Dream Walker

Chapter 14 | A Whole New World

Callie had never understood just how vivid her dreamscapes were until she was awake and trapped inside the real thing. The maze looked exactly as it had in her dreams, from the yellowed grass to the unnatural purple sky. She could see the same prickly thorns peeking out from behind the rotted leaves covering the surface of the hedges. Her heart was pounding furiously and the rush of blood in her ears had dampened the sounds of the piercing screams. Just like in her dreams, the screams were distant but clear.

Though she was almost sure she was awake, she decided to make sure. She pinched the skin above her elbows, touched her thumbs to each finger, and quietly recited the alphabet. She seemed to be awake, though having excellent control over her actions in dreams wasn't unusual for her. Callie looked around, hoping she might find a way back to where she'd been before. How was it possible she'd gone from a festival with her friends into a nightmare?

There was nothing much to see along the passage. Hedge walls were along either side, while the path extended in two directions. She didn't want to leave that spot, just in case she could find a way to go back to her world. However, the sound of footsteps running across the dry grass appeared and then grew louder. Something was moving toward her—fast. She turned away from the incoming noise and began running. The path quickly twisted in different directions, and she could no longer keep track of her turns.

The footsteps continued to chase her, louder with each moment. As fast as she was running, it was running faster. Her arms pumped, her legs burned, and her lungs were desperately trying to keep up. Callie could run just fine, but she had never pushed herself that hard. She'd never had to run for her life before.

She made the mistake of looking behind her, intending to take a brief glance to see how close it was to overtaking her. Though it was dark and her vision was blurred from sweat, there was no mistaking the horrifying creature. She had seen one like it before, but it had been years, and she had started to believe some of the features she remembered were just her imagination.

It ran on four legs and had a head reminiscent of a jackal, but the dog-like resemblance ended there. Its massive body was hairless, and its long legs rippled with muscles. The long claws emerging from its toes gripped and tore the grass with every stride.

Callie's gaze whipped back to the front as she felt her foot catch on something along the ground. A thick vine had emerged from the bottom of the hedge to her left and snaked across her path. If the maze itself was going to interfere with her chances of survival, she was in deep shit.

Her worries became a moot point when her next turn resulted in a dead end. Before she could double back to take another route, the creature rounded the turn. It slowed its pace, satisfied that its prey was trapped. Its eyes glowed yellow in the darkness. Her brain whirred, trying to find a way out as the creature stalked toward her.

It suddenly stopped and cocked its head as if it were listening to something. The luminescence of the eyes dulled momentarily, then returned as it focused on her again. It bared its teeth, dripping with saliva, and slunk forward. She braced for its attack, doubting her limited knowledge of self defense would work against something with teeth and claws that could shred her to bits.

Instead of pouncing on her, it approached slowly, growling a warning. Callie remained frozen in place. She worried a sudden movement would startle it into action. It circled around behind her, not touching but close enough to make running away impossible. Its large head knocked into her back, and she let out an involuntary shriek. She stumbled forward from the momentum of its push and nearly fell.

When she had righted herself, she saw the creature standing by her side. It looked directly at her face, but didn't quite make eye contact. It began to walk away from the dead end in which they were trapped, and Callie nearly sobbed with relief. When it flicked her legs with its long slim tail and looked back over its shoulder, she realized it meant for her to follow. As ironic as it was that some monstrous dog-like creature was telling her to heel, it also showed a higher level of intelligence and communication skills than she had expected.