I froze, staring in shock. Then a voice broke through the quiet, mine but…not. “That could’ve been poisonous, you idiot!” The voice rang clear and loud throughout the trees and bookshelves. But…I hadn’t spoken. Not a word. It was my voice…just different. Assertive, confident, confrontational, and like that of a leader. That was not my voice…at least not the voice I know. Mine is softer, more like a whispered suggestion that quietly sways. The kind that people could mistake for their own thoughts and ideas instead of words feed to them.
I study the clearing, hidden from view mostly, frowning. That’s when Daniel looks over his shoulder sheepishly towards the voice. “But it wasn’t.” He says with his usual humor, smiling faintly. To my relief, his voice hadn’t changed. It was still deep and calm, commanding but not forceful. Then I saw who he was looking at…and it was like looking in a mirror, except…distorted. It was my same face, down to every freckle. The hair though…his hair was a pastel lavender, nothing like my jet black hair. And his eyes were colder, more calculated. My frown deepened. “And it looks like we have a visitor.” Daniel says with a smirk.The new guy looks at Daniel with a sigh, raising one of his jet black eyebrows, making his lavender hair stand out even more. “Do we now?” He asks, in that voice that’s mine but isn’t.
”Yes.” Daniel says with a grin, and to my horror, he points towards me. I watch as the two of them begin to walk towards me. I back away further behind the bookshelf and trees, trying to get away as fast as I can. I’ve all but forgotten about the assignment I had to turn in, now it was just get away from the me who’s not me and Daniel. I move as quickly as I can while staying silent, watching the ground for sticks and leaves. And then I run smack dab into a bookcase. The books fall down in a cacophony around me, and swirling words and images of different time periods and timelines swirl around me from each book. I yelp in surprise and back away hurriedly…before tripping backwards and into a pair of arms.
I tense immediately as I’m caught, trying to pull away. The arms tighten around me, helping me stand, but not letting go even when I’ve regained my balance. When I look up, it’s me who isn’t me who caught me. I struggle harder, trying to pull myself out of his grip. “C’mon, Shae, let him go.” Daniel says, sounding bored. “You remember how freaked out you were the first time you dream hopped.”
The…me.. I guess Shae, lets me go and I immediately take five steps away from him. “What the hell does dream hopped mean?!”
Daniel sighs like I’m the most idiotic person he’s met. “It means you come to a time stop while asleep. Basically your unconscious mind travels through space, realities, and time periods to find a tether room. This is the library tether, which is the closest one to most realities.” Daniel explains like it should make perfect sense.
”What the hell…” I whisper, looking around as everything looks like it was tilted and put into focus. “So…he,” I point at Shae. “Is me from another reality?”
”Yes.” Shae says simply, yawning as if bored.
I sigh deeply. “And why is this happening to me?” I ask Daniel.
”Because it happens to all of you. You from different times, places, and realities. It’s like an extra genetic sequence in your DNA.” I stumble as the library begins to shake, vines snaking down and picking up the fallen books. “Well, it looks like this dream hop is over. See you at school Sam.” Daniel says as the library crumbles around us.
I sit up violently in my bed, chest heaving as I look around my sage room. The sweatshirt I had draped over my desk chair was still there, my book half-opened, and the short essay I was supposed to turn in tomorrow scattered on the ground. Almost like the fallen books in the library tether. I sigh and collapse back against my pillow, letting sleep claim me once more.
ns216.73.217.153da2
and then Add to home screen.