Grey Haven (Book 1: The Dreamer Chronicles)

The water crashed against the walls of the corridor we were running in, lapping at our heels. I looked over my shoulder long enough to see that the water was a sharp green color – the same color of the lights. It rushed down the hall in swift purpose, almost as if it were hunting us.

I pushed through a heavy door and hunted for a set of stairs or anything that would get us above the water. I heard someone behind me cry out; one of the others had fallen. No one turned back – there was no helping him. The water was too strong, and he was already gone. I led the group down another hallway and to a second heavy door.

Behind the door was a staircase that was as upside down as the rest of the ship, but it went up. I crawled up the back of the stairs with adrenaline surging through my veins like wildfire. Carrie and Tommy were close behind me, but I wasn’t sure if our pace was fast enough. I heard the roar of the water rushing after us. It was the loudest thing after the blood pounding in my head. It would be the last thing I heard before the water killed us all.

The water crashed against the steps. It drenched us, but we were high enough not to be dragged under. The current found other corridors to move down. It wasn’t hunting us then, merely following the laws of nature, when nature was a dreamworld and the ship was capsized underwater.

I stopped climbing and watched the water curiously. It circled with a violent undercurrent. It would keep moving up, until the ship was consumed. Our time was limited.

Dana wasn’t as fascinated with the rising water as I was. She was pissed. “What the hell was that?” she demanded.

“Water,” Tommy answered, smirking at Dana’s glare.

“It shouldn’t have come out of nowhere like that,” Dana said. “There’s not a shade in a junk dream strong enough to do that.”

I exchanged a look with Tommy and Carrie. Bastian had found us again, then. Ben also knew the truth. He decided not to share the fact that we had a shade hunting us. “We need to keep moving,” he said. “We can worry about why later.”

“Is everyone okay?” I asked.

The others behind Dana nodded; even Jen and Lisa nodded.

“Good,” I said.

The ship listed heavily to the side at my question, proof that we needed to keep going. I started crawling up the stairs again, eager to find a new dream – preferably one that was without water or stars to explode.

“Where are you going?” Dana asked as the others started to follow me.

“There has to be a way out,” I said. “A window we can break…or a door that opens to the outside.”

“And what if we’re already under the water?” Dana asked.

“Then we’ll find another door,” I said.

“But-”

I turned to glare at her. Dana stopped talking, shocked into silence by the darkness on my face. “Either help find a way out or don’t,” I said. “But save the commentary for someone who gives a shit.”

“Which is no one here,” Tommy added.

“The stairs end there,” Carrie said, pointing to a level above us. “We can take that corridor and see if we can find a way out from there.”

I nodded in agreement and stopped staring at Dana, whose face was red with my words. Ben put his hand on her shoulder, to calm her down, but she shrugged it off. The others were looking between us in confusion, uncertain of what to do. I didn’t care what they did. I just knew that I was getting off the ship before the water caught up to me. I was curious about how a lot of things felt, but drowning wasn’t on that list.

We climbed the last of the stairs and raced through an open door. The light in the hall was that same pale blue. It flickered erratically in response to the water that was steadily climbing its way upward with swishes and groans. As soon as I stepped into the corridor, I felt a tingling awareness. It was evil mixed with rage – a shade.

I silently checked the others, to see if they felt the same thing, only to see that they had their weapons at the ready. I raised my crossbow and cautiously crept down the hall. The lights kept up their chaotic flickering as I walked. The rocking of the boat grew worse and it constantly threatened to throw us off balance. It was a pendulum that counted down the time we had left in the dream.

Despite the feeling in the corridor, nothing jumped out to attack us. The swaying of the ship, the distant sound of water filling up the nooks and crannies – which almost sounded like wailing in the distance – and the rocking of furniture played against our overly aware senses, but the corridor remained empty.

