Dreams in Depth

  I pull back the Sheets and climb into bed...I lie staring at the clock, watching second after endless Second crawl slowly around the numbers and Lines, letting each tick and Tock provide the monotonous lullaby that eventually Exhausts my already weary concious being. The shades are slowly drawn in front of my Two world viewing windows and soon after, my subconcious mind begins Manifesting sporadic fragments of logic and reality mixed with an Overdose of impossible and improbable events, non-Existent places and people, and a Variety of consequenses. An unseen Force hurls me into the confusion and Chaos and I immediately assume a pre-selected role in the Action.

  In tonights first event, my Identity is given as a teenage male figure with a Mysterious air in my immediate circumference. Clothed in all black, I could Easily blend in to the first location. I find myself in the Dense forest, late at night, with the half Moon and stars providing the only Illumination. It is made clear to me by some unknown Spirit or voice that I should be heading south in order to reach my phantom Destination. Though I search for whatever I am supposed to find for several hours, I never succeed and it never becomes light in my never-ending forest. On my journey over twisted tree roots and through thick Patches of weeds and Thorns, I stumble across what appears to be the Site of a small battle. The weeds are Flattened in places, the surrounding thorns are dotted with Blood and fragments of cloth, and a large, Twisting tree trunk holds a beautifully Detailed knife in its thick bark. I run my finger along the exposed part of the Blade, observing that the Thick, red coating is still wet. As if by instinct, I walk quietly across the blood Spotted ground and veer left, changing my Course from south to south-east.

  Apparently my instincts are correct. I only Walked about one hundred yards before finding a Young girl who was also clothed in Black. Her garments were torn and blood-soaked. The Skin showing through appeared to have had a violent Dance with a razor. The gashes in her flesh were Deep and plentiful. They marked her arms, legs, mid-section, and Face with their Dark, red insignias. All possibilities of her survival Fled my mind as I approached and saw the Extent of her wounds. One of the knife's deepest personalized Canyons ran dangerously close to her right lung. I feared the Worst, still hoping for the best, as I knelt next to her. I held my hand close to her face and Breathed a sigh of minimal relief as I felt a stream of warm air Rush across my palm. As I gently touched her face, the Surrounding wounds disappeared. The longer our skin remained touching, the faster the wounds Melted away. By the lack of shock in my character's Reaction, I judged that this was a Common occurrance. After a few minutes, all the cuts and Gashes were eiter gone or almost completely Healed. As I waited patiently for her to awaken, I gently Brushed a strand of hair away from her mouth. As my thumb traced along her cheek, a small symbol Appeared on her skin. Again, my character did not seem as Shocked by this strange happening as the average, mortal should have been. The symbol that had surfaced was an Image of a sharp ice formation. The image slowly faded from view and as it did so, her Eyes blinked open. The two Bright blue crystals searched my dark eyes for any indication of my intentions. Somehow I felt that I Knew this girl...I just couldn't remember When or where we had met before. She soon recognized me and Smiled. I was feeling rather Guilty for not remembering her name when Suddenly it came to me...Ice. That was what the symbol on her face Represented. She was one of the Many "half-breeds" in this subconciously created World I had visited so often. "Half-breed" meaning that her parents were from Two different clans. The hidden symbol showed her Allegiance to her father's clan. I knew now who she was and where we had met. Her father and I were very Close friends. Unfortunately, Sky was off in battle somewhere, fighting bravely for the freedom of the "Brites" clan. Ice's mother, nicknamed Andy, was from the "Fighters" clan. She had also been Away for quite a long Time and was rumored to have been captured in battle while looking for Sky.

  It appeared now that Ice had been attacked because of her mixed Ethnic background and I assumed that the Attacker was still nearby. I planned to go after whoever it was as soon as Ice had a chance to Regain her strength. She looked up at me now, her ice-blue eyes Beaming at me with gratitude. I smiled back and Helped her up. The instant she was on her feet, she Threw her arms around me, nearly knocking me over. She thanked me repeatedly and then asked, "Any word from my Parents?"

  I sighed and shook my head. "No, not yet...I'm sorry...We're still looking for them."

  Though she held Back the tears, her disappointment was obvious. We stood there for what seemed like eternity, encompased in a Deafening silence that roared in my ears and tortured my very Soul. Suddenly something caused me to look up. Off in the Distance, a huge storm Cloud was rolling in. I could see the lightning's Charge building up inside it, preparing to Bolt down. Ice noticed the strange look in my eyes and turned to See what I was staring at so intensely. The cloud that was now heading rapidly towards us was no Ordinary storm. The clouds were almost white Against the black, night sky and the jagged strands of Electricity contained within were comparable to the bright blue in Ice's eyes. As we stood and watched the Ominous mass move closer and closer to us, the blue Fibers began to ball up in the central part of the cloud. The Light it produced became more and more intense and was soon to the point of nearly Blinding. Just as it reached its peak, the bolt jumped from the cloud to the Ground directly in front of us. The force threw us Backwards, slamming my back into a tree and Landing Ice in my lap.

  Less than a second after impact, I found myself back in my room. The clock was still ticking loudly and the bright headlights of my Neighbor's car were shining in through my window. I quickly Dismissed the synthetic adventure and returned to my subconcious realm. Once again, I am thrown into a Fictious situation however, the location in this event is genuine. I found myself on the third floor of my high school. Like the first situation, my view point is omniscient and the first thing I see is a teenage boy Walking up the middle stairs. Along with his jeans and a T-shirt, he wore a baseball jersey that bore our high school's Colors and mascot. I didn't know him or any of the other students in the Hallway. Several other students were wearing softball and baseball jerseys or other T-shirts with the name and mascot of our School on them. The boy on the stairs looked Directly at me and then turned to the right and headed down the hall to his locker. Everything was going in Slow motion. It took nearly three full seconds for the girl standing to my Left to turn her combination lock once. Another girl walked up behind her and Tapped her on the shoulder. She smiled in response and said, "Hey, you...what's up?"

