It started with the voices.
Slowly, they crept into my brain, whispering like a snake trying to draw out its prey. A feeling of mounting terror leapt to my throat like bile. Then they grew louder; jeering like petty bullies, attempting to goad and probe me into submission. Suddenly all at once, like a whip whistling through the air to finally crack against the ground, they were shrieking with maniacal laughter, now positively roaring. Their voices hit me like a mallet against my temples; echoing through my ears and rocking my head, making the world spin and tip violently. I tried to scream, but any stimuli just enhanced the noise. I felt like a was tied to a stone in the stormy ocean, forced to endure the merciless waves crashing against me. Waiting for it to end, but knowing it wouldn't.
Suddenly, as it happens so often in dreams, another scene exploded into existence, even more vile than the last. Min, Tommy, Werner, Jessica, Kyle, and Lily were staggering through the gloom, all pale and haggard as the darkness chased them like hungry serpents.
It coursed through the air, ensnaring them all in a cocoon black as night. They were suffocating, screaming, and clutching their throats, as tears tinged red with blood rolled down their faces in thick streams. They begged me to save them with desperate voices that gripped my heart and threatened to break it in two. But my hands were bound, I couldn't help them, no matter how hard I tried. I cried out in horror as they all suddenly dropped to the ground, stiff and still as wood, with dead white eyes.
Then as the ground in front of me fell away, carrying their lifeless bodies with it, the beast in all it's red eyed, black, billowing glory appeared in front of me. But this time it had Ariel in its mangled talons, and a dagger at her throat.
She looked awful. Her clothes were torn and ragged. Her skin was battered and cut, and her arms and legs were bound. So the beast was supporting her by the neck.
I realized I was tied to a stake surrounded by red and blue flames that lapped around the sides of my legs, growing higher and more menacing by the second. I called Ariel's name in vain, but the smoke snaked its way into my throat, staunching the air in my lungs and silencing my voice. Ariel fixed her bloodshot eyes on me, gulping tears streaking through the rust-colored blood on her face. Fear and hopelessness was etched in every crease on her face. Her eyes, once full of life, seemed to gaze upon me with desperation and a touch of disgust. Almost as if she was trying to say, how could you? All I could do is choke out rasping sobs as I watched the beast cry its shrill bellow of victory, right before the dagger plunged downward.... and she fell limp.
The scream had barely left my lips when the scene shifted.
I was now staring at the world's most powerful black hole. But instead of bright stars dotting the sky around it, the air was filled with the smell of smoke, as dust and debris flew towards its ever-present pull. Inside of it, growls and torturous wails emitted from it, like something was killing it slowly. But it was too powerful to succumb to such a small thing like death.
It seemed to be the embodiment of pure evil and chaos, feasting on whatever life that came within range. The voices seemed to worship it as they grew impossibly louder than before. I felt my soul being swept away, crumbling into the void of chaos. I was nothing but ash from the cold, barren hearth that may once have known life. But the mass of evil and contempt made it impossible to recall what breath in my lungs once felt like. Or the sheen of wetness that once sat on my now dry, cracked lips. Or the feeling of happiness that my heart pumped into my blood. Everything just shriveled up under the presence of the entity in front of me.
Suddenly, in a voice that sounded like a thousand nails on a chalkboard, it spoke. "Soooooon...." It mused. "But until then, I'd like to see you little heroes try to stop me. Amuse me." Then it let loose a heart-piercing roar, that felt like it could vaporize a thousand soldiers on the spot. I heard the satisfied, bloodthirsty moans of the beasts festering below me. The shrill cries and earth shattering bellows of monsters that followed the powerful monster's roar.
And I was instantly swallowed by darkness.
Then the dream scene shifted one last time.
I was in the woods by the school, a comforting sight after what I had just seen previously. The sun was just beginning to rise, bathing the ground in a pale light. Suddenly I heard the sharp crack of a twig snapping. I wasn't alone. There, in the grove of spruce trees that surrounded the clearing where we were attacked, stood the strangest band of kids I've ever seen. Only it seemed like they couldn't see me.
One was a girl with a pale ferrety face, caramel colored eyes, and hair so blonde it was almost white, tied up in an elaborate braid. She was clad in black and blue armor, concealed partially by a traveling cloak that fell past her ankles. Her eyelids were coated with glittering purple eye shadow. She was gripping a throwing knife with a jewel-encrusted hilt in each hand. She glanced around warily, tapping the edges of the silver blades together unconsciously, her eyes alert as a tiger. I noted the gleam of extra knives peeking out of her black, mud-splattered boots and faded, white cloak.
The next was a short-ish boy with brown hair that fell over his neck and forehead, almost hiding his eyes. His skin was rugged and tan. His face had a splash of freckles under his electric blue eyes, testifying to the look of sharp intelligence. The tips of his ears were pointed like an elf's. He was dressed in a dark green hooded tunic complete with black leggings, and thick brown armor covering his chest, arms and legs. A quiver of arrows rested on his hip. His dark brown traveling cloak was swept behind him as he paced the length between two trees. He had a thin bow and an arrow with a red and white plume, notched in the worn string. The two fingers that held the string and plume taught, twitched like he was ready shoot at the first sign of trouble.
