Hunted by Dean Murray Read Free Book Online Page B

people will think. I've always thought that
most of the cheerleaders were stupid and shallow. If I'm a
cheerleader then everyone is going to think the same thing about me."
    "Is
that your only concern?"
    "No.
I'm the reason that this spot on the team is open. How is it going to
look if I get Janessa's place on the team after getting her kicked
off in the first place?"
    "I'm
not going to lie, Adri, it's going to look pretty bad. On the other
hand, if you spend your whole life making decisions solely based on
what other people will think, you'll have a very unhappy life and
people will still end up disapproving of your choices."
    I
nodded and stood back up. This time Dad didn't stop me. "Thanks,
Dad. You've got some good points. I'll at least go try out tomorrow
and then I can make a decision from there."
    "You're
welcome, Adri. Have a good night's sleep if I'm still working when
you turn in."
    Cindi
was predictably thrilled when I told her I would at least go try out.
I kept telling her that I still wasn't positive that I'd be joining the
team, but she didn't seem concerned. In Cindi's world, once you
got an offer to join the cheerleading team there wasn't any way you
would not join.
    We
talked about random stuff until it was time to get ready for bed and
then almost before I knew it our light was off and I was trying to go
to sleep.
    It
seemed like my eyes had only been closed for a second before I
started dreaming. I could tell that this wasn't just a normal dream
because there were things that were off about it and I noticed them
rather than just accepting that the flawed version of reality I was
seeing was accurate.
    I
was in a house that was bigger than any house I'd ever been inside
before, but it still somehow gave the feeling of being cramped and
confining. It took me a couple of seconds to figure out how a room
that was almost two stories tall could feel so small, but it seemed
to be something a bit like the visual distortion that I'd seen when
I'd looked down from the tower in the dream with the wolf-men. When I
looked directly at a wall or the ceiling, it was obvious that the
room was huge, but out of the corner of my eye everything seemed to
move in closer. When I looked away and focused on the windows, the
walls angled in towards me and the ceiling sloped down to the point
where it felt like it was going to collapse and crush me.
    I
walked over to the window and pushed aside the massive curtains that
kept the room in a perpetual twilight, only to recoil at the sheer
brightness of the sun. I wasn't looking directly at it, but the light
was still so strong that it made my eyes tear up and shut despite my
best efforts to keep them open.
    It
was another piece of reality that wasn't quite right, another sign
that I was in someone else's dream rather than my own. I let the
curtains swing shut again and then once my eyes had readjusted to the
darkness I looked down and found in surprise that I was wearing
Cindi's cheerleading uniform.
    I
wondered idly if it was possible for me to change aspects of my
surroundings inside someone else's dream. It seemed easiest to start
with my clothes, so I tried to visualize myself in jeans and a normal
top. My clothing flickered for a second, becoming embarrassingly
translucent for a heartbeat before I gave up and allowed the
cheerleading uniform to snap back into place.
    I'd
been so absorbed in my efforts to swap out my clothing that I didn't
hear the footsteps when they first started up. They were alarmingly
close by the time they registered. My pulse skyrocketed as I
remembered the two wolf-men. I wasn't completely safe here, but I
didn't know how to leave someone's dream once I got sucked into it.
    I
thought about running, but I didn't know how to get out of the house
or even if it was possible to get very far away from the person who
was dreaming. I vacillated for too long and then she stepped
into the room.
    From
the neck down she looked like a normal person, a little too skinny