Dream Walker, Consequence

Prologue

A wise man once said that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This doesn't just apply to physics, it also applies to life. For you never know what will happen from your actions, whether cutting in line will be the last straw of that murderer now behind you. Or if jumping off a cliff will allow a child to get a new heart.

Of course I didn't know the full meaning of this until it was too late. Which is why I'm telling you this story. And why you should be aware, that your actions, have consequences.

CHAPTER 1

Waking Hours

It was like every other Michigan winter day. Bitter, cold, and lacking sunlight. These all together made my sleep a good priority, and to ignore the annoyance of my mp3 player.

It had declared that this brisk winter morn should be warmed away with the classical tune of Vivaldi's Spring. It only annoyed me to no end, forcing me to brave even the tiniest amount of cold, just to shut him up. If I weren't so attached to the small device, I would have gotten rid of it ages ago. That said, the Mp3 player was making it incredibly difficult for me not to toss it into the great white beyond as it suddenly, and violently, determined I should be awake.

Still obsessed with Vivaldi, it began to play Summer. The pulse of the song only made my own pulse rise, forcing me out of my blanket cocoon and into the harsh cold room. That's when I realized what was around me.

Vines, trees, water, even some mud from the swamp land. I could even hear some creature blaring it's song as I walk around the room, and I was already feeling the temperature change. I was thinking this may have been an attempt from Kyle to gain my attention, but I could feel that I had tapped into my powers recently.

Without any delay I quickly pull the plants back into the dream one by one as I literally pulled them off the furniture and watched them disappear. Once the room was clear, I grabbed my mp3 player, listening to it play the one song I hated, and wondered just how sweet a dream could really be.

I shut off Eurithmics for the moment and questioned why my powers had gone crazy in the night. It was unusual for me, which was rare now a days since I was getting used to things appearing randomly in my room. Unable to answer the question by the time I looked at the clock, I decided that morning classes were more important than what the other world wanted from me, and I let sound disappear as I don my headphones.

Now not many can hear what goes on around them when they listen to music. I suppose it is designed for that purpose. However when one is greeted at their door by a tall, six foot plus black man named Richard, one tends to pay attention.

Was up, he greets me, completely unaware that Theresa was attempting to impersonate him.

What brings you to my door this morning? I ask, watching the pixie poke at Richard's side.

I just wanted to walk with you to the first class, He says, obviously nervous about something.

Richard's clothes were rushed to fit, and had become completely disorganized. His shirt did still match his pants, though the fact that all he wore were black pants did help. His long brown trench coat was sticking to him, which made me a little wary of what the green bug like pixie did to him this time.

This wouldn't have anything to do with something that happened to you on the way down here would it? I ask, watching Theresa hover around his head, giggling the entire time.

Richard smiles nervously, No, no, I'm just wanting to tour the campus with my best friend, that's all, he says, nervously glancing over his shoulder as Theresa taps him.

Richard still had no idea she were there, but that only made Theresa even more playful with him, Sure why not, I say, for the sake of his sanity, and I began walking.

Theresa was visibly saddened by this, but it didn't stop her from her tricks as she lifted up Richard's jacket, So, David, Richard says, attempting to not sound so nervous, Have you seen anything odd lately? he asks.

Truthfully seeing Theresa act this way was normal for me so I said, Not really,

Richard brushed at his jacket as Theresa pushed it up, Are you sure? He asks.

As we proceed to the lobby, I watch as Theresa starts playing with Richard's brown hair, What is this about? I ask, still curious about what Theresa could have done.

I'm just researching any possible paranormal phenomenon happening on the campus, Richard says.

Theresa circles around Richard's head, Light show, Light show, She says, giggling as the lights dim when she gets too close.

I try not to laugh as Richard twitches when one of the lights dim when he gets too close, Something wrong? I question.

Richard waves off the question, Nothing, He says as we walk into the lobby, I'm still waking up,

Theresa giggles before landing on Richard's shoulder, Well maybe you're haunted, I say, attempting to make fun of his obsession.

Richard seems to finally snap out of it, Of course, that explains everything, they must be after me because I know too much, he says.

That was meant as a joke, I say, now being ignored by his scientific mind wanting to research this new thing tormenting him.

