Children of Morpheus

Chapter 15

    I was standing on the road in the heart of the town. Where huge cracks tore the surface of the streets. Shops were wrecked, cars upside down with posts snapped and fell like a tornado hit Silver Keyshade.

Blood made bounty on the streets with rotting corpses scattered across. Continuous screams of tormented people burst with laughs screeching maniacally throughout the hot and dry wind. The sky was red with thick clouds curtains with lightning flashing like a photo session, with a flying silhouette of beasts that roared with thunder.

    My heart began to beat like a hammer and my body shivered as I came closer to the wounds of the surface, that gave eerie lava glow with dark smoke coming out. Then one of the shadows dropped from the sky that shook the earth as the dust of fog came abode.

    Glowing stares pierced in, like stealing my soul from me with a fiery grip around him. I ran and continued looking back and forth with fear, and alarm filling my body, molding me into something that is filled with adrenaline monster.

    But nothing compared to the real monster that is tailing me.  

    The forest was burning to ashes as I stood in front. The glowing red eyes didn't followed me here, I quickly ran as I reckoned who's dream was this—it was Sebastian's. It gave everything away.

    I ran fast like a monster is trying to get my soul to the road where I first saw him in a dream like this. I saw him rolled into a ball crying. My feet moved closer to him and called his name, hoping that he can hear me. “Sebastian!”

    “Rafael?” He replied and fixed his head into mine. He stood and hugged me as I felt his heartbeat running wild. “Its good to see you.”

    “What is all of this?” I quickly asked as I closed my eyes and try to imagine a cute puppy coming out from the air. “Why are you dreaming like this?” My hands were failing to glow. 

    “Your power will not work here.” He said as my hands began to gleam abruptly, then it stopped. “This is no ordinary dream. This is a prophecy.” 

    “What do you mean by prophecy'?” I inquired as I looked around me that looked like hell cast upon the earth and made its home.

    “There is no time left,” he replied as he kept looking back, quivering his body like there's something is trying to get him. “F-finish your story. We'll tell ours after everything is settled.” He said as he paced back with tears on his eyes. “Now go! Run!” He commanded.

    And so I ran and looked back as a dark smoke rolled around him and formed into a three-headed monster, and later turned into a man with a face of beauty. Sebastian closed his eyes as the man-monster smirked wildly. He then turned to smoke and jumped into Sebastian's mouth as he started gagging and shaking. 

    I was in shocked seeing that. It's terrifying.

    I jumped into the wiped and burned forest as fume surrounds me. The trees start to appear as I got deeper and deeper and the sky turned into a dark blue night heaven with twinkling stars and silver pale moon. 

    The crumpled dried leaves and twigs snapped and the howling wind gave a cold feeling, running down on my spine. The forest got denser while I continued walking straight with no direction. The shades crawled still, while the dimmed light of the moon tried to shed its light inside the forest. 

    Then heavy footsteps came running down behind me, running towards me non-stop. I looked around me like a carrousel spinning, as it came louder and louder. Then someone bumped into me.

    I grunted as I saw Alexander crawled into the ground with shut eyes, shielding himself with his right arms. He started crying and quivering as a whimper blurted from his lungs. “Please, stop doing this to me!” He begged out. 

    I moved closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He jolted in fear, his body shook like an earthquake. He begged again while tears flowed from his eyes. I couldn't say anything, he really looked scared of something. Something that is trying to get him.

    “Alexander, it's me.” I started in a low and calming tone, as he lowered his arms and opened his eyes. “Its Rafael, ” I smiled.

    He quickly peeked, stood up and wiped his tears with his shirt. I just smiled, trying to force my nervousness in. 

    “Did you get back from wherever you are for the twelve days?” He asked.

    I nodded. Then the dampen wind came in, that rolled the leaves towards us. He stopped and looked around, water starts to fill his eyes again. 

    “What is this? A nightmare?” I rolled my fingers to my palm as it began to glow. I opened, and a ball of blue light came beaming.

    “We need to run!” He said as he pulled my shirt as the ball floated and followed us running from behind. “Faster!” 

    He then slowed down as I felt sticky on my feet. I grabbed the ball of light behind me and shined down as red thick water oozing from the ground. I began to shudder, staring at him frozen still. I looked in front of us and saw piles of dead bodies, drenched in their own mixed pool of blood that trailed closer to me. To my feet.

    A growl came in as I moved closer to the dead bodies. I looked at Alexander as he stood there, with his eyes shedding tears. Then I saw his mom in the pile, with open stares with her blood over her face and some of it was dripping down. I moved to the other side, and there I was, swimming in the pool with red still rushing out of my body like a fountain. I stared directly at my dead eyes like it was piercing my soul and body. 

