-Chapter 3: I Dream About Strangers-

C

H

R

I

S

"...Come to Brooklyn. We'll be waiting."

The tape stopped. I sat there, waiting for Carter's voice to come back and say "April Fools!" But there was no way that was happening any time soon. If what Carter and Sadie said was true, then why did I get the tape? I sure as hell didn't know how to get something like this published. There had to be a mistake. But then again, my name was on it! My parents weren't home yet, thankfully. They called about a half-hour before, saying they had a load of errands to run, which was fine by me. I sat there motionless, trying to believe that something like this could be real. Yeah, that's easier said than done.

Then the doorbell rang, which made me blast to my feet in a heartbeat. Who would be at the door? Ricky? No, he was at his cousin's house. Mike? No, he was at soccer practice. Brent? No, he moved to Japan. Kelly? Right, her! We were supposed to study for the test on Friday! I ran into my bathroom and looked into the mirror. I guess I looked alright, but I ran a comb through my dark brown hair just to be safe. I walked slowly to the front door and looked out the window. Yep, it was Kelly. I took a deep breath and opened the door. There she was, the most amazing girl in the world at MY doorstep. She held some textbooks and notebooks in her hands.

"Hi Chris," she said acting a bit bubbly.

"Hey," I replied, then noticed the books. "I'll get those for you."

She gave me her books and I went into the kitchen and put them on the counter, which I had cleaned the night before, luckily. She walked into the kitchen, wearing tight jeans and a plain green shirt. At least, I thought it was plain at first. She walked to the table and I saw the back of the shirt. On the back of the shirt was the number 9. And above the number was the name RONDO. (A/N: Rajon Rondo is the starting point gaurd for the Celtics, in case you didn't know.)

"So it's like that is it?" I asked jokingly.

"What do you mean?" She said, trying to tease me a little.

"Wait here," I said and ran into my room.

I rummaged through my closet until I found my Kobe Bryant jersey. I quickly threw it on over my black T-shirt and walked back into the kitchen.

Kelly was sitting at the table, cracking open her science textbook. I pulled up a chair and sat beside her, looking over her shoulder to see what she was reading about.

"Okay, this is what the test is gonna be over," she said, then chuckled when she saw my Lakers jersey.

"Hey you started it," I said.

"Whatever," she said.

She then took my right hand, which surprised me a little, and started talking about what we needed to study. [What? No I'm not gonna go into detail about what we were studying. Because it's pointless! Jeez Sadie, let me tell the freakin' story!]

-Later-

Kelly went home at about 7:00, and my parents got home just a few minutes after she left. I had to help get the junk load of groceries crammed into the trunk of Dad's car. Oh, and in case you were wondering, my dad's name is Richard Riker, and my mom's name is Katie Riker. Dad was out back grilling some steak while Mom was in the kitchen preparing green beans, rolls, and sweet patatoe fries. (A/N: I've had those before by the way, and they are AWESOME.) I was in the living room watching a Lakers game. It was kind of boring though. The Lakers were opening up a can of whup-ass and were leading the Dallas Mavericks by thirty-four points. So yeah, it really wasn't much of a game at all. About three minutes later, Dad opened the back door and poked his head in.

"Hey Chris," he called. "You wanna come shoot some hoops with your old man? You could use some practice."

"Well, the season ended like a month ago Dad. So it's not like I really need practice right now," I said.

"Well, you wanna make varsity next season, don't you? It's completely different from playing for a middle school team."

Well, he got me there. Okay, I'm not exactly a bragger, but I was actually a really good basketball player. I had played for Eagle Ridge Middle School my seventh and eight grade season, and I had started in every single game. I was one of the best point gaurds in the city of Eagle Ridge. I could pass, shoot, go both left and right, and play vicious defense. And I wasn't a ball hog either. I was always looking to set my team mates up for easy baskets. Dad was right though, no matter how good I seemed at that point, I had to get better if I wanted to play high school, and one day even college basketball. I had even heard a rumor that the head coach at Eagle Ridge High School was already looking to put me on his team my freshman year.

"Alright," I said. "You win."

He smiled. "Well, I hope you're ready to get schooled by your old man."

"i wouldn't count it."

-After dinner-

I had made the decision not to tell my parents about the tape player I had recieved. I didn't want this thing to spread all across the United States, which would probably put Carter and Sadie in a mental hospital, make Egyptoligists go crazy looking for magicians or gods, and the freakin' FBI would probably take me somewhere to perform hundreds of tests to see if I was a magician or not. At about 10:00 I got into bed. The Lakers game had ended, and the Mavs had lost by a grand total of forty points. A few minutes later, I nodded off into a deep sleep.

This might be a little hard to describe, but here I go. I was floating above my bed, the bed that still had my body in it. I could see my still sleeping form. My first thought was that I needed a haircut. My second thought was holy crap! Am I dead! But no, I could still hear myself breathing. I looked down at the body I was inhabiting at that moment, and got a rude surprise. I was a freakin' human headed turkey. I thought I was dreaming, but it seemed all too real to be a dream. Alright, so the first order of business was to take care of my fatso turkey body. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine myself in my human form. I opened my eyes to see that the turkey body was no longer there, and in its place was my human body.

A few seconds later, everything went black, then I found myself standing in a room lit by a candle with a girl sleeping on a sheetless, pillowless matress. I was glad to know that my legs worked in this state, which allowed me to walk over to the bed. I looked at the girl to see her features. The girl was coppery skinned with a little lower than shoulder length dark hair. I also saw slight Arab features on her face. I realized that the girl before me must have been Zia Rashid. It seemed that her hair had grown longer while she was in her sleeping state. a door opened and a man walked through holding a glass of water and a loaf of bread. It seemed he could not see me in my dream state.

The man walked over to Zia and put two fingers on her forehead. About five seconds later, her amber eyes fluttered open. She then sat up, taking the water and bread the man offered to her.

"Where am I?" She asked groggily.

"No time to explain," the man said. "It is time for you to come back. We all need you."

"Iskandar. Where is he?"

"I am sorry, Zia Rashid, Iskandar has been dead for a while now. His old age finally caught up with him."

Zia didn't cry, but there was a sad expression on her face. She bowed her head in respect for the old man. The man held a blue sphere in his hand, and held it out to Zia.

"These are your memories now. Your shabti counterpart documented every memory she had while standing in your place. You will need them to know what our status is right now."

Zia took the ball, which seemed to turn to dust in her hand. Her eyes widened at the sudden flow of memories attacking her brain.

"You must go to Eagle Ridge Middle School, Rashid," the man said. "Find the Riker boy, then take him to Carter and Sadie Kane in the Twenty-First Nome. Once you reach that point, you shall recieve further instructions."

The man then threw a pile of clothes into her lap.

"I will meet you outside. Please hurry, Zia Rashid."

The man exited, giving Zia some privacy. She looked down at the clothes, processing all of the memories that had just been given to her.

"Carter..." She said softly.

-Morning-

I woke up about five minutes before my alarm went off. I switched it off, glad I didn't have to listen to its annoying blare that morning. I knew what I had to do, and I was dead set on it. Had to put the 13/32/33 combination into my locker, even thought its combination was really 2/24/16. I also had to be on the lookout for Zia. She would be looking for me.

And so we go.