Once Richard pulls out that notebook Theresa gets bored and flies to my side, landing on my shoulder as he quickly attempts to catalog what has been happening to him. Both I and Theresa sigh at Richard, as the joke is now over and I ignore his ramblings about now feeling odd things when nothing was happening.

Dream Walker, I hear whispered behind me.

Turning around to look, I find nothing there, though I knew better. I felt the Dream being tugged at, my attention being called as someone was desperately clawing at the dream. Either that or they wanted to annoy me.

Dream Walker, I hear again, this time closer, as if whispered in my ear.

The thought of someone desperate enough to want my attention, got me curious, but I didn't want anything to do with the dream anymore, and started ignoring it. Richard's frantic writings were beginning to concern me as he was glancing at me now, seeming to write down anything and everything happening around him. As we arrive in the lobby, Richard's frantic writing increases, as if he were making sure to get everything in here down. I wasn't sure what he was planning, but I soon realized that I was being watched.

When I looked at her she immediately looked away. Her clothes told me that she was into Goth, along with her long dark black hair, however most of that group had piercings and even tattoos. No, she appeared more like someone who wanted to remain unnoticed, away from prying eyes. My own curiosity made me stare, which made her even more nervous. She stayed in the entertainment section of the lobby, pretending to study as I and Richard walked by.

I could see that Richard hadn't even noticed her yet, which meant he was either entranced into his ghost theories, or she was a little lost dream wanting to get to know the dream walker. I pondered for a moment that it could be true as I, and Richard, made our way out of the lobby.

Dream Walker, I hear again.

I didn't want to hear anymore so I put my headphones in and start listening to music.

I look back at her before Richard interrupted, Hey David, what are you listening to? He asks.

At that moment I wanted to tell him what the song was telling me, but it would only bring him further into his obsessions and I said, Just something from Rockwell, however he knew that group.

Somebody's watching me! He exclaims excitedly, It must be a sign,

It was saddening to see him work this way, being so close to the truth, and yet I had to keep him somewhat in the dark, You're imagining things, I say.

Before I could explain anything to him, he was already lost in the notebook. I can't compete with that notebook. I gave up on gaining his attention, which let me notice that Theresa was going back to her pranks.

She floated around Richard a few times before stopping near his back. I could see she was going to perform something rather devious, and I really didn't want her to use any electricity on him, so I decided to stop her.

However before I could, the girl that had caught my attention before, ran into Richard, squashing Theresa between them like a bug. Even though with the way she looked I thought it was rather fitting, it was still painful to watch. Richard wasn't shocked, instead he was made very aware of the human that was nearby and turned to address her.

I'm so sorry, she exclaims, smoothing out Richard's jacket, I didn't watch where I was going,

Richard waves his hand at her, I never mind being run into by a pretty girl, he says, Of course you could always tell me your name as an apology,

She smiles, Elizabeth Snow, she says.

Her eyes made me think even more about her not being human. That deep blue was almost unnatural in color. Added to the fact that her skin was so pale it made me think she were an Elf, I would have started asking her why she had come to see the dream walker, had it not been for the fact that she didn't have any pointed ears. And with the way she acted after running into Richard, I left the thought alone and let the two humans talk.

Well Elizabeth, I'm Richard Clark and this is my friend David Kylson, Richard says.

For a moment I think I see Elizabeth glance at Theresa, whom had fluttered behind me for safety It's nice to meet you, she says.

Likewise, I say, as I become even more curious about this girl.

I'm sorry again, but I have classes to get to, She says as she runs away.

I wanted to follow my curiosity, anything to get away from the ramblings of how Mr. Clark was always sensitive to the ghosts around him. However classes soon started and I wished to enjoy my silence, or as I turned up the volume on my mp3 player, noise. Though my headache was telling me I wasn't going to get what I wanted.

CHAPTER 2

Hard learned lessons

Richard had a different class than me, giving me the time to myself that I needed. It also gave Theresa time to come up with something more devious to attack Richard with, or maybe to use against that new girl. The way the little pixie was acting, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what she had in store for those two.

As I watched her float about forming the plan with her hands, the headache from this morning returned. Theresa notices, stopping what she was doing to find out what was going on. I had to reassure her that nothing was wrong, that it was only a small headache. However, I had opened my mouth too soon.

