The Time Keeper

Chapter 25 - August

I found myself in a state of weightlessness, drifting through a hazy realm that seemed to exist beyond time and space. The surroundings were indistinct, like a watercolour painting fading into the ether. Blurry images flickered before my closed eyes, elusive and ephemeral. Faces, places, and voices merged into a chaotic mosaic, a puzzle I couldn't decipher.

Amidst the confusion, a figure materialized in the misty landscape of my mind. It was a woman, her features indistinct, yet a sense of urgency emanated from her. She leaned over me, her long black hair flowing over me and her mouth moving as if shouting, but the words eluded my comprehension.

"Wa? Uhh?" I strained to comprehend, attempting to decipher the fragmented sounds. Was she telling me to wake up? Was this a dream within a dream?

Confusion clouded my thoughts as I reached out to touch her, to make some sense of the enigma before me. But my hand passed through her as if she were made of mist. She retreated slightly, her form wavering, and her voice growing fainter, as if being carried away by a gust of wind until the dream collapsed.

The strange scene in my mind broke like the same glassy shattering of the chill from the basement moments ago and my eyes jolted awake. The scene around me had shifted, and I found myself lying on a thin mattress in an unfamiliar room again. The air felt stale like the same basement I was in earlier and a flickering light from a solitary bulb cast eerie shadows on the worn walls. Where was I? How had I ended up here?

I sat up slowly, my head still throbbing with residual pain from the strike Pandora had given me. As my eyes adjusted to the room, my only thoughts could go to the strange dream I had just experienced.

Was it merely a dream, or was there something more to it? The recurrence of that mysterious woman and the feeling of familiarity left me unsettled. I had a similar dream many nights ago but this time it was much more vivid. I couldn't shake the sense that it held some significance, somehow a connection to the events unfolding around me.

I knew there was an importance to it but with my pounding head I couldn't think about it for too long or I'll get another headache, I needed to assess my surroundings and find a way out of this place.

As I got up from the mattress, the pain in my stomach reminded me of the encounter with Pandora and how helpless I was at that moment. It felt as though I hadn't been unconscious for long, not only were the memories of her overpowering presence and her distorted voice still clear in my mind but the pain in my head and stomach was still fresh too.

Looking around the room, I took in the worn walls and faded decor. It was a stark contrast to the chaos of the basement. The silence was palpable, broken only by the soft hum of the lightbulb above and murmurs of voices from elsewhere. It seemed that I had been moved to a different location, away from the battleground. Had we gotten some kind of rescue as I had hoped?

With a renewed sense of hope, I approached the door and turned the worn handle. It creaked open, revealing a narrow cobble brick corridor lined with multiple closed doors. The flickering light from the bulb casting eerie shadows along the passageway, heightening the sense of mystery that surrounded this place.

Instinctively, I patted myself down, checking for any belongings I might have lost during the chaos. To my relief, I still wore my Huntsman uniform, albeit dishevelled and stained with dirt and blood. It provided me with a small semblance of familiarity and a reminder of this strange new world.

Ignoring the soreness in my body, I pressed forward, my steps echoing in the empty corridor. The murmurs of distant voices grew louder as I approached a staircase at the end of the hallway. The sound was faint, but distinct enough to catch my attention.