Demon King Series Books II & III

Chapter 1

“I had another dream last night. This time my teeth were falling out and I kept trying to ask for help but all that came out of my mouth were bubbles. Bubbles! Can you imagine?”

Joelynn rolled her eyes. Artie Wilkerson was always having strange dreams about his teeth falling out or being naked in public. "You have insecurity issues!" she wanted to yell at him. Any online dream dictionary would tell him that.

Dr. Colt Spencer simply smiled and then turned his attention to Joelynn. “Ms. Lewis. I’m glad you could make it today. Three times in a row. Do you think you’ll be able to share your last dream with us today?”

Joelyn could feel the stares of the other support group members boring into her. She had come a total of five times but hadn’t had the courage to speak up yet. It was at Jacob’s suggestion that she started attending a support group for people that had been through traumatic experiences. After the first meeting, she refused to go back until Jacob, her best friend, threatened to drag her there himself. Then she went a second time and thought group therapy was too weird for her and that the other people were just fruitcakes. Jacob didn't threaten her again but her nightmares hadn’t stopped so she decided to give it one more try. For the past three weeks, she had forced herself to attend the group sessions but she still refused to speak up.

“Joelynn?” Dr. Spencer was in his early thirties. He had dark brown hair that was almost black and big hazel eyes to match. He wore thin rimmed glasses and always dressed in slacks and a button up shirt. The other women seemed to adore him because he was cute in a nerdy kind of way.

Joelynn looked around at the others. They all seemed normal on the outside…well except for Artie. He was just plain weird. Listening to them talk about themselves had made her feel a little less bad about herself.

“C’mon sweetie, it’s just us,” said Bertie, an overweight lady that had been a victim of sexual assault. She had been a swimsuit model before she had been attacked. Her traumatic experience had caused her to eat until she gained over two hundred extra pounds on her once thin body. She was wearing a calorie tracker on her wrist. Joelynn smiled when she first saw it. It was Bertie’s way of taking control of her life. She was going to lose the weight and prove that she could deal with her rape without hurting herself further.

“Joelynn?” Dr. Spencer prodded again.

“Okay fine,” Joelynn muttered hoping she didn’t come off as some petulant kid. “I don’t really dream. I have nightmares…except they’re not really nightmares. They’re more like…like memories.” She took a deep breath, looked down, and continued. “My hands and legs are tied and I can’t move. I can’t see anything. I’m scared and confused. I can hear him breathing close to my face. I can feel his hot breath on my cheek and he keeps poking me with a knife. Then he starts cutting my arms,” Joelynn unconsciously started rubbing her arms up and down. “I can feel the blood leaving my body where he cut me. I don’t know why he’s doing this and I start to remember every bad thing I ever did to deserve this. Why me? It’s all I can think of. Why me? It hurts and I’m scared. I keep trying to scream but nothing comes out. I want my mom and my dad. I want someone…anyone…to come and save me but no one is coming. No one is coming. Then he starts pressing the knife into my neck…” Joelynn looked up and could see everyone silently staring at her, enthralled. Bertie has her hand up to her throat as if she was the one that had been poked with a knife.

Joelynn smiled, “And then I open my mouth...and bubbles come out.”

The group groaned in unison and Artie Wilkerson mumbled something about bubbles being a common theme in the group.

Dr, Spencer cleared his throat, “Joelynn, our sessions are to be taken seriously. I want to see you after group is over.”

She felt like a kid being scolded by the teacher. She sighed and nodded. Ten minutes later when group ended, Dr. Spencer called out, “Joelynn!”