Sleeping World Read online

  Sleeping World

  K. M. Frost

  Also by K. M. Frost:

  Reality Dreamers

  Sleeping World

  Book 2 of The Reality Dreamers Trilogy

  K. M. Frost

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and locations are products of the author’s imagination and should not be construed as real. Any similarities to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of the author.

  Copyright © 2017 K. M. Frost

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1544957092

  ISBN-13: 978-1544957098

  For Dad,

  Thanks for all the fun.

  You always knew the best stories.

  Beware the red shirt…

  Chapter 1

  A huge room, lights far away. Rows of sleeping, nameless people. I walk through the sea of stillness, faces blurred and indistinct. My mind is racing with world-shattering thoughts, twisting my mind and changing my life.

  Then I see her face.

  She looks peaceful, but the image is out of place. My sister should be at home in bed, not lying in this cavernous tomb. If she’s here, are the others, too? How many of these stoic people do I know?

  I’m staring at her face, like I have so many times before, but she doesn’t move . . .

  She doesn’t move—and then she speaks.

  “Jonas!”

  I felt my body jerk in response to the sound of my sister calling my name, and the vision faded.

  My mind had not stopped spinning since the moment I’d seen Ellie in the Reality Dreams, and not even school could distract me.

  I looked around the schoolyard in a daze. The sun was bright and warm—almost uncomfortably so. And there was Ellie, running toward me, long brown braids trailing behind her. She was grinning and very much alive.

  Ellie landed on her knees beside me in the grass. “Hey, Jonas. Where’s Leah?”

  I forced a smile. “She said her dad excused her for something today. But she’ll be back tomorrow.”

  I’d been surprised when Leah met me at the door to the school that morning, looking upset. I’d asked what was wrong, but she’d just said she had to do something with her dad and wouldn’t be at school today.

  Ellie pouted. “Now who am I gonna talk to?”

  I snorted. “Thanks . . .”

  She rolled her eyes. “Jonas, you’re my brother. It’s not the same. Leah and I . . . we can talk about anything.”

  “Try me.”

  My sister raised a skeptical eyebrow, but she settled deeper into the grass. “Alright. There’s this boy in my class named Kyle, and he’s really nice. But whenever I try to talk to him, Lisa McCott interrupts and makes him ignore me. What should I do?”

  I was surprised by the abrupt question, and when she looked up at me expectantly, my mind went blank. “I, well . . .”

  Ellie sighed. “That’s what I thought.”

  I frowned. “Hey, just because I can’t help you out with something like that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to me.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not the same.”

  “That’s not very fair. Come on, let me try another one.”

  “No. I have a better idea.”

  “What idea?”

  Rather than answering, she lunged and tackled me to the ground. Before I could do more than say hey, she jumped up and ran away, shouting “You’re it!” over her shoulder.

  I rolled to my feet and chased after her, relieved. I much preferred chasing my little sister to answering her ‘boy questions’. Why does she even care? I reached out to grab Ellie, then pulled back at the last second.

  She screamed happily and changed course.

  She was only nine after all—why did she care about a boy’s attention?

  I tried not to let the thought bother me too much, and just enjoyed chasing her around the schoolyard until the chime rang, calling us all back inside.

  “See?” I said as we hurried to grab our book bags and walk back to the schoolhouse. “I’m not completely worthless.”

  Ellie grinned, still breathing hard. “Yeah, I guess you’re pretty cool. For a brother.” And with that, she ran past me to join her friends at the door.

  I watched her go and my smile faded as my mind returned once again to last night’s discovery. How could this all be fake? Ellie was definitely real. My family couldn’t be a dream, could they?

  But then I reminded myself that I’d seen Ellie in the Reality Dreams. So even if our lives were fake, my family was real. I held vehemently to that thought—to the truth of my family—as I stepped into the old schoolhouse and back into ‘reality’.

  Instructor Lokina was extra enthusiastic in Artistic Literature today, which helped me to focus on the lesson and ignore the thoughts and questions bouncing around my head.

  We were discussing chain verse poetry, and I felt like I understood the concept all right—until Instructor Lokina assigned us each to write a six-line chain poem to be read in class in two weeks.

  I’d never been much good at poetry, though I understood the concepts well enough. I just couldn’t get the words to come together in the right way and make sense.

  I didn’t hear a lot of what Instructor Stevens said in Music of Capernia class—I was too preoccupied worrying about my poem.

  I even struggled to pay attention during Practical Literature, a new experience for me. Instructor Grey had it out for me for some reason, so usually I tried to stay alert in his class.

  Not today, though.

  Today my mind was too full with thoughts of the Reality Dreams and my poem. I did resurface when he called my name in the middle of class, though I had no idea what he’d been saying.

  “What?” I could already feel my face heating up with embarrassment.

  The class snickered, and Instructor Grey didn’t try to quiet them. He peered down his long nose, letting the humiliation wash over me, and then he sniffed and waved a paper in the air. It looked like some kind of list, and I could only assume he’d been reading from it.

