The Watchers Trilogy
AWAKENING
KARICE BOLTON
Copyright © 2011 Karice Bolton
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, and events either are the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design: PhatpuppyArt.com
DEDICATION
To all of the people in my life who always tell me to go for it!
Love you my dude! Jon, you are the best husband a girl could ask for…
Mom, thank you for always giving me encouragement and to my dad who is watching down over us all!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to say a simple thank you to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all of the other avenues available for the indie publishing world. It allows the art of storytelling to continue to flourish in unexpected ways!
NEXT IN THE TRILOGY:
LEGIONS (Available Now)
CATACLYSM (Available Now)
Watchers Novellas (2013)
Other Books by Karice Bolton
Witch Avenue Series
LONELY SOULS (Available Now)
ALTERED SOULS (Fall 2012)
TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR PLEASE VISIT HER WEBSITE AT
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KARICEBOLTON
CHAPTER 1
The screams shot me out of bed. My heart was pounding seventy miles an hour. I felt for my fleece blanket to throw off, since I seemed to be stuck to my sheets with a million gallons of sweat. I looked around my blackened room, with only the red glow of the alarm clock displaying 3:00 am to comfort me. My heart sank as I lost the battle for another night’s sleep. I heard the gentle snore of my bulldog, Matilda, rattling through the air. She was used to my screams by now. I promised myself with a little whisper that I was safe. It was only a nightmare — another nightmare. That was all it was. It couldn’t possibly be real that kind of terror. The dreams were coming closer together now, and worse yet, they seemed to lead to nowhere but sleep deprivation.
I commanded myself to take deep, steady breaths to calm myself. Still breathless and shaky from the last images that had blasted into my brain, I tried to rid myself of the awful scene replaying over and over — that of my demise. The mere thought of the attacks made me want to hide in my closet from the world. The black, swirling creatures were coming at me and through me from every direction. Their mouths open, displaying several sets of teeth with blood dripping from their lips waiting for me to make a mistake. This was not a world I recognized. How my mind could even create such deadly monsters I didn’t know. The elements of realism spooked me beyond belief. I grabbed a tissue from my nightstand and wiped the dampness from my forehead, unsure of how much longer I could keep this up. Every night and every dream seemed to be different. They all had similar storylines, to a degree. Sometimes the unfamiliar characters reappeared to haunt me over and over again. It just depended on the night. Part of me felt as if I should know these people or at least the events that kept taking place. Why else would they keep reappearing? However, the events were so fantastical, the thought that I should recognize them made me feel even crazier for thinking it.
Fully awake now and completely disappointed in the prospect of another long and drawn out day without sleep, I trudged to the window and opened my heavy, red velvet curtains to expose the calmness of an outside world in an attempt to calm my own mind down. The snow was slowly floating down from the sky leaving a beautiful pattern on the sidewalk, illuminated only by the streetlight. The sight brought a shiver to my bones. Even though only a minute ago, I had to wipe away the wet heat of fear off my body. I couldn’t keep chasing and being chased like this. I couldn’t constantly go on thinking my life was in danger whenever I closed my eyes. I needed rest. I needed sleep. Lack of sleep was only making it worse. I was sure of it.
“What is all of this telling me? I don’t even know the people in my dreams!” I whined to Matilda.
She responded with her usual snorts and snores, sprawling out even more on my mattress now that I had left a larger area for her enjoyment. I flipped on my nightstand light that cast its familiar glow, as I attempted to move back into bed without displacing Matilda. A sigh escaped as I grabbed my latest book to read, which was ready and waiting for another night like all of the others.
I opened the book to the third chapter as my mind attempted to identify who the people in my dream were this time. Seeing crumpled remnants of humans discarded all over was never something that I could get used to regardless of it being a nightmare or not. I was getting used to seeing the swirls appear to attack me, but I was also intrigued at the thought of trying to figure out who the random strangers were who appeared time and time again. Sometimes they were the same people. Other times, a completely new set would make an entrance. I always avoided looking into their eyes because, during one of my very first nightmares, all I saw was the dull glow of death staring right back at me. I couldn’t stomach it twice, and somehow my subconscious knew to never look them in the eyes, whoever they were.
Thankfully, the latest batch of characters seemed kind. As if I knew them from somewhere, although that wasn’t possible. I’m sure they must have made an appearance in my other dreams. I just don’t remember them. One stood out in particular. He was trying to save me, but it was too late. The black, soulless swirls got me. My nightmares had never gotten to that point before. Never did I know the conclusion to these nightmarish adventures before tonight.
This time, I saw how it ended. I didn’t make it. It wasn’t a painful process. I didn’t feel tortured. It seemed like I should have felt the attack. I didn’t. What I was left with was horrible feelings of despair and loneliness wrapping their way through every aspect of my life. My soul felt like an empty cavern as I saw myself being blown away into the wind. I remembered looking back at the strangers on the ground. They were looking up towards the sky at me as I left to wherever bodiless souls go. The one guy who was so memorable was staring back at me, tears streaming down his face. He was the one who tried to save me. He risked his own life against the monsters for me. He was only a minute too late. My heart now longed for him, this figment of my imagination. I didn’t know why.
I couldn’t shake the images this time. They were too haunting, too real. And now I was going crazy believing that these things had some sort of significance. Lack of sleep was finally catching up with my fragile state of mind.