Dream Killer: Book One in the Nadia Chronicles

Dimitri was startled awake by a blood curdling scream. He was armed before his eyes were fully opened and spinning on his heels to see who was attacking them. He noticed Nadia was still in her sleeping bag, but trying desperately to get out of it. He could also see that she was still asleep, but more urgently she was smoking. Before he could get to Nadia, her sleeping bag burst into flames. She sat straight up in the fire, confused and disoriented. He called out her name. She looked at him with puffy, tear stained, red eyes. Dimitri took a step toward her.

“Wait,” Nadia said firmly. As quickly as the fire started it went out and she sat in the ashes of her sleeping bag and clothing. Her hair looked windblown, but it was un-singed by the fire. Nadia was hugging herself around the knees and was quietly pulling herself together. When she looked at Dimitri again it was with gentle eyes and an impish smile. He looked away to allow her some privacy to get dressed again. “At the rate I am burning my up clothing, I am going to run out very soon,” she said more to herself than him. Then she asked Dimitri, “Is there some where I will be able to trade for cloth? I can sew, but as you saw it will need to be a sturdy cloth and, even that, I don’t think will survive another fiery outburst.”

He heard little of what she had asked, still replaying what had happened. He was afraid for her and him. What if she was near someone next time she bursts into flames? He had to teach her control now, he thought. He could not wait for them to reach safety.

“I’m sorry,” he started lamely, trying to remember Nadia’s question. “Yes, you will be able to get cloth as soon as we are safely among friends, but it is some ways from here. We are going to have to push to reach safety before the snow begins to fall.”

She could hear the fear in his voice and was not sure if it was about her or the snow. She was shaken by the dream she had, but it was quickly disappearing from her mind. She was sure it was no more than a nightmare. But even as most of it slipped away she knew the ending would haunt her for many nights to come. She had dreamt of Dimitri’s cold form beaten and forgotten in the snow. Her heart broke when she saw him in her nightmare and was still aching as she remembered it. She wiped away a tear, pulling herself together before she told Dimitri she was done changing. They packed in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. When Dimitri touched Nadia’s shoulder she jumped with surprise.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I did not mean to frighten you.”

“No, I was just lost in thought about the awful dream I had,” she brushed off his apology without looking up at him before continuing. “But it was just a dream and nothing more,” Nadia said firmly more to herself than Dimitri. “What were you going to say?” She was embarrassed by the fire ball, her nakedness, and her tears when she woke up.

He took a step closer to her and pulled up her chin so she was looking up into his eyes. “I am sorry for startling you,” he said placing his warm hands on her shoulders. “But I am also sorry for not telling you this earlier. You have encountered so much since you have arrived here in Baako and you have taken most of it in stride. So much so I forgot you have never had gifts or lived this war as I have. But I want you to remember that I am here to guide you.” He stopped for just a moment staring deep into Nadia’s eyes. “You have been burdened with much already and then I showed you weakness by not supporting you when you, well, for lack of a better word, burst into flames. I am sorry. But please use me as a confidant so I may help you in the future. When you are ready please tell me about your dream. A dream that can make one as strong as you scream out and burst into flame must be something you should share. Do not carry this burden or any other alone.”

When he finished, he allowed her to look away. He picked up his own bag and began covering the signs of their camp. Nadia strapped her knife to her thigh with a grin and pocketed a small pouch of dreamless sleep in both of her back-jean pockets. She put on her tennis shoes, still not looking directly at Dimitri. She was glad to see that her only pair of shoes where covered in ash and not badly burned. When Dimitri was done covering the camp Nadia knew she could no longer delay departure.

She turned to him and said, “I do not remember most of my dream and I know it was only a nightmare.” She took a deep breath before saying, “but it was terrible. I burst into flame because I lost my temper, because I was ready to fight the whole world for what had happened to you.” She whispered the last part hoping he would not see the tears that just the memory of the dream had caused. He crossed the camp in a few swift seconds and reached for her hand needing to comfort her, but stopped short. “You were beaten,” she whispered before he touched her. “Brutally beaten and left for dead in the snow. I was walking through the woods and found your body and though you were still breathing, I knew.” She swallowed back more tears, trying desperately to get control of herself. “I knew that you were going to die and a part of me was going to die with you.”

She stared silently past him remembering every detail of Dimitri’s beaten body and the scene she was describing. Dimitri finally grabbed Nadia holding her close to comfort her and she willingly allowed him to pull her into his arms. She felt better almost instantly with her head on his chest listening to the steady beat of his heart. She knew she was being foolish, because she had barely met him less than a week ago and already she loved him? She shuddered at the thought and a sudden cold she felt deep inside. Then she realized what was happening. She pushed back from Dimitri to consider his face.