  They seemed to be the only part of the Scene that was now in normal speed. Everything else remained in a slow, dragging Tempo. The second girl, carrying a handful of textbooks, responded to the Question saying, "Oh not much...just felt like stopping to say 'hi!'. You think you'll get any game time today?"

  The one at her locker removed her equipment bag from her Shoulder and started filling her backpack with her homework. She tossed her long, Blonde hair out of her face as she knelt down to tie her shoelaces and then replied, "I doubt it. I haven't heard of anyone getting hurt so I guess I'll be a Cheerleader today."

  "Well, I'll be right there next to ya'."

  "Cheerleaders Rock!" the blonde Exclaimed and gave her friend an enthusiastic high-five.

  As the girls went on talking about the upcoming Game, my attention was turned to a figure on the stairs. A black ski-mask, black turtle-neck Shirt, black finger-less gloves, black jeans and black Boots covered all of his skin except for his fingers and eyes. Over all of this, he Wore a long, black coat. Strapped to his back was a sawed-off shotgun and on his belt he carried two automatic handguns. For one Reason or another we made eye contact. He seemed to be in another world as her turned and headed towards me. He didn't look as Angry as I would expect someone with those kinds of guns to be, but needless to say, I had no complaints. As our eyes remained locked on each other, he seemed to tell me something. I wasn't sure What it was, but I turned right at the second classroom door and walked into a sophomore algebra class.

  Only a few students were seated in the Room because they were still between classes. The teacher was out of the room And the students were talking to each other so they didn't pay attention to me. I stayed close to the Door and watched the two girls across the hall as the boy in black approached. He reached into his coat and pulled out another handgun. The blonde at her locker was Facing him now, but the other girl still had her back to him. The blonde's mouth fell open and her Friend turned to see what had frightened her. As she wheeled around, the boy opened fire. The first two Bullets went into the girl's stomach, the Third hit the blonde's shoulder, and the fourth went under her ribs. As they fell to the floor, the boy pivoted on his left Foot and headed down the hall towards the now screaming students who had been at their lockers.

  I waited until the echo of gunfire was at the far end of the hall to stick my head out. When I did look out, I saw the boy heading down the end stairs, chasing a boy who was wearing a track, warm-up jacket. When he was out of sight I ran over to where the two Girls lay in a pool of blood. The first one wsa face up, her eyes Frozen open in a dead stare. The blonde was a few feet back, her equipment bag lay across her legs. I carefully lifted it off of Her and set it aside. As I moved it, I noticed two Holes near the bottom. I moved the Material to see inside observing that the metal bat had sharp dent in it. I quickly turned my attention to the wounded girl. It appeared that her bat had Saved her life. The bullet that I thought had gone into her rib cage had only barely nicked her. I then decided that she must have Hit her head on the lockers and blacked out. I looked up At the nearby lockers and sure enough, just a few feew above where her head was now was a dent in the army-Green locker. She seemed to be breathing all right so I didn't panic. It looked as if Someone had pierced her lower lip with a screw driver. Apparently her friend's head had been Thrown back into her chin when she was shot. As I gently took hold of her Hand, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me. She seemed a little startled by me, but I couldn't understand why. Then it hit me...I was dressed in All black (long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and shoes). I quietly reassured her and apologized for startling her. Once she was convinced that I was Harmless, I helped her to her feet and down the stairs.

  As we rounded the Last corner and headed down the last set of stairs, I could see police cars and ambulances outside on the School lawn. The gunman and a few other people were being escorted to the cars in Handcuffs. Several students covered with bloody Bandages were being moved into the ambulences on stretchers. As we stepped outside onto the front steps, we were greeted by several EMT's and frightened teachers who had volunteered to help evacuate the building. One of the EMT's helped the blonde onto a stretcher and started to Wheel her away, but she wouldn't let go of my hand. The EMT looked at me and nodded saying, "You can come too. We could use your help."

  I nodded in response and Followed them out to the street where the ambulence was waiting. As soon as I cleared the trees on Either side of the sidewalk, the sun's bright light nearly blinded me. The Sirens on the ambulances started to wail as we approached and I sat up to find myself, once again, back in my bed. My alarm was beeping loudly and the sun was shining Brightly through the window which had earlier occupied by bright headlights. I reached over and turned my alarm off and Thought to myself, "I hope those dreams don't come true."

  I crawled out of bed and started to get Ready to go for a bike ride. As I headed to the kitchen for Breakfast, my mother announced that someone had called and left a message. As I read what she had scribbled on the coffe Stained business card, my mouth fell open. The call had come from the local hospital from someone I had Never heard of, but I knew who it was. I finished getting ready and rode my bike at Top speed to the hospital. When I found the room number my mom had written down I was greeted by a total stranger who ran up to me with a bright Smile and introduced herself. I looked behind her to the bed and there was the blonde from my Dream. It was her mother who had called saying that she wanted to thank me in Person for saving her daughter. The three of us sat and talked for several hours. We watched the news for updates on the other injured students who had been taked to Different hospitals. The reporters called the shooting a "copy-cat crime" because of the other Recent school shootings in other states. So far only four students From our school were dead and nearly thirty others were injured. Later that evening, all three of us were Invited to a press conference at City Hall. When one of the reporters called on me to give my Account of the event, I received thunderous applause from the students and parents in the audience. The applause soon faded into a strange banging sound and I sat up to the Realization that it had been another dream. My dad was pounding away at my door Yelling for me to get up before I missed breakfast.