Chapter Three: Nightmares
Moments later Wren fell apart completely, like an old tree crumbling on the spot. He barely processed the second heartbeat before he was gone. Taken by the abyss of sleep. It felt like the most comfortable bed he'd ever lain in. A distortion of senses leading something cold, dark, and hard to feel like it was warm, light, and soft.
He cast away all thoughts and plunged into a dream. A makeshift wall his mind had put up against the world. Perhaps, it was supposed to be a kindness to him. A dream lifting him up instead of down. But that is not what it did.
At first he could see bright peaceful skies. Soft clouds rolling past, away on an endless journey. Meadows of soft grass surrounding his feet. He could smell flowers of every kind, and see their beauty. But Wren could not see. And he knew nothing of flowers.
`Why was this so sweet? Why does life give me these sweet moments just to cast me aside again after? Why does it grace me with flowers I've never known? Flowers I perhaps won't ever know. What goes through the processing of life?`
Every bright homely feeling brought itself together. Casting a net of ignorant bliss upon his soul. In a desperate attempt to make him forget. And for a moment it worked. But such pleasant moments don't last forever, and the defiled nature of some corrupts even dreams.
The sky he could somehow see turned from a beautiful blue to a crimson red. A red forged from blood and terror. A red made to sow fear and abandon rationality. It could turn lions into sheep. Wolves into puppies. The grass now bit at his feet. The petals turned into blades and the seeds infected the lungs of all those who would dare breathe them in. The air was toxic, cursing him with every gasp. But, worst of all was the constant paranoia coming from what was behind him. A figure he had no sight on.
The grass got sharper, cutting into his legs. He felt this nightmare might consume him completely. Thunder echoed through his mind. He screamed inside to wake up. He screamed to escape this corrupted dream. But all his shouts never left his mind. Never reaching his tongue or leaving his mouth. In the end the best he could manage was to only bite his tongue. Leaving a dull metallic taste in his mouth.
His intuition howled even harder. Begging him to run from the thing behind him. If it even was a thing. He did not know what it was. And was far too panicked to tell. So he did what he knew how to do. What he had been doing for hours before this.
He ran.
He ran farther than even before, as the flowers and grass slashed into his legs. The clouds were now pitch black and the rain was the same color. He felt like an ink painting and each drop would lead closer to him being painted over.
He felt shameful. For all this perseverance all he manages to do is run. Is running all he can do? Would he defeat his enemies from outrunning them?
The anger it left in him was deep, filling the oldest voids in his heart. He knew it would be long lasting. A reminder of his vows, a reminder of his pain. He couldn't forget why he must live. He can't die until his goals are fulfilled.
Drowning in the ink-like rain, he felt a call. Clinging onto it, he fumbled towards it. It was a strange call. Coming directly from his mind yet knowing exactly where its source is.
With his final step he plummeted down. Falling into a dark, damp, and ancient cave, filled with crooked, deadly stalactites and stalagmites. Shooting out from the ground and ceiling like razorous teeth. Coming to chew on their unassuming prey.
.
Deep in its heart, the cave held another.
The water dripping around Wren turned into a gaseous mist. Pitch black just like the water itself. The previously unassuming shadows of the cavern came to life. And moved around like children dancing through the darkness.
A light came into view from the depths, and a noble caw echoed through each tunnel. A bird made of pure fire and light shot forth. Its massive visage spreading outward. Wings as long as a house and eyes so focused and intimidating the boy couldn't help but be mesmerized by them.
The bird stared at the boy for a long while, then flew straight into him. Disappearing as soon as it went through him.
`What just happened? And that figure… It seems familiar.. Have I seen this bird before? Or perhaps heard of it in some story.`
After that, the boy stared into the rocky ceiling for a while. Then he heard a cracking sound. The nightmare had ended. He was waking up.