It’s the same dream. It always is.
A knight stands in the midst of a battlefield. His palms curl into the inside of his fist, and sweat guides itself along his face from behind the helmet. This is the battle where he dies, the knight’s final stand. Despite this, he carries on while knowing all the people who follow him will meet the same fate.
He tries not to look, but the dream forces his eyes to stay open. His friend’s eyes remain closed, their faces almost featureless, like a mask covers them just out of sight. His brother, however, is clear as day, and his broken body fills his mind with unimaginable grief. It’s a grief that he’s become far too used to as he’s seen this battlefield many times before.
Over and over, his blade crashes against a new enemy standing in his way while his killer stands at the top of a mound of bodies. This killer is the one who took everything away from him, and yet no anger builds in his swings. It’s the continued grief that there was no other way to resolve this tragedy beyond bloodshed.
His heart pounds with every step, each beat so fierce it feels as though it might burst from his chest at any moment.
It’s always the same as he reaches the killer.
When he takes that final step, his heart finally gives out. Ripped from his chest in all but a literal way, the knight stares to see the killer. That singular pause is what decides everything. It’s a betrayal that stings worse than the sword that plunges into his stomach shortly after.
The knight’s own blade takes down his killer, and the final few breaths afforded to the young knight are used to secure a future he’ll never see. All of his family, friends, comrades, and dreams die in a moment that he can never truly understand. After all, he’s lived through the moment hundreds of times, and he’s never come close to understanding their purpose.
But it doesn’t matter. Because it’s all a dream.
His eyes begin to crack open, and the blinding sunlight radiates from the window, searing into his eyes. Squinting, he rolls over on the bed and lets out a groan of defeat after another night of restless sleep. His eyes follow his body as he rolls, landing on the tilted calendar hung on the wall. An unenthusiastic comment follows the reminder that it’s the first day of Sophomore Year. “Great,”
Freshman year was just about as life-changing as everyone said it would be, and Aaron Jay was sick of it. Sure, at the beginning of the year, he had been excited to join the clubs and involve himself as much as you could. That was before the world reminded him just how much Lady Luck enjoyed using him as a punching bag.
As he finds himself crawling out of bed, he can feel the haze of the restless nights settling over his body with a dizzy dance of his legs trying to find their footing. He stands at the door of his closet, the night’s burden weighing on his shoulders just as much as it did on his mind. Aaron rationalizes that he probably moves around a bunch while he sleeps; he’s always left waking up sore and exhausted. Despite that, there’s a part of him that wonders what sort of Olympic performance he gives to make his body so sore while sleeping. Whatever it is, it’s something he’d most likely want to keep to himself.
After getting dressed, he opens his bedroom door and stops about halfway. Stalling in the doorway, he takes a moment to recognize how much life has changed. He and his brother, Elias, used to share a room. It was congested, but they got along. Elia’s bedroom was now across the hall from Aaron’s with a bathroom placed between them.
He never realized how much he would miss it.
They now live in a two-story home on the opposite end of town. It’s a mansion in comparison to where they used to live.
Eight months. That’s how long it took for everything to chang
*SLAP*
A hand quickly imprints itself into Aaron’s back as he takes a step towards the bathroom. Aaron’s sudden pain is met with a pitiful battle cry that is heard and returned with the laughter of his younger brother.
Elias stands behind Aaron, cracking his fingers and with a large grin written across his face. He’s chosen to wear his signature ‘Mell-Hero’ hoodie that still looks like it’s been through too many different circles of hell to be worn in public. “Nice scream. Ten out of ten!”
“Shut up, you just caught me off guard!” Aaron elects not to respond further as the teasing continues and instead pushes past Elias to get into the bathroom. He twists the knob on the sink and watches as the cold water begins to fall. Aaron reaches down, picking at it and washing it over his face. Relief washes over the troubled boy, and he lets himself take a second to collect his thoughts before the start of the new year.
Freshman year brought so much change, but change can be good, right? Aaron’s thoughts drift to Elias and how much better he seemed to be at this than he is. Maybe it’s not so impossible for him. If Elias can do it, maybe there’s a chance that he could feel normal again.
Normal. Even as the thought crosses his mind, he can’t help but scoff. There was never going to be a normal day again. He would have to find something new to call normal.
With his face washed and the fog in his mind beginning to clear, Aaron returns to his bedroom and begins prepping his school bag with everything he needs for the first day.
His bedroom remains the very model of a well-adjusted teenager. He plays the part well. But it was, in fact, a little too clean. Most of Aaron’s things were still left unpacked under the bed, including a rather large collection of trophies. His thoughts rest on them for a moment, recalling the thrill of the Kendo and Fencing tournaments he would travel nationally for. He wasn’t good enough to get first place, but just good enough to qualify for such prestigious events.
