p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"CHAPTER 1 DARK DREAMER/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Panic set in like a dead weight. Never had she been this afraid before. Harsh hands dragged her, gripping her upper arms in tight grasp. Never had Amy Peterson had a dream like this before. Everything was fuzzy like the ancient TV her mother had in the living room. She knew that the faces around her were somewhat familiar though placing who they were was impossible due to the haziness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"All of her senses were dulled as dreaming often did. Earlier she had been dreaming of cheerful things of seeing Charlie's smiling face before being ripped from contentment to this. Whatever was happening to her she realized wasn't good. All around her was darkness, the smell of smoke, sweat and piss surrounded her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The night sky was the color of obsidian, no stars lite the night sky making seeing almost impossible. The large group around her offered no help as she was helplessly dragged by two older men./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The man dragging her on her right seemed almost familiar. Something about his presence caused a feeling of dread and betrayal to rise deep in her chest./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Apart of her wanted to be strong, to walk with dignity and deprive the raging crowd that was yelling and spitting at her from seeing her fear. Tears fell silently as she fought in the mens grips, her throat was on fire like it had been subjected to long periods of yelling and shouting. The path created by all the people felt like it was lasting an eternity, the blurry faces never ceased to end. She knew that even though their faces were blurred that these people had been ones she called friends and neighbors./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Amy Peterson's dreams had never felt this real. Through dulled senses she could make out the feeling of rocks piercing the bottom of her feet small rivets of pain making their way up her leg./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The men's hands clinging to her were sticky with sweat. Their grips almost slipping off her arms as she thrashed in their hold. The man on the left's breath wafted in her face almost causing her to throw up as he leaned close telling her something that Amy couldn't make out. It almost felt like she was having no control over her body. Though she could feel everything happening to her body she was not in control./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"A force beyond her comprehension compelled her forward. Someone else was using Amy's body. Thoughts of fear of the unknown invaded her ever thought, whispers in her head pleaded for someone to help her. A face of a man that was even more fuzzed then the crowd flashed in her mind. He had promised to protect her, had held her and promised forever as he made love to her under the stars, yet she was here alone in the dark with those she had most trusted. The people around her were soon lost in focus as the men forced her towards a large wooden pole in the center of the town. She had been so drenched in fear she hadn't noticed it till she was almost right in front of it. The pole stood 10 feet in the air./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It had most likely been a poplar tree like the ones in her father's backyard yard. Below it were smaller branches piling onto each other closing around the bottom of the tree making the ground beneath it impossible to see. Those closest to the front were throwing an unknown liquid around its base coating the sicklings causing a horrid smell./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Her name.. no not hers the other denity's broke out of someone's lips causing her to turn her face in the direction of her caller. Besides the tree a man was oozing green from where pieces of his body hand been staked into the ground. His thrashing trying to escape his prison only caused more of the green stuff to oze from his wounds. Pain must not have registered in his body as his thrashing grew desperate when he saw her situation./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""APPLE!" The feeling of her voice coming out of her throat without permission startled her. The voice sounded like her but older an accent making it making it distinguishable from her own./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The smell of the liquid caused the person controlling her body to know exactly what was being unloaded before her eyes, she knew what that liquid was used for. A scream of mercy left her throat as the reality of the situation she was in came rushing forward. Her voice only entitled the crowd as someone threw the liquid in her direction soaking her. This time she couldn't contain the acid tasting vomit stuck in her throat from coming up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The horrid breath smelling man backhanded her across her cheek as it had landed over his front side. The hite was enough to land her on the ground the familiar man on her right let go. More of the liquid was poured over here coating her hair and some trickling it's way into her mouth causing her to sputter and cough./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"People from the crowd took advantage of her moment of weakness as a sharp boot landed it's way to her face. A yell of encouragement rang out amongst the people as more micks found there way onto other places of her body. Blood sputtered from her mouth and nose as another foot stomped on her face. Tears flowed as she choked on her own blood./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"All Amy wanted was to wake up back in the comforting surrounding of her room, to feel the warmth of her bed and covers wrapping her in a warm embrace. Horrible pain marked her body as the people continued their assault. Someone else yelled and the stomping stopped as arms wrapped around her hauling her up dragging her up the pile of wood./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Her body groaned in protest at the moments of being mishandled. It took everything in Amy to remember that this wasn't real, it was only a horrible nightmare she would forget when she woke up. Her dream body was harshly shoved against the wood the hard bark pushing roughly against her body as twine was being wrapped around her cutting off circulation to her body./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Tears fell down her face slipping into the open cuts on her face causing more to fall from her eyes. Blood was falling down her body landing on the wood no one paid attention to her as the townspeople finished wrapping the hard twine around her. The familiar man was at the front of the crowd his face a mask of blankness as he faced her head on. The man that had hit her crept up to him passing him a burning torch eliminating their blurry faces./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"From the ground beside her the man that called her name was yelling at the people telling them that if she died they all would soon follow. No one paid any attention to him as the man with the torch moved forward placing the torch in front of him sticking it by the branches at her feet. The flames caught the tiny branches where the mystery liquid had penetrated./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Tears streamed more forcefully from her eyes as hotness tickled the bottom of her feet. Smoke was starting to waft up blocking her vision./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It wouldn't be long the flames caught onto her body and ate her alive. The person in her body took a deep breath turning her head to the man on the ground./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'll always love you." The man's face turned blank as a single green droplet fell from his eye. A smile of acceptance was all she was able to offer him before the flames caught on the bottom of her dress. Excruciating pain flared where the flames had caught. A blood curdling scream rang from her throat as the town people cheered./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Why couldn't she wake up!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The flames crept up her body causing the skin they touched to melt away like candle wax. Why wasn't anyone helping her? Amy's voice sprang into her head as the pain became intolerable trying to will her body to wake /The feeling of warm blankets was starting to over take the pain she was feeling. She was trying with all her might to wake up out of this unimaginable experience./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The pain flared even worse as the dream body was starting to lose consciousness the dream was fading though relief paved it's way as the images in front of her were turning to black. Before the dream body passed out and she returned to her body a dark demonic growl broke through the night sky before screams of the villagers broke out. She was unable to see what happened next as her dream body lost consciousness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"With a start she bolted up in bed clutching the blankets in a tight grasp. Her skin was soaked in sweat but no pain from her dream clung to her. Never ever had a dream felt so real of had she ever felt panic like she had in the dream realm. No matter how hard she tried sleep evaded her for the rest of the night for fear she would be plunged back into her nightmare./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The next morning when her father came to pick her up from her mother's he remarked on the dark skin under her eyes making an offhand remark about her mother's lack of parenting over sending her to bed at a reasonable time. She didn't pay any attention to him choosing to remain silent on the long way back home. She had hoped when she woke up the dream would have faded like most did. Unfortunately for her the dream kept an ever lasting presence in her head. All she could hope for as she stared at the sun lite sky was that with senior year approaching she would be able to push it away into the deepest corners of her mind./p