  “Mr. Hartley, you will be working with Miss Lane.” Instructor Grey’s tone was very demeaning. He raised a dark eyebrow. “Unless, of course, you have a complaint?”

  I hurried to shake my head and dropped my eyes to my desk, humiliated.

  Instructor Grey let the awkward moment last for another few seconds, and then he began to read names from his list again, pairing up students to work together on some assignment.

  I had no idea what we would be doing, but I didn’t dare ask and make an even bigger idiot of myself.

  “It’s Jonas, isn’t it?”

  I jumped at the unexpected question and quickly raised my head. A pretty girl stood next to me, a book bag in her arms and a hesitant smile on her face.

  “Uh, yeah.” I glanced across the room at Instructor Grey, waiting for him to punish us for talking during class. Then I realized there were quite a few people out of their chairs, gathering into pairs.

  I turned back to the girl beside me, who I figured was Miss Lane. She looked vaguely familiar, but I don’t think I’d ever talked to her before.

  She looked behind her and saw the desk next to mine was empty. She settled into the chair and turned sideways so she was facing me across the narrow aisle.

  She crossed her legs and leaned forward a bit. “So, where do you want to start?”

  I grimaced, heat rushing back to my face. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing. I kind of . . . zoned out and missed the explanation.”

  Rather than criticizing or mocking me, she let out a soft laugh. “I know what that’s like.” She smiled kindly and held out a
slender hand for me to shake. “I’m Abby, by the way.”

  After a short hesitation, I shook it and felt a smile forming. I was grateful I didn’t have to ask for her name. After all, she’d known mine—it would’ve felt weird to ask.

  “So, what did you do to Instructor Grey to make him so mad?” I tossed a peek toward the front of the room, but Instructor Grey was answering some students’ questions and didn’t hear my words.

  Abby tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

  “You do know he’s going to fail you on this assignment.” I tried not to sound too bitter. “He put you with me, so there’s no way you’re going to pass this.”

  She almost smiled, then she pursed her lips, brown eyes sparkling. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  I frowned. “What is the assignment?”

  Abby slipped her chin-length brown hair behind her ears with an excited grin. “It’s a presentation on Thomas Moche and his literary contributions that we’ll present to the class the second to last week of school.”

  I felt my spirits lifting. Maybe I would still fail this assignment, but at least I would enjoy putting it together. Then I wondered why Abby seemed so excited.

  I decided to ask.

  Her answer surprised me.

  “Well, everyone knows you’re one of the smartest kids in school—especially when it comes to Concepts. I’ve never been very good at remembering names and dates and stuff, but I figure with your help we’ll be just fine. And with my writing talent, we should have the best presentation of all!”

  I was surprised she was so upbeat about this assignment, but for some reason she had me smiling.

  It would be nice to have a partner who actually cared. Most kids gave up all hope when they got stuck with me.

  Abby and I spent the rest of the class brainstorming ideas. I’d never brainstormed with another person—it was actually kind of exciting. It was fun to have another view on things, and having fresh ideas was great.

  For the first time ever, I actually enjoyed Practical Literature, and when the chime sounded at the end of the day, I was reluctant to leave the room and head home.

  Abby looked down at the list we’d made; she didn’t seem in a hurry to leave, despite the other kids filing out of the room.

  She smiled at me and slid her books into her bag.

  “We’ve got some really good stuff here. I’m glad we’re working together, Jonas.” I heard nothing but sincerity in her voice.

  I returned her smile. “So am I, Abby.”

  She stood and waited for me to pull my bag onto my shoulder, and then we headed for the door.

  Abby walked beside me in the chaotic hall. “So, when do you want to meet so we can get some more planning done?”

  I was sure Mom and Dad would require me to get their permission, even if it was a school assignment, so today was out. And tomorrow I had another meeting with Counselor Gerrit.

  “How’s tomorrow?”

  I quickly shook my head. “Tomorrow’s not good.” I worried she was going to ask me for an explanation, but she didn’t.

  “Okay. How about Friday after school?”

  I nodded. “That should work.”

  Abby smiled. “Okay then. See you tomorrow, Jonas!” She waved to me and disappeared into the crowd.

  I met Ellie at the schoolhouse door and she gave me a weird look.

  “What?” I asked.

  She shook her head with a frown, her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You just look happy.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “I dunno.” She shrugged and took the lead.

  Mom was glad to see my smile, and she didn’t even mention tomorrow’s appointment.

  At dinner, I asked my parents if I could study with Abby after school on Friday, and they both agreed. Mom was a little surprised I wanted to study with someone, but it was the good kind of surprised.

  By the time I was falling asleep, my mind was clear at last, and my last thoughts were about Friday.

  I couldn’t wait.

  Chapter 2

  The light is the first thing I notice. I’m so used to waking up to darkness in the Reality Dreams, the light scares me. My eyes flick open and I feel almost dizzy as the ceiling high above me comes into focus; the pale lights resemble stars. I search myself for the contentedness I felt falling asleep, but it’s nowhere to be found.