As I got close to the door to my classroom I hear a guitar, slowly try to start the song before a cheery old country singer starts to sing, You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd, you can't roller skate in a buffalo herd,

I stop as I listen to the horrible beat of that song, talking about the impossible in my ear. It wasn't that the song was bad, it was that there was only one way that I would hear that song, and that was if someone wanted me to hear it.

He had to be near, and he obviously wanted my attention, which was to say, he was going out of his way to annoy me. When I turn around I start to hear his voice cutting across the rhythm, replacing the singer's voice as he continued the song.

I finally had it and answered him in that high pitch that only his kind could hear, I know you're here Kyle, I say, looking around to make sure no one was looking at me before continuing, Stop playing games master of perception and show yourself,

The mp3 player answers, Is that anyway to greet me? The voice started sounding like it wasn't coming from the mp3 player, You really aren't kind to your own...

...If you have business with me, then come speak to me, I interrupt, pulling the ear buds out, Otherwise stay off of my mp3 player,

As I turn around to walk into the classroom, Kyle is standing there, That hurts, He says, And I thought we were having a moment,

Kyle, being a shape shifter, never showed up as himself, well he never showed up in person either. This time his illusion looked like some punk rocker from the nineteen eighties. His hair was longer as well, but it wasn't the usual color that he likes. Instead it was the same brown color as his eyes.

I squint at him, What moment? I question, feeling angry that even his illusion was near me.

Our moment, I mean you are using your abilities as a shape shifter to communicate with me, He says, pretending to cry as he dabs the corner of his eyes, I'm touched that you're finally accepting yourself as my son,

I'm not your son, I say, attempting to walk around him, Now if you excuse me I have a remedial class to take,

I try to open the door, but it's locked, Why do you not want to see me? He asks, causing me to growl as I turn around and see the world around me appears to have stopped in time, Is it because I don't catch your attention, do you want something with more curves? He questions, Maybe someone like this? His body suddenly changes into one of the cute girls in my remedial class, Would this make you concentrate on me more?

It would only make me more annoyed, I say, swatting at him.

He dodges, or she does, then says, Oh? Maybe you would want something more like this, He changes into Richard, a sly smile on his face, Is this more to your tastes? He says, sounding exactly like Richard.

I grumble at him, knowing the nature of Shapeshifters and I say, You already know the answer,

In his excitement he changes back to what he looked like, except with longer deep red hair, Exactly, I know what our nature is, but I find it odd that you can't except yours, He says.

I had to grab my head from the pain before asking, Why are you here? Knowing that if I let him he would have talked my ear off.

I wondered if that would actually happen for a moment before he responded, I have come to ask what you've been hearing from the dream lately?

Why the master of perception needs to ask that question is unthinkable, I say.

Sometimes it makes others comfortable when I ask, as opposed to acting like I know the answer already, He says.

It was unusual for him to act this way, though it wasn't helping my headache as much as I thought it would, I haven't been paying attention to the dream, I say.

I could see he was disappointed, My own flesh and blood hasn't even been using his abilities, He says.

I'm not trying to impress you, I say, trying not to touch one of the many frozen individuals near me, I'd rather not be part of the dream, I add.

He waves his hand at me as if coddling a child, You say that now, but I know how much you enjoy Theresa's little tricks, He says, smirking when I try to look away.

What do you want? I ask, grumbling when my headache flared up again.

He made sure I was looking at him when he talked, showing me how serious he was, I want to warn you, He says, showing me his eyes as they change for a brief moment, something he rarely did in front of me.

Warn me of what? I ask, thinking I hear something behind me.

That ignoring us, won't help you, He says.

Ignoring who? I ask, twitching from the sound of someone whispering to me.

He suddenly grabs my head speaking directly to me, as if I were the only one there, The dream, He says, They want your attention,

He lets go of my head, then the headache is replaced with voices, What did you do? I question.

It is not what I've done Dream walker, He says, as I look around me to try and find the voice, It is what you've done,

What have I done? I ask, hearing voices around me cry out, wanting my attention.

You've ignored what you are, He says, and thus ignored the dream, He almost appears sad when he continues, And that will only continue to cause you pain in the end,

I was reaching for the ear buds when I say, I ignore the world that has only caused me pain,

He sighs, Then I will give you a piece of advice before I leave, He says, bringing his hands up, Be careful of the dream, for when next you go, He smirks when his hands are next to his face, You will bring consequence with you,

Before I can ask anything he claps his hands, and as if it had never happened, I was back in the hallway, stopped halfway to my classroom and the door to the outside. I look at Theresa to see she was back to where she was in her planning process when she looks at me.

