Deadly Dreams and Premonitions

Lighting flashed as thunder boomed and rain slashed at her bare skin. The dress she wore was thin, and she’d left her cloak at home. She didn’t know why she had, but it was so. She was fearful as the storm raged all around her like a mighty God’s rage and fury. Yet blindly forward she forged through the underbrush of the forest towards a destination of which she had no idea the exact location. With a crisp flash and ear shattering, earth rattling boom; she saw it in the clearing ahead. It was what she had been searching for. Slowly she approached, arms clasped close around her… bending to look inside her eyes straining against the blinding darkness, she saw what was inside with the next flash of lighting and screamed…
Sitting bolt upright in bed, she realized that she was screaming at the top of her lungs, and the storm was real. Only she was in her comfortable cotton nightgown in her warm bed; and there was no casket on an alter in the middle of some strange clearing. Aside from being drenched in a cold sweat, she was not wet. Taking a few calming deep breaths she told herself over and over “It was only a nightmare, nothing more; just a bad dream is all…” but it wasn’t all that convincing. She never had nightmares, not with the dream catcher that hung in her room. This sort of thing had happened before, and each time these dreams had only lead to disaster—Terrible disaster. And this was by far the worst one yet.
With another deep breath to calm her still slightly unsettled nerves, she stepped out of bed onto the cold wooden floor and made her way over to the table in the center of the room. She had already assessed that the power was out by the lack of illumination from her digital alarm clock on the nightstand before her bed, and so she lit the candles that were sitting there. After tossing the spent match in a nearby wastebasket she sat down at the table, and watched the candle flames gain strength until they illuminated the odd room.
The room looked as if it belonged to a gypsy, or as her classmates fondly called her, a witch. It was decked out with dark purple paint and black borders. The deep mahogany wood floor had a black rug on it with a purple pentacle in the center. It was on this that her table sat, made of the same wood as the floor, with a purple cloth over it. Upon this table sat her candles, her tarot cards, and her crystal ball. Above it was her dream catcher. This was all normal to Kiki, but to most others it was strange, and often scary. Much like the girl herself, who had the darkest jet-black hair worn long and natural violet eyes. Her skin was fair, and she always tended to wear dark clothes and makeup. Not too long ago she had also streaked her hair purple. For her, everything was purple and black. They were her spiritual colors, and they formed the basis of her soul. The others around her didn’t understand this either though, not even her parents. It was the reason why she was so alone. She only had two other close friends to confide in—they were all each other had.
Once she was calm enough to think again, after some deep breathing meditation while allowing the candle flames’ dance to hypnotize her, she tried to understand the dream. These dreams were like premonitions, and she had been having them for as long as she could remember. Of course, no one listened to her because most of the time they never came true. Well, at least not literally. She shook her head at that thought; narrow-minded people were too simple to understand the logic of reading into dream symbols. Things weren’t always as they seemed. Try telling her parents that though.
She remembered the casket immediately from the dream, but not who—or what, lay inside. That part had become blackened out in her mind. She knew that trying to force herself to remember such a detail would only result in loosing the rest of the dream, like had happened many times before. Skipping over the details of who or what, she went onto symbolism and meaning; the interpretation of the dream. It was quite obvious that whoever or whatever lay in that casket was deader than dead. She did remember a rotting scent that triggered such a response—definitely not vampuric. The storm probably came from the conditions currently outside, as she listened to the rain beat at the windows like wind driven nails as it hit the glass sharply. So why did it occur the woods, in isolation, and why the medieval style light silk clothing? And just what was she doing without proper clothing for exposure to the weather, like a cloak?
She put her head in her arms, resting forward on the table as she thought and rationalized, going over any and all ideas. Just what could it all possibly mean? After quite a lengthy consideration she made her decision. Death was always a bad omen, no matter how you looked at it. Well, unless of course it was to end someone’s suffering, but it would not come in such a form of a dream. Those dreams were usually just disturbing, not frightening on a nightmarish scare level. She had been running, and unprepared for the conditions… perhaps this meant that the evil to come would catch her by surprise? Yes, that was certainly a possibility. Just what evil was to come forth though? The dream alone didn’t give her enough information. She would have to do a tarot reading. Only then would she be able to glimpse more accurately into the future—at least she believed so. The cards had yet to fail her like the meteorologists after all. Of course, she also knew how to interpret her readings, unlike the educated guesswork she saw on TV about the weather.
