Chapter 1 — Reflection

Noah Scofield drummed his fingers on a passenger table seat as the engine of the airplane he was currently aboard roared to life. A quiet sigh slipped past his pursed lips as he looked out the side window, past two passengers that were seated to his left. One—an old, snoring gentleman—was dressed in luxurious business wear while the other—a young, energetic woman wearing thick rimmed glasses—pounded away at the keys to her laptop. Noah was not on this plane because he wanted to be. His mother was a business administrator and her job called for multiple, spontaneous trips to distant, foreign lands. This particular trip required her presence in some big city in Japan. Noah could not be bothered to remember where, exactly, she was headed. All he knew was the discontent he often dealt with at the expense of his mother's frequent trips overseas.

The captain of the aircraft's voice suddenly rose over the intercom amidst the passenger's squabbling. "Would all passengers please fasten their seatbelts as takeoff will commence shortly. Thank you." The intercom clicked off as Noah shut his eyes and hoped to whatever God would listen to him that when he opened them, he would awake in his bed back at home. Familiarity was a rare comfort given his mother's lifestyle, and he was always thankful whenever he came to know its recognizable warmth. Noah opened his eyes. To the surprise of absolutely no one, he was still in the airplane.

The airplane he was on was currently headed to some small town out in the Eastern hemisphere of the United States.

Glasswater? I think that was the name… Noah pondered silently. Whatever the town's name was, he was going to be living there with his aunt and her husband for the duration of his junior year in high school until his mother returned from her business trip overseas.

For as long as Noah could remember, he had lived without a father. From what he had come to understand from the few times his mother was willing to discuss their father, he had abandoned them while Noah was still too young to remember him. Every now and then, foggy visions of an older man's face would surface in his dreams, but he had never been able to clearly identify who the man was behind the cloud. It wasn't exactly a mystery Noah found himself eager to solve as he had little reason to pursue his father. Some people dedicated a good deal of their lives trying to figure out why their fathers were so discouragingly inadequate.

Noah could honestly care less.

He loved his mother dearly, even if they did spend precious little time together, and as far as he was concerned she was the only parent worth his affection. Noah shook his head and rattled his skull, trying to prevent his attention from focusing too deeply on subjects that wounded his emotions. It was a terrible habit of his and he wished that it was something he wasn't so good at.

A frown crossed Noah's lips as he placed his chin in his palm and glanced down the aisle. One of the airplane's flight attendants strutted down the slim walkway, sidling her way past passengers getting into their seats and other passengers storing their luggage into the overhead compartments. Noah's frown deepened as he observed some distinctive irregularities about her appearance. Her hair was an eerie, almost otherworldly silver-white. Sleek, shiny bangs obscured half of her face, but the half that Noah could see was alluringly beautiful in a peculiar, hard-to-pinpoint sort of way. Her uncovered eye was a striking golden-yellow, and she wore a thin, unassuming smile on her elegantly constructed face. She wore a murky-blue suit with a yellow tie complimenting her neckline, as well as a rose-pattern set of stockings on her legs. Noah's eyes unconsciously followed her as she made her way to the captain's cabin… but just as she passed him, her eyes met his for just a split-second. Noah's heart stopped in his chest.

Why does it feel like she's reading me like a book? Noah wondered to himself. Time seemed to come to a standstill as her eyes locked onto his. As soon as the moment came, however, it faded away, and like that she was gone. Noah blinked as she disappeared behind a set of drapes.

What the hell was that all about? Noah thought.

"Excuse me?"

Noah jumped and turned around. At some point in their visual encounter, his head had swiveled around to follow the mysterious woman until she had disappeared out of sight. In doing so, his body had come to block half the aisle. A small girl with long, chocolate-brown hair and glistening, emerald eyes waited for him to move his body out of her way. Noah smiled sheepishly and settled back into his seat.

"Sorry. I got a little distracted."

"S'okay! At least you apologized." The girl smiled a big, toothy grin and she clutched a velveteen rabbit to her chest. Some of her teeth were missing, he noticed. Noah thought it was a cute smile, and he returned it with one of his own. She shuffled past him and seated herself further down the airplane next to a woman Noah could only assume was her mother. Noah cleared his lungs and tried to get comfortable as lights flickered on above him, warning him to fasten the seatbelt he had already fastened. His weight shifted slightly as the airplane began to turn on the runway. The scenery Noah could observe out the small window to his left shifted as well. Green, rolling fields blurred together with black pavement and other airplanes across the distance. The plane began to pick up speed, it's momentum climbing higher and higher until the airplane lifted up and began it's ascend into the azure.

Noah's hearing muffled as the effects of rising into the atmosphere took its toll on his eardrums. The aircraft rattled erratically for a few good, long minutes as it rose higher and higher into the sky. The scenery of the airport just a moment ago was replaced with rolling white fields of bright, puffy clouds. Noah tapped his hand against his ear when the plane stabilized and his hearing gradually returned to normal.

