Time Warp: The Nightmare Man Theory

[Adelaide McLisk]

2000

Add laid back on the couch, sighing to herself and staring at the ceiling. Math was keeping her awake, but nobody understood that, nobody really got her power, even most of the people here. At least three of the people little Add had talked to thought that she'd gotten her power wrong, that she really was one of those probability manipulators. One had been so insistent that she'd gotten Add rather frustrated. The eleven year old had begun crying, bawling, really. She didn't like to think about that particular incident; crying was for babies, not for mature girls like her.

She sniffed and raised her hand, rubbing it against her eyes. It was probably wet; Add didn't need her ability to figure that out. Not that she was crying; her eyes were just watery. She was just upset about the whole issue. The little girl hiccuped and rolled a bit, facing the large television. For no particular reason, Add was struck with the urge to watch television. Something calming, maybe some Bill Nye or something. They had Bill Nye tapes, right? Add scooted off the couch, sniffed and rubbed her nose, and then headed to look over the tape collection. She could have sworn she saw some Bill Nye among the battered video cassettes.

Add stretched, reaching up on her tip toes, maybe someday she'd be tall, but for now, the eleven year old felt especially small. Her fingers brushed a few tapes, and she tugged at one, trying to get it down to get a better look at it. It slid, and so did several others. Add barely managed to fling her arms up in time to stop the avalanche from doing much damage. A few noisy seconds passed, leaving the little girl standing among a pile of tapes, her arms locked over her head, fighting the urge to start crying for real.

[Zebadiah Hayes]

Zeb had been at Hammel for four years now. And he sometimes wondered if he would ever get control over his ability. True, he had made some improvements. As long as he focused he could usually keep from altering others dreams, or at the very least turning them into nightmares. Still, he couldn't keep from staying out of others' dreams. And as for his own dreams, well they didn't seem to be improving at all. As for his daytime visions, they still upset him from time to time, but at least he hadn't run screaming out of any classrooms lately. That was something.

Still avoiding the other students had become a bit of a habit, even though he was starting to make a few friends here and there. Oddly enough, he found that the dorm first floor was a great place to do just that. During the day most other students were in class or their dorm rooms. And Zeb knew his roommates, who he avoided like the plague, would be hanging out in his.

He didn't see the girl crouched by the video tapes, so when the tapes started crashing to the floor, he let out a bit of a yelp. When he finally saw the young girl standing there in the aftermath, he took a few steps over to her.

"Hey...uh...you okay?" he asked. The poor little thing looked about ready to burst into tears. "Let me help you pick these up."