he had to have been one of the most beautiful creatures in this world, but now she could barely look at him.

She looked back at the one standing in front of her and she gulped, I….I don’t have it.

He released her face, running his hand through his sandy brown hair, rubbing his stubble.

The problem is I think you’re lying. I’ve done my research, I’ve been following your posts and seeing the discussions you’ve been having. You said you have it.

She could feel the heat and smell the stench of the creatures behind her. She’d only heard rumors of them and knew they lived up to their names, Nightmares. She began to panic knowing what he was talking about, No, no, you misunderstood. I was simply referring to having the gift of being here. That’s what I meant about the key. I meant it like a key to another world, being a Dreamer.

He turned away from her and took a few steps as she watched his hands behind his back tapping on each other. He turned back and looked past her at the Lucerian who stood behind her holding back the Nightmares. He was true to his name of Tyger and The Taker nodded his head, and she heard the sound of a large metal chain falling to the ground.

She tried to move, but the two on each side of her gripped her arms even tighter, their claws digging into her skin, blood dripping down her arms. The Nightmares came around slowly like predators stalking their prey. They were the most hideous creatures she had ever seen. They were milky white, completely bald, with no hair on their bodies at all. They had on tattered jeans with no shirts. Their chests were scarred with holes in parts of their upper body. Their arms were rippling with muscles and scars and their faces looked like something out of a horror film. Their eyes were razor thin yellow, their noses only had a hole where their nostrils used to be and they growled like a lion, but only had two long fangs in their mouths with no other teeth to be seen.

The Taker moved in between two of the Nightmares and said, Now, I’m going to ask you one last time. Where is it? Think hard before you answer.

I swear! If I had it I’d give it to you, please….please don’t do this! she screamed.

The Taker stepped towards her and as he did so, the one behind her grabbed her around the waist. The Nightmares surrounded them all in a circle.

She screamed trying to free herself knowing what was going to happen. The Taker moved quickly, grabbing her wrist where her tether was attached. With his free hand, he gripped the tether tightly.

We’ll just have to find out then, won’t we? he said with a raspy disdain in his voice.

No please, she cried, I…

But before she could finish her next sentence pleading she wouldn’t tell, with a forceful yank of his arm, he ripped her tether. The sound of a loud tear, the guttural cry of anguish and an ear piercing shriek echoed from deep within her soul moving throughout the leafless trees and reverberated through the empty stores.

PART I

Chapter 1

Present Day

When I walked in and looked at the whiteboard and saw parallel and perpendicular lines, I died a little inside. I couldn’t stand Geometry, for some reason I just couldn’t get it. I instinctively shoved my hands in the pocket of my orange and black jacket with dragons smattered all over it and headed across the room, past Mr. Holiday who was looking extra mathy in his short sleeve yellow button-down shirt, with a green and orange striped tie and his thick rimmed black glasses.

Good morning Ander, he said extra chirpy.

Even if I wanted to feel moody, I just couldn’t when a teacher said Good Morning. I wasn’t trying to be a teacher’s pet or anything, I just truly liked and cared for people.

I glanced up from the scuffed tile, looking my teacher in the eyes and said, Good morning Mr. Holiday, how are you today?

My grandpa had always taught me to look adults in the eye when speaking to them or being spoken to.

I’m quite well, he said, If I was doing any better, I’d be a sine curve.

I had no idea what he meant so I nodded and politely chuckled and moved across the room to my seat. I swung into my seat in the fourth row and slouched in my chair. My mom had always said if I could find a way to live life on a couch I would. She wasn’t wrong, there’s just something about being comfortable that always spoke to me above anything else. I tried living in warm up pants whenever possible. My mom and I had come to an agreement that as long as I wore jeans one day a week to school, she’d allow me to wear warm up pants on the others.

Before Mr. Holiday even started the lesson, I was already looking out the window. Whoever thought it was a smart idea to make kids go to math class right after lunch was not very smart. Mr. Holiday had started the lesson and was going on and on about some theorems with parallel lines and I could care less. It wasn’t that I didn’t like math, it’s just that I didn’t really care. I mean really, when am I ever going to need to compare parallel and perpendicular lines?

I started to drift, my head bobbing up and down, trying to stay awake but not trying too hard. It had been raining the past few days and was finally nice with a warm sun, but crisp air. The warmth of the afternoon sun made my seat the death seat to stay awake. It was as if the gods above commanded I fall asleep sitting here. It’s not my fault, it’s nature, I thought and with that I was asleep.

