Johnny Dreamer

Chapter one

         It was a cold, winter morning in the small suburban town of Manor Creek. The town was like most others, cookie cutter houses lined up 15 feet apart. The roofs of the houses were gray with frost. It had snowed a little last night and there was a dusting of white coating on the branches of the trees that lined the road. The occasional car plodding its way to some unknown destination would interrupt the stillness of the crisp winter air.
         In one house at the end of the street, there was a light on in an upstairs bedroom. The light showed the outline of little plastic knights pasted to the window. The room was small and square. There was a dresser on the far wall with small pewter figurines, some dragons, some knights, and an assortment of other beasts. There were posters on the walls; one poster was a wizard on top of a mountain with a dragon wrapped around the top by the wizard’s feet. Another was of a castle and an army charging the gates with a battering ram. At the top of the castle walls stood a knight with silver armor with his sword extended as if ordering a counter attack against the approaching army. In the middle of the room was a single bed, with a dark blue comforter dotted with shooting stars.
         “Johnny” a female voice came from the door
         “Johnny!” The voice was starting to sound irritated
         “Its time to get up for school!” she yelled
         A grunt came from under the comforter.The Door came flying open, and a mass of humanity came charging in. It was Johnny’s mom. Samantha Mills was her name, the local kids called her Mrs. moon behind her back. The woman stood about 5’4 and was nearly as wide as she was high. She had matted black hair that hung just below her shoulders. She was wearing gray sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt with a picture of a wolf howling at the moon on it. She reached the bed and ripped the comforter off with the power of an enraged bull “Johnny, Get your ass out of bed now.” The woman commanded.
          “But mom, I don’t want to go to school today.” Johnny moaned
         “You have 5 minutes to get you lazy ass downstairs or your headed for a beating” the woman bellowed. She then turned in a huff and stomped off down the stairs.
         Johnny slowly rolled over revealing his freckled face, his lightly red hair, and pail complexion. He swung his legs out to the side of the bed and stood up. He was very small for 13, standing at most 4 feet tall and he had a slender build. Johnny stood up, reached for the sky, and let out one of those morning stretches that always seem to charge you up for the day. He stumbled over to his dresser and picked up a figurine of a knight and held it up to the light that just started to crack through his shades from the bedroom window.
         “Today you and I will defeat evil again Sir John” Johnny said in a cracked tiny voice.
Then Johnny held his right hand up as if he had a sword in his hand then put the figurine gently back down on the dresser.
         In the Kitchen Mrs. Mills was bustling around brewing a pot of coffee for herself and trying to straighten up from the dinner the night before.
         “Johnny why are you not down here yet” she yelled
         “Damn kid is useless, and as lazy as a 3 toed sloth, I should have sent him packing with his father” she muttered under her breath. Moments later Johnny came down the stairs with his book bag in tow and looked around for a moment wondering if he was headed for a beating or a hug. Mrs. Mills came shuffling toward him with a brown paper bag in hand looking rushed.
         “Here is your lunch, now get to the bus stop before I knock you in the head” She rumbled “you get a PBJ and a snickers bar today, now go you know my friends are coming over today to play pinochle.”
She then came right up to him so now all he could see was that glaring wolf on the shirt of her mom. It seemed to stare at him for a moment and then smile. An instant later Johnny was shuffled out the front door; she then slammed the door behind him with a loud thud!
         Johnny took in a deep breath of cold crisp winter air , as he exhaled a puff of smoke came out of his mouth. He had to squint because the sun was now in full bloom reflecting off of the dusting of Wight that blanketed the town. He turned down the driveway and headed for the bus stop. Johnny’s mom always made him leave early, she somehow thought that being the first to somewhere made you a winner. For Johnny though it was the opposite, it just gave them more time.
         Johnny reached the stop and put down his book bag down on the ground and waited. BAM! Something had cracked into the back of Johnny’s head stunning him for a moment. He then heard a chorus of laughter.
         “Hey pumpkin head, you no what time it is?” Frank Shouted in a gleeful tone
Johnny just shrugged his shoulders and crunched down waiting, he new what was coming.
         “Uhh, Its dork mashing time” Frank finished his own question.
Bam! Wham! Two more snowballs caught him square in the back. Followed by some laughter.
