Secret Demons (A Summoner FanFic)

Old Nightmares

Erin fell onto the bed. He was tired from shopping and panicking. Everytime they saw Didric and his buddy, he and Fletcher played hide-and-seek, causing their friends to question what they were doing; they always answered with the worst excuses, but they didn't talk back. Maybe they sensed their uneasiness.

Either way, it was going to be hard to sleep. If it was somehow easy, then he wanted to stay awake. The nightmares might come back. Those stupid dreams... they never make any sense, and they always come back.

Erin let his eyelids close, and it didn't take long for the dreams to start.

It started in complete dark. Erin couldn't move from his spot; he could only listen and feel for a sign of life. That wasn't the hard part. Sound immediately filled the void. The crunch of the ground was loud, as if a giant was roaming the earth. Whoever making the noise was running quickly, and his/her breath was heavy. Erin could practically feel the worry and the tension from this person, and the dream was more defined.

"Almost there, almost there," the person said. Erin paid attention to the voice that was echoing. It was the same woman. I wonder if it will ever change, Erin thought. No matter. Let's see how this plays out.

The running continued, and the scenery must've changed. Twigs were being snapped, and the animals were talking with each other. Some angry hooting and barking, but none seemed to bother this woman.

Then there they were: the screaming, the clanging of weapons, and the roar of a beast. He recognize some spells from the academy, but it didn't sound like it was doing anything other than annoy the monster. This should've been worrisome, but Erin was too busy focusing. The sounds were more clear now, and he payed attention for any names.

"Just as I thought," the woman muttered. Erin felt a sudden changed of elevation, and heard the boom of hands landing on something, presumably leather. Then energy was slowly draining away. His eyes began to droop, and Eric yawned. The lady was no better; she was panting hard while draining away her strength. Someone was yelling her name (wasn't clear enough to understand), but she kept on using her energy. Suddenly, something snapped. The room felt empty, as if something or someone was ripped away. The woman seemed happier, and then the elevation changed again.

"Go, Howl!" she yelled. The demon growled in response, and its footsteps faded away.

"You shouldn't do this!" a man yelled. "Heck, you shouldn't even be here!"

"Well, I knew something was wrong," the female summoner replied, "and I was right! Kilj is injured, and half of your spells aren't doing anything. Goodness gracious, why didn't you use the more advanced spells?" She yelled something else, but it sounded completely unfamiliar, probably an advance spell.

At the same time, a large amount of energy was gone, and Erin nearly dropped. A loud roar came afterwards, and Erin covered his ears, the sound too loud to bear. He needed to stay though. For once, Erin could the voices with strange ease, and it was easier to understand what was happening since he attended the academy. He could feel more pain and had less oxygen in the dream too, but the summoner was too close to figuring out what this was to back out now.

"Stop already!" the man yelled.

"No... I... won't..." she said, gritting her teeth. The strength was slowly escaping now. Erin wasn't any better. It wouldn't be a surprise if he left at this momment now; he usually didn't make this far.

Well, speak of the devil. Erin's body began to plummet into an invisible abyss, but his ears caught one more word...

"Alice!" His eyes widened as he fell to another dream. For so long he wanted something to go on. Many years went on, only knowing bits and pieces. He could finally look up a name. Erin's heart was full of joy until he reached the bottom. The second half of hell began.

After dusting off some dirt, the summoner looked around. It changed again; the scenery was small hallway that was made of tan bricks that looked ready to give in. Ignoring the pain, Erin began to walk down the corridor. The hall became dirtier, and the number webs increased steadily. Unstable stairs appeared, doors were found, and it felt so familiar. Erin knew the dreamscape was never like this, but he somehow knew it like the back of his hand. An uneasy feeling rose in his chest as he went down another flight of stairs. This half was always unpredictable, and he often had a nasty surprise when he woke up. The dreamer began to walk faster; Erin wanted this over with as soon as possible.

In the midst of thinking, Erin tripped on the last step, and his body collide onto the stone floor. After muttering a few curses, he examined his surroundings. It looked like an empty arena. Giant columns supported the ceiling. That's what he thought at least; the place was eerily dark except the large dirt floor that was somehow lit.

"Hmph, nice to see you here." Erin turned around, and his face paled at the sight. The beast had the body and of a lion. The fur was matted, the mane was beyond wild, and its abnormally large fangs was cover in blood. The horns of a goat that was place on top the head looked like it could easily squish him, and the scorpion tail could be easily used to stab him. The chimera decided to pay him a visit.

"It's been a while since I've seen you," Erin said with fake confidence. His knees were quaking, and he began to sweat nervously.

"I know," it said. "But it's time for you to be mine!" The chimera roared and bounded towards with its jaw wide open. Erin dodged immediately and missed the fangs by five centimeters. He began to run around the stadium with the hot on his tail. A million plans ran through his head, and a vision of his soul being crushed trampled more than half of them. He can't outrun the beast forever, he probably can't get close enough to attack without getting stuck in the tail or the fangs, and something told him a simple attack spell would just quicken his death. The most he could so was dream up a powerful weapon, but that would take some time and concentration.

"I'm coming~" Erin gritted his teeth and chanted at his fastest pace. A blazing ball of fire met the monster's face, and the chimera let out deafening roar. Taking the chance, Erin imagined a sleek musket he's only seen once or twice; it immediately fit snugly in his hands. It had kept the sleek wood and sturdy metal Erin remembered from the times he saw it. The young man has never used one before, but heck, it's a dream. Shooting a gun would be as easy as summoning his Lupis. Now that it crossed his mind, Siri wouldn't be a bad companion.

The chimera's annoyed grunts alerted Erin, and the summoner took a shot. The bullet grazed the demon's pelt; it did nothing. The chimera ran straight to him. Siri popped up in front of the demon. She darted underneath the beast and scratched it once in a while. Siri didn't even flinch when the chimera swatted the demon; she just went for it. Erin was feeling lucky...

...until an unknown force knocked him out, and Erin found himself in the worst place possible.

~-~

Wow. I feel so terrible for not updating in such a long time.

First off, I'm going to thank you all for 2.78k reads. I seriously love you all and admire how you still hang around for the next chapter. It still feels like I had a couple of reads. Where did you all come from?!

Second, I apologize for the slow updates. Hopefully I can update a bit faster, but I have a lot of work ahead. I'm not planning to give up yet, so stick around!

Edit: Thanks to @znerolcirde, I now know I mixed up "Erin" with "Eric." If you still see "Eric" somewhere, please comment where. Thanks!