Phoenix (Part 2 of the 2 Part Malevolent Series)

Chapter 1

"Welcome home James." I hear my moms soothing voice, I position myself on my bed, and I recognize this place, it's home. I get really excited, until I realize what's happening.

"What's wrong honey?" My mom asks

I can't tell her in my dream what's going on, it'll probably ruin the whole thing. "Nothing, I'm okay." I lie

"Okay, well you're running behind schedule. So you probably need to get ready and go to work." She reminds me

I nod my head, and she leaves. My room looks exactly as it did when I left, I miss it. I'm surprised the dream hasn't gone for the worse yet. I get dressed and walk down the stairs, where my mom is sitting on the couch, by herself.

"Where's dad?" I ask

She turns to me in confusion, "He has to work weekdays now, don't you remember? It was only yesterday he told us." She says

I just go along with it, "Oh, yeah, that's right. Sorry, I'm just a little tired." I grab my keys, and my backpack. I open the door and tell Mom goodbye. Dreams like these happen all the time, except this one hasn't ended yet, which is really odd. I get on my bike and bike to the fields, where I used to work.

Everything is the same as I bike to work, the factories, the mountains, the grass, everything. I didn't think I remembered this much, but I guess I have. But as I get closer to the inspection point, I realize how much has changed. Just past the inspection point lays multiple big buildings, and a lot of peacemakers roaming about.

I bike up to the inspection point, nothing odd happens, and I see the busy city. I look up and see the tallest buildings I've ever seen, they must've put these in after we abandoned this place. We basically handed this place to them, unfortunately. As I bike down main street, which is still miraculously here, a peacemaker orders for me to stop.

"I'm going to be late." I tell him, he just looks at me.

"Late to?" He asks

"My job." I tell him

"Well, where do you work." He asks flatly

"The fields." I tell him, he grabs me by the collar of my shirt, and throws me on the ground. He pulls out a baton and starts beating me, I can feel every blow, and people just walk past like it's no big deal.

"Stop!" I yell

I manage to grab his wrist, and twist it enough for him to release the baton. He falls back, and he pulls out his pistol, and has me at gunpoint.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask

"Your a scum of the city, you can't even manage to get a job being a trashman." He insults me

"We produce the food you eat! Where do you think food comes from, the sky?" I sarcastically ask

He pulls the trigger, I watch the bullet approach my head.

I fly up, I wake up to the real world. And I'm cuffed down on my hands and feet, I see Lucinda and Marcus. I'm strapped down on some sort of chair.

"Good morning James, I should say evening, but you just woke up." Lucinda says

"What was that all about?" I ask

"It was actually a test, and you did amazing. And you knew it was a dream, not many people recognize that." Lucinda says

"How much of it is true?" I ask

"What do you mean?" She asks

"Well, the city, my dad. All the peacemakers." I say