Description: Sinister Scenes CHAPTER 1 I t was always the same dream, night after night. She was a pilot--the aviatrix--slim in an olive green flight suit, looking beautiful despite her leather flight cap and goggles. Climbing up the ladder alongside a silver propeller plane, she paused to wave to the crowd gathered nearby beneath a string of colorful fluttering flags. With a cheeky wink she then hopped into the cramped cockpit and took her place at the controls. To cries of delight the aviatrix then opened up the throttle. Casting an eye toward the red and white wind sock, she noted it was blowing a stiff northeasterly. She then released the brakes. Twin propellers roaring, the gleaming airplane began pulling away. Above the noise came more hearty huzzahs. But before long the cheers turned to gasps as she hurtled down the runway. "Pull up!" someone shouted. "Pull up!" But the aviatrix just frowned. Squinting at the instruments through her grimy goggles, she saw something she didn''t like, a gauge against which she repeatedly tapped a fingertip. Nevertheless she roared onward. Glancing up, she finally pulled back hard on the yoke and, with only a foot of runway remaining, left the ground. Wings shuddering, the airplane began climbing, higher and higher until it appeared to onlookers like a silver dagger slicing through the sky. From her position at the controls, the aviatrix looked out at the world. Far below, the carpet of swaying palm trees became shadowy reef and then an endless expanse of glittering turquoise. High above, the yellow sun burned brightly in a cloudless sky. She smiled, blissfully alone in this singular universe. Alone she would remain until, many hours later, a sandy landing strip appeared out of the twinkling infinity. Except it never did. The dazzling blue turned to darkest night as Joy Wells yelped in fright. Arms out, she sat up in bed, still braced for impact with the great blue sea that had an instant ago been rushing up to meet her. It had all seemed so real. Joy could still remember every detail. From helplessly watching the fuel gauge dip until the needle shuddered below empty, to hearing the engines sputter and die. With nothing more to be done, she had then closed her eyes, tracking the plane''s descent by the sickening sensation in her stomach. The shattering impact had awoken her. Fortunately, it was only a dream, Joy assured herself. It was late at night and she was in her bedroom, she confirmed by the soft glow coming from Fizz''s aquarium heater. From down the hall she could hear her father''s snoring, and the familiar scratching of a branch against the shingles of her home at Number 9 Ravenwood Avenue. After flipping over her drenched pillow, Joy lay back down. As her heart slowed its thumping, she stared up into the black nothingness until she finally fell back into a fitful sleep. The next morning Joy arrived at the breakfast table looking shadowy-eyed and exhausted. "What''s wrong, dear?" her mother asked upon witnessing the haunted look she had given her piece of toast. "My, oh my. You look absolutely awful today." If the repulsed expressions on their faces were anything to go by, Joy''s brother, Byron, and her father both appeared to agree. Joy flopped forward over the table, her long blond hair trailing in the butter dish. She grumpily relayed how she''d been suffering from the same recurring dream for the past few weeks, a terrible one that felt curiously real, as if she had been somehow witnessing events that had actually transpired. "Ah," Mrs. Wells replied once her daughter had finished. "They''re called night terrors. I used to get them too when I was about twelve," she confessed. "They''re basically nightmares but a lot more vivid and much, much harder to wake up from." "Can you die from them?" Byron inquired, his mouth ringed in raspberry jam. "From what?" his mother asked. "From a night terror." "No, Byron," Mrs. Wells assured her son. "Are you sure?" the boy asked. "Because Gustave says you can actually die if you dream you''re falling but don''t wake up before you hit the ground." Horrified, Joy turned to her mother, awaiting a confirmation or denial of Byron''s friend''s claim. Because when it came to medical facts, Mrs. Wells was considered the authority in the family. Although not a physician, she did have a PhD in philosophy, which meant she was still allowed to call herself a doctor. Which, she boasted, meant she could get dinner reservations just as easily as any practitioner of actual medicine. "That is complete