Chapter 13 - Violet Eyes

Violet Eyes

 “You have great power within you, violet eyes. I runs through your blood like the fire that you fear, itching at your fingertips, just waiting to be released. Do not be afraid for those that have passed. They beat the drum of your heart.”

He touched me where my heart should be, and I recoiled back from his cold touch. I managed to choke out the words, “My name is Eli.” My throat was dry and phlegm-y from crying.

“I know,” Nightmare began, pulling his hand back. He took hold of my right wrist and pushed back my sleeve to reveal a tiny dream catcher and two runes etched in black into my skin. I looked at them in shock. It was not there before.

“The sand has marked you, claimed you when you set eyes on the Other world. You were probably so upset, you didn’t feel it. The dream catcher means you are a Dreamer. You are one of us now.”

I just sat, my voice stuck in my throat. Nightmare used his other hand to point to the two runes below the dream catcher.

“The sand also named you. It does not name all of us. Like I said, it has chosen you. Violet Eyes. The feather falling between the two runes means you have a partner in the Dream World… linked usually through fate or prophecy…”

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Alec.

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Sweet Dreams.

May Nightmare Spare You.

Chapter 12 - Blood to Spill, Souls to Save

Blood to Spill, Souls to Save

"Look at what you've done! You're way too powerful for your own good. You're a freak of nature. You must be destroyed." Trevor's mother spoke monotonously.

The words resounded in my brain, they were familiar. She continued to walk towards us, one step at a time. Slow. I heard her shoes tap on the hardwood floor. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. And I remembered Nightmare in my dreams; his shoes clicking excruciatingly slowly on the whitewashed floor. Click. Click.

I shook my head trying to shake the image of Nightmare out of my mind. "Mrs. Kale, please stop and think about this. We can talk. Don't do this. Someone needs to call 911 before your husband dies of trauma. Please, Mrs. Kale, think!"

Trevor's mother just shook her head once sharply. "No, no Eli. I've done enough thinking on this. I've made my choice. What's one life, one body cleansing itself of its treachery so it can be eternal forever? The soul is a black thing, sin scrawled upon its walls. But none is as black as yours. Yours is as black as the night that knows all. I'm right, you know. They've told me, the ones who whisper in the darkness, the makers of dreams. They've told me what you are. They told me what you've done to my Trevor. You need to die."

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As predicted.

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Sweet Dreams!

May Nightmare spare you!

Chapter 11 - Painful Memory

Painful Memory

I pulled my covers up closer to my face and clutched the little purple dream catcher in my hand. Slowly I let my eyes flicker shut.

My vision was ridden with the sharp red lines, cutting and burning my heart into a million pieces, worse than any sunrise fire could do. I could see the blinding lights, my hands pulling up in front of my face, the mere seconds that had felt like an eternity, and those eyes… those eyes I will remember forever, though I only saw them for seconds before fate ripped them away.

I could feel the soft tears starting to flow again. My head ached, my heart burned, and the pain was too much. I couldn’t take it. I started to sob and I mentally wiped away the images on my vision, searching for the way back to the white world.

I wanted Nightmare to be waiting there on the other end for me.

I was ready.

I wanted to die.

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Missing you.

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Sweet Dreams!

May Nightmare spare you.

Chapter 10 - Dark Realities

Dark Realities

"I can't. She'd kill me if she found out." Trevor said, his voice breaking.

"She?" Skye asked. "Ok, that's a start. Can you tell me anything else about her?"

"Shit." Trevor swore.

"Do I know her, Trevor?"

There was deafening silence for a moment, Trevor thinking and Skye waiting eagerly. It was getting harder and harder to sit here, just waiting.

"How is Uncle Luke?" Trevor said.

Skye just rolled her eyes. "Come on, Trevor just tell me. Don't change the subject."

