The Nightwalkers


Night #1
A funnel of sand whirls around right before my eyes. I can see sand dunes that lie in my path ahead. It’s windy, humid, and almost pitch black outside. I’m wearing my everyday clothes, but I am unaware of my location. I walk further up the sand dunes and to my surprise I notice a broken down aircraft is positioned on a peninsula filled with rocks and sand. My thoughts and memories are blank and I am scared to move forward. I want to scream for help, but I don’t. The wind begins to get stronger and louder and the sky turns a pitch black. I let out a scream.

I stop screaming just in time for my family to stay asleep. Dreams are supposed to be subconscious ideas of the mind, but I’ve never had an experience or fear like that. I’ve never even had a dream like that. I try to forget about it and fall back asleep, but I’m afraid that the dream will recur.
Day #1
I wake up to the annoying sound of my alarm. I can’t stop thinking about the nightmare I had last night, but I still keep quiet about it and go about my normal day. The last thing I need is my mom bugging me every two seconds about it. I sprint down the stairs, grab my lunch and slide my shoes on. My mom usually drives my little brother and me to school. Even though we are 4 grades apart, we both attend a private school that ranges from kindergarten to 12th grade.
When I arrive I assist my brother by opening his locker and then I proceed to mine. I greet my friends and put my things away. While sorting my many books and papers I contemplate whether to tell Jennifer about my nightmare. I can always count on her to find the most responsible solution to a problem. Her need for responsible actions can irritate me sometimes, but it's better than a need for rebellious ones. We have been best friends for such a long time and if something like this happened to her, I know she would tell me. I tell myself it’s too risky, because if I tell her she might make a big deal out of nothing.
Night #2

I’m locked up in a small cage with no room to move anywhere. I’m hanging down from a small rock formation. A river of glowing, orange magma flows directly below me. I can barely breathe in the hot and muggy air. I can’t seem to find any exits and I feel that I’m being lowered closer and closer to the river each second. The thickness of the air and the burning heat are killing me slowly. I try to let out a scream but I can’t. I try to seek out a person, but I can’t find anyone. Confusion and fear overtake me as the sky turns pitch black and the magma shoots up into the sky. I scream with fear.
I wake up coughing and my forehead is almost burning. Tonight's nightmare was way more realistic than the dream from last night. My body is in need of rest, so I decide to worry about everything in the morning.
Day #2
I wonder if the nightmare was a coincidence or if I had an issue. Was I being pranked? And why were the conditions in the dream present in real life? When I get to school I deeply consider telling my parents or possibly Jennifer. I come to the conclusion, that if I have another dream I’ll definitely tell someone about it. I get my math books and travel down the hallway staircase. When I get to class, my algebra teacher, Mrs. Lichtenberg is standing in the front of the room speaking to an unfamiliar girl. The girl is tall, and skinny. Her skin tone suits her brunette hair perfectly. I begin organizing my items, but before I can finish Jennifer comes skipping over to my seat. She starts to yap on about her science project and her math homework, but all I can think about are the nightmares. Should I tell someone? Will they think I’m going insane? Mrs. Lichtenberg begins to speak and Jennifer takes her seat.
“Many of you are probably wondering who this lovely girl up here is. This here is West Bank's newest student, Crystal Vogue all the way from the Great Britain. She will be with us for a couple weeks to test out the school and if she enjoys her stay, she will become an official student. I hope that all of you would treat Crystal with respect and welcome her to West Bank. We will start class by checking our homework from last night.”
Night #3

Rain begins to drizzle from above, as the sky begins to darken. I look at my watch and the time is just past five. I hold an umbrella in one hand and a book in the other. I don’t know where I am, but I continue to glide down the sidewalk in front of me. It’s warm, windy and breezy outside. The humid air soothes me, as I observe the rain coming down slightly faster. The rain starts to pour down from the dark sky. I see a shadow in the distance, and I start to run towards it. This person might be able to help me. The moon shines light on my path and I begin to run as fast as a fly dodging a swatter. BOOM! The thunder is getting louder, while more and more water falls from the sky. I finally reach the shadow and to my surprise a girl is standing in the sidewalk. Lightning strikes the ground ahead of me, and I move towards the girl. She doesn’t see me, but I can see she looks familiar. The sky is pitch black now and I let out a shriek when I finally realize that the girl was Crystal. I attempt to move towards her, but I’m too late. A flash of lightning strikes above my head.
The close encounter with lightning assures my theory, that the nightmares could be from another dimension. Surprisingly, I’m more curious than scared of the dreams. I’m certain that the girl from the dream was Crystal, the new student from school, but I don’t want to tell her anything yet. I decide to renege my promise. If I tell someone now, they will definitely think I’m insane. My PJ’s and sheets are drenched and I am cold, scared and confused. I change my clothes and sheets as quiet as a mouse. I don’t know what has been happening, but the later the night the longer the dreams are.
Day #3
When I arrive at my locker, I don’t have any time to wonder about the dreams, because Crystal addresses me right away.
“It’s Tara right? Your name?” I respond with a head nod. I wonder what she has to say, but I just keep listening.
“I’ve come to give you this book, it might come in handy at night.” I take the book and start to speak, but she leaves before I can say any more. I try to open the book, but it stays secured. I search for a key hole or an alternative way to open the book, but I’m out of luck. It has a red colored cover and it is very light. I want to keep observing the book, but class is going to start and I can’t afford another tardy.

