A light rapping disturbed Alyson's light nap, causing her to stir ever so slightly. She tried to rise to discover that one of her arms was pinned down. She finally recalled that she had drifted off with Nicole, whom was sleeping soundly in her arms at that moment. Alyson brushed back the girl's black bangs and placed a light kiss upon her forehead, which in turn caused the girl to mumble in her sleep and snuggle in closer to Alyson's chest. "Rest up little one." She whispered softly when another knock came at the door. Wishing that Natalie were there to answer the door Alyson carefully pulled her arm out from under Nicole's head and rolled over to pick up her crutch from off the floor. The pain in her leg had subsided substantially and she figured she would be back on her feet in a day or two, if she knew her body well enough that is. Her right arm, on the other hand, was still useless and she figured it would take nearly a month before she could wield a sword properly again. With this thought her eyes cast across the room to where her sword leaned against the far wall in its black scabbard. She had yet another dream of her brother and this sent her nerves even more on edge. She considered retrieving the weapon when she realized that she was not as good with her left hand as her right, never mind having the crutch in her left hand made things even more difficult. She felt defenceless without a weapon in hand and hoped to hell that whomever it was knocking was not looking for a fight. She lightly laughed to herself at the notion, who in their right mind would go through the trouble of finding her in the Western Dorms or would bother to knock before attacking? No one even knew she was in the West Dorms so there was no way the knocker could mean her harm. Yet still, the thought of her brother entered her mind, the way he towered over her and how he left bruises on her wrists from simply grabbing them. This thought caused her to hesitate ever so slightly and hesitation was not like her. She was known for charging in blindly no matter what the situation, or that was how it appeared, however the truth was she never bit off more then she could chew and was more likely to stand in the shadows then to attack if possible. She feared what Natalie would think of her if she ever found out just how much of a coward she truly was. She convinced herself that it as a justified cowardice, fighting Dream Ghouls, Cloud Snakes, Bugbears and Dream Ghosts were one things, however Faceless and other creatures of that nature live in the deepest depths of the shadows and were something that terrified the hell out of her and the fact that a Faceless only recently attacked the girl's in the lobby made her feel her fears were justified. She managed to conceal her dread from the others, but at that moment, as she faced the door, as she tried to draw forth every bit of rationality in her mind, at the back of her head she envisioned a porcelain mask, just like the many that lined her brother's walls, floating behind the door, blackness dripping around its shoulders like an surreal cloak, awaiting her to open it. Another tapping resounded from the wooden door, causing Alyson to jump, not a big jump and not one that anyone would have noticed, however for Alyson it was as if both her feet left the floor and she let out a nervous laugh. There was no way a Faceless would come knocking at the door, it would attempt to slip into her dreams while she slept and feed off her fears, not attack her straight out. This realization forced her fears off to the side and she leaned heavily upon her crutch as she hobbled across the bedroom, struggling to move as quickly as she could. She took a deep breath as her fingers encircled the doorknob and took one final glance over at her sword, drawing strength from it, before turning the knob and opening the door for her visitor. **** "Natalie?" Jenn spoke up before the door was opened entirely and was surprised to find Natalie's boiishly handsome girlfriend standing before her. The girl appeared to have just awoken as her short curls stuck up on one side of her head and there was a small amount of sleep in her eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Jennifer quickly apologized, "Is... Is Natalie with you?" She inquired sheepishly, almost not wanting to disturb the two young lovers; "She was not in her room so I thought I would check for her here." Alyson let out a small yawn, trying to cover the fear that had welled up inside of her, and wiped her bangs from her eyes and curled her hair around her ear, "She has not been up here." She said in a hushed voice, "I was just watching over Nicole and I guess we must've drifted off." She stepped away from the door so Jenn could see the twelve-year old girl curled up in her bed. "She is so cute." Jennifer noted softly as she gazed down at the small child. Her mind turned to Kimberly as she recalled the nightmares of the girl's father and wondered how someone could hurt such an innocent child. The idea infuriated Jenn and she felt a need to shove the anger away or she would hit something, "Is she alright? Was she just tired out from school?" "Kim's death seems to have effected a lot of the girl's here." Alyson remarked as she hobbled over to the side of the bed and lowered herself down next to Nicole, "It was as if her death released a wave of intense emotion that bombarded anyone already struggling with their own weak souls, which is pretty much everyone here." "I don't think Kim is dead." Jennifer stated confidently, "I think that Kim and Kima just finally merged together again." "You mean Kimberly don't you?" Alyson half inquired, "That would explain the change