nonsense," Mrs. Wells informed her children. "A dream is nothing more than the processing of memories and subconscious information," she recalled vaguely from an article she''d once read. "It''s absolutely impossible to get physically hurt from things that just exist in your imagination." "Yeah, but what if the shock of going splat gives you a heart attack or something?" Byron persisted. "That could happen, couldn''t it?" "Well, I guess so," Mrs. Wells admitted. "But I''m sure it''s really, really unlikely. Especially when it comes to healthy young people like you and your sister." "Phew," Byron said, exhaling. "Because sometimes I like to dream I''m flying, and I go pretty high . . ." Joy shook her head wearily. Having slammed into the sea at least a dozen times now, she probably had nothing to worry about. "Anyway, I never used to get bad dreams," she continued. "So why now?" Actually, the statement wasn''t strictly accurate. Having spent many nights reading horror stories by flashlight, Joy was pretty accustomed to nightmares. Usually they featured terrifying creatures bristling with claws and fangs, or mind-bending supernatural occurrences that defied both sense and reason. However, these were the kinds of dreams she enjoyed most. They were like cool little movies where she got to be the star. "Night terrors can start at any age, dear," Mrs. Wells explained. "They''re usually caused by exhaustion and anxiety. To be honest, since you''re so sensitive, I''m surprised you didn''t start getting them earlier." "Sensitive?" Joy shrieked. "Me?" "It''s not an insult, dear. It''s just a statement of fact. Wouldn''t you agree, Edward?" "Your mother''s right, pumpkin. You are very sensitive," Mr. Wells mumbled from behind his newspaper. "Is there any more coffee, Helen?" "That was the last cup." "Oh shucks. Really?" "You guys are out of your minds," Joy protested. "I am not sensitive! Actually, I''m the total opposite of sensitive!" "You''re completely insensitive?" her mother offered with a wry smile. "Well, true enough. Sometimes you can be like that, too." Joy stomped a foot, rattling the breakfast dishes on the table. Why did everyone always feel so free to comment on what sort of person they''d decided she was? And of all things to accuse her of--being sensitive? How ridiculous! If anything, being forced to go to school down in Darlington had given her a pretty thick skin, she had always reckoned. But why bother arguing? So long as her parents didn''t start dragging her down for more therapy sessions at Darlington General, they could pretty much say whatever they wanted. "Well, I''m sorry you feel that way," Joy said, regaining her composure. "I just don''t agree." "And I''m sorry if you took my observation as a criticism," Mrs. Wells insisted. "Really, these discussions are only meant to illuminate, my dear, to help you develop and refine your own personal philosophy. I think you might be wise to take a note from the great thinker Michel de Montaigne: ''Of all our infirmities, the most savage is to despise our being.''" Joy bristled. Out of all the dusty catchphrases Mrs. Wells had seen fit to shake out over the years, few got under her daughter''s skin quite like those of this particular dead French dude. Each one seemed to come out of the blue like a little nuclear missile that, despite her best defenses, Joy could never knock out of the sky. Even the man''s very likenesses were annoying. She had discovered this while looking him up on the Internet, his portraits all capturing the same sad face perched atop a white ruff as if on a serving plate. Maybe it was time for Joy to change up her tactics a little bit. "''My life has been full of terrible misfortunes,''" Joy quoted, using her best impersonation of a cockatoo. "''Most of which never happened.''" "Another great thought from Monsieur de Montaigne!" Mrs. Wells squealed with delight. "And perfectly recalled. As I keep saying, your mind is a steel trap, my dear. Please do yourself the favor of putting it to good use." "Uh-huh," Joy replied, unsure whether or not to be pleased with the results of her experiment. "Anyway, perhaps I''m being hard on you, sweetheart," Mrs. Wells admitted. "For once you do have a pretty good reason to feel a bit anxious." Joy''s eyes snapped open wide. Why the sudden turnaround? "What do you mean?" she demanded. "Well, you are about to graduate, darling. That has to be fairly upsetting." "Upsetting?" Joy laughed, whacking a spoon off the table

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