Dreamcatcher

4

I wake with a shrill scream that scares my dormmates out of their skin.

'Aislinn, do you need some water?' offers Leigh, already on her way out of the dorm to the bathroom.

I apologise quickly to Kaede and Marianne, who say it's fine, then they probably make a mental note to buy earplugs from the school shop.

I immediately feel embarrassment swelling up inside me. But, when you've been having dreams about the fucking end of the world for month, who am I to blame?

I look to my left, where my Dreamcatcher hangs. It twinkles in the morning light and spins. I reach to touch a soft, dark feather and exhale as Leigh returns with a glass of water.

'Thank you,' I whisper, then sip the ice-cold liquid.

'Did you have a bad dre-' my best friend starts.

'Yes, yes,' I shush her. No-one else can know about this. 'Just the normal but intensified.'

'Blood?' Leigh whispers. I think her wild imagination is just becoming wilder. 'Death? You said that the world ended, and it's coming true...?' Nope. Her imagination is just becoming truer.

'Unfortunately, yes,' I confirm. I quickly decide whether or not to tell her, but in the end, I do: 'My soulmate was also there.'

'WHAT? Yay!' Leigh squeals in excitement before I tell her to be quiet. It's 5am. 'So, you're going to meet him soon? That's so exciting. I wonder if anyone in the world has a red beryl for theirs...' She trails off, shrugging. Leigh's always been very hopeful she'll meet her soulmate sooner rather than later.

'I'm sure you'll find your soulmate soon,' I reassure her. 'But together, the holders of the black opal may be very dangerous.' Leigh's eyes widen mockingly in disbelief, before we both laugh it off. Our conversation ends there, and my dormmates fall asleep, only to be woken two hours later by our assistant house mistress 'wishing' everyone a good morning.

But for those hours, I thought instead. About how soon this great catastrophe may happen. About when those visions started: my 15th birthday, when I got my bracelet.

The first morning back is a blur. Breakfast, walking down to school, receiving our timetables, lessons, etc. By the time I've finished lunch, I already feel exhausted. I head to one of the school libraries, and take out my computer to complete some prep. When I go online, several news stories catch my eye. All the headlines read something very similar, like:

𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖑𝖞 𝕻𝖑𝖆𝖌𝖚𝖊 𝕾𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖘 𝕿𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍 𝕬𝖚𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖆, 𝖂𝖎𝖕𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕺𝖚𝖙 𝕿𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖘 𝖎𝖓 𝕷𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓 𝖆 𝕸𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖍

I find out that not only has this plague killed so many people in three weeks, but it has also burned and destroyed more than half of Australia. Cracks in the earth, massive ones creating entrances to the abyss, are warnings that the plague is approaching. It seems to kill by getting inside one's blood system, then over three days, picking out weak spots and cuts to erupt out of. In the end, the victim dies of blood loss. I decide to keep an eye on it and will check more on this disturbing disease. It seems to ring a bell, though. My vision is full of bodies and blood and ruins and-

'What's that?' Cedric interrupts my thoughts. I'm very glad for that.

'Plague in Australia, killing thousands,' I explain. 'Nothing like anyone's ever seen before.'

'Oh wow,' he says. 'Glad it's like, on the other side of the planet, right?'

'I guess.' My gaze turns away from Cedric as an auburn-haired boy walks in, too: Liam

'Aislinn, you remember that Mum doesn't like you reading murder-ish books, or looking up death, yeah?' my twin says, looking over my shoulder at the news story. 

'Nice to see you, too, Liam,' I say, my dismissive tone clear.

'Girl and boys, this is a library. Go somewhere else if you want to talk,' says the librarian, looking up with her glasses precariously balanced on the end of her nose. We apologise and I pack up.

After leaving the library, Cedric hurries off to find his Greek book. So, Liam whispers into my ear. 'Is there something I should know about?'

'You'll have to be more specific,' I answer, turning away. Ugh, I wish he'd just do him and let me do me.

'With Cedric?'

'Liam, the difference between 'boyfriend' and 'boy friend' is that little space in the middle.' I tell him. 'We call that the friendzone. And you know he has a jade bracelet, not a black opal.' I sigh and try to quickly walk away, but Liam catches up.

'You'll want to listen to this.' His whisper is so grave and quiet I can barely hear it, but I can hear it all the same: 'I know what Ben knows. What you know. Dreamcatcher.'

My breath is unstable. He notices but continues:

'Don't deny you're some sort of a modern Oracle.'