The Dream

Chapter 1 | Silhouette

HOWL GOES THE WIND.  The dark grey clouds hanging overhead echo with a loud rumbling as thunder rolls through them like an avalanche in the sky.  Light crackles above like a series of small explosions, momentarily revealing the surrounding darkness, exposing the craggy dry earth below.  Grains of dust and sand are swept by the wind forming shapes and waves as they float, barely grazing the earths surface in a haunting almost tranquil manner.

    The hidden moon finally succeeds in piercing several shards of its light through the swelling masses of dark clouds, partially removing the veil of shadow cast by the remains of an old broken stone wall.  Between the blend of shadow and moonlight hides a man, short and broad in appearance.  Tightly he presses his back against the rough, weathered bricks; he dare not move.

   The cold air burns within his chest with every gasp of breath, he fights to subdue the noise of his own panting so as not to betray his place of hiding.  The wash of fine rain and beads of sweat speckled across his face blend together and are indistinguishable.  Around his neck some dog tags hang loosely which he grasps tightly so as to avoid the slightest of sounds.

    Sharply he draws his breath as his eyes are drawn to a point in the sky where the clouds break.  An ominous shape briefly reveals itself before sinking back into the darkness.  He doesn't dare shift his gaze.  With wide eyes he stares intently, waiting.  Barely a minute passes before the shape reappears.  It's silhouette forms in the thicker shafts of moonlight, casting an immense shadow that looms over the earth below, it's shape reminiscent of some mythical winged beast torn from the pages of a fable.

    Threateningly it soars like a predator in search of prey.  The closer to the earth it gets the clearer it's form becomes.  It has wings like the wings of an owl, and it's talons are like two long arms reaching out with sharp pointed fingers.  But it is not a bird of any kind as it's face is that of a man's, a sinister smile creased across its face.  It lets out what sounds like a bloodcurdling scream, but it isn't screaming, it's laughing: 'I see you' bellows the creature as it descends at incredible speed.

    No doubt discovered the short man steps out into the open.  Reaching his arms towards the sky he begins to rotate them rapidly in a circular motion, faster and faster and within mere moments his arms become a blur.  Wisps of clouds above begin to swirl into a mesh of dark colours moving like a maelstrom.  A powerful funnel of air forms, which stretches down to the earth attaching itself to the man becoming like an extension to his arms.

    Swiftly the winged creature changes direction manoeuvring out of the path of the spiralling column, but standing firm and unyielding against the tremendous force blowing against him the man throws his arms as though hurling a great weight, in effect whipping the powerful swirling cylinder across the sky and catching the creature in its vacuum.

    The winged foe seems helpless, thrown about like a leaf captive to the wind.  But the reality of the matter is, it is far from helpless.  Embracing the current of the violent wind the creature dissolves into a vapour of black smoke which streams down through the eye of the storm and before the man can even react the cloud of smoke engulfs and overpowers him, pinning him to the ground and his crafted storm fades away.

    The smoke retakes form, but this time not as a winged creature of any sort but as a man slim and pale.  With a firm grip he grasps tight hold of the short man's head, who lets out a great wail of pain.  Tightening his grip further a noise like the sound of cracking glass echoes loudly as jagged cracks of stone form on the short man's skin.

    Grabbing hold of the pale man's arms he wrestles to break himself free, but to no avail, the pressure around his head continues to build.  His breathing becomes shallow as though every breath he takes doesn't quite fill his lungs and panic confuses his thinking, all he seems to be able to focus on is the cold remorseless eyes of his enemy staring back at him.

    Violently the short man's body begins to tremble and shake, neither from fear nor convulsion; his body is vibrating, so much so that his foe struggles to maintain his grip.  The air around him begins to ripple like the warm air around a roaring fire, and with a ear-shattering BOOM! he lets loose a scream that releases a devastating shockwave, sending his enemy hurtling backwards.

    . . . KABOOM!  The pale man hits the ground hard, but rebounds bouncing into a backward somersault and lands in a cat-like fashion on all fours.  Despite this, however, he continues to slide backwards several feet scraping furrows into the earth as he goes due to the tremendous force he was hit with.

    A deafening chime rings in the ears of the short man. Cradling his head in his arms he attempts to relieve the crushing pressure he feels.  Time though is a liberty, one he cannot afford. Summoning every ounce of strength left within him he pushes against the weight of his own battered body lifting himself to his feet.

    Barely he has regained his footing when the earth underfoot begins to quake.  The noise of howling winds is replaced by the roaring of what sounds like cascading waters, and what little light had been available is drowned out by an overpowering shadow. A giant wave; not of water, but of mud rolls destructively towards him tearing up everything in its path; crags, trees, even the earth beneath it, all are swept away.  It towers over him like a behemoth, but he does not move from the path of the approaching swell.

    With a clap of his hands he begins rubbing them together as fast as he can, so fast that his hands start to sizzle and give off sparks of glowing flickers of chaff.  In an eruption of flames his whole body becomes set alight.  Everything surrounding him, the trees, the earth, all is burnt into blackened crisp cinders and ash.  But the fire does not hurt him, he controls it. 

As the muddy comber comes crashing down upon him, swinging his arm full force as though wielding a mighty invincible blade he releases a gust of scorching heat which cuts through the giant wave slicing it in two.  Mud and debris come splashing down all around him causing the ground to become drenched in a deep mire of sludge.  But from the mire beneath his feet, hands of mud reach up and grab hold of him, pulling him down into the boggy marsh.

Frantically he cuts through them with his fiery hands, but no sooner does he cut through one when three more take their place grabbing his legs, body, arms; sinking him deeper into the mire.  Within seconds he becomes submerged up to his neck: 'Matty! . . . Stop!' he shouts at the top of his lungs.  In response a large hollow face forms in the muddy ground next to him and laughs hysterically. 

    The laughter is unending, unbearable.  In a burst of rage the short man's already burning body explodes into a furious firestorm that spills from him washing away in fire the marsh that would consume him and blinding all sight in a flash of radiant light, but within the illuminating glare two shadowy figures collide with a devastating blow.

     As the light dims and is overtaken by darkness once more, a cloud of dust canvasses the air. Beyond this cover a silhouette of a man can be seen, short and broad.  He sits kneeling upright. 

    As the wind finally comes to a hush, silence to reigns.  The curtain of dust lifts and sitting motionless is the short man, no life left within him, nothing more than a statue of stone, fear and loss is frozen on his face echoing his last moments for eternity to come. 

    A shadow looms over his empty stone shell.  The pale man stands admiring his handiwork and raising his eyes towards the horizon he overlooks an unnumbered amount of statues.   A crooked smile curls onto his lips and thinking out loud in a whispered tone he says: 'I will save them all!'

Hey, thanks for reading Chapter 1 of my book, I really appreciate you taking the time to do so. It would mean a lot to me if you was to leave me a comment letting me know what you thought of it, even if it's just some constructive criticism. If you really liked it, please let me know by giving the chapter a vote, and/or follow my account so you can be alerted when I release Chapter 2.

Kind Regards

Daniel Poland