    “What is this?” The orb of light came above the peak of the mountain of bodies. I moved closer to Alexander. “What is this!” I yelled as I start to panic in fear. 

    He stood there like he was petrified. He already saw piles of bones, oozing disgusting pool of blood, and demons from hell. Why is he like that? I asked myself as if he was turned to stone by Medusa.

    Then an arm came through his chest holding his heart that made me jumped back. Then the hand dropped the heart that made it bounce and roll towards me, it beat for the very last time. I shut myself from screaming as my heart began to popped out to roll on the ground and my voice locked in.  

    Alexander's body fell down as the man came closer to me with darkness shading his face. I took a step back as he followed me into the light. His eyes glowed pale silver like the moon from the shadow. His face lit up he made through under my circle of light that the orb made. 

    “H-how?” I stuttered as I moved closer to the mountain. “I just s-saw you died, Alexander.” I stuttered as I peeked behind him for his corpse. But it was gone. The body was gone, but his heart was still there. 

    He smiled maniacally as his eyes turned brightly like my orb. “How about you?” He said as he raised his bloody hand towards me, he looked like he bathes in the blood of the bodies behind me. “Didn't I already killed you?” He hissed as his teeth grew into fangs. He then dived at me.

    I screamed loudly as I can as I moved aside and dodged his lunge towards me. He swung his hand that scratches my cheeks and knocked me down on my back. 

    “Alexander stopped!” I begged.

    “The ghouls were right,” he said as he licked his finger with my blood dripping from it. “You taste like heaven.” His eyes glowed again brightly, brighter than the moon above.

    I raised my hand towards him as the wind came flowing behind me and blew him away. He growled as he fades into the shadows. Then I yanked myself up and ran.

    The orb stayed at the pile behind me. I found myself, again, in the void of darkness. I stopped running and try to catch my breath as I lie down for a second. 

    What's wrong with them? What's their deal about their dreams?

    “You need to learn the past,” a deep and husky voice said in the darkness where I'm in. “To defeat the evil that is about to come.” The voice added as a door came in behind me.  

    The door swung as the light came bursting in my eyes blindly. I shut my eyes and continued walking straight as I heard the door slam shut. My sight opened up and saw a tall slim woman with a silver strip patch of hair that blends into her gingered color mane. Her skin was fair and pale with blushes of red like roses. Her green dress trailed towards me that was fitted exactly for her.    

    Pillar-like trees in each corner and mouth of the hallway. With vines slithering in each and walls with small white flowers blooming like a tapestry on each side. Fresh and dead leaves scattered around the path that has the sophistication touch of nature.

    The woman opened the wooden door and a child came out running with a big grin in his face. I looked at the child as he looked familiar with his big green eyes. The woman smiled warmly to the kid and continued to the door. I followed her as I saw the satyr standing in the middle of the room. 

    The satyr that I saw wore his pipe like a necklace as the woman kiss him. “My beautiful queen, we need to cleanse the mortal realm from their vile actions.” The Satyr started.

    “My husband, the mortals haven't done anything wrong.” The woman said back to the satyr. “And if they are to destroy their realm, it's not our fault.” She added.

    “But the fertility of their realm is draining from their vices. And I, as the god of nature, and with that, its realm's fertility is my problem, and yours.” Pan said with an insisting tone. “You as the Queen of the Faes have the responsibility to take care of nature, that the mortals right now are destroying.”

    “Yes, I have that responsibility. But with it, I have responsibility for the mortals too.” She said back in an angry yet soft tone. “I will not do it. This action is driven by your anger from the mortals who turned their back on you, Pan!” 

    “I am not driven by anger, Tatianna.” Pan debated as his eyes are being filled with bitterness. “With my power and yours, we can repent the world from their terrible sins that they kept repeating on and on.” 

    “No!” The queen yelled and turn back at him towards the door. “This is anger, Pan. I will not commit to an action that can destroy both of our worlds.”

    Then pan grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into him. She grunted as Pan tightly gripped her joint. “You will not turn your back on me, Tatianna!”

    “You kept denying yourself that you're afflicted from the actions that the mortals did.” She hissed and grunted in pain. “But you are! You still are!”   

    “No, I'm not!” He let go of her just to hold her neck and lift her, smothering her as she fights for air. She panted and tried slapping and punching Pan in the face, but it didn't work. It's useless. He looked at her in her dying eyes with tears gradually flowing. 

    “I will use your people whether you like it or not.” He said as he grabbed an arrow with a shining iron tip from his back and stabbed it right to her heart. He then dropped her and grabbed another arrow and stab himself on his shoulder. 

    I shook as Pan started acting, screaming in misery and pain as the guards with clanging armors ran down the door. As he kept going, “mortals killed my lover!” Then I was pulled right back into the darkness as it swallowed me, into its heart.