That was a lifetime ago, but he could still remember holding that abrasive stick in his hands for hours, mindlessly vertically swiping forward. The real thrill for Aaron came in the tournaments where he would be up against someone as skilled as him, being forced to outmaneuver the other with techniques you can’t teach, and instinct you can’t learn.
Just as he begins to recall his favorite fight, a voice calls out to Aaron that snaps him out of the dream-like state he had found himself in. “-Aaron~! Aaron-” A cheerful woman now stood at the entrance to his bedroom door and looked into the room with a bright smile. “Oh, there you are! Are you hungry for some world-famous pancakes? Carmen took Lyla to school, so you and Elias get extra!” Her energy is contagious and packed with a smile to send Aaron out of his gloom for the morning.
“I’ll be right there. Just getting my bag ready.” Aaron’s return smile seems to cause her world to brighten a bit more as she turns around and skips down the steps to the kitchen below.
He takes a final look around the room before grabbing the backpack and heading downstairs.
Aaron is nearly knocked off his feet by the sweet smell of syrup and melted butter as a stack of three pancakes is placed onto a plate for him. “Thank you,” He says sincerely.
“Of course! We need to make sure you boys stay fed for your big day back to school!” She speaks in such a way that there isn’t much room to disagree. Aaron didn’t feel like arguing anyways. Staying cooped up in the Leoni’s home for the whole Summer was the last time he was going to let what happened continue to shape his life.
Thankfully, the pancakes look heavenly.
“I mean they’re not burnt, so that’s already an improvement over Dad’s cooking.” Elias whispers with a whimsical accent to enforce the idea that he’s just joking. He already had half of a pancake stuffed into his mouth if that wasn’t enough evidence of his nature. As he finishes stuffing his face, he leans his arm over the table and a curled mock of a smile forms. “Excited for the first day of school? I’m sure you’re just itching to go see your girlfriend.”
“Who-?” Aaron’s confusion turns into a glare. “She’s not my girlfriend,”
“Could have fooled me last year,” Elias puts his hands up in surrender.
“That was last year,” Aaron replies coldly. Elias knew very well that it wasn’t last year. How could they forget? “I’m still having trouble sleeping,”
Elias’s eyes turn from an uncaring jokester to a caring brother as he moves his plate out of the way. “The same dream?” Elias asks, to which Aaron quickly nods in confirmation. The brother sighs and rubs his temples. “You have to tell someone sooner or later. You could be going through, like, a complete psychotic break.”
“I’m not going crazy Elias,”
“Sure you’re not, but don’t you think it’s a little concerning?”
Naturally, it was concerning, but what good would talking to someone actually do? The dream had haunted him for what felt like forever now. Although, it hadn’t been forever. He had only had the dream for eight months. Any trained or well-meaning adult would probably hear that and immediately think, “This kid needs a padded cell” or “He’s just still sad”. That was out of the question, not just for Aaron’s sake, but primarily for Elias. He wouldn’t handle himself well if his brother was suddenly shipped off to who-knows-where. “It’ll pass,” Aaron says loud enough for himself and to try comforting his brother. “Besides, what’s more concerning is how that hoodie is still somehow holding together after all these years.”
“Come on, it’s a classic!” Elias said. Despite being the younger of the two, Elias always seemed like the older child until the subject came around to his favorite local legend.
‘Mell-Hero’ was a story that started to make the rounds back in the 1970s, when Mellgreen was still largely under construction and had just barely been founded by the immigrants who fled Italy.
The story went that the hero saved the town from monsters before valiantly being struck down in a final effort to keep the peace with the land. Over time, it turned into a local attraction. There’s even a statue in the hero’s honor standing proudly in the center of town with a small set of gift shops scattered around it.
“I’m not saying don’t wear the hoodie, but I’m also saying it might be time for a new hoodie.”
Elias responds with a guttural sigh of disapproval and continues to eat away at the food before an overwhelming honking noise can be heard from outside the house. The brothers both jump out of their seats and begin hurriedly grabbing their bags. They can just barely hear the shouting of Mrs. Leoni telling them to have a wonderful day at school as they get ready for their turn to be picked up.
A standard yellow bus sits in the street, labeled Mell-Liberty High School. The school sits towards the center of town and was one of the first buildings constructed during the founding of Mellgreen, Washington. The campus covers a large area, containing three large facilities, including one for elementary and middle school kids. Aaron’s mind rests on the layout of the campus. It felt a lot more like home to him than a prison. All he had really done when he started high school was move about 50 yards to the new building.
*SMACK*
“You’re spacing out again, astronaut. It’s too early in the morning to be wandering the stars.” Elias grumbles after having successfully flicked Aaron’s forehead. He rubs the spot where he was flicked and shoots a glare towards Elias, only to see the bus doors having been opened for them both.
