Discovery (Book One of the Dream Fighter Chronicles

By Calvin Locke

Read the tantalizing tale that started it all. The origin story of The Dream Fighters. The fantasy adventure loved by children and adults alike.

Five cousins make a shocking discovery. They share a dream, and in it, they have special powers. Only hours before they were just normal kids playing video games in the basement. Now they wield the same powers they used in those games, only there are no save points or restarts. This time, everything counts and there are no second chances. Haley can leap across the room, Braden can move objects with his mind, Jack moves at super speed, and Jillian can make anything she wants appear before her eyes. Dazzled by this finding, they go on to realize they belong to an age-old order, The Dream Fighters, and it is their turn to save the world.

In order to protect the real world, they must stop an invasion by the evil Sarlak and his army of Gorgons. With only their uncle, himself trapped in Jillian's doll, as a guide, they must master their new found powers and stop this attack before it starts.

Along the way, they will discover their specific powers and understand how to use them, as well as control their fear and learn to work together, even when they really don't want to.

Sarlak will use sinister traps and trickery to defeat them. The Dream Fighters must somehow find a way to save the day. Whose power will lead them to victory? Which one of them will fall under Sarlak's spell? This first book in the Dream Fighter Chronicles tells the story of how it all began for these future heroes.

Discovery! is an action-packed and entertaining adventure for children from 8 to 88, offering readers young and old a chance to imagine the endless possibilities in the dream world. Intended to read like a video game, it will capture the imagination of all readers, pulling them into its magical world and leaving them on the edge of their seat.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Misak
• Release date: Sep 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311848215

Book preview

You are about to read the first in the Dream Fighter Chronicles saga. This is where it all began for five cousins who would later go on to save the world. It’s a tale of adventure and exploration, and discovering how to believe in yourself.

THE DREAM FIGHTER CHRONICLES

THE SARLAK TRILOGY

Book One: Discovery

Book Two: Sarlak’s Revenge

Book Three: United They Stand

THE ZYRVIE CONFLICT TRILOGY

Book Four: The Nowhere Kids

Book Five: Hearts Burst Into Fire

Book Six: The Heroes Among Us, Part 1

Book Seven: The Heroes Among Us, Part 2

AFTERMATH SERIES

Necessary Adjustment (July 2019)

Saving Jillian (August 2019)

Finding Allie (2019)

Discovery!

(Book 1 of The DreamFighter Chronicles)

calvin locke

a dreamworlds book | New York

This book is dedicated to the memory of Daniel Stanley. You were only with us for such a short time, but the mark you left will stay with us forever.

Chapter One

The Last Normal Day

Haley spun the basketball in the air in front of her, let it land and caught it as it came toward her. The ball spun in her fingertips as she grabbed it, just another part of the routine she had practiced all year. No one in the gymnasium spoke. She’d never experienced such silence in there before. It wouldn't have bothered her if she didn't know the silence came from everyone's attention focused on her.

She cleared her mind, trying to forget that her friends sat in the stands, along with her parents, her brother, and worst of all, Mark Wyler. He liked to make fun of her. If she missed these free throws, he’d talk about it all day the next day. He’d write things on the blackboard like ‘Choker,’ or worse. She couldn’t worry about him, or anyone else. The basket, only ten feet away but looking much further right then, was all that mattered. In practice, the basket looked so much closer. Haley tried to shrug that thought off, telling herself this shot would be just as easy as in practice.

If she could only really believe that.

Her teammates looked at her from each side of the paint, smiling encouragement toward her. She knew the score. Her team needed two points. The elbow in the ribs the girl on the other team gave her still hurt, but the pain would be worth it if she sunk the two free throws and tied the game. Roryville North elementary school deserved to lose. They were the enemy, had been since Haley started school. Those kids in the north always thought they were better. She had the chance to show them otherwise.

Breathe, she told herself, doing her best to focus on what mattered and not how the whole school would hate her if she missed, or what Mark would write on the board. And no, she couldn’t think of how bad the basketball uniform made her look. The basket. It mattered more than anything. She had a simple task. Put that orange ball into the basket, twice. Greater things had been accomplished. Heck, Tommy Skarolis took a shower. Anything was possible.

