Nightmares.

I just shocked myself awake from a dream that I've had before.

The details are fuzzy, but...

I was in a school hallway that looked similar to Mac High. I was with a few other people. There was a big commotion, a school shooting, and my group and I ran for cover, ducking into a bathroom, where we hid in the stalls. After the noise had died down, I was still crouched, breathing quietly, when this big guy wearing a towel tried to get into the stall. He grabbed me and dragged me off.

Next thing I knew I was in some sort of multipurpose room with bright lights and a wooden floor. I was face to face with three guys in their 20's. Their leader had a pistol. I hunched myself up as they debated what they were going to do with me.

They grabbed me by the shoulders and hauled me out into the hallway, then I was with a group of people that were leaving the building. Among us were my family, the president and his wife (for some reason or another), and a few of my friends. We were escorted out by more armed men.

We made it outside into a damp parking lot, and I sighed in relief...

All of a sudden, someone next to me burst into flames. I whipped around to see one of our escorts with a mirror and a wicked smile. He was focusing the light from the high energy floodlights around us onto people in the crowd. My jacket caught on fire, and my family and friends helped to quickly put it out. More and more people were burning, and I urged my grandma and my mom up farther into the crowd. We passed the president and we could see our car. It stood out red in a sea of cool colors.

One of the armed men yelled, "Now all of them."

I broke into a run, pushing my grandma and mom towards the car, and we jumped in just as the ground near the building burst into flames. The entire parking lot was covered, not in water, but in gasoline. It rushed towards us as we struggled to get into the car. People were screaming. My dad and my sisters were nowhere to be seen. Kevin got in, Kiwi made it, my mom and grandma too, and I helped Jay get in before turning around to face that wall of flames. Someone grabbed the back of my coat and yanked me into the car, and I grabbed the door handle and slammed the door closed as the fire hit our car and roared around us.

I sat up, shaking, in my room. I looked around. Nothing but the white walls. No fire. My back still tingled from the burn I recieved in my dream.

Now here I am.

Dreams are a funny thing.

~Marina