“You were cold,” she shuddered as she spoke. “And I just gave you warmth. Why didn’t you tell me you were cold?”

Dimitri reached out and rubbed a tear from her cheek, “I didn’t realize I was that cold, nor did I realize you could do that.” He held Nadia at arms-length. “Your dream, like you said, was just that,” he hesitated, ever so slightly unsure. “A dream. I am here for you and goddesses and gods willing I will see you through this journey. As for all that you can do, we will discover that together. Nadia, you are the most amazing, passionate, caring person I have met. I look forward to this adventure together and I do feel warm now.” He finished with a big grin, releasing her, but taking one of her hands instead.

Nadia glanced down at their hands and smiled a girly little smile. She never thought her ‘adventure’ would be so emotionally charged. She had a sudden thought that made her smile slip. What if I’m still asleep? She pinched herself hard on the leg so Dimitri couldn’t see her do it. It hurt and she shrugged it off as they left their camp and the nightmare behind them. It must be two hours after sun rise, Nadia guessed. From the look in Dimitri’s eyes they were already behind schedule. They walked for a half hour or so in silence listening to the sounds of the forest.

“Do you know how you were able to pass heat to me?” Dimitri asked, breaking the silence.

Nadia tried to remember how it felt before answering, “No, I suddenly felt cold and just knew why. Are you afraid of the cold?”

He ignored her question, “I am going to teach you to meditate as soon as possible. Every time we stop for a rest or for the night we will meditate for at least a few minutes. You must learn to master your mind. You have to stop giving up your gifts without your knowledge.”

He let go of her hand and stepped in front of her to lead the way through a tighter, more over grown area of the forest. The trees and under growth were getting thicker and darker in that part of the forest. Nadia was glad that she was wearing her thick blue jeans even if she didn’t get all the blood out of them and they were slightly singed. She sent out a prayer to anyone listening that she would not burst into flame again because they were her last pair of blue jeans. From the look of Dimitri’s leather pants and thin, woven shirt, she was not going to be able to get anymore anytime soon. He looked back to make sure

she was following and to see if she had heard him.

“Oh yeah, meditation lessons sound great,” Nadia said shooting him sarcastic thumbs up. “But I hope you are a patient teacher,” she mumbled. “What are your pants made of?”

He looked down and replied, “Deer skin. What are your pants?” His question answered her unspoken question about getting more jeans.

She sighed, “blue jeans. They are a cotton blend. They are cold when you are and hot when you are, but I love them all the same. I am going to be sad if I light this pair up too. I have had them for a long time and they’re the last pair I packed.”

“Who are Cassandra and Hazel?” Dimitri asked interrupting Nadia’s moping. She looked up at him, surprised by his question and went sprawling on her face. She started to laugh and Dimitri came to see what happened. He found her lying on her back in a puddle trying to get up, but unable to. He smiled down at her as she smiled, impishly, up at him. Suddenly, he jumped at her and pulled her by the shoulders as hard as he could. She was caught off guard by his mood swing and thought he was over reacting until she saw that she had sunk into the mud up to her waist. She tried to remember all the survivor shows she watched on the Discovery channel and knew struggling would not help her. When the mud began to aggressively pull her deeper into the muddy hole she couldn’t help but struggle. She mentally screamed out to the mud to let her go, but understood that this was not mud. It was intelligent and hungry.

“Let go!” she yelled at Dimitri. He hesitated until he could feel her getting hotter. “Step back,” she trailed off when she was suddenly covered up to her chin. “Damn it, I am going to ruin my favorite pair of blue jeans.” She growled getting more irritated by the second. “I really liked this pair.” Her head suddenly slipped under the mud instantly cutting off her air supply.

“Nadia!” Dimitri yelled trying to figure a way in and out of the muddling before Nadia drowned.

His fear, he found, was futile, almost immediately the muddling burst into flames. When Dimitri’s eyes cleared from the sudden fire he found Nadia lying on the ground where the muddling used to be. Nadia stirred spitting up a few mouthfuls of mud. Dimitri picked her up and carried her quickly into the trees finding cover for them to rest in.

“Sweet.” Nadia whispered as she giggled to herself.

“What is so funny?” Dimitri asked, exasperated at the unexpected reactions Nadia always had.

Nadia looked up at him as he set her down, “I didn’t burn up my pants this time. I only barely scorched my shirt and it is nowhere completely embarrassing.” He saw the burn around the hem of her shirt and began to laugh. When he stopped, she asked coyly, “Can that be my first lesson in meditation?” Dimitri laughed again and got out food for breakfast.