“Sorry, sorry.” Aaron apologizes as the bus driver rolls his eyes and points inward to the bus. Aaron finds himself feeling at odds as he boards the bus. Normally, he’s better at paying attention; maybe it’s the day. Maybe all the change is getting to him. It is the first school year without him. It still doesn’t feel real, but Aaron knows that the only thing he can do now is to keep moving forward. That’s what everyone keeps telling him anyways.
Aaron doesn’t get more than two steps into the bus before the world begins to spin, and that’s just before the pain hits.
Pain shoots up his legs and knees like a virus, a burning sensation following quickly as it feels like a rushing fire has been lit inside his body. Sweat beads down his face as he reaches out to try and brace himself before falling to his knees. The world grows dark around Aaron, and everything is gone in a blink of an eye.
“What just happened?” A deep ringing fills his ears with the song of death. It’s all that can be done to keep his eyes open, but nothing makes sense. “What’s going on?” The floor seems so far away despite his knees and body falling against it. His hand reaches out like a hot flame and burns a hole through his perception of reality as his fingers begin to stretch unnaturally. His chest convulses as it tries to find any air to breathe. With no success, the body seems to betray itself and turn on the young boy. The fog beaten away by the smiles and cheer of the new day returns, and darkness overtakes him. “Where am I?”
Their eyes open to a blank canvas of white light, their body standing out against it in a ghostly red hue. But as their vision adjusts to the radiance, it becomes clear that other colors exist in the surrounding space. Wispy auras of green, blue, and black drift nearby. Aaron attempts to speak, to reach out, but there is no mouth to speak, no voice to be heard.
A sudden grip of fear takes hold as he tries to move. Nothing responds to him. No amount of effort spent wiggling his toes, or screaming at the top of his lungs seems to cause his ghostly shape to move from it’s spot.
Then, without warning, his strange, wispy form starts to drift. Looking toward the other colored auras, he could see the shapes stretching, the colors beginning to meld together. His own red form began the same transformation, stretching outward with no physical sensation following it. The blinding white light shifts into a foggy presence, pulling away from the void as his eyes open. It feels like the first time he’s seen anything in days.
His eyes are greeted by a series of flashing lights accompanied by the overwhelming sound of an alarm blaring. It’s a sensory overload made worse by the room he’s found himself in.
It’s all made from what looks to be metal, floor to ceiling. Along the walls are these elaborate electronic displays flashing all kinds of warning signs towards the center console.
This center console is more than a large circular command chair outfitted with a set of controls; it was also the seat of the most stunning woman Aaron has ever laid eyes on. Despite this, he can feel his vision pulling him away from the girl and towards a large window opening up to the Earth.
Aaron resists the pull of this odd vision and tries to focus on her again. Her face appears to be soft and youthful, likely around the same age as the observer, but that wasn’t what caused his intense need to continue to see her. It wasn’t the striking short black hair, nor the scar tracing a path down her cheek. It wasn’t the purple coat she wore, which could easily be mistaken for armor or some kind of uniform. It wasn’t even the complex mixture of fear and resolve etched into her expression, as if she bore the burden of something far larger than herself. What held the observer’s attention, what locked them in place, was the unmistakable hue of her skin: a deep, distinctly dark blue.
Their eyes meet as the girl looks up. Her brow furrows, and for a brief moment, it seems as though she can see him despite that feeling impossible.
Then, just as quickly, the observer’s focus is wrenched away, his eyes forcibly turned from the girl and directed through the massive white window ahead. It felt deliberate, as though the force that had brought him here understood that their gaze wasn’t as honed or disciplined as the other colors. It let him have that moment. A quiet ache lingers, a longing to return to the girl’s bright yellow eyes, but his vision was now locked onto something else and they no longer had the same power to resist.
Only now did the truth dawn on them. This was no simple room. The city beyond the window was rushing toward them, growing larger by the second. A fiery glow had engulfed the chamber; it wasn’t a building they were inside. It was a ship, and they were crashing.
Panic rises as Aaron instinctively tries to brace himself, to shut their eyes, to shield themselves, but no part of their will has any effect. Helplessly, they are forced to watch the impact unfold. In the same instant they wish to be anywhere else, the ship slams into the forests outside of the small and familiar city, erupting in an explosion. What follows is chaos, an overwhelming storm of images, symbols, and sensations that flood Aaron’s mind. Everything blurs together, twisting perception into something unrecognizable, a disorienting barrage of flashing memories and incomprehensible signs.
Images are forced into Aaron’s mind. He writhes in pain as a torrent of water destroys buildings laid in it’s path. The mountains of Mellgreen and a cave nestled in the darkness, protected by the secrets of the town. A pair of eyes beckon Aaron forward, a blue fire encompassing each of his steps towards a burning embrace. His sword, the one that won’t leave his dreams, is in his hands as he faces off against a beast ten times his own size. And, finally, he sees himself communing with a shadow that seems almost to grin. His mind is ready to pop, overwhelmed and shattering from the weight of this vision.
