Break The Cycle

midnight ambush

chapter one
rewritten
~

The dream always seems to begin the same.

You don't see much at first; in an black abyss of darkness, all that is visible is a few green symbols. Some are shaped like spirals, some like ancient runes, some entirely unfamiliar. Almost like a warning for the same repetitive visions that follow them.

But then - as always - it shifts.

Now, you're in a different place, walking throughout a cave. Luckily, you're not alone. If any harm should befall you, the male slightly in front would surely come to your aid. You've never been able to catch a glimpse his face before, only the outline of his wild hair, and the torch he holds before him. The floor seems to become more unstable with every footstep, even to the point of strong tremors and the sound of cracks spreading.

You can see the cracks now, the floor beneath you starts to shake more. Out of surprise, you clutch onto your torch as if its the only thing keeping you safe in this moment. Stumbling backwards, your foot lands right onto a crack, causing the floor in that spot to crumble and fall away. The lack of a stable surface to stand on catches you by surprise, and you slip backwards, only to be met with an abyss. You fall, and feel the panic. The torch slips from your hand, flames dangerously close to your body as you and it begin descending into darkness.

Panic. Panic fills you up, starting in your chest and the pit of your stomach, then spreading throughout your entire body. Now you can't breathe, your head is spinning, but it's okay. It's okay, you tell yourself, because you're going to wake up before you end up in any real danger, right? No-one ever dies in their dreams, right? Right?

Wrong.

The dream seems to reverse, reverting to moments before the fall, but this time cracks never form. You, too, have your position reversed - it's back to walking, gripping the torch hard in confusion and shaking your head. You imagined the fall, and the cracks, and the tremors. It all must just be the nerves.

You continue on, reaching a set of rusted double doors, one slightly off its hinge, the other wide open. You step towards them, but the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and all of a sudden the suffocation is back and you can't move but you have to run because no-one's going to save you and there's something - or someone - dangerous behind those doors who could hurt you but the fears won't stop and your brain is racing with all of these irrational thoughts that won't end but then-

But then what? Normally, you would have already awoken from your slumber, drenched in a cold sweat, but this time... it feels different. There's another cracking noise, but as your eyes dart across the floor, looking for the source, you realise it's coming from somewhere else this time. It's coming from behind the doors, and it's only now you notice a glow emanating from the room they lead to.

Swallowing your fear, you step forward, into the belly of the beast where the sound came from. You see the source of the light, but not the source of the sound. A long, thin strip hangs down onto a badly bent shadow, which you struggle to recognise. Though you want to know more, you feel unease in the pit of your stomach.

The light of your torch extinguishes. There is no wind down here, so what could have caused that to happen? Part of the shadow moves. A limb, perhaps - a hand - suddenly moves, dirt falling from it. Could this shadow be a person? A body? You can't see any more human features, however, for the room is only illuminated by the pale, thin light.

The limb moves again, this time more, and you back away from where you stand. Your traveling companion places his arm before you, standing between the creature and you. You've nothing to fear though. You cannot die in your dream.