Fire.
Milford dreamed of fire.
He, of course, could not control his thoughts while in a deep sleep, but, of all things, fire? Well, it could've been a sign like the other insane visions he had.
So, fire. The word alone is not pleasant. The swirling flames crept up onto a first-person perspective. Milford couldn't see anything but the flames.
But, suddenly, he heard screams. Screams of agony. It was not a good thing to hear. He wished he could cover his ears, but it was impossible. It was a dream.
The screams got louder and louder as the dream lasted longer. They were crying out. For anyone. Anything to help them. Milford couldn't make out what they were saying exactly, but he somehow knew it.
Like the day before, he woke up with a start. But, unlike the previous day, he woke up still feeling the way he should've been in his dream, as heat was all around his skin.
He was still wearing his band t-shirt for the third day in a row. But he asked himself one important question. Where was he?
Milford had not seemed to feel it before, but there was wind blowing in his face as if he was flying. He looked around slowly and his blood went cold. He was flying.
Not by himself because, obviously, humans didn't fly, but he was on a winged beast. It was golden with many scales. A dragon, of course.
He held back a scream. Who had ordered the dragon to grab him and put him on its back? Where was this creature taking him? Did anyone see?
Milford looked around in fear. He wanted to cry out for his parents, but they wouldn't hear him. The sky was filled with clouds and they were moving quite fast. He looked to his right. In that direction he saw Max from school still sleeping and the dark figure from after the pizza parlor incident. It all felt cynical at that point.
He had noticed Milford with a glance.
"Well, hello again, my friend. How have you been?" they said casually. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOD HAVE YOU DONE WITH ME AND MAX, YOU SICK FREAK!?" Milford screamed at the top of his lungs. "You can't just take me without checking if we're okay wi-" but Milford had stopped, for the dark figure had been laughing for quite a while. "No no no, you see, many people who have done this sort of thing have been as angry as you are in the beginning for the same reasons, but experience is key. You may not know it yet, but you are about to be on the adventure of a lifetime. Sure, it may be perilous, but there are times when you may enjoy it. Do not doubt. That is not the solution," the figure explained.
"Why? What's the purpose of the journey anyways? You need to give me answers as soon as possible," Milford asked, because he just being told a bunch of life lessons put together in a speech.
"Ah, yes. You see, the visions you have been having have been caused by an evil force known as Rinchor. It causes the mind to have several different symptoms, one of them being visions.
"We too have traditions, but we will probably get to them later. There have been many events that humans have not had the ability to see and that is why nobody has noticed us for all these centuries. We are The Mondollions. We fight to protect this Earth and the people living on it from the Rinchor. But now we have a new lead.
"There is a new source of Rinchor that is the main central. The source that has been controlling you for the past few days. We, along with you, think we can destroy it. But there is one problem. It is all located on the other side of the world in China in an abandoned factory and we only have dragons that can fly at about a speed of 60 miles per hour. It will be long, but you will be a big help."
"But... what exact purpose will I serve to the journey?" Milford asked.
"Simple. The more you have seen the visions, the clearer they are. The clearer they are, the more we know about what we are up against. That gives us an advantage. We Mondollions will use that advantage."
"But does the Rinchor affect you in any way?"
"Barely. But it can make us stop in our tracks without a doubt, so do not panic if you see us collapse in pain during this odyssey."
"But, eh, there were bad dark figures in my second vision. And as they got closer to this woman, she started to collapse in exhaustion. Those figures, who are they supposed to be?"
The dark creature stared blankly at Milford in disbelief.
"You should not have seen that. It is classified. All I can say is that they are Mondollions who have been kicked out for their misdoings. That woman's identity will shock you if you find out. Do not ask any more questions."
The dark form turned away in a cold sweat.
"I would just like to know your name," Milford requested.
"Horomir. Now please do not speak to me until we reach our destination," they said.
Milford obeyed.
He waited silently as the dragon passed through the clouds. He wanted to ask him about his dream of fire, but he didn't. He began to wonder about the things Horomir had told him. About what other things the Rinchor might do. About the history of the Mondollions and how they have kept secret for all these years.
He couldn't tell how long he had been thinking about it for. Maybe twenty minutes or forty-five or an hour; but that all led to Max waking up.
Now, knowing him as a friend, Milford would've imagined that Max would wake up with a grin on his face (because it was a Saturday), and mutter a sigh half asleep or something like that. But when he opened his eyes, his face went from happy to absolutely terrified.
Max looked around—as Milford had done previously—in shock and terror. He stared at Milford with a face of utter confusion and awe.
"Th-th-this isn't my house, is it?" Max said in a petrified voice. It sounded like a joke to Milford.
Max looked below him and saw the scales of the dragon flying them both across the sky and felt even more dreadful.
"Uh, this ain't the way I wanna spend my Saturday. How are we gonna get off of-" That sentence was cut off when he saw Horomir.
Of all of the things that Milford had seen in his short life, this moment had to be one of the funniest. Seeing his best friend in this much panic, this much dismay changed the way he looked at Max personally. Max screamed at the top of his lungs for what seemed like eternity. He cursed. He questioned. He wanted Milford to help him in this unwilling situation but he just kept laughing like a maniac. Horomir just smirked, sharp teeth showing.
Aa a response to all this humiliation, Max covered his eyes with his hands, tears streaming down his face. "Just stop, alright? Am I safe, or what?"
"Yes, my friend. You are fine," Horomir began. He followed up the same explanation that he had explained to Milford. While he was talking to Max, Milford drew the noise out and thought for awhile.
He thought about the two visions he had already, and he tried to make them out, since previously they had been blurred.
The first one he couldn't remember at all. It was too blurred for him to make out anything. All that he could recollect was that it was dark and shaky.
The second one, though, he could understand clearly. Well, almost clearly. Milford understood the dark figures and everything, but one question still remained unanswered: who was the woman on the bench?
Milford really went deep on this one. He thought very hard about the features. Remembering something that happened so vaguely was not an easy task for him.
It could've been any second, but he realized. It wasn't a theory, he knew it.
The woman that was on the bench that day was his mom.
