There isn't truly an accurate way to create a statistic of how many people contract the nightmare spell, as the spell does not act like any traditional disease. It strikes at random, choosing its young victims at the drop of a hat, the only somewhat consistent thing about it was the fact family members were more likely to contract the spell.
Some still made-up stats to comfort themselves, to convince themselves they were likely to be safe; to convince themselves they would not be taken by the first nightmare. For the boy who sat at the front desk of the police precinct, he personally believed that one in twenty-one teens contracted the nightmare, which hindsight seems like a lot. It didn't mean anything now anyway, he had the Nightmare Spell now.
Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he looked at his dad speaking to the officer. There was a nervous air around them, mostly coming from his father, the officer assigned to the desk seemed solemn yet not that sad.
'How many kids have you seen die?'
Honestly, the boy was a little surprised how calm the clerk was in this situation, like if he wouldn't die if the boy died in his sleep. He turned his head toward his sister and yawned.
"It's like they expect me to die,"
He grunted as an elbow struck his ribs, the pain shocking him out of his drowsiness just for a little bit.
"Do you seriously think you'll survive your first nightmare, dumbass! You're mediocre at basically everything"
The culprit of that elbow to his ribs was his very own sister and her scowling mug. Though she was doing her best to keep a strong front he recognized the worry in her eyes, at least that was what he thought was worry. He wasn't really all that good at recognizing the emotions of others, the 'sleep deprivation' definitely wasn't helping him. Rubbing his side, he felt the induced sleep coming back.
"First, Ow! Second, give me a break, wait, no actually give me some goddam hope! Who wants to go into a challenge where a person is likely to die with their sister telling him he ain't shit?"
"Well you can't survive the first nightmare thinking you're the shit,"
The young man had no come back for that so he pursed his lips and looked away, hoping that the clerk would finish up already. Luckily, it did seem that things were finally moving along. A double door burst open revealing a group of armed police officers led by a broad-shouldered, bald-headed sergeant wearing a beret.
"Young man, are you Tinyiko?"
"Yes, that's my son" The young man's father had answered for him, something that happened often. The sergeant continued to look at Tinyiko, a teen of average height, a hidden gut and no clear sign of a legacy background.
'Well, I guess he really wouldn't to look for that, those guys have heavily armored and sleeping pods in their basements to sleep in during their first nightmare'
He quickly left him as it dawned on him that for those legacies that failed, it was their family members that had to kill their newly corrupted being instead of a stranger. His current circumstance was a little less traumatizing overall for his family at least.
Looking back to the stern, clean face of the sergeant he quivered a little at his intimidating form. "Y-you can call me Nyiko, sir"
The sergeant gave Nyiko and his father a curt nod and grasped the boy's shoulder.
"Listen Nyiko, we will be taking you to a secure room. A master is coming to supervise your Nightmare; there are things you should know before it begins"
The sergeant moved beside him and placed a hand on his back, guiding him deeper into the station. Nyiko turned his head toward his dad and sister, their worried faces slowly growing farther. He gave them a reassuring smile, at least he hoped it looked reassuring. He wasn't all that good at putting on a smile. Soon he was in the hallways of the station, the door to the lobby closed behind him. It was probably then that the nerves really began to hit him. His heart was a little louder than he would like it to be, his palms were becoming slick with sweat, and it would not stop. Wiping his hands off with his cargo pants, he hoped to distract himself with his environment.
The walls of the hallway leading into his presumed holding cell were cold and austere, dim plates of a metal Nyiko didn't recognize. There didn't seem to be any bolts on it's surface, it seemed they were fitted by simply welding it into the desired shape then having the reinforcements welded into it. Nyiko doubted there were many mundane methods to destroy this place, the other methods though, he was unsure about. He and the sergeant continued walking down the hallway till the stocky man stopped at a door and opened a heavy door, showing Nyiko in.
The room was sparse, just a single steel table with large metallic cuffs attached to it. There was a singular light bulb that hung over the steel table. The whole vibe of the room was not conducive to easing his nervousness. Besides the table there were a few armed sentries at each corner carrying the best weapons they had, probably enough to harm a dormant beast.
The sergeant gestured for Nyiko to lay atop the steel table. He took a deep breath before laying on the metallic slab, letting the nearest soldier cuff him. Standing over his prone body the sergeant addressed:
"Nyiko, how long do you think you can stay awake for?"
Nyiko tiredly blinked at him. "I can stay up for a few minutes"
Nodding the sergeant continued, "Then I shall go over the basics with you. The first nightmare is the trial where, in case you succeed, you will gain your aspect. Of course, you do get an aspect and a few attributes when you first enter. Hopefully you'll get a combat focused aspect and a attribute to boost your body"
Nyiko nodded along from the steel bed, probably listening to the man
"Over the next few days, you will likely fight monsters and even human beings. I suggest you keep in mind that these 'humans' are just illusions created by the spell. Finally, remember to immediately to check your runes"
And that was all he remembered before darkness suddenly took him, leaving his disembodied mind floating in a dark voice. Then he heard a voice:
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial….]