The storm continued to rage on outside as bits of hail formed, only further raising the clatter in the deafening silence of the power outage. As if agitated by the increase in the storm’s fury, the candlelight flickered and jumped in spasms, casting odd shadows about the room and off the black nail polish on the delicate fingers, which shuffled the deck of tarot cards. Shuffle once… shuffle twice… spin and twist… lay the cards in the same direction again… shuffle three times… shift them together… find your significator card… and there it is… Placing it face up on the table center before her (for the crystal ball was placed farther back now with the candles to make room), lay the Page of Wands. This was the card that defined her, and would control the reading. Then she lay her spread face down for the reading; first card on top of the significator, second horizontally across this, third above and crowning it, fourth below it, fifth to the right, sixth to the left; and then along the far right starting at the bottom and working their way up were the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth cards. Beneath these cards was the future, both distant and near, that was to come. She took a deep breath as she prepared to begin the reading. She had to, for each time it filled her with such an inner power that she needed the breath to calm her nerves and soul.
Laying the cards out before her, she began the interpretation. In her past she saw the stress of life and the calamity of the dream. In her environment she saw the trepidation she felt at learning what lay ahead, and her fear of it. Then it was onto the cards of the future, the ones she dreaded most. One more calming breath… closed eyes… flipped card… Peering down on it she looked on in horror. Before her in the space that foretold the future lay the Ten of Swords—Reversed. That card meant that death was immanent, but who would be struck down was unknown. She stared at the reading horror struck for a few moments before scooping them back up haphazardly and putting them back into the box from whence they came. Her heart felt as if it were going to break her ribs with the force and speed it was pounding at.
She was brought from her horror as it changed back from hail to a pouring rain; one that poured so hard and fast it seemed that if you were to go outside in it, you’d drown. One thing that didn’t help the deafening sound of it all was the fact that her room was in the attic, but she didn’t mind. The rain was exactly what she needed right now to help her calm her nerves. Otherwise, she’d be on such an edge for the rest of the night that she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again. So for about a half an hour she merely sat at her table, watching the candles’ dance and listening to the soothing sounds of the rain as it beat against the roof and the windows. Then she returned to her slumber and slept dreamlessly.
The next morning the sun was shining as if there had been no storm at all, and the birds chirped merrily in their trees. The sun’s rays filtered in through her window like the rising of hope, and she stretched the tiredness out of her weary limbs to begin the day. Luckily for her it was summer vacation, and today was also the day that her two good friends were coming to visit her—Kurama and Luna.
What was odd about the three of them was that they all had long jet black hair, and naturally unusual eyes. This is what had drawn them all together in school, since the other kids shunned them. Kurama’s eyes were this odd golden color, and Luna’s appeared to be red. Kiki’s parents didn’t approve of them, but that didn’t stop the three of them from getting together. After all, it wasn’t their decision anyways. If they couldn’t understand her, then it was a good thing her friends could.
Fifteen minutes after she finished showering and getting dressed, she heard the doorbell ring. She peeked out her window from her room and smiled, it was her friends and not the delivery man.
“Just a second Kurama-chan and Luna-chan!” she called down to them with a wave.
“Okay Kiki-chan!” they called back up returning the wave as she ran from the window happily.
She seemed to float as she moved quickly and almost soundlessly down the two flights of stairs to the door. Her deep purple gothic dress fluttered at her feet as she moved, and since she wasn’t paying attention she tripped over it at the bottom of the stairs; greeting her friends with a loud crash as she tumbled into the door. Laughing, she stood up and let them inside.