At least, I thought I was asleep. But then how did I get outside of the classroom? Where did the sun go? Why did I feel like I wasn’t quite in West Falls? It looked similar, but things were different. I thought the building I was staring at was the school, but it didn’t exactly look like my school. It was a brick building with windows, but several of them were broken. Part of it was burned and the grass field I stood in, only had a single tree in the distance. The field stretched almost as far as I could see, but there were other buildings which looked like a town square off in the distance. Where West Falls High was located, the closest thing bordering it were other homes, not shops.

The sunshine was gone and the cold air was sharper and more drastic. The gloominess was almost unbearable with thick, dark looming clouds looking like they’d unleash a deluge of water at any moment. Was I dreaming, was I awake? I had come to the conclusion I had no idea where I was. It reminded me of several months ago when I was doing dishes and stood up from putting them in the dishwasher and my house had completely disappeared and I was standing in a burned out home somewhere else.

I called out, Mr. Holiday?!? I figured he would hear me somehow.

The clouds above and the sharp, biting air matched the emptiness I felt inside. It was as if the wind carried dread and pain with it.

What is happening, I said out loud, rubbing the back of my partially shaved head, like I usually did when I was thinking.

How can I get out of here? I asked.

I walked up to the window, but there was nothing there. It was just an empty room, which looked about the size of my classroom. It seemed nothing had been here for quite a while and the whole building looked like an old library of sorts. I moved around it trying to find a way in.

I couldn’t find any sort of unlocked door and came back to where I started. I peered in again, but this time caught a glimpse of my reflection. It wasn’t my reflection that startled me, but the being behind me staring at me. I turned and looked off in the distance where it was. Something inside was telling me this was not a creature I wanted to encounter up close. There was a sense of danger filling my stomach pushing aside my lunch. As it slowly moved closer to me like a tiger stalking its prey, it looked like a tall strong man, like one of the football players my grandpa watched. But as it came closer, I could tell it was different.

I assumed it was a he, but his skin looked like it had been painted or bleached and at one point was almost orange. The clothes he was wearing, besides being torn, were all orange. It seemed like he had pointed ears on the top of his head like a tiger. There were two other creatures closing in on each side and they seemed to resemble cats as well, but also humans. Not like that Broadway show, but like actual people just dressed up for Halloween. One was in all black and a bit shorter and skinnier and the other one was all white, but even shorter yet way more ripped. None of them made a sound as they moved closer to me, no crunch of their feet, no noise of movement at all. Then rising up from the tall grass and fanning out on each side of the tiger like one, there appeared three milky white opaque creatures who half walked and half stalked towards me attached to large chains carried by the tiger-like human. I couldn’t tell what they were at this distance, but I knew for a fact I didn’t want to wait and find out.

The growl emanating from the middle one, vibrated my core even as far away as it was. He dropped the chains and I stood there frozen as they fanned out and moved quicker and started sprinting at me like gladiator soldiers did with reckless abandon toward their enemy. I couldn’t move and couldn’t take my eyes off of the demon creatures that had been released. I felt my palms sweating and I looked around for somewhere to run, but there was nowhere to go. Why was this happening to me, where was I, what was happening to my mind?

I did the only thing I knew to do, I started to shout, Wake up! Wake up! ANDER WAKE UP!

I heard Mr. Holiday shout my name at the same time I startled awake, banging my knees on the underpart of the desk. I looked outside to see the sunshine and crisp air once again and no being or creature coming at me.

Ander! Mr. Holiday shouted, What is the answer please?

Mr. Holiday crossed his arms, sitting them on his growing stomach, the buttons pulling on his yellow dress shirt. His eyes were hooded staring at me behind those thick rims, a sense of annoyance written across his scraggly bearded face. His balding head did nothing for his overall image. He waved a hand toward me, Well?

I looked past him at the board and knew the answer right away. Even though I’d just been in a terrifying dream, if that’s what I could even call it. I said, The two equations are parallel lines.

My response wasn’t cocky or arrogant, it was simple, matter of fact. Mr. Holiday glared at me, incredulous I had the right answer. He said with a cough, Good guess. Pay attention.

There were snickers across the room as Mr. Holiday turned around and continued the lesson. Lawrence sat across from me, like he’d been since second grade and leaned over to me and said, Dude, you ok? You’re sweating like crazy.

I simply nodded not knowing how to explain what had just happened.

