Chapter 13

After work one day, I went to the park.  It was such a long day, and I decided it would be nice to people watch.  Sometimes it's nice to see just how other people are.  It makes me truly see how weird I am, but also I see the even stranger.  Crowds are a strange thing, if a few families in a park could be considered a crowd.

Then to my complete surprise, Marina turned up half an hour later.  She's been really bugging me.  I am alone in a public place, and eventually, she shows up.  When will I learn and just go places with Marshall and Jeff? 

I answered my own question. Because I'm not quite like them.  I like alone time, to sort through my thoughts.

But, I don't think that when Marina is in the vicinity.

Her spell washed over me, and when she got closer, I patted the seat next to me.  She smiled and quickly sat beside me.  Losing no time, I put my arm over her shoulder. She felt really cold.

"Um-are you okay, Marina?  You feel really cold."

I rubbed my arm up and down hers.

"Oh-um...yeah.  I'm-cold, yeah.  I'm cold."

With a combination of her strange response, and becoming more aware of how her body felt, I jumped a little.  It just didn't seem normal.  The sensation of her body was...not just cold, but something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I got off the bench.  Somehow I managed to break away from her spell, probably with the help of my doubting thoughts.  It's all starting to make sense, with her skin and her power over me, but I just don't know quite what I figured out.

"Marina, just get out of my life already.  Stop...doing whatever it is that you're doing."

Marina looked guilty, she looked back and forth, but I didn't see any perspiration.  "I don't know what you're talking about!"  She may have denyed what I said, but she still ran.  Lightning fast-faster than any olympic runner could run.

She hopped in her car, and I waited a minute.  I had to know where she lives, but I couldn't let her know I was following her.  I gave her a thirty second head start, and ran as fast as I could to my car. 

When I got near her house but not close enough to where she could see me, I parked and ran.  I could just see where her car went.

When I made it to her front door, I dared look at her.  I saw Marina, but she vanished with this thick greenish yellow fog.  In her place stood a very creepy woman.  This lady started to mop up the fog that condensed on the floor.

What kind of fog condences on the floor?

So for some reason, this extremely dangerous woman is making me have a relationship with her.

But why?

It made me truly shiver that she was able to control my feelings and my actions when I'm around her, all to romance her.

For a second she looked up from her mopping.  Lucky for me she was looking at some random spot at the wall, or I'd be dead meat.  Or worse.  I could never guess what she could do to me!

Of all the things she could do to me, why the supposedly 'nice' interactions of romance?

My inclination was right.  Marina-or whoever she is, has to be demented.  Her motives are all wrong.  And if they weren't, then she was insane as well as the obvious of her being evil in some way.

Her eyes sneered at that random speck.  If I were that speck, I would've dissolved away.  She had off colored skin, but it wasn't a sickly gray...just...off in color.  Her eyes glowed, and they were a peircing, terrifying red.  Her hair was white with purple streaks in it.

It was obvious what she was.

A vampire.

A vampire that can control minds and shapeshift.  Nice!  I don't even want to find out what else she can do.

I ran away from her house so fast.  There was no way I could go back there.  Absolutely no way.  I can't let myself romance Marina again-or maybe I just should never be alone anywhere public again.

Fine.  If I have to I'll give up my way of life for my safety.  And sanity.  I have to fight it.  I must be strong!

I went straight to my car and went just a little too much over the speed limit.  I just wanted to go home and into bed, and snuggle up in my covers.

But I got home, and there was Suzy.

"Oh, hello Alex.  Let me go put this washing in the machine and we can talk."

We're pretty much on a friends basis right now.  And I like that.  For now.

"Sorry if that took a little long.  How are you, Alex?  You don't look so good.  Do you want to talk about it?"

Not typically what a butler would ask you.  But Suzy isn't a typical butler.

"Oh, thanks Suzy.  But I'm ok.  Really, thanks.  And-I'm actually really tired.  I want to go to bed now, we can talk tomorrow."

"Ok Alex, if you really don't want to tell me.  Good night."

It's not like I could really tell Suzy that there is this girl, Marina, who tries whenever she can to romance me when I'm alone and she makes me do it, and she miracuously finds me.  Then, I get in an argument with her and follow her to her house and discover that she's a vampire. A vampire.

Pcch, yeah she's going to believe that.  When great grandpa thinks I'll get a girl then she would!

Well, in your face grandpa.  I'm getting there.  Kinda...Kinda? Oh gosh, I hope so...

I quickly scurried to bed.  I just longed to have the blankets around me, and to feel the softness of my bed and pillow.

My tingly feeling subsided when I got into bed.  I tucked the blankets around me tightly, and pulled them up all the way to my nose and over my ears.

Gosh, It's like I'm five again.

Not many people have to go through this everyday.

Before I fell asleep, a very crucial thought wiped over me.

But...supposedly Marina is missing.  Her friends Stella and Trista....

I was too sleepy to let those thoughts settle too much.  I fell asleep in a heartbeat.

I was in a small tan room, full of cracks and imperfections.  And there was Marina, walking toward me.  Her radiance and presence seemed to light up the depressingly, small room.