They ate quickly, so they could get back to walking. Dimitri stayed closer to Nadia and kept an eye out for other unknown creatures that were ready to attack. He did not tell her that muddlings only attacked those they were sent to attack and could move from puddle to puddle in a blink of an eye. After what she did to the first one, he did not think she would be attacked by another any time soon. Even so, he kept an eye on the ground, sky, forest, and anything else one man could keep an eye on.

He asked again when Nadia started to notice his paranoia, “While you were sleeping last night you mentioned Cassandra and Hazel. Who are they?”

She began to smile, “they are my younger sisters back home. Hazel is nine and Cassandra is fifteen. They fight all the time and yet Hazel wants to be just like Cassandra,” Nadia laughed. “Well, to a point. Hazel is tall for her age and probably will grow well past my height. It’s good, because she has basketball dreams.” Dimitri looked confused, but Nadia just shook her head and kept going. “Cassandra on the other hand gets really good grades and will someday marry for money or love. I guess I will just have to wait and see. They are both very different despite how much they look like each other. But they look worlds apart from me. We are half-sisters and they have legs for miles, perfect hair and skin, and both could be super models.” Dimitri looked confused again and this time Nadia decided to explain. “Where I am from a super model, for better or for worse, is what all beautiful people are judged against. Both of my sisters, even at their young ages, are stunning.” She finished her story with a sad, quiet sigh that was not lost on Dimitri.

“I don’t understand,” Dimitri said still looking confused. “You say their beauty makes them different from you, but you are beautiful and more captivating than anyone I have ever met.” He even surprised himself with the honesty of the statement and caused Nadia to blush deeply. “You miss them,” he stated, but she answered anyway.

“Yes, I do and I am kind of surprised about it. I used to think that if I moved out of Arizona away from my family I would feel free. I mean, I thought, I would miss them a little. But, I miss them a lot. Mostly, I miss my mom, but I’m rambling.”

“No, please, tell me about your mother. What is she like?” He was genuinely interested.

Nadia took heart from his excitement and continued. “My mom, well, I look a lot like her and sometimes even laugh like her. She loves to be busy to the point of being overwhelmed and so do I. We thrive on making people happy and I think that is why she became a teacher. She is kind of my hero. Wait.” She gasped, stopping dead in her tracks.

“What?” Dimitri asked a little taken back looking all around for an attack.

Nadia looked at Dimitri with a fear he had not seen in her yet, “I have been gone for about a week, right?” He nodded still not convinced they were not under attack. “What

does my mother think happened to me? I mean we talked every day. I lived with her, Dimitri.” He looked away, unsure how to answer her question. “Dimitri, please tell me,” she pleaded taking his hand.

He could feel her trembling slightly and looked at her. He was warm to sweating and the air around them was suddenly sticky hot, but Nadia was cold. “Nadia,” he began fearing for her.

“When I was in Gaia’s dream realm, I saw a vision showing my family believing I died of some horrible disease. Is that what they think happened to me?” She stopped talking, leaning into Dimitri unsteady on her own feet.

“You need to calm down,” he said, as he began to hold her up. “You are freezing yourself, while turning this forest into a rain forest.” Sure enough, it started to rain, adding to the humidity that Nadia seemed to be creating. She began to shake violently and suddenly. She collapsed into Dimitri’s arms.

“What happened?” she asked coming to almost at once. The humidity collapsed and the rain became a light drizzle. She was still shaking from head to toe but she seemed to be getting some of her color back and all her control. Dimitri hugged her tightly sharing his warmth as best he could. He rubbed her arms trying to chafe some warmth back into them. She pulled away from him when her shuddering was at a minimum. She locked eyes with him willing him to tell her the truth, “Dimitri, please tell me what my family thinks happened to me.”

He could not look away from her pleading eyes. In that moment, he wished he

knew the answers to all of life’s questions, more importantly her questions, but he didn’t. “I don’t know what they think. I have never known the answer to that question.”

She searched his eyes and knew he spoke the truth but she was not satisfied, “Who does?”

“Honestly,” He said quietly. “I’m not sure, but I promise I will help you find out.”

“The others that have come here,” she began, becoming enraged. “What happened to them? Did they just fail and disappear?” Dimitri looked away from her again. He did not want to have that conversation with her, ever, if he could help it. “No, they didn’t, did they? They never left here.” Nadia flashed back to the graveyard in her first dream in Baako. She took a deep breath to get herself under control once more. “Teach me to meditate,” she said abruptly. “I need to learn now, if possible.” He looked back at her confused. “The faster I learn to meditate the faster I can get control of my new powers.”

Her eyes were starting to spark, but he knew there was little he could say to still her anger. He saw how much Nadia loved her family when she spoke of them. He knew that she would not be satisfied until she knew the answers she craved. He also knew meditation would help to keep her and others safe from her new powers.