They weren’t even fazed when they had heard Kiki’s crash, and they all chuckled and joked about it as they made their way up the stairs to her room. It was early, but both her parents were gone. They were scientists, so they spent a lot of time at the lab and left at the crack of dawn everyday. That was probably the biggest reason they didn’t approve of their daughter’s activities—they felt that everything could be explained scientifically or it was simply fools gold, so to say.
Settling down on the floor with the candies and other munchies Kiki had set out, they chatted about nonsense things for a bit before Kiki told them about her dream last night, and the tarot reading. She told them about her conclusions, and her fears.
“Kiki-chan, that’s really bad… someone is going to die and you know that’s what it means. There’s no ignoring that fact.” Kurama said, followed by Luna,
“Yeah Kiki-chan, you can’t let the fear blind you. Don’t worry, we’re here to help.”
Kiki smiled as she saw the reassuring smiles of her friends, and joined hands with them. “Thanks guys, I knew that I could count on you.” She said with tears of happiness in her eyes.
After that they put it out of their minds and just bummed around all day hanging out as any teenagers would. Long into the night, after having finished another movie, they decided that it would probably be best if they went to sleep. So they pulled out the big blow-up mattress that could fit the three of them on it and filled it with air, spread the blankets and pillows, and curled up together for the night.
What they thought was going to be a peaceful night was soon shattered by the cries from a fire engine’s siren as it roared down the street. All three girls awoke at this and peered out the attic window to see if they could find the glow from the fire. To their horror they saw that it was only three houses down, and what was worse it had consumed half the block. It looked as if it were a forest fire upon the houses, and it was spreading quickly.
“You guys, we have GOT to get out of here!” Kiki said as she gathered together the few things she needed most; her tarot cards, crystal ball, candles, one dress (the one from earlier), and a cloak (to match the dress). Her friends nodded in agreement and grabbed their things as well. Carrying everything in one bag each they rushed from the house still dressed in their sleeping gowns, and got as far away as they possibly could.
They made their way down the street, and then down to the river that lay near by. When there was fire, water was the best place to be at. The orange glow from the flames was cast across their pale faces as it consumed more and more houses along the block. The firefighters didn’t seem to be able to control it, and it seemed as if no one had gotten out of the houses. In fact, it was almost as if no one were even awake. The three girls looked at each other knowingly. They didn’t have to say a word; they knew that the others were thinking the same thing. This was no ordinary fire, this was one that had been started by deep black magic, and could only be ended by the destruction of it.
Throwing their normal gowns on over the top of their sleeping ones, and wrapping cloaks around their shoulders; they made their way into the small forest that lay behind the houses. They could feel the change in atmosphere as soon as they entered, knowing that the magic lay within here. They had always known that this forest was a magical place, they just hadn’t realized it was such dark magic. They shivered despite the raging fire close behind them, and headed deep into the darkened forest.
It was odd, because although the trees were highly flammable, and the fire was so nearby; it didn’t seem to have any effect whatsoever on the forest. It was still cold, dark, and damp; as if there were no fire at all. And when the three young girls looked back over their shoulders they let out a unified gasp. Behind them there was no sight of the fire anywhere, just a vast forest. It was as if their homes had never been, as if they were in another world. Then, as if she were given an electrical jolt, Kiki recognized the forest. It was the very same one from her dream! She relayed this to the others, and nodding, they agreed to follow her through it.
Unlike her dream however, they were clothed properly and it was not storming. That was a relief. Unfortunately for them though, it was a pitch black night with no moon or stars to guide them. There had to be great cloud cover or a new moon for such a thing to happen, but in mattered naught. Kiki’s feet seemed to know where to step down upon the path in order to get where they needed to go.
She led her two friends through the forest with ease, coming out to the clearing. The only difference was, instead of one coffin there were three. Each was radiating a different color as well, a color that almost couldn’t be seen. On the far left was purple, in the center was a golden color, and on the right it was of a red hue. The three girls discussed what it could be, when Kurama finally concluded that the colors matched their eyes; so each stepped over to the matching coffin.
As they walked over, a feeling of unease grew as a weight upon each of their shoulders, slowing them down with its force. It was as if it were trying to drive them away, as if something did not want them to go nearer to those coffins. But the girls felt that they had to, they had to know what lay within. And so they pressed on, moved forward, and looked inside.
