Dream and Reality: Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Dream
Before I had even opened my eyes, I found myself smiling. Just knowing I was back was enough to put me in a great mood. My mind started racing before I even got up. What would my power be? It could be something I have to find by just waving my arms around to see if something would happen. If I can't find it on my own, I could just go get a blood test to see what it is, but that wouldn’t be very fun.
As I got up and looked around my room, my eyes glazed across the mirror. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to figure out, I thought to myself. Under my shirt, there was a large bump on my back, and I knew immediately what it was. It was a power that was quite common, and I personally knew three other people with it. I pulled my shirt off, and two large wings stretched out from my back.
I grinned widely. I looked like a freakin angle! After a few minutes of staring at myself in awe, I snapped back to my senses and got ready for the day. I went and brushed my teeth and got dressed as soon as possible, or I tried to. I try to pull on six different shirts, but none could fit over my new wings. This would be a fun start to a day.
I look out my window. I see my car sitting in the driveway, and wait until the traffic goes down outside. 3… 2… I see a group of maybe thirty people start approaching my house. Shit. Everyone was coming straight for me. I run to my room and grab all my shirts and a pair of scissors. I cut two holes in one of the shirts. I try to fit my wings through, but they're completely out of place. I simply throw it in the trash and try again. I keep cutting and trying until I hear a knock on the door. “I know you're in there Henry!” I hear yelled from outside. “Coming” I yell back. Finally, after ruining eight of the ten shirts I own, my wings slip through. I look in the mirror, and it looks as if the wings were coming out from the shirt. I thank god for flexible wings and shirts and run towards the door.
I open the door to my room, and I see people crowded in my living room. “Happy birthday!” I hear yelled through the room. In movies or cartoons, it's common for people to yell “Happy birthday” or “Suprise” on a birthday like this., but in reality, it just makes you cringe.
“Thanks guys,” I say to everyone. I play it like I don’t know what's about to happen. Someone runs behind me, and before I can react, they pull a wing out from behind my back, showing everyone. Cheers break out, and people start jumping all over me. “You know what that means” I hear to my side. Lance (Dream Lance) runs to my side and hoists me up. In seconds, the whole crowd has grabbed me like ants on a slice of dropped apple.
They carry me out my door into the street. In reality, if it was someone's birthday, and you saw them in a city being carried by a crowd of people that they don’t even know most of, it would look weird. But not here. There is a crowd carrying an unsuspecting victim at least twice a week. That's what's so great about here. Everything is different. For example, they have full house buildings. My house is just the first one of 4 all stacked up on top of each other. They just have an elevator outside to bring you up. And there still normal homes, not apartments or penthouses, just normal homes. I have two floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a guest room, and a man cave. It's awesome.
The party brings me to the Civilian tower (A tower built here because this was the first civilian city. A 156 story masterpiece.) They drop me in the lobby. “You know what to do,” Lance says. “You've seen it before.”
“Yup,” I say nervously. I walk to the elevator, and Lance and a few others come with me. Lance clicks the button for the top floor. We aren't even in for ten seconds until I get a tap on the shoulder. I turn to see Maya, only looking a little different in the dream. She gives me a wink and whispers to me, “We can talk later.” Well, it's comforting to know that she knows about all my stupidity in the real world and in here. Fun.
As I stand waiting for the elevator to arrive at the top, I realize that this ritual could kill me. I know what to do. Jump off the building, spread out my wings, and glide to safety. Takes no skill. This has been something that everyone has done who has gotten wings for almost 20 years, and no one has gotten hurt. Even so, people are still wanting to ban it. (Fun fact: I'm one of those people.)
The elevator opens, and I feel the cold wind blow my hair back. We all get out and step to the edge. Lance sticks his hand out, and a streak of color launches out and bursts into a jumble of colors. His power was labeled as “Firework” and was seamed almost completely useless at first. But he gets paid a lot of money to do it at parties and stuff like that. It wasn't his only power though, he could also breathe just fine anywhere. Underwater, in a plastic bag, in space probably (We don’t know because we apparently gave up on space exploration after society died.)
We hear a faint cheer from down below when they see the firework. “Ready?” He asks rhetorically. I just prepare myself for what's to come.
“3… 2... 1… Go!” Lance pushes me off the edge and I began to plummet. I would be screaming, but… nevermind I'm screaming. Fast as I can, I push my wings out to my side and feel myself start to stable out. When I've gained enough stability, I start to pull up. It's a strange feeling because I just know how to control my wings. It feels so natural, it’s like I was using them all my life. Finally, I begin to glide barely over the rooftops. I see the countless buildings and streets of my home in a way I never have before. It's so beautiful. I look and spot the border of the city. A simple ring that cuts off to an endless desert of sand and nothing.
My pure and beautiful moment is cut short when I see the landing spot. A huge net strung between buildings over the road. I aim myself down at it and crash in. It only hurts a little, but I don't even notice because of the defining screeches and cheers that come after. Three or four people climb out to get me. They pick me up and bring me down.
I’m greeted at the street by another round of swarming and cheering.
I smile and enjoy my happy moment. This is the kind of life I love. One where everyone feels popular because everyone in the world is friends with everyone. We even took a class all about learning everyone's names back in school. Luckily, school ends when your 16 in here. Another reason this world is better (As if I needed another.)
They all pull me up again and start chanting my name. I stand, so excited that I have wings on my back, friends all around, so many I don’t know all of them, and a sense of security. The last part didn’t last long, because the next few moments would be the start of the end of my normal life. Who know all it took was a bullet in the arm to end my happiness on the best day of my life. I hear screams all around as I see my own blood blow across the crowd.
Someone grabs are and say something, but I can’t hear through all the confusion. I remember little of what happened next, only three things.
1.) Being pulled to the hospital
2.) 8 more bullets
3.) The doctors putting me to sleep before trying to save my life.