chapter 3 the plan

"How is it possible for you to dream about someone you don't even know?" asks Shane. I had just divulged the details of the dream and everything that had unfolded since, and unsurprisingly, Shane immediately bombarded me with questions. "I don't know," I reply, but I intend to find out. He was about to interject with another question, undoubtedly, but my words halt him in his tracks. "What do you mean you intend to find out?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked. Since I have no idea who she is or why she was in my dream, the first thing I need to do is find out more about her. And in order to do that, I thought we could follow her."

"But wouldn't that be stalking?" Shane's concern was evident.

"Well, technically yes, but how else are we going to find out about her and why I dreamed about her? I mean, it's a solid plan. We follow her home after school, find out what she does for a living, and maybe, just maybe, we'll uncover something in the process."

"I think you should just let this go," Shane suggests cautiously.

"If you were in my position, would you be able to just let it go?" I challenge him. After a moment's contemplation, he admits, "Probably not. But still, following a girl home..."

"Do you have another plan?" I interrupt.

"No, and I really think that this is a bad idea. But seeing as if I don't go along with you, you'll end up doing something stupid, I guess I have no choice but to join you," Shane concedes with a sigh.

I can't help but laugh. "Yeah, you're right. I'm desperate to get to the bottom of this. So, does that mean you're in then?" Shane reluctantly agrees.

So, at the end of the school day, instead of heading home, I wait for Shane outside the school entrance. As I anticipate our next move, I can't help but ponder how all of this started with a simple dream. Then, I see Shane, and I'm about to call out to him when someone interrupts from behind. "What are you doing?" It's Sky. I turn around, attempting to appear innocent. "Whatever do you mean, my dear sister?"

"Look, I'm waiting for Shane so that we can hang out. So, go home and leave me be," she demands, but of course, she doesn't. At this point, Shane reaches us and looks at Sky quizzically. I subtly shake my head to signal him, but she notices and presses on. "You're up to something, aren't you?"

"Just go home, Sky. This is between me and Shane," I assert, but she scowls in defiance.

"No, if you're doing something, I want to come too," she insists.

"You can't," I reply, my mind racing for a viable excuse. "Well, if you don't let me come along, I'll tell Mom that you're going to do something you're not supposed to do."

I'm furious, tempted to lash out, but Shane intervenes. "Cole, maybe we should let her come. She might actually be able to help, and she could get us in serious trouble."

"Ah, come on! You're siding with her now?" I exclaim, frustrated.

"No, I was merely suggesting—" Shane begins, but I cut him off.

"You know what? You're right. I'll let her come on one condition," I turn to Sky, a hint of menace in my tone. "You have to follow my every command and keep quiet. And don't tell Mom."

Reluctantly, she agrees with a nod. "Alright," I say, clapping my hands. "Now that that's settled, we can actually start." And as if on cue, Angel walks out the front door of the school. "Come on, let's go," I motion for them to follow me.

After following her for about 10 minutes, Sky whispers, "Why are we following this girl? I thought you were going to sneak into somewhere or something."

"What's the matter, you scared?" I tease. "If you changed your mind, you can go home."

She hesitates, as if contemplating leaving, but then steels herself. "No, I want to see what you're up to."

"Then be quiet. She's finally slowing down," I whisper back. Sure enough, Angel slows down and eventually stops in front of an abandoned warehouse.

"Nobody move," I instruct quietly. "Maybe she's not actually going to go in." But I soon realize I'm wrong as less than five seconds later, Angel enters the building. Shane then asks, "So, what now? Do we follow her or what?"

"What are you talking about?" I exclaim. "I didn't come this far only to give up now. Of course we're going to follow her." And so, reluctantly, we follow Angel into the warehouse.

Once inside, the first thing Sky says is, "It's so dark. How are we supposed to find her?" This puzzles me because to me, it was quite bright inside the warehouse. "What do you mean it's brighter in here than it is outside?" I inquire.

"Are you joking or something?" replies Sky. "Because if you are, then it's not very funny. I mean, I can't even see my own hand in front of my face." She waves her hand to emphasize her point. "I hate to agree with her, Cole," says Shane, "but for once, she's actually right. It is very dark in here."