  I sit up and look around me. The room seems even bigger than last night, if that’s possible. The endless rows of beds are flawlessly laid out, all straight lines and even spacing. The fine layer of dust over everything is all that ruins the immaculate sight.

  The air in this place is cold and still. It feels wrong that such a huge place should be so absolutely silent—especially when it’s full of people.

  It’s not natural, and it’s not right. I don’t know why all these people are here—why Ellie’s here—or how they came to be here. And that bothers me. The unknown is frightening—especially when it’s all around you, breathing shallowly in perpetual sleep.

  “Hey, kid.”

  I jump at the sound of Rick’s voice. He’s standing above me, tall and intimidating with his short-cropped black hair and broad shoulders. Next to him are Stewart and Leah. Stew looks tiny next to Rick, though he has grown in the weeks I’ve known him. Almost thirteen, he’s got red-brown hair and a round, freckled face. He usually looks happy and excited, but now his brown eyes are wide and worried.

  I’m sure Leah is just as uneasy and anxious, but her green eyes reveal nothing. Despite the fact she’s a girl and my same age, she can be pretty scary. It’s not her long white-blond hair or mischievous grin that’s intimidating, but her lethal glare and ninja combat skills. There aren’t many people who dare cross her. Even so, she’s one of my few friends.

  I shift on top of the blanket that served as my bed during the day and clasp my hands loosely on my folded legs. “So . . . What are we going to do?”

  Leah and Stewart look at Rick.

  He hesitates, then shrugs. “What is there to do?” His voice is surprisingly helpless. “We don’t know what happened here, and we sure don’t know how to fix it. Maybe there’s another place the Entities avoid—”

  I interrupt before he can finish. “We’re not leaving.”

  They all look at me in surprise.

  “There’s no way I’m leaving my sister in this place.” I’m not even going to think about it.

  Rick glances at Leah and Stewart, almost like he’s quietly asking them to side with him. I decide right then that even if they stand against me, I won’t leave my sister alone here.

  Then, surprising me, Leah speaks. “Jonas is right. We can’t leave yet. We need to at least try to figure out what happened here. And who knows—maybe we can do something to help these people.”

  Rick still looks unconvinced, but then Stew nods too. “Yeah, let’s help.”

  Finally, Rick lets out a reluctant breath. “Alright.” But then he turns his serious blue eyes on me. “But, if there really is nothing we can do, we’re leaving.”

  I nod for his sake, knowing I won’t leave Ellie, no matter what. I’ll deal with Rick later if I have to.

  Stewart cranes his neck to see the faces of the sleeping. “I wonder if we know anyone here.”

  Rick nudges him with a strained smile. “Of course we do, Stew. Didn’t you meet Jonas’s sister last night?”

  Stewart grins. “Let’s see who we can find, then!”

  Rick frowns and scans the sleeping bodies all around us. “Before we do anything, we need water.”

  “Oh!” Stewart nearly leaps with excitement. “Can I lead the way? I know where the stream is!”

  This time Rick smiles easily. “Why not? Let’s go.”

  I stand up, and then Stewart’s leading us the way we’d come the other night, back outside.

  There’s something surreal about walking away from the light and back into darkness. When we get out of the rock and back into the forest, I glance at th
e trees, then at the sky above us. Though these woods have held horrors beyond anything I ever imagined, they’re still enchanting, almost magical. I’ve missed seeing them.

  Stewart leads the way confidently, and we follow, not in a big hurry. After all, once we’ve had some water we’ll just be going back to that eerie room. We might as well enjoy the night breeze while we’re here.

  I try to appreciate the quiet night, but Ellie’s blank face keeps flashing through my head. She was so still and small in the giant room. At least her skin was warm, and she was breathing steadily. But I hated seeing her like that, not knowing what was wrong with her, or how to help her.

  Leah falls back to walk beside me, pulling me out of my thoughts. Her brow is furrowed in concern, but her lips are set in a soft smile. “Don’t worry, Jonas. She’ll be fine.”

  I’m not sure how she knows I’m thinking about Ellie, but I don’t want to talk about it, so I push the worries away and say the first thing that pops into my head.

  “So, what did you do with your dad today?”

  She doesn’t answer right away, and when I look over, she’s frowning. I’m about to ask what’s bothering her when she raises her chin purposefully, her green eyes flashing in the darkness.

  “We had a meeting in town.”

  I frown in surprise. “A meeting? But, why did you go?” Usually kids aren’t allowed in the Town Building, where all town meetings are held.

  Leah tosses me a quick glance and then shrugs. “My dad asked me to come along, and I did.”

  I’m still surprised and more than a little curious, but I can tell she doesn’t want to talk about it, so I let it go for now. “You missed a few things in school.”

  Leah grins, a mischievous light in her eyes. “Yeah, I was hoping so. So, how did you handle school without someone beating up your bullies and explaining everything to you?”

  I toss her a look, trying to keep my irritation out of my voice. “Oh, you know. I survived.”

  She snorts and sends me a sideways look. “Yeah. Sure you did.”