in her hair and eyes. Did you want Natalie to help confirm your theory?" Jenn shook her head, "No, I wanted to get some of Kima's clothes." She explained with some urgency, "But her room is locked." "Kima's clothes?" Alyson gave the girl a puzzled look, "May I ask why?" "Kimberly just had her period and needs some fresh clothes." Jenn explained hastily, "She seems to be a mix of both Kima and Kim so I thought I would get her some of both their clothes... I guess they are all her clothes now." She rubbed her temple as she again found herself struggling with situation. "Her period?" Alyson seemed intrigued by this, "So she isn't a Dream Ghost after all?" She asked aloud, not really looking for an answer. "A what?" "A Dream Ghost." Alyson repeated, "If you have a dream that is strong enough, and reoccurring, there is a rare chance, if the dream is of a person, or a creature, that the dream can take on a life of its own and breaking free of its bonds in the dream, essentially taking on a new life of its own." Jenn held the side of her head as it spun with this new information, "Angels of Death, Dream Ghosts, Faceless, Stained Glass Angels... All this is getting to be too much for me." Jennifer stated bewilderedly. "They have always existed, but your mind just was not ready to handle it until now." Alyson stated assuredly. "That doesn't make me feel much better." Jenn remarked miserably, "Do you have a key to Natalie's room? Kim seemed rather frightened when I left her in the showers and I want to get back to her." "Sure." Alyson produced a key from her pocket and handed it to the girl, "She is lucky to have you at her side. Returning from Dream Walking can be quiet an experience, I know first hand." Jennifer took the key gratefully, paused in thought and glanced up at Alyson, "Jessica told me that girl's don't have their period while in a dream so it is twice as intense when we return to reality." Alyson nodded, "I'm not sure why it is, but we don't seem to menstruate while in a dream." She partly lied with the 'we', but hoped Jenn would not notice. "Is it possible for a girl to be lost in a dream for so long that they never experienced their period before?" Alyson thought for a moment, "It is possible, but that would mean that she would have been in one or several dreams since she was, at the least nine or ten years old, and according to Natalie Kim was here, at the academy, only a few years back." "Was it Kim or Kima that came to the Academy? We don't even know how long those two were split apart. We just assumed it only happened a few days ago, but I think it happened much earlier then that." Alyson stared at Jenn in shock, "What you are suggestion is impossible. The two halves could only live apart for a year or so, tops." "Are you so sure about that?" Jennifer inquired uncertainly, "If the two of them had been apart as long as I think then can you imagine the conflicting memories she is going through right now?" Alyson let out a deep sigh, "More so considering she has the memories from Penny and Jessica's nightmares in her mind now as well. It will feel like she is experiencing several lifetimes at once. Hell, she is lucky she doesn't go mad." "Then I'd better get back to her." Jenn stated as she moved towards the door, "Could you find Natalie? Kim is going to need all the friends she can get." She stopped at the door and turned around again, "Oh and Amy too. She hurt her head as well." "Your right." Alyson nodded in agreement as she watched Jenn leave the room, "Good luck." She called out after the girl. The words Jenn has spoken circled inside of her head. She herself had learned to enter dreams back when she first met Drake. It was part of her first lessons, so she could chase down Dream Ghouls inside the dreams of those that they were being fed off of. Was it possible that her own menstruation was staled by her trips into the Dream Worlds? She did jump into dreams pretty much every week or so, which made it very possible. This thought partly excited her and she had to shake the notion from her head for fear that it was not true and she would be only working herself up. Anxiously she turned to Nicole and placed a hand lightly upon the girl's shoulder, "Nicole? Nicole wake up." She lightly urged the girl. Nicole slightly stirred and blinked up at Alyson, "Alyson...?" She glanced around the room in shock, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep." Alyson smiled down at the girl, "It's alright." She assured Nicole, "I'm sorry to have awoken you, but I need to find your sister and I didn't want to leave you here alone." Nicole sat up and stretched, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "It's alright. I should get home anyways." She wrapped her arms around Alyson's neck, "Thank you for taking care of me." Alyson patted the girl on the back, "Anytime sweetie." Nicole leapt off the bed and picked up her backpack off the ground, "You're getting back together with Natalie right?" Nicole inquired bluntly as she looked the girl in the eye. Alyson started slightly, she could never get used to such bluntness from an elementary school kid, "That is up to your sister." She said with a shrug. "Well, don't forget to give her necklace back to her." Nicole reminded before heading out of the room, "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Alyson nodded, "See you later. Be careful on your way home." Nicole waved, "I will, night." She ran down the hall and out of sight. With Nicole out of her care Alyson got to her feet and prepared to search for the girl's older sister, where ever she might have ran off too. ***** To be Continued . . .
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