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Great Writing - Home > Extended > Coveted Dream (Claws of Darkness, Chapter 1)
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Extended Work
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| Coveted Dream (Claws of Darkness, Chapter 1) | |
| By AmeliaWonderland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 02 March 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This continues from the prologue I posted a few days ago. Hope you enjoy it. Alex felt reluctant to open her eyes. It was a few days since her last time travel trip and her life seemed to be back to normal. ‘I had a very peculiar dream,’ she uttered, squinting from the bright light of the morning sun and stretching her arms. ‘Several, as a matter of fact…’ Stretching, she fell back onto the pillow and looked at the well lit bedroom hoping that the familiar outlines of her home would quicken her descent into reality.Organized and dusted, her room was filled with a variety of rock samples: shelves displaying stones from different parts of the Universe covered most of the walls and another display structure with an arch opening in the middle divided the room into two parts – sleeping quarters and a study. Alex lifted her head and looked out. Beautiful grounds, stretching almost to the edge of sight, shimmered with summer colours. Near the house, an oval labyrinth of red and white roses centred in a freshly trimmed lawn, and a small fountain-statute of a mother and a child stood at the heart of the labyrinth. Further away, the lawn edged into a field of wild flowers and meadow shrubs on one side and sloped down to a small creek on the other. Behind the creek was a village of Little Meadow. An invisible speck against rapidly developing human civilisation, it was not large enough to be included in most Earth’s maps. But to Alex, who had spent most of her life living outside the Solar System on the outskirts of the Earth Conglomerate, the village signified everything that the Conglomerate’s government was about – creating sheltered existence and carefree life for its citizens. Every time Alex watched this closely knit community, she could not stop noticing how peaceful and content its dwellers appeared. Hustling about their daily chores like busy little ants and never stopping to take a rest, they rarely looked weary and always greeted each other with a smile. Their kindness was so overwhelming that when Alex played harmless tricks on them, at the worst they responded with a hint of reproach. Hidden under the mattress of Alex’s bed were her binoculars. Pulling them out with a brisk movement, she positioned them comfortably around her eyes and focused onto the village below. Yesterday she had removed a few bricks from the path leading to a local bakery and she could not wait to see what happened next. Her house gave her an excellent view.If her mother had seen her now, she would have probably told her off, but her mother was not around and Alex had not even a hint of guilt about her cheek. It did not take long for Alex to see the baker come out of his shop and trip over the missing stones while picking up his daily delivery. Alex smiled and tossed the binoculars aside. Also hidden underneath the mattress were a book and Alex’s diary. Alex put both in front of her and wondered which one to open first. The book was a fantasy thriller which Alex’s parents had given her before they left on their latest expedition. It was a very old and rare volume, and Alex began reading it last week. It talked about alien worlds and creatures and reminded Alex of her deepest dream – to become a space explorer like her parents. Alex looked at the book with eagerness. She could not wait to read it, but she did not start it just yet. Savouring the sweetness of anticipation, she thought of events described in the story and recollected the read pages in her mind. She opened her diary instead. Jotting down today’s date, Alex thought of what to write next. Which events should she recapture? Would it be all-night conversations with Lewis, which were becoming frequent, or her nearing completion of the Preparatory College? Alex hesitated. She glanced at the date and her heart sank. How could she forget! Today her paper on fractal geometry was due. It was her last assignment and counted towards her final credits. Failing the paper was an option, but as there were only two students left – she and her friend Lewis – and only one place at the Academy, Alex needed every single credit. She glanced at the top of her desk where a thick tome on fractal geometry was wedged between her other textbooks and sank back into the pillow. A door opened and somebody burst into the room. It was Lizzie, the housekeeper, who looked absolutely frantic. Two full shopping bags were in her hands and her face was red and excited. ‘Oh, Alex, we are going to have a time of our lives!’ she said gasping for air. ‘We are going to celebrate! Look at what I’ve got.’ Lizzie set the shopping bags onto the floor and their contents accidentally spilled out. There were paper cups and towels; biscuits and sparkling drinks; there were finger foods and small decorative candles. Lizzie hurried to pick up her shopping, placing it back into the bags. ‘And this is not all,’ she added, leaning against the wall and catching her breath. ‘I need to go back to the store and get some more things. Just tell me you are happy with what I bought so far.’ ‘Lizzie, to get what things? What are we celebrating?’ ‘Your birthday, of course! Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve organised everything. Just go about your business as usual.’ Setting her diary and her book aside, Alex groaned. Forgetting about a term paper was one thing; forgetting about her birthday was another. Alex’s face twisted in half-dissatisfaction and half-smile as she looked at Lizzie in desperation. ‘Thanks!’ she said. ‘At least one of us remembers these things.’ ‘It’s my pleasure. You know how I like parties.’ Alex grinned. ‘What you like is keeping yourself busy. Just promise me you won’t overdo it? And that your other responsibilities won’t suffer as a result?’ ‘My responsibilities never suffer. I always manage.’ Lizzie smiled and turned her attention to her shopping. She took an inventory of what she had bought, checking it against her list and crossing off the items she no longer needed. ‘I’ll take this into the kitchen if you don’t mind,’ she said. ‘Would you like me to make you some breakfast while I’m there? Tea, coffee?’ ‘Coffee, please, and some bread perhaps.’ Lizzie nodded in reply. ‘Coffee with milk?’ ‘No, no milk. Just a little sugar.’ ‘As you wish, dear.’ Alex was alone again. The sun shone over her face, and she soaked its warmth with eagerness. She moved closer towards the window and noticed that somebody had jumped over the estate’s fence and was walking towards the house. Taking hold of her binoculars, Alex focused on the intruder and recognised Lewis. Why is he coming over so early in the day? Leaping away from the window, Alex charged towards her wardrobe. She opened one of the drawers and scattered its contents on the carpeted floor. She found a few pairs of jeans, worn-out at the knees, several baggy t-shirts, an old belt, and a load of mismatched socks. The belt was Alex’s favourite and was heavily worn out, but she took it out nevertheless. Something sparkled in the corner of the drawer. It was a small mirror with a golden rim, which Alex received from her mother just before she started college last year. It was meant to be a good luck present but recently it became a painful reminder of how dangerous space exploration can be. Seeing that Alex wanted to be an explorer herself, she did not want to dwell on the painful memories the mirror transpired and kept it as far out of sight as possible. Adjusting her ruffled hair and pushing the object further inside the drawer, Alex was about to get changed, when there was a knock on the door. Lewis! Alex jumped. He is here already.‘Please come in,’ she shouted. Lewis slowly opened the door and peered into the room. When he saw Alex in her pyjamas, he hesitated at first, but after receiving her nod of approval, he stepped inside. ‘Did I call at a bad time?’ he asked, looking around to see if anybody else was inside. ‘No, not at all… that is if you don’t mind my attire.’ ‘I don’t. It’s a quick visit. I wanted to tell you – ’ ‘Come in, come in,’ Alex interrupted. ‘Make yourself comfortable. Would you like some coffee?’ Lewis nodded. ‘Just a second then.’ Alex ran down to the kitchen. The housekeeper was not around, but the coffeemaker was steaming hot. Alex poured two cups of coffee – one for her and one for Lewis – and set them both down on a wooden serving tray. To that she added some bread, chocolate spread, cheese and some cutlery and returned to her bedroom. ‘So how are you?’ she asked Lewis, putting the tray down on her desk and inviting Lewis to sit down. ‘How’s your college work going?’ Lewis did not reply and a moment of uncomfortable silence followed. Alex used the pause to make a couple of breakfast sandwiches, offering one to her guest, but Lewis refused. Smiling elusively, he retrieved a small metallic badge from his shirt pocket. A red shield crossed by two gold-plated swords was imbedded on it. Taking the badge in her hands, Alex immediately recognised the symbol of the Academy. At once, she realised what had happened. ‘You’ve been accepted!’ she uttered. ‘How on earth did you do that?’ ‘Just diligently completed my work and handed it in when it was due, I suppose. That’s all. And I am actually starting today. Can you believe it? It seems like only yesterday we were sitting in class together.’ Alex took a sip of her coffee and gazed outside. Wow…she mused. She did not see this coming. Not at least until their course was over. Lewis was just an average student and his only advantage over Alex was his determination to comply with the Academy requirements to the letter. It did not matter whether he understood these requirements or not, but as long as he could produce something that appeared tidy and intelligible, he seemed content. Why this was enough to overcome the stringent entrance constraints, she did not understand… She looked at a small sand clock that was standing on the windowsill and turned it over. With amusement she watched the grains of sand drop to the bottom of the glass and was momentarily mesmerised by the grains’ even falling. So it begins… she mused. Alex turned to face Lewis and spoke softly.‘You are very lucky,’ she uttered wearily, a tint of envy in her words. ‘Wicked, isn’t it? Who could have known! I was sure it would be you!’ Another weighty moment of silence followed. It was the longest and the most uncomfortable moment Alex had ever experienced, and as she and Lewis looked at each other, the heaviness grew. Alex did not know what else to add to her words and it seemed that Lewis did not know what to add to his either. When Lewis finally left, Alex went into the bathroom. She rinsed her face, welcoming the cold drops of water on her face. As the drops rolled down her warm skin, she felt better. ‘I am happy for you Lewis,’ she uttered speaking into the silence of the room, ‘but I wish you knew how short your Academy career will be…’ She walked back into her bedroom and pulled out her Fractal Geometry textbook. I’d better finish the assignment and hand it in before the deadline expires.
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