It was Trevor's turn to roll his eyes. Then he strained them in a way to suggest that the subject of Skye's dad wasn't off topic. He asked again, "How is Uncle Luke?" I figured it out. It was a clue. Trevor was trying to get her to guess.

It took Skye a moment, but I think she figured it out. "Uncle Luke is fine..." she said suspisiously. "How are Uncle Jake and Aunt Kit?"

Trevor never looked at Skye when he spoke, he looked down at the ground. "Dad is fine. He came home today. But not until... but not until a while after my Mum dragged me home from going to see Eli in the hospital."

Skye looked away and took her hands off Trevor's shoulder. She placed them on the wheel, but she seemed very uncomfortable. She traced the entire circumference of the wheel before she spoke.

"Did... did she do this to you?" Skye asked, her voice shaking.

Trevor said nothing. Skye was crying now, her silent tears glowing on her cheeks in the light from the street lamps.

"How?" she asked despretely. "How could your mother do something like that to you?"

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We all have secrets.

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Sweet Dreams!

May Nightmare spare you.

Chapter 9 - Would you want to know?

Would you want to know?

The truth was, I dreamed of angels. Well, actually, one angel. She told me things, horrible things, perhaps the kind one never wants to hear. But for some reason, I found them reassuring. She said she was a prophet of the lord, but I didn’t believe her. She told me anyways. She told me how I was going to die.

The first night she said the details were sketchy, perhaps it wouldn’t play out exactly as planned. It bothered me that my death would be planned, that life would be planned. She said it wasn’t something I could change. Then she left.

The second night, I asked her what she knew. She told me. She said it would not be painless, peaceful, or merciful. She said I would not die in my sleep, but murdered by accident. Quick, but excruciatingly painful. I would die in the arms of someone I loved. She left me to my thoughts.

The third night, I asked how I would be murdered. She said it involved knives and could tell me no more. She didn’t stay long that night. I battled with nightmares.

The fourth night, I asked why I died. She said it was complicated. But she told me anyways. She said I would die for someone I loved, but it would not be I who saved her. It was not my time. But she said my turn would come soon enough, when only I had the power to save her from the darkness. When I asked her how I could save her when I was dead, she said certain gifts are only bestowed in the afterlife. Until then, I could only soar high and watch from the stars. She left me puzzling.

She didn’t return again.

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Trevor's point of view

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Sweet Dreams!

May Nightmare spare you.

Chapter 8 - Fearless

Fearless

Then suddenly, something locked. I could feel it too, like the electricity in the air had gone static, setting every nerve on end.

Trevor tipped me back, his hand behind my head, leaning on his elbow for support as he leaned closer to my face. My eyes were locked on his, I didn’t know what he was doing, I couldn’t think and I didn’t care.

I didn’t close my eyes until he did, and soon his lips brushed mine, carefully, like a taste.

I could feel the emotion in the air change; he was hesitating, thinking now. He had gotten this far, and I wasn’t about to let him turn back. I reached my hand up and gently stroked the back of his neck, resting my hand at the base. I gently gave him a little shove towards me and he gave in, kissing me full tilt. I kissed him back, there was no way I was turning back now either.

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Go Trevor Go!

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Sweet Dreams!

May Nightmare spare you.

Chapter 7 - Ink & Napkins

Ink & Napkins

...Don’t worry. I won’t let him attack you again.

By now we needed a new napkin to write on. Tracy brought me another.

Oh really?

I felt touched and almost utterly safe now that I knew this strange angel was watching out for me. I had never felt such safety before. I looked up at him as Tracy skated over to pass him the new napkin. He was smiling playfully at me, looking me straight in the eyes passionately from under the brim of his fedora, and just then fear struck through me. The expression plastered on the angel’s face as he twirled the pen like a baton through his fingers brought me straight back to the nightmare. It was the look plastered on Nightmare’s face as he inched closer to me that first time. And now it was on my angel’s.

But the expression broke as Tracy stopped at his table, and he smiled up at her and mumbled a thanks sweetly to her, making her swoon.

