Jack Hawkins and the Faery Prophecies

A Circle in a Cave

- A Circle in a Cave

Where am I? Wondered Jack as he looked around the old ruins, not knowing if he was dead or only dreaming. All around him stood great big stone pillars. So high they went, that the tops of which could not be seen, for they just disappeared into the fast darkness above him. They were thick and richly sculptured and there were thousands of them both ahead of him and behind. They stood silent and proud, all neatly aligned in straight rows. It seemed to Jack that they had no end, as he walked and walked aimlessly past them. Perhaps, they did not even have a beginning.

This place could not be real he thought. No one could build such things. No one would build such things. At the start and for a while there after, they amazed and astonished him but by now, as they went on and on and on, they were beginning to bore him. It was not that he was not afraid of the strange surroundings. They did not frighten him, for he was sure none of it was real but he was beginning to lose his patience.

He slapped himself in the face, pinched himself in the arm and even ran full smack into a stone pillar, none of which had the desired effect of waking him up. He was about to just sit down and give up entirely when strangely the pillars on either side of him slowly began to move. Great big thick ancient stone pillars just began to move as if on an invisible conveyor belt. What was happening?

"Now I know I'm dreaming!" Whispered Jack, rolling his eyes at the peculiarity of the situation.

It was only when the moving pillars began to speed up rapidly that he looked down and realised that it was in fact not the pillars that were moving but the very ground below his bloodied and shoeless feet. And then he gasped in horror as he began to remember step by step what had happened to him, the finding of the dead body in the old shed, the chase through the wood, his good friend Daniel being pushed over into the quarry and his own fall into darkness as the smiling killer looked on.

Now he was afraid. Perhaps I am dead he thought momentarily, as the floor began to slow down considerably and ahead of him, the familiar path of nothingness and stone pillars began to change to that of a great big set of steps in the distance upon which in the middle stood motionless a unknown figure glaring. Jack's instant fear grew quickly to comfort as the quicker the floor moved toward the steps then the sooner he realised that the figure was none other than his very own mother!

"Jack!" She cried out as she outstretched her arms towards his direction.

"Come back Jack, come back to me my only son." She shouted full of emotion and tears.

"I'm coming mum! I'm coming!" Jack shouted back, as he began to run determinedly towards his mother and her outstretched arms.

He was almost upon her. He could almost touch her and yet he could not for as soon as his hands should have reached her the steps began to move back away from Jack and every time he would run harder and reach them they would only move faster.

"Run Jack, Run!" Shouted his mother.

"Come to me!" She declared, terrified and panicked!

"I'm trying Mother, I'm trying." Shouted Jack back, as he with full force and effort tried to reach his mother but no matter how hard he tried it was no good, for every step he moved forward then she appeared two steps further away.

"JACK! JACK! JACK MY SON!!" She cried as she began to fade and fade from Jack's view entirely!

"Mother come back!" Shouted Jack, who never stopped running towards her until she disappeared from his eyes entirely! When that happened he fell to his knees and simply began to cry and sob uncontrollably. She was gone and he was alone.