The Dream Catcher

Chapter 1. Evelyn

    Huddled in a corner with my brother, I have a feeling our mother's not coming back. It's obvious, but I can tell my brother is trying to stay controlled. He chokes on sobs, probably imagining I can't hear him, but I can. I hear everything. It's weird, but not a thing goes unnoticed by my ears.

    There it is again. That bang that signals another thing has fallen down because of the vicious wind. I don't cry. I don't wail. I don't even move. I'm still, and it is I who comforts my brother when everything is amiss in this moment. After all, he is my twin.
    "Mike?" I whisper.
It takes a minute for him to answer, but  I'm patient. It's easy to be when I know his answer is delayed so he can control the sobs.
    "What is it, Eveyln?" He mumbles, looking at me for the first time. Or looking down at me. He's much taller than I am.
    "I'm going to close the door." I announce, shifting away from him.
    I get up slowly, on my feet for the first time in what feels like ages. Everything is numb, and I have to lean on the wall to steady myself.
    I hear a groan, and Mike gets up too. It's a wonder, really, that our neighbors haven't noticed any of the wind or the falling of our objects. But it doesn't matter. Most people keep to themselves here, and we don't have any close friends anywhere close to our neighborhood. Well, Mike doesn't. I've never had a friend besides Mike. And even that's a bit of a stretch. Yet, we're both emotionally broken right now, and though I'm a tad younger, I see it's my job to comfort him.
    I begin to regain feeling, and I take that as a sign to move towards the door, picking up things along the way. Fallen chairs. A turned over couch. A broken vase. I glance at Mike. He's not in the corner anymore. Frantically, I drop the chair I'm holding. He's got to be somewhere. He might be all I have left...
    "What are you doing?" Mike asks from the door. I sigh in relief, then quickly regain my composure.
    "You seem better. Will you go get the broom?" I point to the vase now making its home on the floor.
    "Of course I'm better. Look at this." Mike says. He almost squeals. Almost. Because Mike, the tough guy, would never squeal.
    Still, he seems to be losing pretty much all his composure as he rushes over to me, shoving a phone in my face.
    "So I found this app..." He starts, but I shield my eyes.
    "Mike, get that away from me." I shriek.
    "I think you mean, could you please show it to me." He clears his throat. "In that case, of course."
He pulls it back enough for me to see his phone has the app store open, showcasing a brilliant app with swirling purples and bright pinks, and in white a swirl of letters that says...the Dream Catcher?
    "Who is the dream catcher?" I blurt.
    "Well, according to this app, the Dream Catcher will catch any memory we want, and take it away until he fixes it." Mike tells me, pressing the button that gives us an accurate description.
    "Fixes it?" I say, taking his phone.
    In the little annoying block letters, the summary reads:

        Have you just had a bad day? Wanted to forget all your troubles until they turned into your successes? Help is here! Download our app, put in your trouble, and we'll take away that memory until we fix it for you!
    *Revolt or deletion of app will lead to severe damage of brain cells and could lead to injuries such as intense scratching, bleeding, or rubbing on skin.

    "What?" I stutter. "No? No. No, no, no!" I shriek, shoving the phone back into Mike's hand. Why would an app like that help us?
    "Come on!" Mike pleads, following me to get the broom. "What harm will it do anyway? If it doesn't work, then everything stays the same, but...but if it does, mom could be back home, and as soon as she is, we'll remember everything!"
    I stop walking. "Mike, it's just false advertising. There's no way it could work!"
    But...could it? Because really, Mike has a point..what do we have to lose? I start to back track.
    "But..." I can't think of a reason not to. The same six words keep repeating in my mind. What do we have to lose?  "Get the app."
    "Really?" Mike asks, doubtfully.

"Do it! Before my better sense kicks in!" I say quickly. What am I saying? Better sense? Isn't this better? Worry is seeping through me. I'm making a wrong choice, I have to tell Mike-
"Done!"
"Done?" I ask.
"Yes, now we have to enter our memory." He says, very excited.
I, on the other hand, have a bad feeling about this. We need to hurry this process.
"Type in, mom disappears through the door on a cold winter night." I say.
"Okay..." Mike's thumbs fly across the keyboard. "Now I just need to hit-"
I reach over and press done for Mike. Then I hear a thump. Mike has fallen to the ground, unconscious. And that's when everything goes black.

↜↺↻↝

My eyes flutter, adjusting to the bright light. It's so bright, it's giving me a headache actually. That and a weird honking noise. Somewhere between a groan, a moan, and a grumble. Then it hits me. Merlin's beard. It's Mike.
    "Evelyn!" He moans. "There's no wifi!"
    I groan myself and stand. "Mike, I don't care." I say, taking in our surroundings. We're in a completely blank room, white walls, white floor, and it's a bit echoey. But on the walls are hundred upon hundred of sticky notes. On every single wall.

    "Mike, where are we?" I ask, pulling a sticky note off the wall. It has the letter "E" on it.
    "I don't know, but I've just found all these letters-" He announces, running over to me.
    "Let me see." I grab the letters from him and examine them closely.
    SCAPEE
"It must be some kind of puzzle." I say, already rearranging letters.
    "Puzzles? It's all you then." He announces, already walking to another spot to get his precious wifi. I, on the other hand, am more interested in getting out. Mike probably will be too after he realizes there will be no wifi. And just like that it hits me.
    ESCAPE
    But I can't tell Mike yet. Because something feels weird about the word. Of course it says escape, but I don't think it means it. I don't think we'll be escaping for a while.