Eranithia: Prophecies: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Is deja vu possible in a dream? If not, then Mark didn't know what he was experiencing as he ran from the five guys on his tail. He knew he was asleep, but the event from the afternoon was playing a rerun in his head as he passed blurred rows of lockers towards the door, which seemed to get farther away while at the same time the bullies grew closer. Their unintelligible noises, which he used to recognize as words, sounding more like dog snarls and pig grunts than human taunts and torments.

Finally, he reached the door, but when he burst through he was blinded by bright sunlight. Blinking uncontrollably, he raised his hand to block the light. It seemed to surround him rather than beam down from one specific direction. As his eyes adjusted to the light he found himself standing in the middle of the woods. The five bullies who'd been chasing him were nowhere to be found. Neither were the school grounds he should still be on.

Looking back, he saw that the door was gone. He seemed to have stepped...or stumbled, he wasn't sure which...into a different world. The air smelled different. Cleaner. Crisper. The familiar stench of car pollution didn't invade his nostrils.

The air also felt cooler, as if there was more protection from the sun. The temperature alone told him he wasn't in the mountains of southern California, but there was something else as well. For one, the trees were much larger. Also, he felt happy. Happiness was something of a rarity for him. Although, Mark was unsure of why he felt happy. Maybe it wasn't so much happiness as it was peacefulness. He wasn't running for safety. There was nothing to run from as far as he could tell.

Then he heard a voice call his name.

"Mark...Mark..." came a young girl's voice.

“Jennifer?” Mark said, searching for the voice. She was the only girl he knew of that might be looking for him

Mark spun around, looking for the girl calling his name. Then, like something out of a movie, he saw her, glowing as she stepped slowly out from behind one of the massive trees, dragging one hand across the bark as the other hung lazily at her side. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Slender and tall with dark brown hair that ran down the length of her back. Her hair was so dark, it was nearly black.

A soft breeze blew back her silky, shiny hair to reveal sharp, bright blue eyes. Her smooth skin was so white and pale it made her rosy cheeks stand out like red apples in snow.

She wore a long white dress with thin straps over the shoulders. The dress dulled in comparison to the whiteness of her skin. His eyes followed as she stepped gracefully around the tree, looking at him out of the corner of her eye, a flirtatious smile spreading across her red lips.

Taking in the full view of her, Mark noticed that her dress ended just above her thin ankles, revealing her bare feet.

Why is she barefoot? He thought.

Then, as Mark took his first step in the strange new place, he felt cool grass graze the bottom of his feet. Looking down, he found that he was also barefoot. His clothes had somehow transformed. Instead of his black T-shirt, Mark wore a loose fitting shirt made of fine silk, dyed green, with thin leather ties at the collar. Soft, brown leather pants replaced his blue jeans and were held up by a gold colored rope. Grabbing where the rope was tied off, he was surprised at how smooth it was. His new attire felt more relaxed and airy than his old clothes.

The ground he stood on was as soft as his new clothes. Each step he took on the fertile soil felt like thick carpet beneath his feet rather than wet dirt. There were no rocks, and no needles from the tall pines either. Just soft, rich, damp soil beneath the lush green grass.

Looking back up, Mark was again mesmerized by the young girl's face.

She can't be much older than me, he thought

Observing her movements, Mark wondered if she could be a princess. There was so much grace in each step she took. Her arm waved to him fluidly as she beckoned him to follow. A girl had never paid much attention to him before; he didn't know what to do.

Should I follow? He wondered. Can I trust her? I don't even know her...but she's so beautiful. Her eyes are so big and soft. Nothing about her says she's out to hurt me...but then that would be the perfect trap. 

Hesitating due to the knots growing in his stomach and the many thoughts racing through his head, Mark remained in place. But it was as if she had a grip on his soul. His heart ached to follow her. Beckoning him further, it was as if his soul touched hers. The love-struck teenage boy longed to follow her anywhere and everywhere.

Mark decided to follow.

What could go wrong? He thought.