         Johnny knew who it was; Frank Griallimo, the big bully of his school. Frank was almost a young adult, very developed for his age. He already stood 5’6 and he used every bit of his size advantage to push people around. He had black hair, and brown eyes, but to Johnny the seemed black as coal. Second there was Chester Franklin; he was Frank’s sidekick. He was not as tall as frank but for his lack in height he could back it up with his stocky stature. Chester was blond with blue eyes, and he was maybe more dangerous then frank. Chester never said much but he had a temper that could rival any you may have ever seen. One time a kid shot a spitball at Chester in school, and that kids nose is still crooked to this day. Finally there was Kate willing, She had long brown hair, kind of frazzled, she also had deep green eyes. She never seemed like a bad person but she would also go with whatever flow Frank and Chester were headed. She started hanging out with these two only a couple years ago and that was probably to stop the jokes that Kate was always willing! Give her a call. When she started hanging out with Frank and Chester the jokes stopped.
         The three walked up to Johnny and frank came forward.
         “What’s in the bag dork?” he snarled.
         “Just my lunch” Johnny replied.
         "Let me see" Frank said as he snatched the bag from Johnny’s hands.
Frank opened the bag an peered inside.
         “Hey what’s this?” frank inquired as he pulled the snickers bar out.
         “Cool, I was wondering what I was going to have for a snack today” as he put the candy bar in his coat pocket.
He then grabbed the sandwich and saw it was a PBJ.
         “Yuck, I hate these” Frank pronounced.
He then slammed the sandwich back in the bag, threw the bag on the cold ground and took his big foot and ground the contents into the snow.
         “Well see ya later pumpkin head” frank laughed as he shoved Johnny aside and moved to the side of the curb. Chester followed up and just gave Johnny his typical glare that said go ahead say something and I’ll break your face. Then followed by Kate who just chuckled “dork”.
         15 minutes later the bus stop was bustling with activity, Johnny sat a few feet away from everyone, just trying to avoid more torment. Then he heard a familiar voice calling his name out.
          “Johnny!” the voice called
         “Johnny!” the call came again
“Ahh there you are” A girl came through the crowed.
         It was Julia Vandertide, probably one of Johnny’s only true friends. She had big glasses that did not want to stay on her nose, her sandy colored hair was done up in pigtails. She was wearing a red and black plaid pants and she had an over sized brown ski jacket on. She stood a good 3 inches taller then Johnny.
         “Johnny, what’s wrong?” she asked.
         “Nothing” Johnny sighed.
         “Was Frank being picking on you again?” as she looked to the ground and saw the remains of a PBJ sandwich mangled with a brown paper bag at his feet she knew the answer.
         “I am going to go kick him in the Junk!” she said.
         “No! No! No!” Johnny pleaded. “You will just make things worse.
         “Oh Johnny what are we going to do with you” Julia said with concern in her voice.
         Julia was much older then her age. She was probably the best student in school, and she did not care what people thought of her, she stayed out of clicks and picked her own friends.
         “Come on Johnny the bus is coming. I’ll share my lunch with you today”
         The bus slowly rumbled to a stop in front of the crowed, everyone filed in and took their seats. It was good to get out of the biting cold and into the warmth of the bus. Johnny and Julia sat up front to avoid being near Frank and the gang.
         “So did you study for the biology test?” Julia asked.
         “A little” Johnny replied.
         “Come on Johnny I told you what to go over, don’t disappoint me or I will never speak to you again” she said jokingly.
         Julia liked Johnny; she liked his imagination and his good heart. She knew right away they would be friends. She knew his life at home was hard and she knew too many people picked on him so she took it upon herself to be her guardian angle in a sense.
         “Well I think you will do fine” she said
         “its multiple choice so just remember to stick with your first answer”
         Johnny had trouble with school. He had a hard time staying Focused in class, and he had no one at home to help him, his mom was divorced and basically stayed in the house from welfare and child support money.
         A few minutes later the bus turned into the school parking lot. It was an old brick building with aging trees growing every 20 feet. The school had been here for 100 years since the town was first founded. The building was two levels and had rows of rectangular windows running the length of the building. There was Ivy long dead from the winter clinging to the brick walls. The entrance had two large double doors that must have stood 8 feet high. The bus finally came rolling to a stop and the doors swung open. Everyone filtered out of the bus and marched up through the doors. Johnny and Julia walked side by side their first period class algebra.
