Gasp! I woke with a start. It’s just a dream, only a stupid dream. I tell myself. I press the heel of my hand to my chest to calm my heart rate. No luck, the dream felt too real. For about a month I have been having these weird dreams about another planet. It looks vaguely familiar. There was a war, bloody with bodies lying on the ground in a helpless heap. I can’t shake the images of the dream from my mind. I get up and walk to the small bathroom in my room not bothering to turn the lights on. I don’t need the lights. I see better without them. It is strange I know, but it is true. Well ever since I started having these dreams.

I don’t bother trying to fall asleep again because I know it’s useless. I will just end up waking up again sweating buckets. So I pace around the room slowly sipping water until the first cracks of dawn break through my window. I throw on a t-shirt and sweats on and head down stairs followed by the horrors of my dreams. I plaster a smile on my face and walk into the kitchen. Pancakes with peanut butter, my favorite! My grimaced smile automatically turns into a true smile. I love my aunt.
“Where’s Uncle Peter?” I ask helping myself from the heaping pile of pancakes. I grab the peanut butter jar from the counter and plop down in my chair.

“He was called into the council meeting.” She replied spreading butter on her pancakes a little too roughly, because she ends up smashing them in the process. She forced a laugh that sounded a little shaky.

Something was happening, something big. Almost nothing throws her off. Not even she figured out what I am, so I started to worry.

I clear my throat “did something happen?” she snaps out of her daze just long enough to give me eye contact.

“Chris… you are not alone”

I’m not alone? What does that mean? Is she talking about my weird powers? Is she having a baby? I’m not the only abandon child out in the world?

“W-what?” I gasp. “What do you mean I’m not alone?”

“Your uncle and I have found a boy- he’s exactly like you. I mean he resembles you; the powers the hair and accent.” She stammers as if she is trying to wrap her own head around this bizarre event. “Except he can jump, not like anything I have ever seen. Do you know what this means?”

I shake my head and pinch my leg to make sure I’m awake. I had only dreamed about there being others like me… that I’m not the only freak. A flicker of doubt pierces me. I eye my aunt trying to decipher if she is playing me or not. By the way she is acting today; I know she is not lying.

I hear the creak of our front door and automatically turn my head towards the door. My world stops. There is so much silence it’s loud. This kind of silence can only mean one thing- dread. I don’t know why but some kind of gut wrenching feeling grows inside of me. I feel like I’m about to vomit, pass out, or worse. I grab the back of my chair as my empty plate crashes into a million pieces. Everyone is looking at me as if I was just possessed by something other than me. Well, that’s kind of what grief does to you.

The next thing I knew I was waking up with a killer headache. The boy was sitting in the dark corner of the room in a rocking chair.

“I’m glad to see you finally woke up,” he softly chuckles.

My head instantly snaps up causing me to see spots, but I push it aside. “What are you doing here?!?” whispered harshly.

“So I get greeted with you passing out, now I’m being silently screamed at,” he looks a little too amused. Then his expression turns to stone as he crosses the room and brushes the hair out of my eyes. His deep dark set eyes bore into me as if there is an ocean of longing. I bury my head into his chest and sob.

“I thought you died! Since when were you like me? Why are you here? What happened?” I scan his face as he tries to put his thoughts into words. One thing Nile has always been better at than me. But he gives no answer; instead he desperately fits his mouth to mine. What’s going on? Why is he being like this? It’s almost as if he’s urgent, like having a limited time. “Your trapped.” I blurt out.

He stares into my eyes with a pleading look in his eyes. Then I understand. He can’t tell me. It has to be some form of punishment. Bit who is torturing him and for what reason? At that realization I pull back and start questioning him. Every simple answer to my questions seems to send a rush of pain through him. I am so scared that I want to run into the woods, but I pull him into me and let him cry. Just then I grab his hand and put his shoes in his hand along with his jacket, and grab my own.

In the woods I feel like myself. Without warning or talking both of us sprint through the tangles of roots, and shrubs. I slow down as we reach my tree. I place my hand on it and the tree feels like it is almost vibrating. I grab Niles hand and we are transported into the tree where it’s another world awaiting us. I drag Niles towards the center of the tree. I notice how he is completely stunned by the beauty of it. Well, it’s beautiful if you like darkness, and a spiral staircase that never seems to end. The darkness doesn’t bother us, nor does the staircase.

“Nice to see you two have reunited. Hmmm. I’m sensing you are not completely united. Nile is in pain. Jaggar must be up to something. Come here my boy.” I hear his feet shuffling against the ground as if he were shackled. I’m scared I might lose him a second time. They walk behind the wooden door. I sit staring blankly at the door with sweat collecting in my palms. I have always trusted tree, but after seeing Nile die in my arms, and having him gone for three years, I start to panic. I sink to the floor, helpless against the image of death.

The moment is so fresh in my mind. I have been battling the images for so long I feel weary. I close my eyes and finally for the first time let the events of his death replay. I know he died, but whom or what brought him back?

After what seemed like eternity Tree and Nile walk out of the room. Nile has a smile on his face now. I look up at him and already I can feel that whatever Tree did was a miracle. I get up off the ground and brush the dirt off and I look up and there he is six inches from my face. I can’t help it I kiss him more passionately than I ever have. Never will I let him out of my sight again. In the blink of an eye we are back in the middle of the woods.