We hurried down the first hall, then a second one. The second hall ended at a heavy door that read: Personnel Only. Tommy kicked it open and I stepped through. The rooms in the hall beyond the door were smaller, built with the missing crew in mind. The doors were open, and the rooms were empty. At the end of the hall was a corridor that went right and a door on the left. I opened the door.

A bright, red light flashed in warm strobes on the opposite side of the door. It came from an emergency exit sign over yet another door down the hall. It changed the blue of the light into an infinitely more hopeful color. There was a way out.

The only problem was that there was a heavy gate in front of the door, with a heavy, electrical lock over it. Someone had to press a button or enter a combination to open the door. I didn’t understand what the gate was doing blocking the exit in such a strange way, but I figured it had something to do with the shade.

Carrie went to the gate and tried to lift it. It didn’t budge. “What now?” she asked.

“Anyone get the feeling the shade wants us to go down that hall?” I asked pointing to the hall that was drenched with blue light.

“We don’t have time,” Ben said. He stepped next to Carrie and examined the lock on the door. “Maybe we can force it open. Dana, shoot it.”

“Step back,” Dana said.

Carrie, Tommy, and I ducked around the edge of the door for cover as Dana fired two shots. The shots embedded in the lock of the gate, but the gate didn’t open. My first suspicion felt stronger – the shade wanted a fight. It was the only way through.

“Carrie, use your shotgun,” Ben commanded.

The sound of Carrie’s shotgun echoed loudly in the space, but, again, it did nothing beyond add dents to the metal.

“I guess we have no choice,” I said. “Fight or die.”

I turned away from them without waiting for a discussion and followed the blue hall to another door. On the other side was an upside-down, rectangular room that had balconies that ran the length of it. Far below us was a large area that had once been a shopping area. It was steadily filling with water.

The balcony across from us was larger than the one I was on. Though the floor was flipped, the furniture was right side up. It had been a restaurant at one point, with a Mediterranean theme. On the wall was a large, shiny button that read: Exit. It was the only thing that stood between freedom and us.

Freedom would come at a price.

Someone had to jump across the gap to push the button. There was no guarantee that the same person would make it back. I refused to let anyone else take the risk. “Anyone hungry?” I asked. “Because I am.”

The others silently searched for a way across that wouldn’t get them killed. There was nothing, beyond a large chandelier that hung between the two balconies. The chandelier had seen better days. It was hanging by a thin strand of metal that looked ready to give out.

“It’s suicide,” Carrie decided.

“We’ll find a way around,” Tommy added.

“No time,” I said.

On cue, shrieking filled the air. The crawlers were back. I wasn’t sure if they knew there would be no escape for them because of the water, or if they were following through on their urges to kill because they enjoyed it, but they sounded pissed. It wouldn’t take them long to fill up the hall and make escape impossible.

“Maybe if we find a rope…” Ben started to say.

I slung my crossbow over my shoulder, hopped up on the banister separating me from a fifty-foot fall, and jumped to the chandelier. I swung out once, bending my knees to gain momentum, and then jumped to the balcony across from me. When I landed, the chandelier gave out, as expected. It crashed against several of the balconies before ending up in the churning mixture of furniture and water. I pulled my crossbow off my shoulder and turned to the others. Carrie was furious, while Tommy had a mixture of fear and pride on his face.

“You asshole!” Carrie shouted, incensed. “How the hell are you going to get back?!”

“Get them out of here before the crawlers come and block the exit,” I replied.

Carrie glared at me and started looking for an alternate way across. Dana and the others didn’t feel the same loyalty. They retreated down the hall.

Ben put a hand on Carrie’s shoulder. The hand urged her to move and to accept my choice. She shoved it away. Her eyes told me that she wasn’t happy, but more than that, she was scared. She knew what the jump meant.

“I’ll be okay,” I lied, encouraging her to trust me. She turned away reluctantly, face red, and stomped down the hall. Beyond her, the others fought with the crawlers.

Tommy lingered at the door, posture defensive. “I’m staying,” he said. He held his bow in one hand and an arrow lightly against the string, prepared for a fight.

“You’ll die,” I said.