When I arrive I immediately search for Crystal, but become disappointed with my findings. Crystal is no where to be found. I take a seat and wait for class to begin. Mrs Lichtenberg begins to speak and the class starts to quiet down.
“Good morning students. Let us find our seats because I have a special announcement. As some of you have probably noticed, Crystal isn’t here today. I bring sad news, that she won’t be attending our school any longer. Her parents got job transfers again and she will be moving to California tomorrow.” I raise my hand without thinking.
“Is there any way we could contact Crystal?” Maybe if I could contact her, I could find out more information about the book. Mrs. Lichtenberg responds by telling me no and that Crystal didn’t leave any contact information. I nod my head and Mrs. Lichtenberg starts to give directions about math class, but I don’t follow. I just sit and try to forget about everything for a few minutes. The funny thing is that nobody notices, not even my teacher.
Night #4

When I finish brushing my teeth, I climb in to bed. I need to learn more about the dreams, so I will just have to go to bed as normal. Maybe Crystal will show up again and show me how to open the book. I grab the book from my bag and proceed to open it. It stays shut. I then decide that if I hold it while I’m sleeping, it might come with me to the dream. I turn off my lights and fall asleep.

I’m standing in the middle of a busy street. An oncoming truck zooms right past my shoulder. I attempt to get to the sidewalk, but fail to reach it. Many business men and normal city families are walking up and down the sidewalks, but they don’t see me. They can’t see me, I’m invisible. I sprint to the near sidewalk and prepare myself for the worst possible scenario. In the meantime, I search and search for Crystal. It’s weird, in all of the other dreams I couldn’t think or talk, but in this one I can. Wait! It hits me like hail hits the ground on any icy morning. The Book!!! I know I had it when I first arrived. I race to the other side of town where I first came here. I search the sidewalk, the street and even the book store. Nothing. No book. I lost it. Then I spot a red item on the roof of the book store. It takes me a while to retrieve it.Unexpectedly when I try to open it, it opens and there’s nothing inside. I spot Crystal from the roof and try to get down to talk to her, but the dream stops too soon for me to succeed.
I swiftly grab the book, but it doesn’t open. I groan in frustration. Why did it have to be so hard to figure out what was going on? I can’t tell anyone because they’ll think I’m insane and Crystal is the only one that actually might be able to help me.
Day #4

By the time I reach free period I’m exhausted, but I still grab my notebooks and start on my homework. In the middle of my writing I stop and decide to devise a plan for tonight’s dream instead. I grab a piece of construction paper and begin.
1) Bring book and try to open it.
2) Find Crystal.
3) Ask Crystal for more information.
4) Move quickly, because I only have a minimal amount of time in the dream.
Just as I finish, the bell rings and I scramble to class.
Night #5
Even though it’s unnecessary, I read over the plan one more time and then shut the lights off. I remember how the nightmares use to scare me, but now they kind of excite me. The dreams have turned into an adventure for me and no longer remain frightening. I grab the book, and decide it’s time to call it a night.

Water drips from the high tops of the trees. There is not even a slight breeze, only a hot yellow sun shining in the light blue sky. Even though you can barely spot the sky under all of these treetops, it sure is beautiful. I breathe in the fresh air and then remember to stick to the plan. Thankfully, the book opens with ease, but the contents of the book no longer remain. The pages have been ripped, so I am out of luck. I hear whispers in the distance and decide to follow them. I tiptoe through the giant, long vines and try to make minimal noise. Once I get close enough I realize that Crystal is here. My impulse takes over and I jump from a high tree stalk right in the middle of the strangers circle. It takes a minute for Crystal to realize it’s me, but when she does she grabs me by the arm and starts to drag me away. I begin speaking, but a interrupted by her.

“What are you doing here, didn’t you read the book?” She says with a sigh and looks into the distance for the strangers. I’m so confused about everything, that I start talking before I’m cut off again. I explain everything to Crystal, from the first dream, to the missing pages in the book. She listens carefully and thinks for while. I’m dying for her to tell me why or how this is possible, but I keep quiet and sit in silence listening to the animal calls and chirps.

“Listen I don’t have a lot of time, but I can tell you this. You are a nightwalker. You have the ability to live in your dreams. There are only 21 nightwalkers in the world and I have come from another dimension to gather them.”