“Chris… how… when…” His voice trailed of not knowing what to ask.

So I tell him about how after he died I ran into the woods crying. I had fallen and almost as if a portal pulled me in I ended up in there and that’s when I met Tree. He explained to me what I was, what we are, where we come from, and why. We are something of extinction. We are the last Abitals. There was a war on our planet and my father, ruler over all, had to send us to this place called Earth. He sent you to protect me. Tree is our only guidance, but even he knows very little. The Abitals had sent him here for a mission, but got stuck in a tree. So he did what he does best. He became the tree. He has lived there for over three-hundred years in isolation until I came along after your death. It was almost as if he was supposed to be there to help me.

“I guess fate took a chance.” He said softly, startling me. I got lost in the story I forgot he was there. “What else did you learn?”

“That’s all I know” I admit. I grab his hand and I walk in silence and let him soak in the tree and the news. I have become accustom to Tree, and the thought of not being alone now is still trying to penetrate its way into my senses. What did Tree do that I was unable to do? “What did Tree do to you? How are you back to normal?”

Nile stops and faces me. He cups his hand under my chin and kisses me softly at first then more passionately. “You gave me hope; something I have not experienced since I died.”

And with all that had been said, he walked away leaving me to try to make sense of what he said. I gave Nile hope? All I have done since his reappearance was act mad at him for dying. I had no hope myself. Well until I found out he was like me. We are Abitals.

“Nile,” I say. “What about Aunt Ferra and Uncle Peter? They don’t know that we are… um… together. They know that we are Abitals, even though they are not.”

“Then we have to hide that along with who we are.”
I stood there stunned. I honestly didn’t know what to say to that. I walked quietly behind Nile studying the taut muscles in his back remembering how last time I saw him he was skinny and dying. As he stopped to look at the moon, I wrap my arms around his middle and buried my face into his back.
“I missed you,” I mumbled into his jacket.
“I missed you too Chris. Never in my life did I expect to die and come back to life. You saved me.” He whispered.
My ears perk up to an unfamiliar sound. My nose then catches the smell of the smoke. “Run!” I yell. We run back to Tree. Safely we reach Tree and it hits me. “Aunt Ferra and Uncle Peter!” I start to turn but Nile jumps in front of me blocking my path.
“No. Chris listen they’re gone. We can’t go back now. Listen I know losing them will hurt but we got to save ourselves now. We are all we have now. It’s just you me and Tree.”
Locking my jaw I nod. I turn and we start running away from the fire. Three hours into our trek through the forest the day light begins to die along with the forest fire. All that is left are the puffs of smoke gathering into the sky like a nightmare. Shivering I hug myself and sit on a rock.
“So what now?” I look at Nile for advice.
“Honestly I don’t even know where we are.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but turned around and walked to the nearby river. Walking back 20 minutes later he said, “We have to keep moving. We are very vulnerable here to the night creatures. Tree also needs a permanent tree to live in. He can’t last long.”
I walk over to Tree who has fallen asleep on a stump. I shake him gently. “Tree come on wake up. We have to move now. Let’s go.”
Seconds later we set out on another hike. Nile and I can see in the dark whereas Tree is tripping over every pebble, and vine.
“Nile hold up,” I say pointing at the flickering light. Nile follows the direction that I pointed with his eyes.
“Stay here with Tree. I’m going to see what it is.” He said planting a soft kiss on my cheek. “Don’t worry I will be careful.”
Hours went by without a trace of Nile. Tree is taking another nap under an old maple tree. I become restless and head out to find where Nile went.
As I walk through the village I notice people sharpening axes and swords. I notice people are surrounding something, and people were shouting. Cautiously I walk up to the crowd and ask what was going on.
The man with big green eyes looks down at me and says, “Trespasser is on trial.”
I push my way through the crowd to see who is being tried. “Nile…” I whispered. I catch his eye and he mouths something that I couldn’t understand. So I push my way up to the stage.
“We are just lost, tired, and hungry. Our home was burned to the ground from a forest fire. We just saw the light of your village and Nile here went to see if he could find us some food and shelter. So please I am begging you to spare us.” I say.
The crowd fell silent as a man with a cane walks toward me. He stops before me and stares at me straight in the eyes and says, “Welcome Christiana Usbeorn,” turning to Nile he says, “Welcome Nileston Warner. I am the temporary leader of the Abitals. My name is Varick. I was waiting for you Christiana Usbeorn, to take over the job that your father had left for you. Tonight there will be a welcoming celebration for you. There is a tree in the middle of our village that Tree would love. We will also train you in the Abital way.”
That night Nile and I sat down on a large platform surrounding a large camp fire. Varick stood before the crowd and gave a speech in our honor. He beckoned me to join him at the front of the crowd. All at once the crowd took their three middle fingers and placed them over their hearts and kneeled. I look back towards Nile and he shrugs and does the same.
I stand there stunned staring out into the crowd. “T-thank you,” I stammered. “I don’t know what to say other thank you for protecting our race.”
TO BE CONTINUED…