“And that makes me feel better about leaving you how?” Tommy asked incredulously.

“Tommy, let me have this one,” I begged.

“No,” he said, stubborn and fierce.

“I need you to go with Carrie,” I said. “I don’t trust anyone but you two to find Bastian and free the others. You know that’s more important than me.”

“Is it?” Tommy asked, expression suggesting he didn’t care about the rest of Grey Haven if it meant my death.

“Yes,” I said.

I turned my back on him and fixated on the button. It looked innocuous, so perfectly placed for the pressing, but I knew better. The jump had brought the feeling of evil closer. The shade was near. I didn’t know what was keeping it from attacking me, but the peace wouldn’t last long.

“Promise me you’ll get out,” Tommy commanded.

I turned to face him again. The promise wasn’t difficult to make if it meant he’d go; if it meant he’d be safe. “I’ll do my best,” I said.

“You’d better,” he said fiercely.

After a reluctant pause, Tommy retreated, and I was left alone at last. I stepped over to the button and reached out tentatively, my eyes trying to be everywhere at once. Before my hand could connect with the button, a large spider dropped down in front of me. It was the size of my hand and hung on a silvery thread from the ceiling. I took a step back.

“Bastian said you might come,” the spider said.

My surprise at seeing a talking spider wasn’t as great as its actual words. After a startled pause, I decided to see what the shade knew. “Bastian sent you?” I asked.

“Sent? No. I live here. He did ask me to make your death especially painful, though, if you were to pass through.”

“Oh, well…” I said.

I swatted at the spider, hoping to crush it with my hand. It darted up the thread and disappeared. My breathing ragged, I searched the ceiling and walls. A second later, the spider jumped out of a dark corner opposite to the one it had been in. As it flew, it doubled, then tripled, in size. When it landed, it was taller than a person – I could stand comfortably under it if I had wanted to, which I didn’t. Ever. Its eyes had an eerie green glow, and its eight legs were long and hairy. The most noticeable part of the spider was its fangs, which dripped with venom.

I dodged the spider’s jump and refocused my crossbow, searching for a target. I released two arrows, but they missed as the spider launched itself upwards. I tried to follow the spider’s path as it climbed the wall and ceilings, but it was too fast. Before I could release another arrow, it jumped at me with lightning speed. It landed in front of me, knocked my crossbow out of my hand with its front leg, and reached down to bite me in the face. I collapsed back, out of the way, and pulled my knife out desperately.

The spider hit me with one of its front legs, and I flew back and into a table. A large chunk of wood lodged into my arm as the table splintered underneath me. The sharp pain was overwhelming, churning my stomach with nausea. Triumphant, the spider settled on top of me. It pressed me into the ruins of the table, body radiating expectant happiness. I fought against the leg that held me down, but it was no use. My injured arm and the spider’s strength made it hopeless. I groped for my knife in the rubble of the table, but the fall had taken it from me. It was in that desperate search that I realized I had a weapon. It would hurt me almost as much as it would the spider, but I was desperate and willing to suffer to win.

The spider hummed happily. “Goodbye, little dreamer,” it said.

I took a deep breath. Then, in one swift movement, I pulled the sharp piece of wood out of my arm and stabbed it into the spider’s stomach. The wood lodged into its abdomen and black blood poured from the wound. The spider shrieked and stumbled away, its movements lurching as much as the ship around us. I rolled to my feet and spotted my crossbow on the opposite side of the room. I ran toward it. The spider skittered to intercept me.

This time I was faster. I grabbed the crossbow and released two arrows in quick succession. The arrows landed directly in the spider’s forehead. It stumbled back, a hilariously shocked expression on its face, then tripped over the railing. There was silence, followed by a splash from the water below.

I put my crossbow over my shoulder, picked up my knife from the wreckage of the table, and ran over to the button that would free my friends. I slammed my palm against it. The ship shuddered, throwing off the webs the spider had left around the dream.

