His dreams became thicker, fuller and more substantial. The gentle rocking of the car transitioned smoothly into a wide, confident gait across a semi-crowded square. The clouds billowed quickly overhead, casting absolutely no shadows as he made his way through still, frozen faces. He was making his way dutifully to the university. He was just on time – as always – and he was smiling. Broadly.

Everyone else around him, though…

All Damion could see were scowls. And jeers. In fact, as he started to slow down, his steps faltering, he was beginning to notice fingers being pointed at him. His smile lowered and his eyes creased. Why were these people looking at him?

He looked down and around him. His shadow was in place, right? He didn’t smell. Was it his face? He stuck a couple of fingers in his mouth and felt his teeth. Sure a couple of them were loose, but-

Was that blood?

He brought his hand down and gagged at the sight of the strings of blood he pulled out. A high-pitched scream shot through the air.