At the end of what feels like a hundred terrible omens, Aaron catches himself in the explosion once more. He has no ears to hear what follows, but with the ability to move once more, he turns behind him to find the girl gone and the starship emptied. It sits as nothing more than a crater in the ground.
Aaron can feel some control over his body returning and the dream around him beginning to fade. He reaches out with his hand towards the console, but his hand lands on the metal floor of the school bus all over again. A shiver runs up the boy as he lies there on the floor, looking at his hand in fear.
“Hey, kid, come on! We don’t have all day!” A harsh, gravelly voice barks out. The boy’s head feels like a mixing bowl, but he manages to nod towards the bus driver. After glancing back, he turns forward to process the fact that the girl and ship he had been so focused on were completely gone. In its place sat a regular bus seat, occupied by a bus full of kids giving him a puzzled look.
Aaron’s gaze finds Elias at the end of the bus, trying to distance himself Aarons new psychotic break and trying to laugh to his friends. He watches as his brother raises up his finger and twirls it around his temple. “He thinks I’m crazy,” Aaron lets that thought echo for the moment, even as the bus driver shouts further insults in his direction.
“Hello? Do you wish to sit here?” The boy beside the empty seat asks, ripping Aaron out of his own thoughts.
“Hi? Yes, sorry!” Aaron replies, giving a sheepish apology to the bus driver before sliding into the seat. Almost instantly, the bus pulls away from the curb and rumbles out into the open street. “What just happened to me? Maybe I really am losing it.”
“What is your name?” Came the next question from the boy, spoken with such intentional avoidance of contractions that it turns Aaron’s mind away from the vision immediately. Aaron turns toward his seatmate, studying him more carefully.
“Aaron,” He finally answers. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Did you just recently move?”
“You could say that,” The boy responds cryptically. “It is a temporary arrangement,”
“Well, I hope Mellgreen doesn’t bore you to death in the meantime. And… thanks for the seat.” Aaron says before leaning back in his chair, and then getting a quizzical look. “I’m sorry, my brain is rattled. What was your name?”
“Suijin Tema. It’s nice to meet you. Do not worry, I believe the town will give me plenty to do.” He replies with a smile. Intelligence shines behind his glasses, and his light green eyes shimmer with curiosity. He shuffles closer suddenly, their shoulders bumping into each other, before he bends forward to retrieve a book from his bag. “Stay right there.”
“W-what are you doing?” Aaron asks, trying to find his footing in the conversation and world, but the boy next to him wasn’t helping.
“I just had the oddest experience, and I need something to write on,” Suijin said with a grin. “That, my new friend, is you.” Without hesitation, he presses the notebook against Aaron and begins scribbling furiously, launching into some bizarre, frantic process while Aaron sits motionless, silently pleading for the bus to reach its next stop.
Aliens, spaceships, white voids, and bizarre dreams, it was all beginning to blur together. Maybe Elias was right. Maybe he was going crazy. But it didn’t feel crazy. It had felt real, grounded in a way dreams usually weren’t. Then again, that’s probably what a lot of crazy people convince themselves of even as they’re losing their grip on reality. Still, the ghostly figures continue to stain his memories as something he won’t soon forget. And that building… the explosion… the girl with the blue skin…
The problem was that it felt real.
Aaron’s head spins as he tries to keep everything in focus, but just as he seems to start settling down, his body throws him up from his seat. He looks ahead to see that the bus had stopped just outside the school. Out of habit, he stands up without thinking, accidentally sending Suijin forward into the seat ahead. The notebook slips from the boy’s hands, and his pen clatters to the floor.
“Sorry, let me grab that for you.” Aaron mutters, bending down to retrieve the pen and handing it back.
“Alex, do you often have these spacing-out episodes?” Suijin asks, looking at him with unexpected sincerity despite completely mangling his name after nearly five minutes.
“Aaron,” He quickly corrects. “And yeah, I’ve had a few today. It’s not exactly a common thing for me.” He then replies as they step off the bus and onto the street. “Why do you ask?”
Suijin doesn’t answer. His expression remains still even in the face of being questioned. Instead, he turns away casually. “See you around, Alan.” The mysterious boy says, already walking off, leaving Aaron behind in a swirl of annoyance and confusion. He couldn’t tell if Suijin genuinely had a bad memory or if he was intentionally poking fun at him.
Then came the final words, delivered so casually that they nearly pass Aaron by unnoticed: “Your dream is your fate, and my sword is your will. Find me within yourself, Red. Your very life may depend on it.”
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