Divinity: The Gathering: Book One (2 page)

“You’re right, torture is eternal.” I said flatly with d
etermination.

Instantaneously, the dark angel’s entire face was bathed in a dazzling flash of light that completely
whited out his features, and he began to shriek. Even so, before that moment, I managed to catch a brief satisfactory glimpse of the wicked and gleeful expression on the dark angel’s face transforming into complete and utter…shock and terror.             

I: Starling:

T
he dark angel attempted to toss me away from him in reaction to whatever terrified him about me but I refused to let him. I held onto his wrists with all of my strength as he cursed in his strange language; trying to drop me as if I became some vile thing myself suddenly. I braced myself, unwavering and never taking my eyes off of him. The burst of my spontaneous strength, bravery and ferocity in wanting to kill this dark being took me by surprise and stunned me. The deep hiss of his voice began gradually changing into a higher more— female pitch calling me Starling and then finally, Star.

My heart was racing, adrenaline surging; my breathing continued to quicken and then. . . A sharp sting of pain burned my cheek. I sucked in a gasp of air, and instantly my eyes snapped open. Things around me appeared like odd si
lhouettes at first but then little by little; everything began to take shape gradually. Soon the familiar surroundings of my apartment living area, furniture and kitchenette began to transform into solid recognition and clarity.

The images and scent of fires, death, monsters, darkness, chaos, red moon and Cadillac…were all completely gone.

Someone was standing above me, shaking me, and I saw the long, thin arm pull back with an open palmed hand, apparently about to strike me once again. That had swiftly sharpened my vision and allowed me to refocus instantly.

I recognized my best friend and roommate Ch
ina’s pale face looming over me with brows knitted together in worry. China was lean and being taller than me made her appear giant and threatening to me in my still lingering, hyped and confused dream state.

Her hair was a tangled mess, hanging in her eyes as she brought her hand down once more and this time I caught it; stopping her inches before she struck me once again.

“Hey!” I exclaimed as I shoved her away from me. I was still shaken, my brain and my muscles continued to protract with a mixture of both fear and adrenaline. She stumbled backwards into the armchair and fell into it with a startled look on her face, and her mouth formed an ‘O’ as she watched me carefully.

The thin material of my tank top clung to me u
ncomfortably, both damp and cool with sweat. My chest was still heaving from the remnants of the extremely vivid and action-packed dream that left me breathless with heart continuing to pound wildly. I could conversely sort of feel the heat of the fires and hot asphalt on my skin and faintly smell the scent of burning metal, gas and pungent wet feathers in the back of my throat. I swallowed and took a moment to comprehend the fact that it had all been a dream…right?

My eyes subsequently darted frantically around, and then I glanced down at myself. I was still in my tank top and boxer shorts, which was what I usually wore to bed, but I was standing in the middle of the living area, and my cheek burned.

I was okay.

I was alive and okay I thought as I examined my forearms and skin for marks.

There were no burns or scrapes of any kind that I could see. I rubbed them absently anyway, remembering all the other vivid sensations that I felt in the dream then too.

“Jesus Star, you had me scared to death. Are you okay?” She asked as she stood up again.

“Why were you slapping me?” I whispered as I rubbed my still tingling cheek in confusion.

“You were fighting me, so I had to. I’m so
rry— I didn’t know what else to do, and you were really freaking the hell out of me,” China ran a hand through her hair and then gestured with a sweep of her arm toward the kitchen, “I came out to get something to drink, and you were lying under the coffee table. I’m like, w-t-f? I wasn’t sure what you were doing there, and your eyes were open. You seemed to be looking right at me, but you weren’t responding to anything I was saying. Shit, I thought you were seizing or something, so I shoved the table over; I picked you up and tried to slap you out of it. Then you grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let go.” She explained.

I paused to ruminate over what she just told me and her story made sense, “Well I think you took a little extra pleasure in that personally
though. That hurt.” I then said irritably.

She grinned and shrugged her shoulders inn
ocently, “Sorry.”

I pressed my lips with a sigh and turned around to look at the floor behind me in brief confusion. Sure enough the coffee table had been tipped over askew, and I apparently had been under it…under the Cadi
llac.

I should have known it was just a dream. It was one of many, all with the same themes and though the dreams have been escalating for a while now; this one had been completely different aside from the fact that I had never had any kind of interaction or di
alogue with anything in any of my dreams before. I had always been the observer and lost amid the chaos.

Accompanied by all the other horrific images; this time though too. . . I had been hunted down, and the dark angel had known exactly where to find me. Worst of all, he knew my full name and not just him…he said ‘We’ as if they all knew my name and were going to torture me eternally somehow, in some way in addition to his stench alone.

That threat could have meant anything symbolically but for some reason, I took it literally.

The thought provoked a feeling of fear, dread and hopelessness in me, especially when I thought back to the baby I couldn’t save and what the dark angel had said to me about having many of my
own with ‘Him’. Who was him or them for that matter?

“So, are you okay?” China asked me softly. Her jade green eyes searched my face with concern after I snapped out of my own thoughts and looked at her.

I sighed and nodded, wiping the sweat from my forehead and feeling matted wisps of curls stuck against my damp skin. I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath and swallowed again to calm myself and attempt to block the last images of the realistically charged dream from my brain.

China retreated into the kitchen, “I’m gonna get you some water. I mean, I know you’re never supposed to wake a sleepwalker, and now I know why, but I fi
gured I was doing you a favor. This is the first time I’ve seen you do something like this. Was it another end of the world nightmare?” She then asked.

