Sadly I do not own Labyrinth or any of its fascinating characters. They belong to Jim Henson, David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, and Toby Fraud. :)
Nightmares: Chapter 1
Toby thrashed violently under his bed sheets. The nightmares were too much these days. With finals coming up and his paper route extended eight blocks, he couldn't afford to lose any sleep. His sister Sarah had come home from law school for the week and was doing her best to spend as much time as possible with him. Toby hated to see Sarah under stress, but she had begun to notice the dark bags under his eyes and the way he moved about the house in a dream like state. "You need more sleep, Toby." She had said one evening as they sat on the couch together and watched game shows. "I'm fine." He had insisted, flatly. He couldn't tell her about the nightmares. She would want to talk about it and Toby didn't want to give them anymore thought then was necessary. He remembered how Sarah had always been with him. How she noticed every time he did something that was out of the ordinary. He remembered once when he was 6, he had stood up during family game night and preformed a completely improvised song and dance number on top of the coffee table. His parents had applauded and said that they could see him on Broadway, but Sarah had gotten a dazed look on her face and had excused herself to her room and none of them had seen her until the next morning. Sarah had always reacted oddly in those situations, but Toby was older now. He could take care of himself. He didn't need his over protective sister to get involved. Frankly, he didn't understand why Sarah was so over protective. His parents had once told him that when he was very little, around one or two, Sarah had been a brat. Sarah was only his half-sister and she had been jealous of the attention he got from their father. But that had all changed one night; they went out for dinner and a movie, leaving a completely spoiled rotten Sarah behind. And they had come home to a quiet, sensible girl whose first priority was watching out for her gurgling baby brother.
Toby woke in a cold sweat; he couldn't take these nightmares anymore. He flipped his feet over the side of the bed and padded out of his room and down the hall. He made his way to the bathroom in the dark and flipped on the lights once the door was closed. Yellow, artificial light flooded the small space, blinding Toby. He leaned over the sink and splashed cool water onto his overly heated skin. He was shivering despite his fever. He knew his immune system had been taking a toll and had probably given in. He couldn't get sick; he had been saving up to buy Sarah one of those glass owls that she had been so fond of. Getting sick would mean he would have to take the day off and someone else would have to cover his route and he wouldn't get paid. He stared at his expression in the mirror and tried to calm his breathing. His pale blue eyes shone out under his mop of sweaty blond hair. He didn't look anything like Sarah. She was beautiful with long dark hair and bright green eyes that seemed miles away at times. Toby looked like his mother Karen. Toby had seen the pictures in Sarah's room of her mother Helen. Toby shook his head trying to erase all thoughts of the beautiful actress that he had met at Applebee's on Sarah's twentieth birthday. He had only been seven at the time, but he remembered when Helen had looked down her nose at him and had said "Sarah, sweetheart, is this Karen's boy?"
"This is my Toby." Sarah had said fondly. Then she had scooped Toby up onto her back, just as he had told her not to do anymore since he had turned seven two months before. But he didn't complain that time. He remembered Helens critical eyes on him through the whole party, as though he was something to be judged just because he wasn't hers.
Toby was fifteen now and he had noticed the strange things that went on around him. He had almost hoped that his friends saw things like Goblins in their dreams, or heard quiet musical voices whisper songs in their ears at night when he was lonely. Toby didn't want to believe that he was different. That his strange musical talent or obsession with shiny things was something out of the ordinary. Okay, so maybe it wasn't an obsession, but his faltering willpower when it came to buying glitter glue at the craft store was something to be marveled at.
Toby flicked off the lights in the bathroom and made his way back down the hall. He stopped short when he heard the hushed voices coming from Sarah's room. He tiptoed his way towards her door and pressed his ear to it when he was close enough.
"I'm starting to worry about him, guys." Toby recognized Sarah's quiet voice.
"What is there to worry about?" asked a gruff voice in a hushed whisper. "He's still a child Sarah. Maybe he will change."
"I agree with sir Hoggle!" declared a second regal sounding voice.
"Agree." said a loud slightly monstrous voice.
"Shhh, Ludo." scolded Sarah. Then she paused for a moment and sighed "I don't know,"
"What's not to know, fair Sarah? He is just a boy. Who knows what the future holds?" said the regal voice.
"But, I've noticed the oddest things about him. Like, when he gets angry, or frustrated, he reminds me so much of…" she trailed off. Toby knew they were talking about him. They had to be. But the voices were all so unusual, like voices from a cartoon. Toby couldn't stand it any longer.
"Who do I remind you of?" he asked loudly as he burst into the room. He was hoping to see the owners of the voices, but instead Sarah sat by herself at her old cluttered vanity desk. She jumped up and spun around, knocking a few knick-knacks and make-up cases to the floor.
"Toby!" she gasped, stooping to pick up the fallen items. "What are you doing up? It's very late."
"Who were you talking too?" he asked, suspiciously.
"I wasn't talking to anyone." She said, confused. Her confusion was very convincing, but Toby knew how good of an actress Sarah was.
"I heard voices…" he said.
"You look very tired. Go back to bed and we can talk in the morning." Toby considered going back to bed, but he had to know who the voices were.
"Sarah, please tell me. I promise I won't tell mom and dad." He pleaded.
"Toby…" Sarah sighed. "Does it look like there is someone else in here? I was completely alone until you burst in, which I may remind you, was very rude. Besides, you have a paper route in the morning and you look like you might be coming down with the flu." Sarah's change of the subject was her way of saying 'end of discussion'. "Go back to bed and I might try to convince Karen to make us banana nut pancakes in the morning." Toby pursed his lips and thought it through.
"You're going to have to tell me sometime, Sarah. I know what I heard." And with that he spun around and marched out the door in a way that was so graceful, it made Sarah's throat close up in remembrance.
