The day you meet your Villain

The Stalking Wind

Remises however was awake. Perched on his brother’s bed, he thumped through the pages of a cardboard bound storybook. Inscribed in fancy letters on the cover page were the words: ‘The Executioner Comes to Hungary’.

As Remises skimmed through, he was surprised to find that the story was almost like his dream - almost, with a little difference.

“Who’s Ryan Keegan?” he asked Dean

“The Hero”

“That’s hardly a Hungarian name now, is it?”

“Don’t ask me” Dean replied “I’ve never been there”

Ryan managed a smile. He leafed through the entire booklet noticing in awe that all the pictures Dean had artistically sketched, appeared in the same form in his dream. It was when he came to the end that he saw another variance.

“You said Ryan Keegan escaped the fire.”

“You really didn’t expect him to die now, did you? I don’t write tragedy. Besides, he’s the hero.”

“That’s not especially the point. He escaped from the window of a three storied house. Isn't that a little… sugary?

“I did say he used a rope, didn’t i?”

Remises heaved a sigh.

‘The real question is- why did the plot change in your dream?” Dean put it to him shaking a forefinger in the air to and fro for emphasis “Perhaps you’re right. Maybe with the way I described the flames, it was practically impossible for him to escape.”

Remises shook his head. “True” he said “But, the real question is… why should I have a dream about a story I’ve never read?” he looked earnestly at Dean while he continued ‘People have nightmares about movies, books, events they’ve read or seen. That’s the way it is. Somehow, I feel that… this dream has come… as a warning.”

Dean scoffed again. All the while, he’d been leaning on his writing table where he had fetched the book from. Now he felt really tired and all that talking made his head pound.

“I have to have some rest” he told his brother. The clock chimed eleven “You see” he added “It’s very late.”

But Remises was thinking hard. He didn’t object when Dean crawled into bed.

“You’re taking this very lightly” he said.

Dean knew he was right.

“I am a seer” Remises analyzed “I have dreams, nightmares even that always come to pass. It is true you don’t believe that but at least you know how true it is.”

Dean bit his lip.

“I’ve had a dream” Remises continued “It was about a story you wrote while I was away in school. I’ve never had a chance to read it and in this dream you’re in grave danger. But most importantly, I woke up to see an apparition. It was a man. It’s hard to describe him. He floated in the air and went through the door.”

He quieted.

“So in all, we can conclude that?” Dean enquired

“The danger ahead is already here, only waiting for the right time to strike.”

Dean would have loved to scoff but somewhere, deep down, he had begun to come to terms with that fact himself.

Remises, still thinking, asked ‘What would you say the date is today?”

Dean took some to figure it out. “It’s the 29th. It’s 29th June.

Remises drew a sharp intake of breath.

***

Casey slept soundly for some time. She turned in her sleep and unconsciously opened an eye. What she saw set her heart slamming against her ribs. The laptop, still on the table had come on.

“Alright!” she cried and climbed down her bunk to question her friends. Like before, they were both sleeping. Rima, still snoring was sprawled like a chicken and comfortable while Thelma slept as quietly and as tranquil as the dead. Casey chose Thelma. She shook her roughly. Thelma was awake immediately. She sat up.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed finding Casey leaning over her with big eyes “What’s with you.”

Casey did a quick judgment of her reaction.

“Then it’s not you” she contemplated looking back at the laptop. Thelma followed her gaze. Leaving her friend to puzzle it out, she tried to wake Rima with a shove but Rima was far away and nothing, it seemed, could bring her back. Casey gave up however; she was quick agin to realize that Rima had nothing to do with it. Then who did?

She sat on Thelma’s bed. The other was fully awake and contemplating.

“You didn’t put it on” Thelma didn’t ask. She said it.

Casey shook her head “I didn’t. But this is not the first time.”

Thelma’s eyes showed bewilderment. They looked at the laptop in suspicion.

***

“Why are you looking like that?” Dean questioned. He’d learned to beware when Remises looked the way he was. He knew his brain was working, calculating and he knew it might not turn out so good.

Remises looked hesitantly at him as if trying to make up his mind about Dean. Dean tried to put up serious features. That assured him.

“Come on , bro” Remises beckoned then he got up and made for the door. Dean followed, very feverish.

“What is it? Where are we going?”

“The 30th day of June, It’s a day for a day all writers should dread” Remises turned to look at him “At least that’s what the mad poet said.”

“30th day of June… writers…. Poet …. DREAD?! Forgive me, but no have no idea what you’re talking about” Dean whispered to him.

They were now at the stairwell. Climbing carefully, they tried not to make a noise. Harriet wouldn’t take it likely finding that they were snooping around the house at that hour.

When they got to the landing, Remises whispered:

“Ever heard of Claudia Hollander?”

Dean didn’t even think. “I never did History!”

Remises urged him on. When they’d tiptoed past Harriet’s room, Dean asked again

“Where are we going?”

“To father’s study” Remises shook his head “I just hope I’m wrong.”

***

The two girls exchanged glances. Thelma got up first to inspect the lock on the door.

“We can both agree no one has broken in” she said. Suddenly she relaxed “Smart phones, eh? Ever heard of smart laptops?”

Casey didn’t find it funny. “It has never happened before” she brooded. When she went to the laptop and looked at the screen, she was not surprised to find her story was there again. She frowned. Thelma joined her.

“This was here the last time. I found it also like this” Casey explained

They stood side by side staring at the screen. Then as if suddenly realizing it was still an inanimate object, possessing no powers whatsoever, Thelma replied “Put it off. come on, it’s past eleven o’ clock.”

Casey did as she suggested. When she looked up at Thelma, her friend could see she wanted to stay up to see if anything happened.

“You’ll be wasting your time” then she asked “What could possibly happen?”

As soon as she said it, they both felt something chilly, something like wind pass quickly between them. It lifted the fringes of Thelma’s forehead as it blew past. There was no mistake. Casey now stared at her with bulging as. She looked at the windows, shut tight with the curtains pulled over them. When she looked back at Thelma, she was biting her lip and wondering.