It's been a tiring day so I'm looking forward to watching my favourite TV show. Since yesterday I haven't been feeling great. I woke up this morning with a headache, and throughout school I kept feeling dizzy. But my schedule is too busy to bother with a little 'flu'. That's what I think it is, anyway.
I’m already engrossed in the TV. Suddenly I start to feel dizzy again. I sit still, thinking it'll pass in a minute. It did before anyway.
But not this time. The TV literally starts swirling, everything blurs. I stand up, maybe walking around will clear my head. Now nausea is creeping up from my stomach. The wall is swirling too. I try to stay upright but I keep blanking out. I see the walls rising, then the ceiling.
I figure I'm lying down now, but I can't feel anything. I want to scream for help, but my voice won't work. It's like a horrible nightmare. I feel tired, so tired. I decide to close my eyes. Maybe rest will help.
I'm awake now. But I don't know where I am. I hear voices and turn my head. There are shapes swirling around. They look vaguely human. Each one is different. Each one has a different voice. They're all a shade of red. Not blood red, like sun red.
Now I know that I'm not awake. I'm having a bad dream. 'Was it something I ate?' The logical part of my mind searches for a reason. I must have picked up some rare flu or something. But no matter how many things I come up with, I know they're not the reason.
The shapes around me keep changing, growing, shrinking. I try to make out something they're saying. But I can't. Their voices are all mixed together. For some reason, though, I don't feel scared. They seem to be showing me something. Now I notice there's a pattern. No matter how hard I try, I can't make anything out. I find myself wishing I had paid attention in code class.
Suddenly I see something out of the corner of my eye. It's funny in dreams, how sometimes you can have a body, or just eyes. In my case, it's the latter.
There are now different colour shapes. These ones are dark. Darker than anything I've ever seen. Just by looking at them I feel sucked in by their darkness. The dark shapes creep up to the first, red shapes. They don't see them coming, they keep dancing; trying to tell me something. I want to call out, but I can't. It's funny, in my dream I don't realize that I'm not really there. That it's not real. But of course, like all dreams, I believe everything that passes in front of my eyes.
Now the dark shapes rear up. They grab onto the first shapes. The red shapes writhe, trying to shake them off, but the dark hold fast. Soon the red shapes are overtaken. They turn an ugly dark red.
Suddenly I'm aware that they're further away. Things start fading out. I struggle to stay there. I want to see what happens to the good shapes.
Now it's faded back to dark. This, though, is a different dark than the evil shapes.
"Do not . . ." A low voice whispers.
'Do not' what? I cannot talk, so I think it, frantically. But it's too late. I feel myself drifting away from that place.
Once again, I wake up, this time for real. I have my body now, I can feel a cold sweat all over me. Slowly, my eyes flutter open. Sun streams through the half closed blinds and gently onto my face. Sun. Never have I been so glad to see it. After those dark shapes I never want to see the night again.
I think about my dream. No way that could be real. I must have some kind of flu. Hopefully that would be the worst of it.
I'm still lying down, slowing feeling seeps back into my muscles. I wish it didn't. Every part of my body aches. Never have I felt an ache like that. Not even when after the first day of Z-ball practice- but that's a whole other topic.
Carefully, I get up. I flinch at least ten times, but I make it. Everything still aches, of course, but I guess that's what you get for sleeping on the living room floor.
I groan and rub my hands over my face. As I lower them back down something catches my eye. I stare. These aren’t my hands. They’re all wrong, the fingers are too long, and the hands themselves are different looking.
“What the . . .” I murmur.
Forget my pain, I jump to my feet and run to the bathroom. I’m going so fast my feet skid as I turn the corner. I look in the mirror and gasp. My blue eyes and blond hair are gone! Replaced with another boy my age with brown hair, green eyes, and freckles.
“No! This can’t be real!” I cry. My voice is even different. Higher pitched, kind of squeaky. I grab at my new-found hair and stare at my reflection.
I look down, at least my clothes are the same. I’m still wearing the black T shirt and jeans I had on yesterday.
My freckled face is lit up in horror. How did this happen? I can come up with no conclusion. I’ve heard of how rest is good for you, and how sometimes you can wake up as a different person. But not like this! This is impossible.
“I must be dreaming again,” I say. I reach up and slap myself in the face- hard.
“Ow!” Not a dream! Now I wish I hadn’t hit myself so hard. There will probably be a mark there later. What fun it’ll be to explain that in school!
School. I don’t even know what time it is. For all I know it could be one in the afternoon or eight in the morning. Either way, I can’t go to school looking like this. What happens if Dad comes home?
I pace the bathroom’s floor for a few minutes.
Then I think of something; maybe there’s someway to undo it?
Change back I close my eyes and think it. Suddenly I feel a weird sensation, warmth floods my entire body.
Slowly, cautiously, I open my eyes.
It worked. I’m back to my normal self.
I look in the mirror and touch my face, just to be sure.
“Hello?” I say to myself hesitantly. Yeah, it’s me. My voice is back too..
But I also feel drained. It’s like all my energy is gone.
The thought hits me out of nowhere:
This means I have powers.
And shape-shifting powers at that. I shiver. Powers are for freaks. Weird people who just have them. Not so called high-society people like me.
Wow, if Dad found out he’d throw me out the window. Which happens to be seven-hundred stories high. Ouch.
But he’s not. Because he’s not going to find out.
I’ll keep it a secret. It won’t be hard. Not like I’m growing scales or anything. All I have to do is not let anyone get suspicious.
My stomach growls hungrily, I realize that I should probably get breakfast. On my way out to the kitchen, I hear beeping.
"ONE MESSAGE," The TV also doubles as a video-message station. The automated computer voice continues to repeat it. "ONE MESSAGE, ONE MESSAGE,"
"Play message," I say. I to walk over to the couch and sit down.
The screen changes to a picture of my dad. I choke back a shout of alarm. I forgot about that! What happened if he came home last night and found me passed out on the floor?
The message starts playing:
"Kevin, I know this is late, since you're not answering I hope you are in bed," Dad's stern voice says. His icy blue eyes seem to stare right at me. Thank goodness it's a message and not a call. No way Dad could see me like this- no way I could talk myself out of this.
"I'm just calling to tell you I won't be home tonight. There's been a sudden change in shipments"
Dad used 'shipments' in case someone was tapping the signal- highly unlikely- but we still do careful measures just for safety. His work isn't exactly average. He's the head command of a top secret organization. Not saying what.
"So I'll see you tomorrow, get to school on time too, okay?" The message shuts off.
School! I forgot about it.
I look at the bottom of the screen where the time is displayed. It says: 8:30 AM LD. LD stands for light day. It means there's daylight today. Every other day is dark because Nita has a twenty-four hour rotation.
8:30, it takes a second to sink in. That's barely enough time to get ready. If I hurry I just might make it!
And so the mad rush begins.
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So what do you think about the dream thing, the title, sentence length etc.? Any comments are greatly appreciated.