Following the girl through the enormous trees, Mark stepped out into a clearing. A small, beautiful meadow filled with tall grass opened up to him. A pair of small birds chasing each other flew overhead, landing in one of the large trees; Mark barely caught a glimpse of a pair of rabbits hopping out of sight; a red squirrel scampered curiously up and down the trunk of a tree.

Then, as suddenly as Mark had followed the girl into the peaceful meadow, the scene changed. The sky filled with dark clouds; the trees withered as if they'd been on fire; the ground was no longer carpet-soft. Looking down, Mark grimaced as he saw thorns and thistle in the dry ground, cutting into his feet with each step he took.

Mark sensed an evil presence in the air. It was in the trees; in every beast, large and small, around him. Even in the very soil he stood on.

Remembering the girl, Mark spun around looking for her. She was tied to a tree across the clearing. Bruises and cuts covered her beautiful face. He could see the damage done to her from where he stood. Burns plagued her once smooth white flesh from struggling to loosen the thick rope that bound her to the tree.

Taking a painful step towards her, he cried out. Then, simultaneously lifting his foot up and reaching down, he pulled out a two inch long thorn stabbing a half inch into the soul of his foot. He'd never before felt such great pain.

“Mark!” the girl cried.

Looking back at her, seeing her battered face, Mark desperately yearned to free her. So, gritting his teeth he bore the pain of each excruciating step as he hurried towards her.

Only a few steps, Mark, he urged himself.

Circling the tree when he reached her, he couldn't find where the rope was tied off. The rope was seamless! No beginning, no end. There was no way to free her! Scanning the ground, he saw a sharp rock a couple feet away. With one painful step in the thorny ground, Mark reached the rock, then turned back to attack the rope. Mark's efforts were to of no avail. Not a single fiber moved from its place. His heart sank into his stomach.

"Find Seth," she told him. "Only he is strong enough to free me."

Ignoring the thorns he stepped back around the tree to face the girl.

"But I don't know where to look," Mark said desperately, fighting back tears.

"Find Seth," was all she said. She seemed to grow weaker by the second, her eyes slowly shutting. "Hurry..."

Mark sat straight up in bed, trying to regain control of his breathing. His head twisted quickly back and forth as he looked around. A checklist rushed through his mind. He was in his bed, check; in his room, check; in the world he lived in, unfortunately, check. But echoes of the girl's voice still rang in his head. Her voice created questions in his mind. Who was Seth? Who was she? Why was she tied to that dead tree? How did she know his name?

Shaking his head Mark looked at his blank computer screen.

"I gotta stop playing that game," he said, then laid back down, hoping to drift off again.

Jennifer tossed and turned for hours that night. She couldn't get to sleep. All she could think about was Mark, and how to help him deal with his situation. So far, nothing came to mind. Then she found herself getting angry with Mark for being so different. Why couldn't he just be like everyone else and fit in? Then, as quickly as she was angry, guilt ate away at her gut. She stared at the ceiling as her thoughts played out in her mind.

He's the way he was meant to be. The way he wanted to be. Why should he change? He does the things he wants to and likes the things he wants to. He goes against the norm, whatever that is. Why should he have to change to make everyone else happy? It's not like he bothers anyone with his computer games, fantasy books and movies. He could care less what everyone else thought. It wasn't like he tried to get anyone else to be like him. He just did his own thing and didn't worry about anyone else. Besides, who decided what was normal?

Jennifer tried to relax and let herself fall asleep, but nothing worked. So she turned on her light and looked around her room. Jennifer's room was completely different than Mark's. Mark had posters of the different fantasy movies and the bands he listened to pinned to his walls. As she thought about his room she chuckled quietly to herself, recalling the music he listened to.

Mark listened to the scores from his favorite movies as well as local indie acts. Jennifer laughed at what her friends would think if they knew the music Mark typically listened to while he played his computer games—heavy metal. No one would suspect that he liked that particular style of music. Jennifer smiled at the thought that there was a hidden link from Mark's world to hers. She liked all his nerdy ways. She loved her brother just the way he was.

Jennifer continued to gaze around her room. She had posters of actors and actresses, popular bands that all the "cool kids" listened to. Jennifer felt ashamed because there was nothing in her room that made her stand out from the rest of the cookie cutter world she was a part of. Sadness and jealousy grew in Jennifer's heart as a part of her wished she were more like Mark.

