I was finally able to
fall asleep when we loaded onto the small puddle jumper that would finally take
us to Heartsong Island. I had never much liked flying, and had actively avoided
it for years, but this time it was worth the hassle. Life back home was getting so stressful. I was lucky to have Kurt, and have my
friends, but everything; every single close call with some big demonic entity
or whacked out, perverted god was starting to wear me down. A guy could only take so much.
Kurt had spent most of
the initial flight sleeping, his head resting on my shoulder. I was pretty sure he hadn’t been fully awake
as we rushed to our connecting flight.
He was back at it, soft little snores gurgling out of his open mouth as
he dozed away.
It took me longer to
finally fall asleep. Much longer.
When it finally happened,
I hardly even noticed. The dreams seemed
to come at once, almost seamless in the way it managed to replace my
reality.
I was still sitting in my
seat. Nothing about the plane had
changed at all, actually. The only thing
that was off was the young woman, standing in the aisle watching me. She had long, flowing red hair, and large,
sparkling green eyes. She wore a black, sleeveless
midriff that synched around her neck in a thick, black band. She had on black, high cut bikini bottoms,
and silver and gray leg warmers. She
looked like a 1980’s pop star, untouched by time.
She looked familiar.
I reached into my backpack,
and pulled out the pamphlet for the Hideaway, flipping it open. Sure enough, there she was. Aria had managed to invade my dreams.
“There was an old woman
who lived down the lane.” Her voice was
high pitched, but smooth. It lacked that
annoying squeak. “She stood with a
hunch, and walked with a cane.”
Aria showed no expression
as she spoke, her pretty face a blank slate.
“I’ve never heard this
one.” I spoke, but didn’t mean to. I was not in control of this dream.
“It’s a good one.” Aria smiled.
“Very scary.”
Her smile sent a chill
down my spine.
“Her house was all dark,
no light dared to enter.” Aria continued
her story. “A gateway to hell can be
found in the center. Lovers who dare to get to close will watch that love
decompose.”
I wanted to laugh. The rhyme was weak, but something about it
made me uncomfortable. I had learned over the years to never brush off a dream,
and right now, glancing around the cabin of the plane, I felt myself looking
forward to this trip less and less.
“What does it mean?” I leaned forward, my hand gripping the seat
in front of me.
“Stay away from the witch
house.” Aria smiled again. “Some things are better left at rest.”
Then, with a blink, she
was gone.
I snapped awake in my
chair, jerking forward as the small plane hit the runway. I could feel a cold, clinging sweat on my
forehead and neck.
I glanced at Kurt, and he
was watching me, smiling.
“You’re so cute when you
sleep.” He laughed. “Tossing and turning, and mumbling.”
“How long was I
out?” I used the back of my hand to
brush the sweat from my forehead.
“Not long, maybe half an
hour.” He leaned back in his seat,
stretching. “Once we get settled it’s
just going to be sun, sand and a whole lot of private time.”
I sighed, doing my best
to push the dream from my mind. “I can’t
wait.” No matter how hard I tried, I
just couldn’t shake that feeling. The
feeling that something very wrong was waiting for us once we got off the
plane.
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