The Prince of Arc - Part III

Chapter 24 - Cameron's Dream

24.

"Where are you going?" Cam asked, staring off into the night.

"You'll see, trust me. I bet you're exhausted from being tied down to that chair for so long. Go ahead, sleep." Abby responded. Although Cam's first thought was to not fall asleep with her driving him, he realized that since there was nothing he could do now, it'd be a smart idea to get some rest. He shrugged somewhat in reply. He was exhausted, and staring out the window would eventually get boring. Intentionally staying up out of fear would not be possible.

As soon as he decided to sleep, Cam was out. A dream, however, made him feel wide awake.

* * *

I woke up in a field, much like the ones I had heard of existing in the Drand side of Sandrux. Tall grass filled out to the horizons, and a couple of trees stood here and there. It must have been later in the day, as the sun was slowly setting over the flat plain.

I felt calmer than I have in years. It's scary to understand how much the stress of a rebellion can alter your view on the world around you. The sky was beautiful, the atmosphere light, and the grass somehow comforting. In today's reality, the sky would be dark even if it was noon, the atmosphere heavy with intensity and fear, and the grass sharp as blades. How have we survived?

Despite the beauty of the scene, slowly everything began to change. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, the sun had just reached the silver lining of the horizon and it's light was disappearing. The slight breeze from before became more and more evident; the grass swayed back and forth, the leaves of the few trees began to swish more and more. At first, it was just a breeze. Soon it increased into a wind. The grass began to sway faster and a few of the weaker leaves began to fall. Suddenly, lightning struck the tallest tree.

A loud crack of thunder began echoing through me. It seemed to shake everything I could see. More wind, more falling leaves, less light, and more darkness. The once delightful scene began to become a dangerous field. The tree that had been struct started to make a crackling noise. I slowly began to stand up, bracing myself for it to fall. If it was to fall, it would be too far away to hit me, but I still felt the need to stand. More cracks came from the giant tree. The second it began to fall everything seemed to pause, as if everything was watching and waiting to see what was to come. The feeling of slow motion rapidly decreased as the tree fell. As it was falling, a wind tunnel seemed to form underneath it.

The tree hit the ground with a loud thud, and the force of the impact only strengthened the forming wind tunnel. Pushed out by the tree, the wind destroyed the surrounding plain. Grass flew, along with leaves and branches. The once peaceful meadow was now being attacked by an unwelcome visitor. Fearful that I would be sucked into the now advancing tornado, I began to run.

As soon as I turned to escape; however, the scene changed. The wind came to a halt, light returned, and people surrounded me. After some short investigation, I knew exactly where I was. I was in Borders, at the press conference that Blake's father was shot at. I stood in the crowd, amongst other citizens. We were waiting for the Archers to emerge from Town Hall. Strangely, I didn't feel weird at all about what was happening. And until I realized what was to come, I was relieved I was no longer destined to be sucked up by a tornado.

Blake's father was to get shot seconds after he stepped out onto the marble steps of Town Hall. And instead of trying to prevent it, I examined my surroundings. This way, I could discover for myself who really shot King Archer.

Loyals stood in front, facing the crowd as a barricade between the Archers and the citizens. Some were making rude remarks about the crowd's behavior, but otherwise nothing seemed interesting.

The Archers emerged. Strangely, I stood behind Blake as I had in real life, despite myself actually standing within the crowd of citizens. I scanned the Loyals once more and someone caught my eye.

It was Abby.

In her right hand was a pistol. No other Loyal had a pistol and no one else was holding their gun as Abby was. Two seconds later, a shot was fired. I refused to take my eyes off Abby. Involuntarily, I watched as she recovered from the shot. After shooting, Abby joined the other Loyals as they pushed the crowd away from the crime scene.

Panic filled the conference as people fled. I lost sight of Abby amongst the other Loyals and I was pushed back. More and more force was put upon me until I stumbled on the people behind me. Eventually I fell to the ground, shielding my face as more people fell.

Suddenly the force of fallen bodies vanished. All shouts and sirens diminished. A silence replaced the chaos. I uncovered my face to see what was going on. I was back in the field, but at first it was unrecognizable.

The grass that was once green was now a dull brown, and not a tree stood. It was daytime, however clouds blocked most of the sun's rays. This was the aftermath of the tornado I had escaped. Greatly disturbed knowing that I was the only thing alive in the plain, I screamed. Why did the big tree have to fall? Why did the lightning have to strike? The peaceful meadow was once beautiful and innocent. Now, after the storm, the meadow resembled a graveyard of disgust and guilt. Why did it have to happen?

* * *

I woke up lying down, unlike how I feel asleep sitting beside Abby in the stolen taxi. Confused, I sat up to figure out what was happening and where I was. I was in a small room, with walls on three sides and long narrow bars on the fourth side. Slowly I realized where Abby had placed me: inside a jail cell.

"Hello?" I spoke, walking up to the bars. The other side of the bars was dark, and although I could barely see I assumed that on the other side was a hallway. "Abby? Anybody?"

Silence replied with it's uncomforting reality check. I was alone, and there was no way of escaping. My dream began flashing back in my mind.

Abby had shot King Archer. She was a double agent all along. I trusted her to take me from the hideaway, and she took the chance to imprison me. Whose side was she really on? The Drakes or the Rebels?

"You're up!" A familiar voice spoke from the darkness. It was Abby.

"Who are you?" I said in disgust at the liar who stood before me.

"You're about to find out." She responded, disappearing into the darkness, with a widening smirk on her face.