He read the message I wrote and rolled his eyes. I finished off what was left of my milkshake as I watched him. Seconds later, Tracy was bringing the napkin back.

Yes really. In fact, you have the whole Gathering looking out for you now after the incident this morning. It’s going to be ok. He’s not going to lay a finger on you again while we can help it.

Oh, but you said he will attack other people too, not just me. Why aren’t you protecting them?

Listen Eli, there is something you have to understand. Nightmare isn’t just some rebel causing havoc. Eli, this is a war. And in war you can’t save everybody.

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Hello Alec

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Sweet Dreams!

May Nightmare spare you.

Chapter 6 - Table Talk

Table Talk

Who is he? What does he want with me? What’s wrong with me? How am I having nightmares in the middle of the day? Am I not getting enough sleep? Why did I pass out in the middle of class? Those eyes...endless blue eyes...

I shook my head and threw up mental walls to my thoughts, frantically searching for something to concentrate on and divert my thoughts to. My eyes landed on the luke warm mug of coffee in front of me. I stared into the disgusting brown liquid. I don’t know why I ordered coffee. I hate it. As I started to daydream, seeing patterns and shapes in the liquid, I wrapped my hands around the cold mug and forced myself to take a sip. I scrunched my eyes closed and forced myself to swallow the horrid, bitter taste. It felt like I was swallowing something worse than cough medicine. I’d compare it more to drain cleaner. How can people drink this stuff?

I shuddered as I managed to keep down the revolting liquid. I opened my eyes to see a rather bulky man sitting across from me, stubble on his double chin and a baseball cap backwards on his bald head. He wore shabby clothing, and looked like he probably hadn’t taken a shower in a couple days. He smiled brilliantly at me, a full set of white teeth. At least he brushes his teeth, I thought.

His frame shook with hearty laughter as he saw my appalled expression. I forced myself to smirk, and I leaned away from the table.

“Don’t like coffee?”
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Dreamer and Human

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Sweet Dreams!

May Nightmare spare you.

Character - Stephen

Stephen

Side Character

29

Stephen has a very small role for most of the story, acting as one of Seth's henchmen. However, after a rather dramatic climax, crosses the floor and re-joins the Gathering he was once a part of. He is/was a farmer in reality and knows his weapons well. He seems to have had a negative nature when the reader first meets him, but he knows which side he's on. Stephen stands five foot one and has brown eyes. His hair is blonde with blue streaks. He loves to fight and likes to be on the winning side of things, but he absolutely hates being put down.

Character - Jake

Jake

Side Character

34

Jake is another side character that not much is known about. He is Trevor's father, Kit's husband, Skye and Sidney's Uncle, and Luke's brother. His occupation is a trucker, and he is bald with a strong build. He has hazel eyes. He seems to care much for his son, even though he is not around frequently. Trevor's tells him often of Eli, and Jake likes her very much. When Kit murders Trevor, Jake also dies as a result of injuries previously inflicted by his wife.

Character - Luke

Luke

Side Character

40

Luke is one of the side characters, a member of the Gathering. He is Skye and Sidney's father, as well as Trevor's uncle and Jake's brother. He is a Dreamer, though he does not seem to have mastered the graces that tend to accompany people in the Dream World, and is a bit of a klutz there. He has a sense of humor, and can fight when needed, but he prefers not to and has a softer side. Although he is funny, he tends to be quieter and self reserved. He's fairly tall and lanky, standing 6 feet tall. He has green eyes like his children and his nephew. He's almost as paranoid as his youngest daughter, but he's learned to control this to an extent. He is one of the characters that does not make it to the end, but dies while trying to take revenge on Nightmare for killing Sidney.

