Chapter 2
That night the dream changed. The stairs were there as always. But this time instead of the evil feeling of being watched, I could see something above me that filled me with warmth. I picked up my skirts and started climbing as fast as I could.
I awoke with a jolt. My skirts? I’d been in a gown. Normally I was wearing my pajamas. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock, seeing that only a couple hours had passed. I switched my lamp on and pulled the notebook out of my drawer. My shrink had told me to write them down so he could analyze them. Not that I did this for him. I needed to find any kind of pattern so I could try and break it.
I slipped the notebook back in the drawer and flopped back on my pillow. I didn’t want to dream again but I was exhausted. Maybe Dad should have gotten me that charm. I could have lived with whatever side effect I ended up with, as long as I could sleep.
I was at a Renaissance Fair. Or at least I thought I was. The gown was the same as I’d been wearing in the last dream. I sighed in relief. I could do this, right? There was nothing scary about this kind of fair.
I wandered through and watched in delight as jugglers went past on stilts and other jousted on horses. I could stay here. I came to a tent and meant to walk past, but the need to stop was overwhelming. I tried to shake it, but I found myself lifting the flap to see who was inside.
“Welcome, Jenna.”
My stomach dropped in fear. “How do you know me?”
She laughed. “This is your dream. Come, sit. Let me tell your fortune.”
I shook my head. “I have no fortune. Julie will make sure of that.”
“Sit, sit, sit. We all have a fortune.” She moved her arm over her crystal ball and peered into it. She gasped and looked up at with wide eyes. “Someone watches you. Someone dark. You must rid yourself of him. Avoid the stairs at all costs or the one you love the most will be lost.”
I jerked awake and lay there, trying to slow my breathing. My heart was beating rapidly and sweat poured down my face, mingled with tears. What did she mean? I’d already lost my mom. The only other person I cared that much for was my dad. And if anything happened to him…I let out a sob. Why couldn’t I just dream of butterflies and rainbows like everyone else?
I stood and stretched, deciding that four hours of sleep was plenty for a growing seventeen year old. I yawned and pulled out my old, beat up duffel bag. Packing for camp wasn’t hard to do when I only had a few pairs of pants and a couple shirts. I could raid Kaylee and Sarah’s closets but I wouldn’t be caught dead in the pink, frilly clothes they insisted on wearing. I would just have to hope that the camp had some kind of laundry place so I’d have clothes to wear.
Packing only took a few minutes so I decided to read a book. I kept drifting to sleep but I would immediately wake up every time I saw the scene of the fair pop into my dreams. When the sky had just started lightening, I changed out of pajamas and grabbed my baseball cap before heading toward the door. Dad always liked to be the first one to the batting cages.
Except that my door was locked. I rattled the doorknob and pounded on the door. “Hey! Let me out of here. Dad? Julie? I can’t get out.” I peeked through the old-fashioned keyhole and could see Sarah outside the door, snoring. “Sarah. Hey, Sarah.”
Sarah snorted and looked around before going back to sleep. I wondered if Julie realized she’d put the heaviest sleeper in charge of keeping me prisoner. And what was the point? I could just go out the window.
