Ecliptic

6.

For months, nothing happened. I went to school. I went to Archer's. I went to bed. I was back to normal life, back to boring. Boring is a lot worse when you've had a taste of increadible.
I was okay, just disappointed. But that got easier with time. I got back into a routine and I started to forget. But, of course, as soon as I was adjusted, my world was turned upside down...again.
It had been months since Archer told me about his dreams. I wouldnt say I had forgotten, but it wasnt my top priority. Maybe it should have been.
It was a normal night, a peaceful night. Until I woke up.
I shot up at 3:00 am, drenched in sweat. I couldnt breathe, I couldnt think of anything but that face. My face. But it wasnt mine. It was a boy's, a blonde guy. And, there was a girl there. I was holding her hand and there were others there, too. And, there was blood. So much blood.
Archer! I screamed in my mind.
I didnt want to wake him, but I had to. There was no one else I could go to. I didnt know if this was the kind of dream he had experienced every night for months, but if it was, I didnt know how he'd managed it.
What's wrong? Archer replied a little too quickly.
Why are you up? That was a dumb question, considering I had just screamed his name.
Bad dream. Now what's wrong?
I hesitated.
Bad dream.
What was it about? Archer seemed calm, a lot calmer than me. Then again, he'd been dealing with this for months. Wow, what a friend I was. I hadn't even been there for him. Of course, if I had known then how bad it was...
"I was a boy, and I was in a big room with a girl and everyone was dying. There was a sea of blood and I was so sad and I was dying too and.. and.." I spoke aloud as I sent my hectic thoughts to Archer. I was teary by now and I wanted, no, needed him to tell me it was just a dream.
Who was the girl?
What? That was totally not what I had been expecting.
Huh? I don't know. I was a little preoccupied!
A sea of blood takes precedence over some girl.
It's important.
I wracked my brain.
Um, she was pretty young, maybe 13 or 14... and she had dark brown hair. And she seemed scared. That's all I really remember. But why's it matter, it was just some dream right?
Archer didnt answer for a long time.
And she was wearing a blue toga? And silver flowers in her hair? And she was shot straight through with a bronze arrow?
I paused. Archer's reply was more a continuation of my description than an answer. How'd you know that?

Because I'm the girl.

~~~

The rest of the night, Archer stayed up with me, explaining everything. He explained that what I had seen, he had seen, just from a different viewpoint. He explained that this was the kind of thing he'd been seeing for months, and he explained that it wasnt going to stop. He explained everything, but at the same time, it didnt explain anything.
Why was this happening? What did it mean? Was our theory right? Who was I?
The questions were piling up and I was slipping under.
I didn't sleep that night or the next. I was plagued by visions of myself and girl Archer in a shimmering throne room that would have been beautiful, if it wasnt littered with corpses. I woke every night screaming, my other face scratching at the back of my mind.
Archer and I deduced that in my dreams, I was Apollo, god of the sun, music, prophesy, and medicine. After that, I spent hours a day researching him, reading stories and little tidbits. Honestly, he did sound like me, down to every last detail. Except for the fact that I wasnt a boy. Or a Greek god.
After a while, all the crazy that was building up started getting to me. I didnt eat much, I definitely didnt sleep. Over the course of weeks, my face became sunken. I became paranoid. I didnt ever want to go outside. I wouldnt even listen to music because of what it could mean.
I knew I was being crazy. The dreams hadnt affected Archer this way. At least, he never let on. But I wasnt Archer. I was Solace Mink and damn it, I was tired.
Luckily, he didn't talk about how irrational I was being. If I wanted to be alone, he left. If I didnt want to talk about it, he wouldn't make me. He was the best friend I could have asked for, and just what I needed right now. I felt like the world owed me something. Like if I was going to have to go through this, there should be a million dollars waiting for me on the other side or something. I hated myself for months. Nothing felt right anymore, not this life or another one. I cried every night, cried for people and places that I didnt know.
But, of course there was nothing I could do about it.

Oh, yes there is.