Her eyes sparkled, she looked at me and smiled.  I practically melted to the floor.  She was just so beautiful.

But then I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, there was that disgusting creature.  That...that...I didn't even let myself think what it was.  Gone was her loving look, the sparkle in her eye.  She didn't even look at me, but looked at a spot on the wall as if it were more interesting than me.

Then, without warning, she pinned me down and loomed over my throat.  She was going to do something to my neck, and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it.

I just lay there helplessly, I was so frightened I couldn't scream out, and I also wasn't able to move my face muscles.  I was just that scared!

I didn't utter a sound, and neither did creepy vampire lady, but still.  Lucid girl came to my resue.

She just stood there.  She didn't touch us or anything, but somehow she still moved her off me without difficulty.  She pinned her to the floor with nothing, without touching her.  Though nothing bound her there, she couldn't move.  And in an instant, I was standing without even remembering getting up.

"Wo, you just saved me.  Thank you so-"

"Oh, it's ok.  I'm so happy I could be here in time to save you, Alex."

Then it hit me.  This is a dream.  Lucid girl saved me.  This is when reading up on lucid dreams comes in handy: she is my dream sign.  She's been in my dreams numerous times, so now I will know I'm dreaming whenever I see her.

Unfortuanatly.

"I know this is a dream!  Thanks for helping me become lucid.  And...how did you do that exactly?..."

She stepped a little bit closer to me then was necessary, "I'm so glad I helped you become lucid!  And I did that using what I call my 'magic hands'.  I simply move my hands to make them do a job without touching anything."

"That's awesome!  You should show me how."

"Not now, another time.  Come with me."

She took my hand, and we went out of that little, depressing room.  Her hand was little and soft.  I could feel the sensation!

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see.  Come.  Follow me, Alex."

She flew off the ground in a swimming pose.  I followed her and tried out her new style of flying.  Unfortuanatly, she was a little higher then me.  I tried to get higher, but I kept stumbling.  I could tell I would soon fall.  Lucid Girl sensed it, "Alex, don't think about falling.  Think about rising.  You are a feather-you are in control.  This is my dream after all."

There she goes again, calling my dream her dream. 

Well, she is a dream character and apart of my mind, so therefore she is thinking in terms of me me.

I rose just before I was going to crash into some crates.

"Come on Alex.  Take my hand and we will go somewhere else.  We are going to teleport, there is no way we want to stay her in this damp and dreary place of my dream."

My, my, my.

I noticed some fog appearing in front of us.  I caught her hand at the last second.  Then, I heard a whip of wind, and soon everything went black.

We arrived at a beautiful tropical island, and we immediatly let go of each other's hands when we arrived, admiring its beauty.

But then I heard a voice behind us, "you didn't think you'd lose me that easily, did you?"

I whirled around and I was shocked to see it was other me, just like the other me I saw in the reflection of the water in a previous dream.

I don't know why, but I was a little freaked out.  Lucky for me me, Lucid Girl was on my side, but other me had no one.  Maybe it's because it's not natural to see another you except in a mirror?

So it wasn't just wind that I heard right before we teleported.  Other me followed us here.

But how could he have-I didn't see him before...

"I will answer your question."

'Me' can read my MIND?!

"Yes I can read your mind.  Why don't you try to read mine?"

I tried really hard to do what he suggested.  I concentrated, staring at his skull, and telling myself I believe, this is a dream and anything is possible.

Then I heard something come from a tiny corner of my mind.  That's the way, Alex.

I did it!  I read his mind!

Since he now knew that I could read his mind, he thought what he would have told me, 'Alex, I am you.  One in the same.  Well, close enough anyway.  So close, in fact that we can trade views.  But you're always in control, in first person.'

So that's why I switched to third person when I was kissing Lucid Girl in that one dream-

'Yes, that's right Alex.  But don't be jealous-I am practically you.  Oh, and there is just one other thing.  I would like to give you a message.  Marina is more dangerous than she seems.

My brain really started to hurt when I tried to sort through that last statement about Marina-a dream is no place to think deeply.

Other me disappeared, as if he went back to being in third person, of me.  As if he were my shadow.

"Wow, that was totally strange-"

I'm sure she couldn't fully track the conversation, since we were mostly talking telepathically, but certainly seeing two of the same people isn't a common occurence.

"Yeah.  But-let's just not talk about it.  You and I are here.  Now."

I reached out and held her, sucking in her warmth, feeling her every curve.  And dang was there a lot of curve to feel, all around.  Even her back was curvy.

But she wasn't getting into it-her arms were limp while she was staring into the distance.

There was something she was not telling me.

*To be continued*

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I have one thing to say, actually.  I have not revealed the two major surprises I was talking about yet!  There is still more of that to come :).

Oh, and just so you guys know, I've been TRYING to comment.  But for some reason it won't let me log in, and when I post anonymous, it never goes through, wanting me to log in again.  It doesn't ever say that I'm logged in at the top, so if anyone knows how to fix this please let me know.