The sounds of the others faded away as Dana called out to let them know the gate was open. Then there was nothing beyond the feeling of a sinking ship and the sound of water sloshing its way upward. I leaned against the wall next to the button and tried to manage the pain in my arm. The only thing that made me push away from the wall and set the pain aside was the promise I had made to Tommy. I had to get out. There had to be another way now that the shade was dead.

A dusty tablecloth, ripped by my knife, served as my tourniquet. I wrapped it around my arm five times and tied the knot with my teeth. The ship rocked harder, swaying dangerously. I wasn’t sure if Bastian was sending more water my way or if the ship was starting to lose its battle to maintain balance. Either way, I had minutes, maybe less, to get out.

I grabbed my crossbow and ran through a door at the edge of the balcony with increased urgency. The hall beyond the door was black. The lights had gone out with the death of the shade. I flicked on my flashlight as I ran, though what I saw was far from comforting. There were no rooms on this corridor, just the feeling that I had entered the spider’s layer. The smell of death and rotting corpses took over the hall. Occasionally, a cold web touched my face. Each time, I shivered and fought against the impulse to start firing blindly in the dark.

The hall seemed to go on forever. When I finally reached an intersection of three halls, my heart dropped. There were no rooms, no doors. It was as if the ship was purposefully closing me in.

Figuring that it didn’t really matter which way I went, I turned right. The second I made my choice, I heard the wailing rush of water. It came from the direction I had chosen, and it was coming fast. I turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction, fear cascading in my chest. There was no way out from this – no stairs, no doors. I glanced back and saw a flash of green against the dark. It was too close, too fast.

The water swept me up, spinning me in circles. My head was forced under several times. It took all my strength to keep it above the wave. A powerful undercurrent dragged me down the hall. I fought against it, but it was difficult to stay above the water line. The water was infinitely more powerful. I was tossed against the walls like a ragdoll. At one point, my crossbow slipped out of my grip. It floated down the current and out of reach.

I was pushed and pulled in different directions, knocking against the walls and furniture floating past me, the water swallowing me whole, then letting me breath a minute later, until I finally reached the end of the corridor. I was pushed against the wall and held there as the water pummeled me furiously. A grate was above my head. It was the only way out. I grabbed it and tugged. It was firmly embedded in what had been the floor. There was no shaking it loose or prying it off. There was no escape.

I held on to it anyways, reluctant for the current to take me anywhere else, and searched the darkness for a door, for anything, but everything was underwater. Even if there was a door, there was no way I’d be able to swim to it. The current was too powerful. As I hung on to the grate, the sounds died down again. It became unnaturally still, the silence oppressive. The only thing that broke the silence was the swish of the water as it steadily climbed up the walls. I tugged on the grate again, silently pleading for it to give way. It didn’t move.

My focus shifted to controlling my racing heart and shoving the panic into a tidy box so that I could think. A door. I needed a door of my own. If I focused, then maybe I could create one as Ben had done. The shade was gone, and the dream was free. There was nothing to stop me from trying.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a door, any door, in the cracks of the dream. I imagined escape and freedom. I imagined reuniting with Tommy and Carrie and everything being okay. When I opened my eyes, there was no door, just the darkness and the freezing water pressing in on me. I took a trembling breath; my fear was more intense with my failure, the box in my head rapidly crumbling. I hoped the others had gotten to safety. I thought of Carrie and Tommy. I knew they would be upset at my death. I was sorry to have hurt them.

The water pressed against my chin. I tilted my face up and tried to use the grate to stay above the rising water line. The water circled my chin, and then my lips. I took a deep breath, a last breath, and the water took me over. I tugged on the grate again, a final ditch effort to find a way out. Then, feeling it was useless, I let go.

My body drifted downward in the current. Water pummeled my lungs. Panic settled in my chest. Fear took over as I realized there was no way out. The panic gave way to helplessness. My final reserve of oxygen left me with a silent gasp.

Warm darkness took me over, and I knew that I had lost the battle.