She looked at the basket one more time, trying to imagine the path of the ball falling into it. It only took concentration, her coach said. Concentrate and the ball will do what you want. Funny, that didn't seem to work so well on her last jump shot, which missed the basket, the backboard, and everything but the opposing player's hands. Hopefully, it would be different this time.

She flipped the ball again, caught it, and brought it up above her head. Focusing on the red rim of the basket and nothing else, she released the ball, watched it sail toward its target. It would go in, she knew that for sure, judging by the flight. Maybe it would hit the back of the rim, but it would go in.

The swoosh of the ball going through the net broke the silence, followed by cheers from the hometown (or south part of the hometown at least) crowd. She heard her father say, Way to go Haley! in his booming, sometimes embarrassing, voice. She only needed to sink the next shot and then they'd go to overtime.

How many times had she seen this play out on TV? Too many, she thought, and realizing it put more pressure on her. Those TV stars made the last basket, they even scored the final shot of overtime to win the game. Fellow teammates, parents, coaches, even the mascot came over to greet them afterward. They went on to become class president, prom queen, leader of the free world. All over one basket. One she wasn't supposed to be thinking about all so much.

Empty your mind, her coach had said as he attacked his chewing gum like it had done something wrong. How exactly does one empty their mind? She hoped there was a release valve or something to help with this strategy but of course there wasn't. She had wanted to say something back then, something like, If I empty it, will all my thoughts fall all over the floor? or Won't I forget to breathe? but Coach didn't exactly like responses. He just liked to talk and talk and see nodding from his players. Players talking cut into his hearing his own voice.

Two bounces of the ball and she brought it up again, staring at that basket, willing the ball to fall in, giving it every ounce of concentration she had. The ball had a destiny to fulfill, landing in the basket. The universe would not recover if this destiny went unfulfilled. She played her part; now it was up to the ball to play his, or hers, or whatever it was.

Before she launched the ball toward its purpose, she closed her eyes. When she did, bright images flashed before her. A wide open area, like a desert, lay before her. She saw her brother Jack falling and she tried to save him. It all flashed so quickly she couldn't make sense of it. Finally, a spinning sphere hung above her, pulling her toward it, not unlike the dream she had the night before. Then, like the dream, a voice echoed in her head.

The time is coming. The voice sounded recognizable, but she couldn't place it.

You okay? her friend and teammate, Jessica, asked.

Haley opened her eyes.

Yeah, she lied. Fine. She was anything but.

The basket seemed even further away now. Her hands shook a little and she steadied them, sending the ball to the basket. It was high enough, for sure, and on the proper line to the basket. It sailed through the air slowly, as if suspended by her hopes, getting closer to the rim.

It hit the left side of the rim with a thud. It bounced up and over to the right side, hit that, then went off the backboard. It would not fulfill its destiny, Haley realized, and she, along with the other nine players on the court, rushed toward the basket, hoping to grab the rebound and shoot it in the basket.

Maybe she could be like one of those TV stars. She could grab her own rebound and win the game with one shot. It would be nice to be the star, if only for one night. Nailing the shot to beat the dreaded North team certainly would put her in that role. She moved quickly, shoving left and right to push opposing players out of her way. They pushed back but she remained determined. This would be her time.

The ball came down toward the players. Haley watched it closely, judging where it would go and when she had to jump to get it. Someone to her right drove a knee into her leg and she almost screamed out in pain. She held it in, forcing the pain from her mind if only for a moment.

The ball dropped toward her. She timed her jump and reached up, the tip of her finger touching its both rough and slippery surface for a moment before someone else snatched the ball out of the air. Haley came down with a crash, the pain in her knee sharpening as she did so.

When she looked up, she saw Jessica shoot the ball into the basket. Everyone from the team put their arms around her. Perhaps a little disappointed, Haley did feel glad one of her friends got to be the star she wanted to be. Not everything works out.

With a moment to think, Haley considered what had happened, the vision just like the dream she had the other night. Something certainly was up. What sort of person has daydreams like that and hears voices telling them the 'time had come'? Crazy people, Haley figured, and she decided right then not to tell anyone about it. Unless, of course, the visions became stranger, like if she saw something like she and Jack actually getting along.

Then it would be time to worry.

Braden had run out of challenges. He knew he shouldn’t feel so confident but none of the