Angel Veins

Dreams

As strong as the roaring wind of a hurricane

As powerful as the visions of the insane

Yet soft and slow

A voice hushed and low

And as gentle as a feather

Descending from heaven

---Lucas Azrael

My dreams always appear in the same sort of way. It's like my eyes are open, but my vision is bleary, like I'm watching an old film. The outlines of the frames blur into nonsense and the clip twitches every few seconds. Everything flashes by quickly, barely giving my eyes enough time to catch the image before it disappears. I see flashes of red, black and white, then everything disappears and I'm left alone in my own darkness as if nothing ever happened at all.

This dream is different.

This time the images linger a few seconds longer and the blurbs of colors start to focus until I can tell what's in front of me.

The white is a face as pale as the moon.

The red are drops of blood and it's everywhere, coming down like the pouring rain.

And the black... dark angel wings, unfurling behind a figure of a person I can't quite see or even recognize.

Everything feels so real; the glaring sunlight warming my skin, the swaying breeze of the wind and a voice echoing in my ears as someone's fingers gently stroke my cheeks

I squint against the glare of the sunlight raining down on me. More colors. This time pink and blue and more white, all swirling together to create a masterpiece. All my eyes can see is the wondrous sky and a plush lips on a luminous face. The lips change shape as words escape; rushed and desperate.

"Hurry- there isn't much time left." Before I can begin to express my confusion, a surging gush of wind blows us back five feet backwards into the field. I sense a sudden wave of danger approaching as my stomach quells with nerves and my heart stutters in my chest. The person I'm laying on the lap of jumps up, taking on a battle stance.

"Go, Lucas." The voice says my name so fervently, I almost shiver, but I don't move. For some reason I can't leave this person alone. Why can't I leave them alone?

"GO! " They yell again.

Instead of obeying, I struggle to get up. A ripping sense of pain causes me to cry out, but I ignore the burning sensation as best as I can. I take my own battle stance and unsheathe my sword, almost collapsing as an intense wave of pain washes over me. The only sounds I hear are the protests of the person next to me and my own labored breathing. My vision blurs, but I can detect the presence of someone-- something else. There it is. Something with the body of a human, but faceless and completely devoid of any other human-like qualities. The thing--whatever it is-- strikes me in the face with an overwhelming amount of strength and I'm thrown back even further this time. I cringe against the pain, seething through my teeth as I grip my sword tighter and prepare to fight.

"NO!" The same voice from earlier shrieks, but I ignore it, my instincts telling me to run towards the shadows before me. I rush forward, jumping up and violently swinging my sword into the target's shoulder. It lets out a horrifying groan as its bones crack beneath me. Before I can even land back on my feet, something shoves me from the side with so much force I find myself screaming in agony.

There's a burning sensation in my throat and a disgusting metallic taste on my tongue. Some sort of liquid is trickling down my mouth and I cough, hacking out a large chunk it.

"LUCAS!" The voice sounds so strangled it's almost like the person's choking on a sob.

Choking... The word registers in my head. I almost gasp. I'm choking on my own blood.

My chest heaves as my lungs struggle to work. Oxygen. Oxygen. Oxygen....

It's not enough, my body decides as I collapse face first. I cough out one more time on the ground. My eyelids feel so heavy... "I want to sleep," I mumble. "Let me... sleep..."

An outraged cry booms behind me, but I'm too tired to even pay attention to it. It's so hot all of a sudden. It feels like I'm engulfed in flames. A girl with long black hair enters my field of vision. And I smile because she is so beautiful. She clutches my hand and my smile turns into a frown when I realize she's crying. Her shoulders quake, but I'm too weak to even clutch her hand.

"Lucas, please," she cries. "Don't go. Don't leave me. I love you."

I smile, as though to reassure her, but my eyelids feel too heavy... And I'm suddenly so overcome with exhaustion that I don't realize my eyes are closed until I'm cloaked in darkness all over again. I can hear her voice. She's pleading, begging me to stay awake, but it's too late. My body is giving into the darkness. I can feel myself falling. Falling and falling and falling down an endless hole of nothingness until I startle awake in a different dimension.