What's wrong David? She asks.

I check to see if the ear buds are still in and I look away from her, Nothing of consequence, I say turning up the volume on the mp3 player before the voices began talking to me again.

CHAPTER 3

Pulling away the voice

Are you alright? Richard asks as we sit in the cafeteria.

I rub my head a little longer, trying to smooth out the pain before answering, Yeah, just a little headache,

For a moment I thought Richard would react, but he seems to take the situation a little more gentle then I thought he usually would. Letting me listen to my mp3 player in peace, he sips his pop, thinking about things that I would rather not guess at.

I could see it ate at him, something about the events of today seem to coincide with whatever theory he had been thinking about, but I had neither the patience, nor the ability to guess at it. Instead I let myself drown away the day with the sounds of the mp3 player, attempting to ignore the headache that had formed from this morning. I knew what was causing it, but I didn't want to listen to them, it would only make matters worse.

I just chose to ignore them, knowing that it would take away from my time in the human world, and I listened to my mp3 player play something sad for a change. For a moment my headache went away, it was almost wonderful to have that peace even for a moment, then I noticed Theresa fluttering about, reenacting her gestures from what she was planning before. It wasn't something I wanted to see happen. And I was going to stop it, but as I was just about to grab her, Richard turned to look at me.

What is it? He asks.

I knew that if I didn't stop her the situation would get worse, however if I did it, it would have done the same thing.

I was lucky that Theresa realized what I wanted and she fluttered back to my side, It's nothing, I say, feeling the headache return.

Well as long as it's nothing, Richard says, returning to his notebook.

I tried to relax before hearing, Oh, David, Richard, what a coincidence,

Those words put me on the defensive as I look up to see the girl from this morning, Elizabeth, what a pleasure to see you again, Richard says, What brings you to the cafeteria? He asks.

I was trying to find my way around the school when I ended up here, Elizabeth says.

Oh, it really is a coincidence, Richard responds.

Nothing is a coincidence, I think to myself, Do you want to drop the act Richard? I question seeing him twitch for a moment.

I'm not acting, Richard says, his face telling me everything.

Though I know Richard wouldn't admit it, I could always trick others to admitting it for him, Richard, it was written in your notebook, you didn't even hide it very well, I say, noticing Elizabeth reacting too.

You wrote it down? She asks, already verifying it was a lie.

I never write down my plans, Richard says, sighing when he realized she ruined the game, But David has a tendency to see through me, He looks at me curiously, I'm always stunned at how easily you can tear apart my plans,

It was because I deal with even more impressive tricks every day, but I didn't want to tell him that, Whether I saw through it or not isn't the case, the cat is out of the bag, I say, What I want to know is why you are doing it? I ask.

Because I know what you are, Richard says.

I flinch at the way he said it, seeing Theresa tilt her head curiously at Richard, I don't know what you're talking about, I say, looking away from him.

Oh come on David, He says scooting over to me, It was obvious when I first met you, but I didn't want to say anything since you looked like you wanted to keep it a secret,

I don't have any secrets, I lie.

Why are you so afraid of admitting it David? Richard questions, I mean sure you must have had troubles growing up in school but that's in the past, He says.

I didn't have a past, I thought, I can't admit to something that I don't know anything about, I say, glancing at Elizabeth to see she was concerned with the way I was acting.

Maybe he really can't help me? Elizabeth questions, glancing at me, or from what it looked like, glancing at Theresa.

I know he can, Richard says, He's just too afraid to admit he's psychic that all,

I was about to drop to the floor when I heard Richard say, Psychic? I question.

Richard looks at me, Well yeah, I mean all the questions you were asking, the constant looking over your shoulder at things that weren't there, Richard smirks when he leans toward me, You were even talking to something that I couldn't see, and it moved a nearby trashcan when you were done with it,

I forgot how observant Richard was, it was scary to consider that he could figure out that much, yet he lacked the information to come to the right conclusion, So because of this you think I'm psychic? I question.

I know it, Richard says, "I mean that's why I