Chapter Fourteen: At the Edge of an Abyss

Meredith

The dreams started a few days before the first day of school. When she closed her eyes she found herself on a deserted island. Or at least she thought it was deserted. She really wasn't sure.

Okay, so in your mind picture the most beautiful pristine beach that you could ever imagine. Soft sand warming your feet, a warm breeze keeping you refreshed and cool, and oh the water... several miles of crystal clear water and in the distance it looked viridian blue. Palm trees provided shade several meters from the water. All different fruit bearing trees were in full blossom and there were tropical flowering plants that reflected all the different colors of the rainbow mixed in with the underbrush. The sound of a babbling river could be heard just inland. She could only imagine that it lead to a waterfall and a lagoon. So, with all that in mind, well, this beach was a million times more beautiful than that.

The first time she had the dream, she just stared in wonder at all of the pretty scenery. It was paradise, and not just any type of paradise, it was her paradise.

The dreams continued every so often, and when they she wasn't having them she generally didn't dream of anything at all. However this time was different. When Meredith awoke in her dream world, it wasn't the warm tropical paradise she loved; it was rather cold, with a deep sense of loneliness and abandonment looming in the air.

Meredith rubbed her arms as she tried to pull warmth into them. Normally, the cold didn't bother her, but then again, nothing about the dream world was normal.

"Hello?" She called out hoping that this time someone would answer. Well, only if that someone was nice, she shuttered as she walked into the water. "HELLO?" She called again.

The normal blue sky turned a nasty shade of gray. "WHO GOES THERE?" A voice seemed to thunder from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Meredith wasn't sure if she was just hearing it in her skull or if it was vibrating out of the very sand and surf.

"I would like to ask the same question! This is my dream, so you tell me first!" She dropped her hands and balled her fists.

In front of her, the grey sea swirled up forming a cloak of sorts. Pale decrepit fingers dropped from the sleeves as a weathered grumpy looking face formed in the hood. A long coral bread sprung from his upper lip and chin, while two black lumps of obsidian appeared to be his eyes.

"Well, well, well, what type of insolent cod do we have here? A sacrifice of sorts, perhaps?" The water cloak swirled around him as he moved forward toward her.

Meredith tried to move out of the surf, but found her feet had sunk into the sand and were now stuck. "What? I don't understand."

"I don't suppose you do." He waved his hand. Seaweed sprung up out of the water and wrapped itself around Meredith's wrists.

"Hey! Who do you think you are! Let go of me!" She struggled to free her feet and wrists, but the more she struggled the deeper she sank, and the tighter the seaweed cut into her wrists.

The old man tilted his head, "I know who I am, but who are you, my dear?" He brushed his freezing cold bony fingers against her arm as he twirled a lock of her chocolate colored hair around them. Then he brought the lock to his nose to take in the scent of her hair. "Certainly not a naiad. None of them are that stupid to swim into my territory." He dropped the lock, and then he brought his fingers to her chin to inspect the bone structure of her face.

Meredith heart hammered in her chest. She was trapped, and didn't know what to do. "Are you a monster?"

"If I where, would I tell you?" He ran a finger across her brow, "grey eyes, with a wide brow, and a strong mind, too. Not a very common thing, you know. I suppose that's why your dream self is much older than your true form." He ran his hand across her cheek. His fingers probed her throat and the space directly below her collar bone. "You breathe easily in water. I don't suppose you have gills? Hmmm… no, it's his blessing." He spat.

"Stop touching me!" Her voice cracked as a tear spilled down her cheek.

The old man's coral brow rose about an inch, "You're in no position, to tell me what to do, young lady." He dropped his hand anyway and stepped back. "As pretty as you are, you're not of my taste."

"I… I don't understand." Her voice trembled.

"I don't suppose you do." He looked disappointed as he repeated his earlier statement. "She'll have to do better than you if she wants my support."

"Who will have to do better?" She also wanted to also ask why she wasn't good enough, but the question remained stuck in her throat.

"Wake up, child, and leave me be." The old man's cloak swirled up on itself in a spray and then it disappeared beneath the surface of the sea.

With a blink of her eyes, Meredith was no longer on her beach, but somewhere else. It was strange, she felt almost weightless, but then again there was a swaying pulse of pressure all around her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but stop tasting salt. Meredith quickly closed her mouth and swallowed. Salt water spilled down her throat, and into her empty stomach.

Her vision was slightly blurry, not that there was anything to really see. Wherever she was, it was dark.

After allowing her senses adjust she tried to sit up, but found she was buckled into to a chair.

Her brows quickly knitted together as she tried to recall why she was in a car seat. Clearly she wasn't in a car, so why was she strapped into a car seat?

"Yo.. you.. your alive?" A meek little voice vibrated in Meredith's head.

"Huh?" Meredith looked up and around.

Two slightly iridescent arms reached around Meredith's waist and unbuckled the seat belt. The seat was pulled off and sent down into a dark abyss. She turned and lifted her eyes to find a pretty hot iridescent looking guy floating above her. "Who are you and where am I?"

The guy looked around, "it..it's not sa..safe here." He extended his hand to her, "co..come with me..e."

He looked so sincere and nice that she couldn't say no. She took his hand and pushed off the ground. His hand slid down her arm and hooked itself around her waist. Before she could protest they were jetting through the water much faster than she could ever imagine swimming.

When they finally emerged out of the water, Meredith found herself in a boat shed with covered small boats bobbing up and down. Pale sun light streamed in through closed wooden shutters with a strong wind knocking something back and forth on the side of the building.

The guy released her waist and swam toward a ladder. His viridian green eyes glanced back to make sure she was following him. "Co..mme onnn," he stuttered.

Why not? Meredith thought; a strange boy that glows under water wants me to follow him, who knows where? And wow apparently she can breathe underwater. She chewed her lip, maybe there is a phone nearby? This was likely a dream anyway, she thought, so she followed him.

He gave her a slight smile when she stood in front of him on the dock. "Yo..ur dry!"

Meredith looked down at her tattered sweat shirt and jeans. Large patches of her skin were poking through all over the place. Yeah, she was dry, but for some reason it seemed pretty natural.

She shifted her gaze back toward him, to get a better look at him. The tip of her head reached his chest, so yeah, that meant she had to look up. He was wearing typical clothes, dark blue jeans, with a gray graphic t-shirt and a slate color hoodie. His clothes looked dry for the most part, except for the hem of his jeans and his sleeves. "You look wet."

He frowned as he looked at his sleeves, "all…ways we..tt." He ran his fingers through his shaggy black hair.

"Sorry?" Meredith pressed her lips together, "where are we?"

A sudden strong gust of wind caused a distant bell to violently ring. The guy ran across the dock to one of the windows. He opened it about an inch to look out.

"What's going on? Please, talk to me." Her eyes scanned the rest of the building for a door. Maybe she could out run him or something? Though if he was able to run as fast as he could swim, then she doubted she would be able to get away. No, she needed to assess the situation and then come up with a plan.

He turned toward her and held his pointer finger to his lip. He closed the shutter and tipped toed back toward her.

Before he made it half way back toward her a large thump crashed on the roof.