Endless Dream

Part 2

(Non edited)

"I'm Tucker." The boy said drawing his attention elsewhere.

He took his time and introduced everyone in the room. Probably had too much practice for this. He told their age and when they arrived. James was the last to be acknowledged.

"All I know is that those from the ages twelve to twenty are here. We haven't had a lick of food, water, or sleep. We haven't needed it." A concerned look crept onto his face. "I have a feeling that'll change..."

Just as he finished informing the white distance began to peel away. An even more extravagant bleam temporarily blinded the eyes of ever women and man. When the light finally dimmed into a welcoming shimmer. It was surprisingly warm. Everyone took some time to regain their sight. Closing their eyes and rubbing them, blinking obsessively. Time passed and everyone was looking around, circling oneself trying to understanding what had happened. I looked at Tucker. He was eyeing the ground. The white prison had vanished, long yellow grass enveloped our legs, and almost all of the shorter children were buried up to their wastes.
James had been facing North. A forest of bamboo looked back at him. It extended as far as the eye could see, but I suspected it went further.
To the south was another forest, but it was full of evergreens. They stretched as far as the bamboo, who knew how deep it went. A women standing next to me started to question aloud. "This doesn't make sense....a plain, bamboo, and..evergreen? Where are we?"
I looked back at Tucker, he was slowly walking towards the bamboo. "Oi!" I ran after, trying to get his attention. The grass whipped my legs, poking me through my leggings. "HEY! WA-" before I knew it I was face first in the grass. I hadn't realized before, but it was muddy. Small puddles of water were everywhere.

I grunted as I picked myself up. My shirt and bottoms were caked in mud and my shoes, destroyed. Tucker hadn't looked back he kept walking to the bamboo. It was almost like he was a lost puppy wandering around in the unknown, trying to find a home. He turned around once he was inside the first layer of bamboo. He looked at me then his eyes trailed to the others. James was trailing behind me, struggling to move his feet in the thick mud.
Tucker soon realized what was going on.

"HEY! GET TO THE FOREST! NOW!"

Everyone's eyes flew towards him. They became frightened and frozen. What's going on? James caught up with me, I spun around to face him but....something was off. He seemed taller than before....or was I....shorter! I was sinking. The mud wasn't what it seemed. I struggled to pry my feet from the paste that kept me glued. "James! I can't get out!" I panicked, horrible visions of what the outcome might be flashed into my mind. Sweat started to break from my forehead. A too memorable sting burst from my cheek. I stared in shock at James. Had he just slapped me. I held my cheek and looked up at him. His eyes had fire burning within. What had gotten into him? He grabbed my hand and started to run. Mud slinging up. A sucking sound came with each step. He tugged violently on my arm, it felt like it was going to be ripped from it's socket. I heard a small squish coming from my feet. I peered down, my feet were pulled out of my shoes. Mud invaded as my feet escaped. We ran towards Tucker, who was watching the other scurry to the evergreen forest. There was a woman and a small boy left on the horrific flatland. The boy was knee deep and screaming out for his life. The woman next to him made things worse. She pushed down on his shoulder to elevate herself up.

"What a selfish being...waste of a life.." You could hear Tucker mumbling as the two slowly sank.

"What...what was this?! Quicksand?!" James panted as he bent over. The mud was like weights on his feet.

"No. The mub, it's alive." He looked at James and me. "It's like a venus flytrap. Once it senses it's prey it takes action, consumes them..." His black, shining bangs blew in front of his eyes.

"So, we're just going to let them....die.." I couldn't hold back the feeling of disgust. We live and watched others crumble and slowing disappearing from the world! Watching memories of these victims drift away then finally, vanish?! My head swam with thoughts. What about the others, those on the other side?! "Oi-"
I was cut off by sharp words. "No time to worry about them. If we go back we'll die..like the others. Better to just move on."
James looked across the demon disguise as an angle. He didn't want to cross the plain again, he felt egotistical for thinking about himself at a moment like this but it's either life or death, him or them.

The screams of the unfortunate still rang in the air as the small group of three walked deeper into the tightly compacted bamboo forest. It was trouble to get around at first but a trail was revealed further along the way. The sky slowly shifted into bright, vibrant, warm shades of pink and orange.
"Hey...T-Tucker...when you said we'll be needing food soon, what did you mean?"
He showed no evidence that he acknowledged what I had said anything.

"It's a neutral spot. A between worlds. The dream world and reality. That was the role of the white room." He said without looking back. "This place, I'm guessing, is like a trial. If you hadn't noticed, there were the two choices. The peaceful bamboo or the frightful evergreens. Choose wisely." He took a long pause. "We didn't..."

James cut it. "What do you mean?" He squinted his eyes and pushed up his glasses. "We chose...oh, I understand." He looked back at me, his eyes showing regret.

Tucker continued. "It applies to the saying 'never judge a book by it's cover'." He looked back to see if I was catching on. He understood I wasn't processing his explanation. "The bamboo holds dangers as the evergreen is a safe zone. It applies to the plain too. It looked harmless but underneath was a creation of destruction."
I slowly nodded, catching on to what he meant. "So....why were we chosen?"

He didn't answer, letting a long pause seem longer than it truly was. "I don't know.."

"There's one more thing I don't understand."

"Hm."

"Why'd I see you in my dream-"
I was interrupted by James this time.

"He was in my dreams too!" He looked at Tucker, who had stopped, and me.

"I was the first, my job was to warn the rest. Or at least I had the power to."

Tucker started walking again. It was starting to get dark. The bright hues were fading to grey and blue. "Let's make camp now. It'll be dark soon and we won't be able to see."
James and I both nodded.

Tomorrow we see what the waits us inside the forest.

The morning light threatened to make its way through the cracks of the bamboo. The birds chirping their morning song. I heard a small groan beside me, waking up my slumber. I had just realized how hard the ground felt. It's dewy feel left my back wet. My hair had managed to stay in it's original form of a poorly ensembles bun, a few new loose strands had made their appearance. A leaf was plastered on my cheek.
I heard a moan erode from Jame's as he awoke. He sat up yawning and rubbing his eye. Leaves and dirt covered the backside of his, soon to be not, white shirt. His hair took the style of a terribly noticeable bed-head. "James..." A rough whisper escaped my lips. My throat felt a little sore, like I had been coughing all night. He answered me with the same growl as I.

"Jasmine..." His eyes widened as his hands quickly groped his neck. "What's going on?" He croaked.

My gaze left him. Tucker wasn't anywhere in my view. "Where's Tucker," my scratchy voice gave a small hint of fear. Is not that I cared deeply about him or felt any real emotion towards him, but he was our best chance of survival. "Do you think he left us? In our sleep?" I thought about anything he could have stolen. My pockets were un-invaded, along with James'.

"M-maybe he didn't want to carry the excess weight on his shoulders? It's easier to travel alone..sometimes.." He shrugged, his frown clearly showing that he was disappointed.

The bamboo about 2 meters away from James began to rustle. A small, low moan pushed its way towards us, sending chills to go down our backs. James and I look a few steps back as two dead rabbits flew towards us. They landed at our feet in yeh dirt, causing a dust cloud to fog the corpses.

[Randomly stops again ;) ]

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