The Island of the Slaughtered | TDI AU

Funny Dream, Huh?

It was dark... of course it was. Every night it's been the same. Find Ezekiel's body before the time runs out. I waited until I heard the familiar mumbling. I now recognize it matched Ezekiel's classic Canadian accent. But tonight, instead I hear leaves crinkling from behind me. The sharp black softened.

"Ezekiel?" I called out. There was no reply.

This dream was different.

What now?

On the bright side, maybe it'll be exchanged for something better?

I began my walk through the woods, but all I could hear was the crinkle of leaves.

Crunch...

Crunch...

Snap.

I didn't step on a branch. I paused, the crinkling continued for a moment before pausing as well. I glanced behind me and froze.

A shadow of a young girl was silhouetted by the moon light shining through the woodland trees.

She was beautiful.

I stepped again, the figure lit up in the slightest. I stepped again. I could barely make out the face, so I stepped once more.

Lindsay.

Her blonde hair masked her face, but that body was shared by no one else on the island. Lindsay was made for magazines and TV screens, never a dingy camp such as this.

All of a sudden, a raven flew towards her face... then another? More kept flying until she was practically covered in them. Her cloak of feathers shined black, blue, and purple, complimenting the scene with a beautiful scheme.

But I'd rather not stick around.

I turned to run off, but saw Lindsay closer to me now.

The birds were gone... and so was her ability to speak.

Her blue eye had popped out of its socket, hanging on with a muscle connecting to her skull. Blood poured from her eyes, mixed with black eye make-up, as well as from a huge hole in her brain, courtesy of a stick through the head. Her mouth was crudely sewn shut, without a consistent line. One stitch was practically in her nose. Blood could be seen dripping from the holes sewn on either side of her mouth.

Branches decorated her hair and clothing, which had been ripped and torn. Her body looked as if it ached. I stepped back... she just stared.

I ran.

I bolted the other way.

Where's Ezekiel now?

The leaf crinkles followed me.

I stared behind me and caught a glimpse of her hair flowing behind her, revealing a missing ear. She's following in a speed walk, her arms pressed downward, barely moving front and back.

Somehow even in death, she's beautiful.

"Chris..." I heard a whisper.

I looked forward again and stopped in my tracks. I was on the edge of the cliff I made the campers dive off a few days ago.

A smile itches on her face... well as much as the stitches will let her.

"Chris..."

I closed my eyes before jumping off the edge. It's just a dream, what could go wrong? As I kept falling, I wondered when I'd stop. Was this jump this long in real life? I was inches from the waters when I woke up with a gasp.

I don't know how much more my heart can take of this kind of thing. As much as I like to pretend I'm younger, I'm not 20 anymore. I gripped my beating heart as I called Chef. He's the only one I can trust with this kind of thing. The phone rang a couple times before he picked up.

"What now, Chris?" He answered.

"I've been having these weird dreams man..."

"I'm not your therapist, figure it out yourself."

"No Chef, about the kids!"

"You mean the ones you left stranded on an island hundreds of miles from civilization? Wow, that's surprising."

"No dude look, at first it was a repeating dream of Ezekiel, which made sense, right? We saw how Ezekiel died! But last night, it was about Lindsay..."

"The blonde?"

"Yes! It has to mean something, right?"

"Maybe it's a sign to actually go help the kids...?"

"You know I can't do that..."

"Bye, Chris."

"Wait no-!" Before I could finish Chef hung up on me.

Great... now what?