         Miss Taylor was the algebra teacher. She was a stumpy old lady with short gray curly hair. She had that old lady smell that Johnny would find whenever he went to his grandmothers. She was a nice enough lady but he hated algebra. He just did not get the numbers and letters and how you add them together. The first period bell finally rang.
         “Hello class” Miss Taylor greeted the children.
         “so is everyone ready to learn some more algebra?” she question in an over the top happy way.
          “I know you are”
         This is about the time that Johnny is lost. The teacher’s words slowly started to bleed together. The lighting changed from the bright colors of the world to a faded gray. He slumped down on his desk with his head in his hands. A glazed look washed over his face and the world seemed to slowly fade away.


Chapter 2

         A flash of light lit the forest floor showing for an instant, the face of a man, Panic stricken, with mud glistening from his face, eyes so wide you knew he had seen the face of death itself. Then Darkness. A moment later he screams and starts to run through the forest but his scream is silenced buy the crash of thunder that followed. Rain was falling so hard; it created tiny waterfalls flowing down the leaves of the forest canopy. The smell of the rotting wet underbrush filled the air. And then there was an instant of silence. For the man it seemed like it lasted an eternity. He stopped running and turned, he knew there was no way for him to escape.
         Two glowing yellow eyes suddenly appeared in the darkness, maybe 20 paces away. A heavy snarled breath came from those eyes. They slowly crept forward, the way a beast stalks its cornered prey. Another Flash in the sky and for an instant the man could see his death. The long gnarled snout, the one side raised up to show a long chipped fang and rows of sharp canines. Large ears turned this way and that as if making sure know other creature would come to steal its catch. Jet-black hair matted down by the rain with tufts jutting this way and that with no sense of order. The arms were elongated, almost human, until you saw the ends of those arms; here there were claws, 6 inches long, razor sharp and stained with the blood of countless victims.
         When the creature reached the man, it rose up on its hind legs, It must have stood 8 feet tall, The man was paralyzed, he knew he should try to run, he wanted to run, but the fear that was crippling his spine was overpowering. The creature raised its head to the sky and let out a howling shriek that seemed to silence the very storm itself. Then it lowered its head and looked right into the mans eyes, he knew this was it. The beasts’ breath hit the man in the face; he nearly fainted from the smell of rot and decay from flesh still clinging to the creatures’ teeth. He cowered back and waited for death.
         Then, nothing, the frightened man looked up the creature turned his head sensing the presence of another. He gazed in the strange night vision creatures of this type have and saw a Man standing in a small clearing. He was wearing a suit of armor that glistened like a thousand stars whenever the lightning flashed. He was holding a sword in his right hand, and there was an emblazed shield on the chest of the armor that showed a winged horse flying forward with a setting Orange sun behind it and he seemed to beckon the beast to charge.
         The beast slowly turned toward this intruder, eyeing him up looking for a place to attack.
         “How dare he interrupt my feast” the beast growled in a low guttural voice
         “It looks like I will dine well tonight” He said with a hint of sarcasm
And then the beast leapt at the knight with blinding speed. It’s claws fully extended ready to tear through the armor like a knife through butter. Then in one fluid motion the knight took a small side step to the left and came down with a thunderous blow to the back of the creatures neck. The beast went flying past the knight and crashed headlong into a nearby tree. He then slumped to the ground with a great splash.
         The beast was almost instantly up on its feet and he charged again, this time hitting his mark. The two tumbled to the ground rolling over several times. The knight managed to jam the hilt of his sword in the gapping jaws of the beast. The creature tried to claw ferociously at the knight but the armor held strong and the claws of the beast just bounced off.
         The knight managed to get some leverage on the attacker by sliding his one foot under its stomach. With a great heave he catapulted the creature back over his head. The knight stood up, swung his sword in the air and let out a scream as he rushed at the fallen beast. When he reached him he went to plunge his sword into the fowl thing but it was to quick. On its feet again the beast backed away and glared at the knight for a moment.
         “This is not over” he stated in growling tone
         “I will taste your flesh I can promise you that” it threatened
It then paused for another moment and then turned and leapt into the forest disappearing from sight.