What they saw shocked them. Inside lay an exact clone of themselves, and the next thing they knew they were inside the coffins. How it happened, they were not sure. But they could not get up; couldn’t animate their bodies at all. No matter how they struggled, fought, and tried; it was of no use. They were stuck in those coffins with telepathy (which they didn’t know how they got) to communicate with.
Looking in on Kiki, her clone said “Thank you for freeing us, young one. I am so glad you received my dream message clearly. I am sure by now all three of you are quite curious as to who we are, and what we were doing lying in these caskets. So I shall tell you, just so you may brood upon it for eternity. You three sealed us away long ago, us, your evil halves. You left us in these caskets to perish for all eternity. Well, not anymore we won’t. We called you, and you came. And no matter how hard your own barriers fought you to keep you away, for yes you did try to prevent yourselves from forgetting, you still managed to free us. I thank you for that, it is the only kind thing you have ever done for us. And to thank you…” she said, leaning close and caressing Kiki’s face with a touch that made her skin crawl, “We are going to resume our old profession—destroying the mortal world.” The clone’s eyes turned cold and hard, and all of them turned away, disappearing in the same direction from which Kiki, Kurama, and Luna had come from moments earlier.
They made their way back to the mortal world where the fire raged, and laughed joyously. It was just as they hoped. Their spells were still powerful, and now they were the ones out and in charge, not their kindred counterparts. They went about, sealing the homes and stopping the water flow, setting many more houses on fire and killing the masses. This would continue on for a few months at best. And the three evil sisters loved every minute of it.
What they had not counted on however, was that the three girls would regain their memories of past lives and manage to free themselves. And that is exactly what they did. It took them quite some time but they did manage to recall everything—including how to counter the spell. Once they had freed themselves, they ran back to the mortal world and out of the dimension they had created to seal their evil halves away in. They had not aged while they ere in there, and so they were still in prime condition. There was no hunger, thirst, or anything in there—Just existence. If felt good to be alive again, to fell, but they didn’t have time to relish those feelings and thoughts; they had to find the evil beings and destroy them for good.
It didn’t take long to find them either, for they needed only to follow the calamity. When they caught up to the evil maidens thrice, they took them on in battle. It was magic versus magic, will versus will. Only the strongest of the fighters would prevail. And they fought long and hard as well, for many nights. Yet as they fought they were destroying more lives and people as well. You see, they couldn’t block everything the evil ones threw at them if they wanted to live, and sometimes the evil maidens dodged and their magic would harm an innocent bystander. They couldn’t live with that blood on their hands and guilt in their consciences. So, using the last of their magic that they could muster, they sealed their evil halves within themselves. Collapsing on the ground in exhaustion they slept once more, knowing that for now the people close to them would be safe. But they also knew that their evil halves could surface and posses them as well, so they would need to be alert and send reminders to their reincarnations as well, lest this happened again.
They awoke in Kiki’s house, sore and achey. On the counter downstairs was a note for them, telling them of those who had passed from the calamity. On the list were Luna’s parents, Kurama’s mother, and Kiki’s father. There were also various people from school, and many others that they did not know. The rights for them were being held today at the local cemetery, and so the girls cleaned their clothes and dressed to leave. Their gowns were black, for Kiki’s house miraculously had remained untouched (had she perhaps cast a spell over it unknowingly?), so their were clothes in her closet that fit each of them. They were always in the habit of leaving clothes at each other’s.
At the funeral there were many tears, and they flowed as freely and as loudly as the rain had the night of Kiki’s dream. Kiki’s, Kurama’s, and Luna’s eyes were dry however, for they had emotions too vast to cry them out. The feelings of sadness and despair that hung over the place were like a deep cloud, and in their minds they could hear the evil laughter of their sealed halves. And they knew, they just knew, that those evil maidens would rise again. That night, after the funerals, they made a pact to always stick together, and to prepare themselves for the final battle. Next time, they would destroy the evil within themselves. They would end it forever.1