There isn't much sense worrying about the future at this point. Noah thought in a dreamlike haze. I'm just going to have to adjust to it… like I always end up doing. His eyelids began to flutter shut as sleep began to take hold of his conscious.

As Noah's mind fell prey to his dreams, strange, outlandish visions started to present themselves. In these dreams, he saw vast, horrid creatures looming over his comparatively small, frail body. In these dreams, he shrunk into a tight ball, crying, hoping these monsters would leave him alone. In these dreams, he died again and again, alone and afraid, unable to take control of his fate each and every time the monsters tore away at his flesh. In these dreams, the scenery was always dreary and dark and feelings of utter despair and hopelessness soured his thoughts.

Why won't they leave me alone? Noah sobbed. Why are they bothering me?

Suddenly, in the darkness, a bright, golden light descended slowly from above. In the darkness, Noah caught glimpses of terrible creatures, the stuff of nightmares. In the darkness, Noah saw a row of unstable, flickering forms, shielding him from the monsters, keeping them at bay. In the darkness, the light hovered before him. It was warm to the touch. It was soothing, safe, and secure. Noah smiled as he knew exactly what this felt like. The word reached his lips before his brain.

"Familiar." As soon as he spoke the words, the light in front of him pulsed violently until a physical form began to take shape within. Noah shielded his eyes and peeked through his fingers, watching the transformation take place. A single sheet of paper hovered in front of him, as well as an ornate, murky blue quill. There was just one line of thought written in the middle in elegant, graceful handwriting. Oddly enough, his mind wandered to the strangely dressed woman he saw in what felt like moments ago.

Will you take responsibility?

Noah bit his lip and stared at the dotted line beneath the words. He would do anything to dispel the crushing darkness that surrounded him. Even though he wasn't exactly sure what this sheet of paper was asking of him, Noah grabbed the quill anyway and hastily scribbled his name onto the dotted line. His signature was messy and wobbly, but Noah felt like he had done something right. He felt a burning aura of strength echo within him, and it swelled and grew until the monsters screamed and thrashed and the row of forms in front of him took shape.

For an instant, Noah saw the backs of people he had never seen before, people he did not recognize. Noah wanted to turn them around and see their faces and thank them for their protection, but just as the darkness dissipated and the light exploded, illuminating his dream in a swath of vibrant color, Noah awoke.

! ! !

"Sir? Sir, are you awake?"

Noah aroused with a start, the bright overhead lights blinding him almost immediately. When his eyes refocused, he looked up and met the worried gaze of a concerned flight attendant. Her hand was on his shoulder and her eyebrows were creased into an expression of genuine alarm. Once she noticed he was well and wide awake, she sighed and removed her hand.

"Thank God! You were asleep for the longest time and I was starting to worry that you might be dead or something. The other passengers next to you didn't want to wake you up, and—"

A flash of white hot pain suddenly seared in Noah's head. Images from the bizarre dream he had experienced blazed with an unbearable intensity and it took all of his strength to stop himself from vomiting from the mental strain. The attendant was saying things to him, touching his forehead, holding the back of his head, but he did not experience any of her furtive worrying. He remembered strange creatures, a contract, and people he had never seen before. No matter how hard he focused on the images, their faces never appeared. As the pain gradually faded into a dull murmur, so too did the imagery from the dream. When he managed to regain his composure, he raised his hand up, pushing the attendant's arms away from him.

"I'm fine. It was just a headache." Not surprisingly, his words did little to undo her scowl. Noah smiled. "Thank you for your concern. I'll be leaving now."

The attendant sighed and pulled down his luggage for him, wishing him a good afternoon. Upon closer inspection, Noah observed that it was not the same attendant he had seen earlier. Taken one step further, this woman was not wearing a yellow necktie nor was her suit the same shade of blue as the woman he had made eye contact with. Dozens of questions sprang up in his mind, but the flight attendant was already making her way towards the back of the plane. He looked out the window as he fixed his ruffled clothing. The sun was setting on the horizon and stragglers from the airplane were heading towards the luggage conveyor belts in the passenger receiving bay. Noah only brought one bag, but most of the clothing that he owned was crammed inside of it. He was very much aware of the nightmares unlucky passengers endured at the hands of faulty mismanagement, and he was thankful he didn't have to deal with potential lost luggage. Noah shouldered his bag and stepped off onto the passenger dock until, out of the blue, he stopped in his tracks.

A sick, twisted sensation bubbled in the pit of his stomach. His knees quivered and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. His hands became cold and clammy and the color slowly drained from his face.

Noah hoisted his bag tightened his belt, then burst into a full-on sprint, keeping an eye out for the nearest bathroom.