Character - Nick

Nick

Major Side Character

Male

20

Nick is one of the few members of the original Gathering that actually stays on the good side of things after Seth’s reform, making him a primary side character. Nick goes out to find Alec and restart a new Gathering to combat Nightmare. He was the youngest of the original Gathering, but is now one of the oldest. He loves everything electronic and technical, and likes to wear suits and dress shirts. He stands about five foot five and has spiky black hair and brown eyes. Soon after Eli joins the Gathering, Nick comes across Skye for the first time and falls instantly in love with her. During one of the Gathering’s battles with Nightmare, Nick blindly rushes into Skye’s dream to save her, almost getting himself killed in the process. Nick and Skye hold a steady relationship for most of the novel once meeting each other.

Character - Trevor Kale

Trevor

Major Side Character

Male

14

Trevor is more or less an important side character, appearing as Eli's boyfriend for the first part of the story. Trevor is a fairly average guy, though unpopular and shy, and extremely timid when it comes to dating Eli. But by following her example, he gains his courage, and eventually does kiss her. He loves Eli more than anything and would go to any length to save her, which is exactly what he does. His shy nature seems to be attributed to the fact that his mother (Kit) abuses him, and his father (Jake) is rarely around. He tries very hard to hide the abuse from everyone, but is eventually found out by Skye one night, and Eli finds out after eavesdropping on this conversation. Eli also mentions Trevor's aversion to blood and injury, though he is a klutz like her. One interesting thing about Trevor is that he knows how he will die but not when, after an angel (Clockwork) tells him what will happen. Oddly however, Trevor does not seem to be afraid of this death, and seems to personify it as freedom. Trevor is short for his age and stands about five foot one, only a little taller than Eli. Eli frequently likes to call him by the pet name Trev. His biggest fear that people will find out that his mother is abusing him, and feels like it shouldn't be anyone else's problem but his own. He has messy blond hair that is almost curly, and green eyes like Luke, Skye, and Sidney. Luke is his uncle and Skye and Sidney are his cousins.

Character - Seth

Seth

Antagonist

Male

34

Seth is the primary antagonist in this story and falls into this role purely out of fear and accident. Little is known about this time until later in the story, and he emerges as Nightmare to Eli, the name he has chosen to take on. Previous to the story's beginning, Seth had an affair with Clockwork, making Alec his son. Seth used to be the leader of the Gathering, but when the prophecy was made, he panicked and started working on hunting down and killing his son, the only way he believed he could stop the prophecy. But in turn, he ended up becoming the monster he was trying to prevent himself from becoming, killing some of the most powerful Dreamers in the Dream World to power his crazed hunt. As he did so, he became very powerful and it went to his head. He is still extremely hind sighted and doesn't see the monster he is, but he is enjoying the rule he has over the Dream World, and at the beginning of the story, it seems as though he wants to keep it that way. He's very controlling, and knows his enemies, using his powers to put constrictions on Clockwork, and watching the new Gathering's every move. He is also extremely persuasive, and is about six foot two. He has mesmerizing electric blue eyes, and short cropped, spiky black hair tipped with red. He appears to have a very demanding and negative outlook on life, but like all great villains, he's really just afraid. He loves power, but his biggest fear is becoming a monster, though he has already become that.

Character - Alec

Alec

Main Character

Male

17

Alec is the other star-crossed main character of this story, and one of two love interests for Eli. He's a leader, though he puts his team first. He's strong willed, quick witted, observant, and an excellent fighter. When Seth split the Gathering and turned evil, Alec became the leader of the new Gathering when he turned fourteen. He is the son of Seth and Clockwork, making him a demi-god. He was born in the Dream World and lives there, rather than in our reality. However, with the aid of his mother, he can make trips to our world. He stands about five foot six, and has messy, semi-long, black hair. His eyes used to be electric blue, but they turned purple not long before the start of the story. He has a very formal, organized outlook on life. He loves music, and anyone who can spend time with him in the lonely Dream World, especially his eventual girlfriend. His biggest fear is confronting Nightmare on a personal level.