Chapter 2

I pushed out of class as fast as possible, my backpack feeling heavier than usual. I needed to get some breathing room. As soon as I stepped out of class and turned left towards the bathroom I ran straight into Jacob Charman. If there was one person in the entire six hundred plus student body that I did not want to run into at any time, but especially now, it was Jacob Charman or as I affectionately called him behind his back, Ugh, Jacob C. I can’t stand him.

Jacob was a jock. Not that jocks are bad, a lot of them were my friends, but Jacob had the intelligence of a rock. For some reason all the girls found a blond haired, blue eyed dumb rock, I mean jock so cute. I tried to turn and go the other way, but before I could get away he grabbed me by the collar and said, Hey! Watch it Ant -durr. What, are you stupid? Didn’t your dad ever teach you to look both ways? Oh wait, that’s right…he’s dead.

I hated him, straight up hated him. I never knew why I was the one he focused on. It seemed every bully had one main target and for some reason I was his. Ask anyone in the school and I’m basically everyone’s friend. Any lunch table, any time, any day I could sit with anyone and have a good time, but not him. I truly believe he woke up and looked at his to-do list and there was just one thing always, Torture Ander.

I tried to pull away from him, but he had a good two inches and almost fifty pounds on me and a death grip on my jacket, Where you going? I didn’t tell you you could leave.

He grabbed me with both hands on my shoulders and spun me around, so I had to stare at the empty space behind his eyes. I figured he was just about to shove me up against the wall, when Mr. Holiday came out. By this point a small crowd had gathered, creating a semi-circle in the hallway, where I couldn’t even see the lockers on the other side of the hall. As soon as Jacob saw him, he let me go and put his arm around me with his elbow tightening against my neck like a boa constrictor on its prey. He pulled me closer like we were best friends, but Mr. Holiday stared at the two of us knowing full well we did not get along.

Glancing at me he said, Everything ok here?

Oh yea, everything is great, Jacob said squeezing his arm tighter around my neck, with my hand on his wrist trying to get the slightest of a reprieve.

Still looking at me, most likely seeing my face turning blue and completely ignoring the lying ape, Mr. Holiday asked again, Ander, we good here?

I had two choices run through my mind in about a nanosecond; choice one, tell Mr. Holiday no it was completely all wrong and this knuckle dragging imbecile found his worth in torturing me daily because he couldn’t actually think of anything intelligent to do and then I’d have to go to a plastic surgeon to require facial reconstruction from the pummeling I would take from Jacob C. Or option two, the one I chose, which was to say as dryly as possible, We’re all good.

Mr. Holiday stood there a second longer the whole scene seeming like something out of a western with two outlaws getting ready to draw.

Well then boys, why don’t we get moving along to class. Jacob, I think you have science with Mrs. Gonzalez which is that way, Mr. Holiday said, turning and pointing behind him, And Ander, I think you have study hall down at the library, the other way.

He said this looking over Jacob’s shoulder. Jacob turned and looked thinking someone was behind him and I used that moment as my chance to wriggle out of Jacob’s half head lock. I turned and pushed through the few who were still hoping for blood and moved towards the other side of the hallway and away from Jacob before he could grab me again.

The crowd had thinned now that a teacher had shown up. Jacob stared and took a couple steps towards me, but Mr. Holiday stepped in between and pointed down the hallway, Wrong way Mr. Charman. That way is your class.

Jacob shuffled away and I swear he snorted like a bull as he headed down the hall. He turned back and saw Mr. Holiday standing there staring at him. The crowd was all but gone and as Mr. Holiday turned to me, I could see Jacob walking backwards still staring at me and putting a fist to his face. I was pretty sure it was a threat and not that he was going to hit himself in the face. Mr. Holiday was asking me something, what it was I had no idea, so all I could do was nod my head and say, Ya.

Mr. Holiday gave a concerning look and said, Anytime you need to talk, I’m here.

Thanks, I muttered heading the other direction and stopping in the bathroom. I pushed open the door and checked every stall to make sure no one else was there. Dropping my backpack at the sink, I put my hands on each side of it and took a deep breath as the tears started rolling down my cheeks. There wasn’t one specific reason I was crying, but everything was building up. The crazy life-like dream of creatures hunting me, Jacob torturing me, the consistent reminder of my dad dying on me. Why was all this happening to me? The waterworks were in full effect and I was feeling extremely sorry for myself, when my grandpa popped into my mind like he always did when I least wanted him to.

Instead of asking why me, ask why not me, he’d say in one of his experiential knowledge moments. He always said he isn’t wise; he’s just had more experience.

"That’s the last thing I