“I am not sure how meditation will help you get the answer you seek, but it will help you gain control. I will do everything I can to help you master it,” he stated. “But first we must make it to a safer place. There is a cave I have stayed in many times and if it proves to be a good shelter we may be able to stay a night or two to work on your meditation. I am not sure we will be able to make it by night fall, but I think we should try. Are you up for it?”

Nadia was still shaking slightly, but she was no longer sure if it was from the cold or from the anger and uncertainty she felt. He turned from her and began walking toward the distant cave. She caught up with him quickly to prove that she was okay and willing to make the trudge.

“I’m still upset but I will be okay,” she said, in complete control again. “I can’t dwell on things I can’t do anything about. I do find it strange that I got so cold. I like the cold, but to get so cold I passed out? I don’t really understand all these new gifts. Oh.” Her eyes glazed a little as she slowed to a stop. She looked to the east slowly and nodded her approval. Then she looked at Dimitri. “The hunter that was camping 15 miles from us last night is on the move. She seems to be headed on a path that will cross ours.”

“Who told you that?” Dimitri asked curiously.

“I was talking to the trees earlier while we were packing,” Nadia said matter-of-factly. “I felt the need to apologize for scaring them with my fire display and I asked them to keep an eye on human movement for us. Then, after I was attacked by that mud creature we spoke again, but briefly. They said they would keep an eye out for other creatures besides humans.”

“That’s convenient,” Dimitri said with a chuckle. Nadia remained silent, brooding. “Nadia?” Dimitri tried to question.

“I’m sorry,” Nadia responded. “We need to keep moving. Will you tell me a story to help pass the time while we walk?”

“Okay,” Dimitri said. “What do you want to hear?”

They traveled for a few hours sharing stories back and forth. Nadia told Dimitri about some of her favorite TV shows, trying to explain why TV was so entertaining. Dimitri in turn told Nadia about some of his favorite outdoor activities, like boulder toss, which Nadia thought sounded absurd. They talked until they stopped for a very late lunch. Nadia would not have stopped at all, but Dimitri told her that she must keep up her strength with food, water, and rest from time to time. She thought that learning meditation was more important and only agreed after Dimitri started cooking. She was also covered in mud from the earlier attack and decided a quick dip before it got dark could be beneficial. Dimitri continued preparing the meal while Nadia wandered toward the sound of a river. It was not far from their picnic area and Dimitri was okay with allowing her a little privacy. He told her that he would come and get her when the food was ready.

Nadia cautiously approached the water knowing the depth of her clumsiness and how slippery the wet rocks could be. The river was twice the size of the stream she bathed in. The river was loud and foamy, speeding over jagged rocks and tumbling past fallen trees. Nadia found a shallow place to enter that seemed safe enough for someone with her luck. She was still standing at the river’s edge contemplating whether she should just throw herself into the bone chilling water all at once or walk in slowly when she heard heavy footsteps. She decided not to take any chances and hid behind some shrubs near the bank of the river. The person or animal was not trying to be quiet, which meant they were either really stupid or really strong. Either way, she was in no mood to face anyone right then. Hoping she was letting her imagination run wild she tried to glance around the bush that was concealing her. She could not make out a figure and she could no longer hear movement.

She thought about how silly she would look to Dimitri if he caught her crouching behind a bush instead of returning after getting cleaned up to eat with him. After a few minutes, Nadia slowly rose from her hiding spot, hoping the creature or Dimitri was no longer waiting for her. She decided if the coast was clear she would just run into the river, scrub as fast as she could and then hurry back to Dimitri.

Her plans changed when she stood up face to face with a bear. A very large, very angry looking, black bear. She had no idea what to do aside from scream and run, forgetting any ability she might have had besides her ability to swim. Nadia ran straight for the water hoping the bear would not give chase. She plunged head first into the icy cold and swiveled around to see if the bear had followed her. Nadia had two or three seconds of relief before she realized she was traveling rapidly down river.

Idiot, she thought savagely about herself and started kicking hard toward shore. She screamed out Dimitri’s name praying he was still close enough to hear her. She tried to shoot a fire ball into the air like a flare, but she slammed into a rock and was dragged under. As she twisted away from the first rock, only to hit another, she thought about how very stupid wanting an adventure was. Her head breached the surface of the water and she could gulp in air before she was dragged back under. She was trying to think of all the things that survival experts say about surviving in the rapids when she slammed hard into another rock. This time it was head first. She was stunned just long enough to forget that she was in a river altogether. She took in a big breath of water. She gagged, but was unable to find a reprieve from the icy burn of her lungs desperate for air. She looked toward the sky as she hit yet another rock. She shot a fire ball into the air as a last attempt to save her own life before she was fully surround by black unconsciousness. Her last thought was of the grave yard from her dream walk. “I’m sorry, mom.”