Then there was a tall boy, with muscles rippling through his dark brown skin. The rising sun glinted off of his bald head. His eyes were a determined, light grey. He wore all black, minus two thick, gold armbands, and simple silver armor, and he held an axe at the ready. A simple gold shield rested on his back. He was slowly rotating around, his eyes fixated on the tops of the trees, as if trying to spot a winged spy.
The last boy had short, dark brown hair swept up, and off to the side, as if he had just gotten back from a walk on the beach. His eyes were so light, they looked orange, dotted with brown flecks. His skin was a light tan color. He was clad in all dark colors; a dark shirt that fell just past his waist, black pants and hunting boots. Dark, green tinged armor wrapped around his torso and arms, and slightly in the front of his knees. His belt held a dagger and a crystal canteen of water. And in his hand he held an impressive, long, silver sword, with rubies and sapphires embedded in the hilt. He was obviously the leader, as the others, while concentrating on other things, all stood at attention around him, as if waiting for orders.
They all looked wary, like they knew this was a bad place to be.
Suddenly the dark skinned boy spoke in a deep voice, "I don't understand. How did a reaper even get here?" The girl stroked one of the burn marks on the tree and it instantly faded. She seemed to struggle to keep a calm demeanor as she said solemnly, "I don't know. But the core is getting stronger and stronger every day, using its power to open new doors to different layers, like this one."
"It's worse than we feared." This came from the boy with the sword. "Bree we need to get back to Xiyllia and tell the kings and queens. They need to know that the crisis has grown." Bree sighed and her shoulders slumped forward, as if admitting defeat, "I know, I know Chris, I just—didn't want to cause a panic unless we were absolutely certain." The dark skinned boy put his calloused hand on her shoulder reassuringly and said, "It is certain now, but at least now we can gather arms to protect the citizens." She smiled half-heartedly and said, "Thanks Logan." Logan nodded.
"Guys," a voice said urgently. I shifted my attention to the ground, just now realizing that the short boy had abandoned his bow, and was prodding the ground with the tip or his arrow. A most curious expression had taken hold of his features. "Jack, what is it?" Chris asked. "The reaper wasn't alone..." Jack said quietly. He crouched down and pinched the dirt, studying the earthy soil between his fingers. They all stared at him in shock, awaiting his next statement, but jack was obviously lost in thought. I could practically see the gears whirring and humming in his head as he puzzled over his hypothesis. Finally, after moments of deafening silence, Bree asked anxiously "Devils? Hell-serpents?? Defilers?? Ghouls???" "No," Jack replied uneasily, "I think they were just.... girls."
A sharp intake of breath passed through my lips. I had been silent until now, so Logan jerked his head in my direction, his eyes boring into the air where I stood. For a moment I was terrified that he saw me, but then he reluctantly returned his attention to Jack, who had started speaking again.
"From what I've gathered here, the reaper approached them and there was a chase that ended here, in this grove." They were staring at him expectantly, raptly awaiting his next words. "At least one of them must have defeated the reaper on their own, and by the looks of it.... lived to tell the tale." I felt my face drain of blood, and the others looked shocked as well. But all I could think was, 'he knows about Ariel and I'
Finally, after several dragging moments of awed silence, Chris hefted his sword and said, "Well then, I guess we have some girls to find."
Then they walked off, silently disappearing into the trees. As I stared motionless at the spot where they all stood moments ago, the scene in front of me suddenly fractured like a mirror breaking in a thousand pieces. Then there was the feeling of falling down a long spiraling tunnel. And then....
........................
I awoke in a cold sweat, breathing hard as if I'd run a marathon while I slept. Ariel sat at the window, where the sun cast its pale morning light on the dust floating above the wood floor. She looked over at my bed wearily. "Nightmares?" she asked tiredly. I nodded, hardly able to speak. "You have no idea," I gasped. She cast her swollen, sleepless eyes down to the floor, and then returned her gaze to the window, once again oblivious to my presence. My thoughts ran wild, remembering the horrible visions and the conversation with those strange teens. A sharp pain stabbed at my heart as I remembered the first vision.
I let my head fall back, and tried to close my eyes and conjure up a feeling of sereneness, but the blackness behind my eyeballs now looked ominous as it reminded me of that horrible void of chaos. So instead, I turned to the window that was opposite Ariel, and just focused on the sway of the trees, as the wind whistled through the leaves, making them ripple and shiver. I just lay there, letting my thoughts drift away from any pretense of reality, like a waterfall running over the rocks in its path, and morphing them so that they're compliant and smooth.
Later, as the orphanage stirred and awoke in the dawn of another day, I could almost swear I saw the flicker of a shadow touching the window. The shadow of a tall boy.
A boy with a sword at his side.
..........................
Well that was a process! This is mostly a filler, trying to get you guys acquainted with these characters and enriching the plot-line a bit more. Hope you liked it! Leave a comment and vote if you did (I will love you forever)!!!
Always,
Sunshine712