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Adorable depiction of Ember by Lacrimosia! 

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I groaned as I blinked my eyes open and some light crept between my eyelids. I was quick to throw my arm up to cover my eyes. Just as I was warm and comfortable again I felt myself reaching for my blanket and realized it wasn't my bed. The previous events rushed back to me and I shot upright. I was on a sleeping bag laying on the ground

Looking around I found myself to be in a small clearing of what appeared to be a junkyard. I couldn't be quite sure due to the late afternoon lighting; though the broken cars with missing doors and discarded metalwork should've been enough indication. I winced from the pain. Reaching behind my neck I ran my hand to feel a piece of soft spongy fabric.

Am I dreaming again?

I looked behind me to find my place of work. Or what used to be. I eyed the chains on the door suspiciously.

Where did all these broken cars come from?

The parking lot of the Happy Troll was always clean. It was part of my job to keep it spotless and trash-free. How could it get this messy while I was unconscious? I moved up onto my elbows. As I did so, I looked to my side. There was a small fire beside me. It looked like it had recently burnt out. All that was left were the ashes and embers. surrounded by stones.

Someone built this fire while I was knocked out.

With this realization, I struggled to my feet. Dream or no dream, I couldn't help feeling a little weirded out. I dusted off my work clothes and took another look around. My bike was also missing. I would have to walk home. I took a few steps towards the broken-down road when I heard a clang. I jumped at the sound and let out a squeak. My eyes desperately searched for the source.

"What are you doing moving around?" a voice asked from behind me. I turned on my heels to look at its owner. It was the boy; the boy from my dream.

So, I am dreaming again.

In my first dream, I had not realized that he was shirtless until he dressed my wound a second time. This time, I saw his chiseled body immediately. He was not super muscular, but I had never seen a man shirtless in person, except for my own father. My cheeks felt hot. When I did not reply he gave me a hard look. He stepped towards me and then I saw the emotion in his eyes: anger, confusion, and concern.

"You should be resting. I saved your life," he said as he continued towards me. I took a step back from him. I felt my shoe snag against its counterpart and gravity took hold of my body. I was falling backward fast. I squeezed my eyes shut with little time to brace myself. I waited for the hard impact, but it never came. Instead, I was met with a warmth that was foreign to me. Looking up, I determined that he caught me before I could fall. I looked at him with wide eyes. His arms circled my torso and braced my spine. He quickly helped me stand up properly and roughly grabbed a hold of my arm. His expression was unreadable as he guided me beside the fire.

"Sit," he commanded as he walked away from me and to his bag. I waited patiently, but I was still ready to jump up and run if I had to. He walked back over to me with something in his hand. I tensed up a bit.

What's he doing?

A wave of relief washed over me as I recognized the object in his hand to be a t-shirt. I recalled my previous dream and quickly lifted my hands to remove the blood-soaked t-shirt from my neck and discarded it to the side.

As he walked behind me, I asked him the question that had been burning in my mind, "Are you, Cameron?"

I felt his hands stop tending to my wound abruptly, "How do you know my name?"

He finished wrapping my neck and moved to face me. He crouched down and searched my eyes for the answer, "Ah," he said. His mind seemed to have come to a conclusion," You must be from Camp."

I was more confused than ever now, "Camp? What camp? I only went to a summer camp once when I was eight."

Cameron's brow furrowed. He looked at me with suspicion once more. "Do you know who you are? Have you lost your memories?"

"Of course I know who I am!" I gave him an incredulous look, "My name is Ember Nova. My father was in the military and my mother is a drunk bi- broad. I am a senior at Miller Trek High School and I work at the Happy Troll." I turned to look at the building behind me with a frown.

Cameron let out a sigh. He sat on the opposite side of the sleeping bag. Looking at me with sad eyes he questioned me, "So, you don't know then?"

"Know what?" my face scrunched up in confusion.

"What you are," he replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Human?" I asked, bemused.

"Well yes, technically. Ember-," he started. Before he could finish the sentence both of our heads snapped to the side. A noise had sounded from the wreckage around us. Cameron jumped to his feet and I hesitantly followed.

"Come out!" he shouted.

No more than a second later a tuft of red hair curly hair appeared. Cameron seemed to visibly relax. Standing no more than 20 feet from us, was a little girl. She had on a cute pink dress with a ribbon and flower around her middle. She couldn't have been more than 10 years old.

"Adriana." he let out a breath. I released my own breath that I hadn't realized I was holding. The little girl walked over to Cameron with her hands behind her back. Her smile was beaming radiantly up at him. Something was unusual about the child. I studied her face for a moment and, to my surprise, noticed that she had purple eyes.

"Camie! I brought a surprise for her," she giggled as she jumped up and down excitedly.

"What is it?" he bent down so that he was just slightly shorter than the child.

Adriana brought her hands out from behind her back to expose a small red flower. It looks like a weed I have seen growing in the grass before, but it was still pretty. Cameron gently took the flower from the girl and stood upright. He handed it over to me with a smile.

"I believe this is for you."

Adriana smiled at me expectantly. I bent down and gave her a kind smile back, "Thank you. It is really pretty."

Adriana's cheeks tinged pink. She giggled again.

"What's your name? Mine is Adriana!" She said excitedly.

"Ember," I replied. I looked over to see Cameron watching us with a grin.

"Can I call you 'Em'?" The girl questioned. Her big purple eyes gazed up at me when I stood straight again.

"I guess. I have never really had a nickname before," I shrugged and gave her another soft smile. She was a very cute little girl and was certainly very hyperactive.

"Now Adriana, I was talking to Ember about what we are. Can you go play so I can explain?" he tried to reason with the girl.

She put her hands on her hips and looked at me as if I was stupid, "You don't know what a Luma is?" she asked. I blinked at the sassy tone in her voice. I have never heard of the term, and yet she looked at me like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"N-no? Should I?" I asked looking between the two. Cameron buried his head in his hands and Adriana stared at me with her mouth agape.

"Adriana, go play. Please," he pleaded. Adriana huffed and crossed her arms. She stomped off somewhere in the junkyard.

"Sorry about that. She is a sweet kid, but she doesn't know how to mind boundaries." He shook his head and gave a loving glance where the girl had walked off to.

"Is she your daughter?" I blurted out. I instantly covered my mouth in embarrassment. I had only been curious, but it felt wrong to ask. Cameron laughed at my question.

"No. No, I do look after her, but none of us have parents." he kicked up some dirt by his feet. His hands were in his pockets as he looked down.

"You're orphans?" I scolded myself and decided I should hold my tongue. Cameron didn't seem to mind the question. He shook his head and looked at me.

"We are lumas. So are you. I think you would understand better if I show you instead of lecturing you." I contemplated the idea and nodded.

"Okay, what are you going to show me," I asked eagerly.

Cameron chuckled at my enthusiasm, "It can wait until the morning. It is getting dark. You took a pretty nasty fall earlier and a discarded car part lacerated the base of your neck. You need to rest again so that it will heal properly. " he gestured for me to lay down. Walking over to his black duffle bag, he pulled out a shirt. He guided the shirt over his body. I was glad to have the distracting view gone.

I sat back down on the sleeping bag and crossed my legs. Cameron opened up his own sleeping bag and another smaller one, which I presume was for Adriana. I watched closely as the mysterious man added sticks and wood to the fire pit. He struck a few materials together to create a spark. The pit illuminated with bright red and yellow flames instantaneously. I laid down on my cozy cot and watched as the fire danced and licked at the sky.

What a strange dream.

The thought slowly vanished as I found myself slipping into darkness, yet again.

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