Creus(Full Book)

Part 23

He woke up as Bernard shook him.

"You were mumbling and screaming about something."

"I'm alright, having nightmares, that's all."

"Why screaming though? What sort of nightmares?"

"No, just some night terrors I had as a child."

"Alright then."

"Sorry about the screaming."

"Right, now, have a nice sleep."

Then he left, leaving the open doorway. Past the hallways of white. He heard him walk away.

He looked down at the bed. Damp from terror. The nightmare had come back again, over and over. He'd seen it many times during his youth. He'd gotten fearful of swimming afterward. He'd gotten a head for heights though. He liked climbing, but swimming in the depths and the ravaging waves made him curl up in fear.

He slept again. Dreams, ravaged and ruined. He slept in darkness. Stretching himself on the ropes tying the bed.

The morning came again. Arriving just the same as yesterday. The storm of reality had stopped. But, a behemoth of a tree blocked the pit, covering it in darkness. David no longer felt safe. He'd seen them grow more curious, enough to walk around the ring of light. A few of them, watching. But, they had no appearance. With strange twisted shapes on their heads. Made of many segments of connecting flesh, but he only speculated on this. He'd seen glimpses.

The tree groaned and creaked and the pit echoed with the sounds of wind. Howling over their heads. Casting a deep shadow over them. A regular storm. One that destroyed and whirled past. With rain and wind. Leaves tumbled in and into the Abyss. Down they went. Falling.

The day dragged. Nothing to do but sit, think, eat, and sleep. He thought more about the outside world. Dreaming about getting out of the dark place, and climbing on to the top. Grabbing the handles of an infinite rope and climbing along. Then reaching the top, and finishing. He imagined a world where he could destroy the demons above. To help others reach the top of the mountain. To destroy the Abyss, and reach the top. Although there was no way to destroy the plague. He felt like he wouldn't see the end of the plague. A thing from the Abyss, maybe. Used by the demons to kill and to ravage the world above, when they couldn't. But, if he could remove it all. A lot of things would be better if he removed the Plague. To cure. To finish, and then to stop.

The blue water helped him think more clearly. He saw the world from a fresher view. But the weather conveyed the opposite. Dark and gloom reflected the crystalline surface of the water. Rings bobbing outwards onto the sides of the glass as the wind pounded against the walls. Yes. But he could be content with his thoughts. Entertainment in the cold world. Nothing else warmed him up better than his fantasies. It helped him continue and live. It helped him bear the world, and endure. Time passed fast while he thought. From the morning into the evening. But an hour with his thoughts would help him any day. To sink into his mind and think about the world. It made him happy.

The old man cooked food and went down the pond. The pit was bigger than he thought. The ring of light extended past the walls and edged into the Abyss. In this area, a pond and a thundering waterfall lay. Boxes of food, gold, and books. But, the old man put them in the basement, making them fester in the dark. During the day, the old man fished. He talked with Osmond and Bernard as they fished with him. He stayed home because of the cold. But, he could peer through the window and see them.

When he couldn't think, he slept in the beds. But soon those grew irritable, and he would try to go outside. He wouldn't though. The wind stung his skin and reminded him further of the snake and its depths. The lines of teeth like rows of houses. Its head was bigger than any island. Hopeless to run as it engulfed ships, ignorant of the destruction. Scales that flashed and blinded the eyes. Then it shone its glitter. The ships would come, and it would destroy.