DREAM WALKER

CHAPTER 1: WHERE AM I?

  Come on, you can do this." The words echoed through my head as I walked along the street towards the castle. This is a dream, it's not real, I reminded myself. It wasn't easy though, as every time I looked back over my shoulder to check, I felt like something terrible had already happened.

   A sudden sound from behind me made me jump and look around frantically. What could possibly be following me? I had heard stories about these sorts of things happening to people during their journeys through these kinds of worlds but nothing could compare to actually seeing it first hand. In the distance, something moved fast. I quickly turned away from it hoping to put distance between them, but just as I did so another movement caught my eye. There it was again! I started running as fast as my legs would carry me, I was going to lose him if I didn't make it out!. As my feet hit the cobblestones, I saw a small opening ahead. That's where I'd go! If I kept running at full speed, I should be able to reach it in time. I pushed forward and ran into the opening. I landed on my hands and knees inside, panting with relief. Once I had caught my breath, I slowly raised my head and peered outside. It, whatever it was was gone!, hopefully.
 
  I stood up and cautiously stepped out of the hole. Just then I noticed something odd. The ground beneath me was shaking slightly, like someone had kicked it.
"Where am I?" I asked aloud.
"Hello?! Is anyone here?!" A voice came from all around me, it sounded familiar...
"Who's there?!" The voice yelled. I jumped at the sound of it. Who would want to shout like that!? "Come out!" The person continued yelling. I hesitated, what if it was someone dangerous?
"What do you want!?" I demanded.
"You need to leave now."
"Why should I believe that?" I replied.
The voice sighed. "Because the king wants you dead." Before I could ask any more questions the voice stopped speaking and the walls of the narrow cave began to shake violently. I struggled to keep my balance as I was tossed from side to side repeatedly brushing my body against the rough stone walls until eventually I was tossed out of the cave by the turbulence.

  By the time I opened my eyes, I found myself laying on the floor looking up at an upside down sky. Everything around me was dark except for the faint glow emitting from my hands. When I tried to move, however, I realised that I couldn't. Something held my arms above my head, preventing me from moving even an inch. Looking down, I noticed that a thick black rope had wrapped itself around my body, binding my arms together in the most painful way possible. I tried to scream, only for a gush of blood to come rushing out of my nose. My vision began to blur and my mind became fuzzy. Why am I here?. What happened in that cave? and why did that voice say the king wanted me dead?. On and on the questions kept pouring into my mind and in short while I blacked out again.

  Upon waking up,  everything seemed completely different. I no longer felt sore; the ropes were still there but they no longer hurt me. The room I woke up in looked nothing like anything I had seen before. It had two huge double doors which appeared to lead to some sort of tunnel. They were covered with large symbols and intricate patterns, Sigils! Yes, they were Sigils. What kind of world is this? I said to myself.  I looked around the room and spotted a small window near the top of the door. With great effort, I lifted myself onto the windowsill and looked outside. My view revealed a vast field, filled with tall grass and tall trees, with a lake far in the distance. From where I was standing, couldn't see farther than the lake but it didn't take much imagination for me to realize that the lake was a moat. Shit!, this must be the king's castle. This is not good, I have to get out of here. After making sure I wouldn't fall from the window I pulled myself back inside and attempted to open one of the double doors. It didn't budge. I tried harder, using as much force as I could. Still nothing. Panic gripped my heart as I stared at the door and wondered how long I was going to be stuck here. The thought of not being able to see the sunrise or stars made my tears threaten to come flooding. This was not what I wanted! I was supposed to be free! My breathing grew shallower and faster as my chest tightened and I was forced to breathe through my mouth, trying desperately not to hyperventilate. I sat there struggling to calm myself down but it was becoming more difficult. I needed help, I couldn't stay like this any longer!

  Just then something touched my leg. Startled, I jumped and fell backwards onto my ass. A few seconds later, it touched my leg again. I looked down and saw a dog with golden fur lying next to me. Was I dreaming? I looked around the room once more, but there was no other dog besides the dog on my lap. How can I know this isn't a hallucination?! I reached my hand down and lightly scratched it's neck. The dog let out a whine and closed its eyes. That's when I realized that it wasn't asleep. I looked into the dog's eyes, confused. This isn't right! This thing looks exactly like my pet! Could he be one of those dreams? The dog let out another whine and cuddled closer. Maybe it can show me how to get out of here? I smiled and stroked his fur. Suddenly I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. The door began creaking open. A man wearing a bright red cloak peeked his head in and looked around cautiously. His face was masked and he held his sword in both hands. He wore the same clothes as the others but his hood was up and he wore a mask.
"Who are you?" The stranger asked softly. He lowered his sword as he got off the door and approached me.
"I don't know, where am I?" I answered honestly. "How did I end up here?"
"That doesn't matter right now," The stranger told me. "We're wasting time talking about who you are. Now, where's your friend?"
"Friend?" I repeated quietly. "I don't have a-"
He grabbed me roughly by the arm and dragged me out of bed and threw me onto the ground. My head throbbed from the pain as I tried to catch my breath.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I cried as I pushed myself onto all fours. He ignored my question and pointed his sword directly at me.
"If I had my way you never would've left. You're a disgrace to your kingdom. You're weak, useless, stupid! And your friends..." He paused. "They deserve better than you! The friends again, what's with it and these people talking about my friends. I was alone, there was no one but me.
"Look, there's no one but me" I said in desperation. "All of these people you've been talking about are just figments of your imagination. There's only one me, me!"
Suddenly the blade of the sword pierced my shoulder causing me to wince and cry out in pain.
"Stop! Please! Don't kill me! I can prove it!" I begged, terrified.
"Oh really?" The man asked. "Prove it?" He shook his head angrily. "Fine then. I'm not doing anything today." The moment the word 'nothing' escaped his lips, the sword retracted back into its sheath leaving a trail of fresh blood oozing from my wound. I fell to the floor gasping for breath. I clutched my shoulder tightly, attempting to stop the bleeding.

  But all I managed to do was pull out more blood.  "Ahhh" I screamed. I curled up and tried my best to stop myself from crying. Why can't these people let me live? I thought to myself. I closed my eyes and wished that this would all end. After what seemed like a few minutes of him staring at me in my helpless state on the floor, a loud crash came from outside the door.
"What was that?" The man called after hearing the commotion. "Get your things ready, we're leaving." His voice faded away as he left the room. I lay there motionless. I waited for hours for him to return but he never returned. I knew I had to escape as fast as I could but I couldn't stand. I stayed huddled up on the cold, hard floor, refusing to move as long as I could. Eventually exhaustion overwhelmed me and I lost consciousness, drifting into a haze of black nothingness.