It was the first time for me.

I’d never slept walked before in my life, but this particular dream had been just that real.

“Yeah, pretty much.” I said rubbing my eyes into more focus.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She then asked.

I took one last look at the coffee table before turning it onto its legs and setting it straight again and then headed into the kitc
henette and pulled out a barstool. I plunked down on it and rubbed my face with both hands, elbows resting on the bar counter top as she slid a cold bottle of Dasani in front of me. I eyed it for a moment in deep thought as I inhaled and then exhaled slowly once again and rolling my head in a circular motion to work out the stiffness and kinks in my neck.

“Not really. There’s nothing much to talk about. It’s the same stuff.” I told her taking the cold plastic bo
ttle and unscrewing the cap.

She paused for a moment and watched me, taking a long drink of her own water.

I took my own long sip, feeling grateful for the cold fluid as it flowed through me instantly, quelling the residual heat of the dying adrenaline still coursing throughout my body.

“You’re starting to look more and more like Uncle
Fester’s love child girl. Nothing that night cream and a few cucumber slices won’t cure though.” She then chuckled.

I frowned, “Thanks. What time is it?” I then asked.

“A quarter past three in the morning. You seriously need more rest, and you’re obviously not getting it when you dream like that.”

“No but I’m certainly burning a hell of a lot of cal
ories that’s for sure.” I smiled while rubbing my eyes.

China pressed her lips in a smile and looked at me wanly,

“Funny. You know stress is the main cause of nightmares. I mean, maybe…maybe…you should consider sleeping pills or talking to someone.” She then said carefully.

I looked up at her almost accusingly.

She put her bottle of water down and held up her both of hands in a placatory manner.

“No, no I know what you’re thinking but that’s not what I’m meaning at all. I just think that maybe these nightmares may be linked to something you’ve been repressing.” She then said.

I eyed her.

“Something like what?” I asked her.

She licked her lips in hesitation, her eyes averted from mine for a few seconds as she took another long gulp of her water.

I knew where she was about to go with this again. It’s what I had thought at one point myself, but I was over the grief or at least; I had moved past it, and I learned to deal with it on my own a long time ago.

She took her time in continuing, “It may help you. I don’t like seeing you like this, and lately it seems to be getting worse. It makes you boring and bitchy. I care about you Star, you’re my best friend.” She then soothed.

My mouth fell slightly, “Boring and bitchy? Katrina was seven years ago China and these dreams have nothing to do with hu
rricanes,” I told her, still trying to figure out what she meant by boring and bitchy.

Boring maybe, I’ll give her that, but I was not a bitch.

She went on, “No, but honestly— from what you’ve told me, and that fact that you see things like shadows and stuff all the time, which could be representations or manifestations of other things deep within your subconscious, it may be a possibility. I just think that the themes centered around the end of the world, and since you’ve lived through and survived the horrors, tragedy and devastation of what may have seemed like the end of the world to you directly as a child; It may be something that you haven’t addressed or gotten past yet, and it’s trying to resurface itself,” China explained like a seasoned psych major giving a graded dissertation on tragedy and the subconscious mind.

“I’ve been seeing shadows and other weird pheno
mena practically since I was born. So how do you explain that Professor Braswell?” I reminded her.

She appeared thoughtful, “I know but what I meant is…maybe since you are afraid of the dark, it could be a coping mechanism that shows up as shadows or in your nigh
tmares whenever you’re stressed. You might have something going on your subconscious that you might not be aware of.” She went on to explain.

I looked at her inquisitively, wondering if there had been a recent Dr. Phil marathon on television that China may have been watching, and then I smirked.

“That was deep and profound Dr. Braswell and since when did you switch your major to psychology? I thought you were a public media affairs' geek?” I then teased.

She burst into a giggle, and even I had to laugh at that one.

“Well, I’ve got my diverse psychology hat on right now and all joking aside, I’m serious. At least let me get you some Ambien’s or something. What with finals coming up,” She rolled her eyes and sighed, “And I know you’re not going to cut back your time at the hospice or the Y, you’re gonna need all the rest you can get.” She then said.

I shook my head no, “I’ll figure something out. You know I don’t like taking pills like that.” I told her.

“Well, you’ve never done this sleep walking stuff before either. I’m only trying to help in case I’m not here one night.” She then said.

“I’ll be okay. Maybe I shouldn’t have finished the rest of my spicy lo mein so late last night.”

“What?” China chuckled with a quirked brow.

I smiled weakly.

“My grandmother always told me, never eat spicy food before bedtime because it causes nightmares.” I then told her.

Her eyes widened, and she nodded in thought with a fist on her cocked hip, “You know, I’ve read about that too from some medical website before. It’s a possibility but with you, I sincerely doubt it. An
yway, it won’t hurt to take some just for a few days to catch up on your sleep at least. I think we need either some retail or club therapy while we have the time. Midnight’s blues is having a happy hour tomorrow night from four to eight.” She grinned.

I looked at her wryly, “Yeah that’s helpful considering neither one of us is twenty-one
, and college town is cop central.” I replied as I took another long swig of water.

“Star you are such a cube. You seem to be forgetting we have connections. How about Zen to Five then? Not in college town and happy hour is the same time there too.” She persuaded with a grin.

“I’m not gonna risk Joel getting into trouble for us.” I replied.