"Well, for some reason, I can see perfectly fine. Look, I'll prove it," I declare, moving over to one of the crates. "I'll tell you everything that this crate says."

"Hahahaha," Sky snorts, clearly skeptical. Desperate to prove them wrong, I clear away the dust and prepare to read the label. But I'm distracted by the label on the crate below it. "TERRA CORPS SUPPLY CO," it reads, with a small rainbow emblem — the exact same rainbow that was on Angel's arm in my dream.

"Hello, we're waiting!" Sky yells, interrupting my train of thought. Ignoring her, I move to another crate and find the same symbol, along with two more: an eye and a snowflake.

"Hey, Shane, can you come over here and bring your phone light?" I request. He obliges, and Sky follows, intrigued. I move aside to show him the symbols. "Wait, aren't those the symbols from your dream?" he points out.

"What dream?" Sky interjects, but Shane doesn't respond. Instead, he asks, "Do you think it has something to do with Angel?"

"It has to. I saw the rainbow on her arm very clearly. Plus, why else would she come here for? I reckon she's doing some voodoo magic or something," I speculate.

"I demand to know what is going on," Sky interrupts, her frustration evident. But her outburst must've alerted Angel to our presence because three seconds later, she emerges from behind a corner, holding a flashlight. "Who's there, and why are you following me?"

Upon seeing my face, Angel explodes in rage. "YOU! I knew it. This morning, after I walked into class, you looked like you saw a ghost. At first, I put it off as my imagination. But then, later, when we met in the hall, you ran off without saying anything. And now, I find out you were following me. What is wrong with you?"

"Look, I can explain," I say, attempting to calm her down. "Well, you better, because if you don't, you'll regret it."

"Alright, you see, I had this dream, and well, you were in it. But you just sitting there, and when I went up to you, you give a warning about me being in grave danger then you hand me something. And after that I woke up. Ever since, I've been trying to find out why you were in my dream. I thought that following you would yield some answers, but it looks like I was wrong," I confess.

After my explanation, Angel calms down a little. "So you're telling me you're following me because you had a strange dream?"

"Yeah, basically," I reply, feeling a tinge of embarrassment. "Hey, I was really freaked out, and the only logical explanation was that you were connected to the dream somehow. What did you expect me to do?"

"I don't know, but following me was obviously not the right thing to do," Angel retorts. Just then, Sky decides to chime in, approaching Angel with a barrage of questions.

"Excuse me, but who are you, and why is my brother dreaming about you? Are you his girlfriend?" Sky's directness catches us off guard, and we both blush furiously.

"No, you've got it all wrong. I have no idea why he was dreaming of me. That's what I'm trying to figure out," Angel clarifies. She then turns to me, expecting me to say something.

"Look, I don't know why I was dreaming about you, which, like I said, is the whole reason why I've been following you," I explain.

"Well, whatever the reason, you should probably leave before—" Angel starts but abruptly stops, her gaze fixed on me. "Where did you get that necklace?" she practically screams, pointing at the half-heart necklace I'm wearing.

"Huh?" At first, I'm confused because I hardly ever wear jewelry. But then, I remember the half-heart necklace that I got from the dream. "Oh, you mean this?" I hold it up. "Yeah, this is what you handed me in the dream right before I woke up. That's why it was so strange."

"No, impossible. The last time I saw that was…" Angel trails off, lost in thought. That's when I notice she's wearing a necklace too, one exactly like mine but white instead. Without thinking, I walk over and connect her necklace half to mine — they fit perfectly.

But suddenly, a massive tremor throws us to the ground. As I struggle to get up, I see that the others are also on the ground. "What's going on? What happened?" Sky asks, bewildered. "Why did we all fall down?" she tries to get up but falls again as another tremor shakes the warehouse. This time, it doesn't stop, and then I hear a sound that chills me to the bone: cracking. At first, I don't want to believe it, but soon, the others hear it too. And then, we see large jagged cracks appear in the floor.

"RUN!" I try to shout, but it's too late. The floor gives out underneath us, dropping us all into some deep, dark pit. And the only thing I can think is, not again