Jennifer was more like him than she would ever openly admit to or even realize. Sometimes she would watch him and his friends practicing their battling skills in the backyard, wishing she had the courage to join them.

Something caught Jennifer's eye as she surveyed her room: a book sitting on her dresser, gathering dust. Mark gave her the book on their birthday two years ago. It was the first fantasy book he'd ever read. He always said it read more like a text book, but it'd been Mark's favorite and he had given it to her. By giving her that book, Mark had given her a piece of his heart. Jennifer's heart broke at the realization that at the time, she'd just thanked him politely before setting it aside.

Jennifer ripped the bed sheets off of her, swinging her feet onto the floor. Then, crossing the room she picked up the book from the shelf and as she walked back to her bed she blew off the dust. After sneezing a couple times, Jennifer got back into bed and began reading. It didn't take long before drowsiness began to take over.

The words Jennifer read painted a beautiful scene of a magical land, once full of peace, but now overrun by evil. Something about the words on those first few pages felt real to her. As if she belonged in the place the book so vividly described.

Who's the author? She wondered. Whoever it is, they're amazing. This place seems so real!

Eventually, her head began to nod and the old book fell to the floor. All that could still be read of the title on the faded cover was: THE IST RY F RA THIA.

Jennifer stirred from her sleep. Taking a sleepy look around, she found herself not in her room, but in a forest, surrounded by large pine trees and soft grass that felt more like brand new carpet that had been laid out. The forest Jennifer woke up in was beautiful, unlike anything she had ever seen before. But everything about it felt familiar as well.

How did I get to the mountains? She wondered. And why am I not worried about it? I should be frightened about not being in my bed right now.

Shaking her head and dismissing her questions as if she were having a weird dream, she studied the area around her. Everything seemed to be exaggerated in this strange place. The trees were larger, the colors more vibrant, the smells stronger. Then something distracted her from her observations.

A voice calling her name. A deep, solemn voice. That's when she began to feel a little fear.

A tall man with a long gray beard was standing a few feet in front of her. He wore a dark gray robe with a golden rope tied around his waist. Most wizards, since he was obviously a wizard, typically wore tall pointed hats. But this wizard wore no hat on his balding head. His long gray hair, which crowned his head, fell half way down his torso, which was also where his beard ended. The old man's blue eyes wrinkled in the corners, but there was a twinkle in them that betrayed his age.

"How do you know my name?" she asked as she stood up.

"When you're my age you learn many things," he answered. "But you are asking the wrong question."

"Where am I?" Jennifer asked, expecting more fear in her voice, but surprised by the curiosity, rather than the fear, in her voice.

"In a land you have only begun to hear of, but that is still not the right question."

She thought for a moment, then asked, "Why am I here?"

He smiled warmly at her for figuring out the correct question. Then his expression transformed gravely as he said, "The land is in danger and in need of help. Most of the people are unaware that they are even in danger.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because you know more than you realize. You are special.”

“Special?” she questioned skeptically, but she buried the truth in her heart. She didn't want to accept that she was special.

“Yes, and only the twins can save her."

"Twins? What twins? You don't mean...Not Mark and I?" Before he could answer, the forest dissolved. She could hear the old man saying her name over and over.

"Jennifer. Jennifer..."

"Jennifer," came her mother's voice.

Jennifer sat straight up in bed, her heart pounding a mile a minute. She pulled her disheveled hair from her eyes to get a better look. She was back in her room, her head spinning from the events of her dream.

Her mother sat on the edge of the bed.

She patted Jennifer on the leg and said, "Good morning, sweetheart. Breakfast is almost ready."

The smell of waffles, bacon and sausage drifted into the room, but Jennifer didn't respond. She just continued looking around her room confused.

“Are you okay? You're burning up!” Her mother asked feeling her forehead.

Jennifer just stared back at her mother for a minute, no words formed in her mind.

“Take a shower, you might feel better.”

On the floor was the book she'd started reading the night before. Jennifer shook her head, attempting to erase the memories of her dream. It was just a dream, Jen, just a dream.