Wisteria

Chapter IX

Trees were zooming past me. My muscles hurt and ached but I couldn't stop running. I couldn't. I had to get away. I couldn't look back, I knew he was there, and I was losing ground.

In front of me, another came from the brush. This one was smaller but much faster. I didn't have a choice; I grabbed a wist and pitched it like a baseball at the ominous figures. On impact it blew like a small grenade and released a cloud of green dust.

zshoop. BANG! CRASH!

Two more small wists came hurdling through the thick lime-colored smoke. I leaned to the side in anticipation for the blow but it never came. Suddenly a splitting pain hit my left elbow like a semi-truck. The near-unbearable burning slowly crept up my bicep as I looked behind me. One perfect spherical tunnel led through the tree protecting my flank. The other was less than perfect but just as deadly accurate in where I'd been standing moments before.

I pushed myself to a sprint, my eyes scanning for anything of use. Finally I saw a small den in the valley carved out by the smallest of streams. I lunged to the side, just missing more deadly wists, into the miniature ravine. I all but tumbled down the slope to the bottom near the creek where another harshly armed sphere sizzled as it hit the water.

I leapt into a small encasement of stone that led to a deeper cave, but I only needed the opening. I crushed my own wist into my thumb and forefinger and sprinkled the resulting powder over all exposed rock of the opening. It grew. Before long, it was impossible to tell there was ever an opening or that there was anyone inside.

I was confident in my plan and slightly proud that I pulled it off. Until I heard the sound.

It was low at first and I assumed it was outside. But as it grew, panic settled over me.

Hooded figures? Or unknown beast? Hooded figures? Or unknown beast?
Unknown beast.

I lit a small flame hovering above my right should. It was a misshapen thing with one eye larger than the other. It had black feathers but only on its head. The rest of it was purple and green. It had wings and four legs, it's front right leg being largest. Its ears stood up, like that of a husky dog. and its build was similar to that of an ape or gorilla. Its fur was leopard patterned and it was by far the weirdest thing I had ever seen. But, it didn't seem particularly malicious.

Then it started screaming.

It was the worst sound you could ever hear I tried to cover my ears but the sound only got louder. I heard footsteps outside and I knew what had happened. They found me. The stone barrier between me and the outside crumbled and broke but I was already crawling down the tunnel as fast as I could. It was much lighter now as my flimsy floating fire burned out and light came from the entrance and I saw what I was coming upon: a dead end.

I got as far down as I could and sat until the ground crashed from beneath me. I was trapped. The figures closed in upon the hole where I sat, lifted their coverings and jumped down into the pit. One was a boy with loose brown curls who appeared to be about my age. The other was a woman with straight black hair and heavy makeup, it only took a few moments before I recognized her. Cenchessa. "Howdy kid," she said as she raised her fist.

Then everything went dark.

🌀🌀🌀

I woke up in a frenzy. I kicked the comforter off of me and silently flew to my feet on reflex.

It was still dark outside and their was no moon or stars but I could feel their presence behind the clouds.

I looked at the clock. 2:31 am.
Ugggggg...

I pulled out my sketchbook and drew what I had just vividly dreamt. It was almost totally dark with the exception of the digital clock light but I still drew the valley, the man and the creature. I didn't need to draw Cenchessa. Her features were still seared into my consciousness.

The moon peaked out from behind a cirrus cloud and violently streamed through the window, asserting its presence onto the dark room. When the kissed my left hand in a graceful dance, I felt a tingling in my index finger. The moon was calling me, urging me to follow its lead. I stood up. And as silently as I had leapt from my nightmare before, I got up, pushed open the heavy door, and began down the corridor.

One of the walls was nearly all windows, so it was easy to follow the instructing splendor of the light.

When I was small, I often amused myself by walking behind others unnoticed and I quickly learned to walk without a sound and how to muffle door openings and closings. I didn't sleep much despite the beliefs of my parents.

I was guided to the staircase where instead of the one direction I found familiar, the moonlight streaming through the glass mosaic pulled me upwards.

I ascended the spiral in complete silence. I had no idea what I was getting into, I just knew I had to go on so I kept quiet. Finally the staircase opened into a wide room with nothing noticeable but the windows that hung above the front entrance. The angle of the roof outside matched that of the ceiling, so I assumed I was at the highest point of the main building.

The moon called me forward to the glass and all the guiding sensations stopped as I reached my destination. I looked down at the front courtyard and my eyes widened in amazement. When the moonlight was hitting the dewey lily pad trees a rainbow sprouted and bent perfectly upon the other trees until all the pond lilies were painted spectacular shades of every color imaginable. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. Then it started to rain. Tiny diamond crystals of shimmering color began to fall upon the scene, capturing and enhancing all the beauty.

Then I looked closer and saw the last thing I wanted to see. The boy from my dream.

He came running out the front doors and down the left path until he disappeared from sight.

He's headed toward the tunnel...

I turned around and went back downstairs to my dorm as quickly as possible to work on my drawing of the man. I wasn't the best artist, but maybe it could help.