Carmen, an average person like you or I, has been hounded by Fate. By day, disasters and misfortune mark her wake. By night, she unknowingly slips between the two worlds – unaware that her dreams may hold the key to the past of the world and the future that awaits.
Obscure Revelations
Getting settled into her over-stuffed chair, Carmen tore into the bag of chips, the smell of ground corn and salt filling her nostrils. Her mouth was already watering. Holding off, she reached over to the coffee table, opening the picante salsa. She had forgotten the bowl and had to break the large, triangular chips into pieces small enough to fit into the opening of the salsa container. She avoided picking up the chunks of vegetables, instead allowing the chips to absorb the spicy liquid.
"Mmm," she sighed. It had been a long time since she had had the dish. She popped in a few more chips before balancing her laptop atop her knees and hit the power button. While she was waiting for the computer to start up, she watched the end of an X-Files rerun on the Sci-Fi channel. When she noticed the Windows screen seemed frozen, she huffed, putting the salsa container on the arm of the chair and pushing the power button repeatedly. The screen flickered and she felt a shock run through her index finger and down her arm.
"Damn it!" she cried, knocking her hand away. The salsa flew to the floor and spilled all over her open backpack and papers. "Ah, for freaking cripes sake!" She closed the laptop, placed it on the floor and began extracting her now coated papers from her pack.
This day wasn't shaping up to her standards at all. A stupid person outside had decided to debut his new trunk audio system by blasting it as loud as possible at 7 this morning. By the time the neighbors had yelled out their windows threatening him with a call to the cops, Carmen was already wide awake. Then her cat had gotten sick on the bedroom floor – a point of fact she hadn't realized until she'd stepped in it. Now this. At least the salsa had only gotten on the math test that she'd gotten a 65 on.
As she scooped the last of the chunky spillage into the trash bin, the X- Files ending theme began playing on the television. The music began warping as she washed her hands in the kitchen. Curious, she returned to the living room, watching as the television screen faded in and out, the sound distortions getting louder and louder. She grabbed the remote, but the tv wouldn't shut off. The buttons on the front panel also seemed to be inoperative. On the verge of giving up, she unplugged the cord from the wall.
"Ah! Success! Small miracles," she mumbled. She slid down the wall besides the television, cord still in hand and watched her computer's lights powered down. Oh yeah, this was definitely not her day. A small meow at her elbow told her Tawny was upset.
"It's alright, boy. Come 'ere." She picked him up and went into the kitchen. Peanut butter always made him feel better. She only hoped he'd keep it down.
Carmen didn't feel much like pushing her luck with the laptop again and with the television on the fritz, she had few options of entertainment left to her. She could read, of course. But she had read all of the books available to her more than once. There was a gym down the street... but it was over 100 degrees outside and she wasn't up for a stroll down the sizzling sidewalks. Then, there was sleep. As half-heartedly as she tried, she couldn't see any downside to that option. She was exhausted and she didn't have any plans with her friends until tomorrow afternoon.
Dragging herself onto the bed, Carmen could only hope when she woke up fate would stop hounding her.
The blackness that began her dreams was present. But she realized that this darkness was the beginning of a dream. She was never aware of her dreams – never able to control the stream of events. This was new.
The black gave way to random spots of light. These eventually brightened until she was surrounded by a bleak and desolate land. The ground was broken and dark; weeds grew rampant and she could hear no animals – no birds, no insects nearby. The sky was clouded and shadows moved between them. The smell of rain was heavy in the air and the little grass that grew beneath her naked feet was damp.
"My god," she whispered. "This is so realistic." She kneeled down, picking up a small pebble from the ground. Dirt caked her fingers and stuck beneath her nails. She dropped the pebble, smearing the mud between her fingers and on her pajamas. It was a little too realistic.
She began walking toward a wooded area not far down the slope upon which she stood. A sound of rustling from the trees gave her pause. As she opened her mouth to speak, a twisted black arrow embedded itself in her chest. She looked down at it, marveling at the fact she couldn't feel it before she heard a grunting. Several more arrows struck her torso. As she fell backwards, she watched as the world played in slow motion. The last moments she remembered were the wrapped feet of several large creatures running past her fallen body.