Chapter One: The Dream
I cringed as the wailing siren of an ambulance blared down Main Street. To say this was a form of "déjà vu" would be an extreme understatement.
I knew a foster home was on fire. I knew that one very special little girl was trapped on the second floor behind a locked door. I also knew it all was a trap.
How do I know this? Let's just say my life has literally been a living nightmare since I started taking night classes to go towards my bachelor's degree in stage management. Without any scholarships to speak of, my road to becoming a director had, thus far, been long and rocky with several side jobs just to pay for tuition. I didn't like wading tables for cranky New Yorkers, but it payed for rent.
With my crazy schedule, I had developed some crazy sleeping habits. For the most part, my dreams were non-existent. This week, however, there had been one repetitive dream that screamed for my attention.
In the dream, I found myself on the second floor of a burning foster home. As I turned around, I saw a hooded figure standing between me and the nearest window. He was always silent in my dreams, but I always felt evil emanating from his darkened figure. Laughing ominously, he pointed to the little girl who was now crying helplessly in the corner. Each time, I would run to her, immediately turning around to see the hooded figure had vanished.
My gut tied itself in a knot as I realized my nightmare was now becoming a reality.
I arrived at the foster home before the firemen. Several police officers tried to stop me, but it was too late; I was already climbing the stairs.
Knowing that I was going to be dangerously close to extremely hot flames, I planned ahead and drenched my black beanie and hoodie prior to putting them on. I had shivered as my clothing began to freeze in the winter air. Now, I only felt the scorching heat of the flames.
As the smoke became thicker and thicker, I struggled to breath. Pulling my scarf over my mouth and nose, I pressed forward into the room I had seen so many times before.
I noticed a little girl crying in the corner. Her brown hair was slightly singed, but she didn't look burned anywhere else.
I ran over to her.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" I asked, arms outstretched, "Are you hurt?"
Without a word, she took a few steps toward me, raising her arms as if begging me to pick her up.
Immediately after I hoisted her into my arms, I heard a crash and turned toward the window.
I was surprised to find that, rather than wearing some sort of cloak, the intruder was covered head to toe in some sort of red and blue spandex-like material. His patriotic color scheme might have been a play on my emotions, but I wasn't buying it.
"This building is gonna collapse," he called over the flames, "Let me help you!"
"By jumping out the window?!" I criticized, taking a step back towards the flaming staircase.
With another crash, a massive log came down behind me, blocking both the stairs and the elevators.
"Just trust me!"
"I can't!"
What happened next was a blur.
From nowhere, a rope-like, webby substance grabbed my stomach and catapulted me out the window. I closed my eyes, bracing myself as I fell towards the busy streets below.
To my surprise, instead of falling to my death, I landed on what felt like a trampoline….of webs.
I watched as my rescuer used the same sort of material to eject himself from the building. Holding the little girl, he landed at least ten feet below the web that had caught me.
"Who are you?" I wondered.
"You're new here," he observed.
I waited for his answer.
"Just your friendly neighborhood Spider-man!" he replied. I imagined he was smiling. (I couldn't tell because of the mask that covered his head.)
Before I could thank him, he swung off to the next place he was needed.
Although grateful this "Spider-man" had saved my life, I wasn't so thrilled that he had left me in the web net I had landed in.
Who was this "hero"? Could he be trusted? Little did I know that my encounters with this masked stranger were only beginning.