Max Briggs found himself back in the cavern standing before the earthen bridge, the urge to get that emerald on the other side was still scratching at the back of his consciousness. He saw the bright, beryl gem gleaming seductively at him from the other side and he could not resist, he started to walk carefully, one foot in front of the other. He looked over the edge, only blackness looked back. He continued to saunter across the bridge, the light from the torches split his shadow in every direction.
Max wasn't sure if it was the flickering torchlight playing tricks on him, but he thought he saw a winged shadow swoop past on his left. He shook his head and chalked it up to nerves. He continued to make his way across the bridge when he ran into an unseen barrier. As he watched a dark, shadowy reflection of himself stared back at him. The figure standing in front of him was six foot tall, dark haired and lean, the same in every way save one, it was translucent and dark like a shadow in the failing light of dusk. He waved his arm, right to left, the reflection mimicked him.
He reached out to touch his doppelganger, or what ever it was. As his hand met with the reflection it sent an electric shock through him, slight, like he grabbed the wires of an electric fence. All the hair on his body stood at attention. Just as he removed his hand he heard the sound of shattering glass echoing all around him and the tinkling sound of a million tiny shards of glass cascading to the ground as an almost imperceptible pane of glass broke like someone punched through it.
Now, Standing in front of him was a tall black knight in a full suit of armor. The armor was unlike any Max had ever seen. It was form fitting, covered every inch of his not insubstantial frame. The full face helmet, glossy black visor and corrugated mouth piece all gave Max the impression of a futuristic space man more then a knight. A chalky, looking white skull roughly painted on front, the only color on the otherwise colorless visage. The armor was black, no not black but the pure lack of light, no reflection, no gloss, save for the beady visor, as if it was made of pure darkness and evil.
The evil, ebony knight just stood there, Max could feel the thing staring at him, into his very soul. It reach over it's left shoulder, gripped a long handle that extended upwards and unveiled the biggest double handed sword he had ever seen. Max was shocked, he had no idea what to do, he felt that helplessness spreading like a tingling in the back of his mind, it bathed him in doubt. He needed to think quickly. The knight just stood there stark still, only the rising and falling of his shoulders distinguished it from a statue.
Max thought back to his time in the military, he had been an Army Ranger and had some hand to hand combat experience, but he didn't think that would help him against this goliath. He began to wish he had some armor and swords of his own, that would help him out now. He knew he could use them, after his release from the institution, he had taken handheld weapons classes, and had really taken a liking to his training, it kept him occupied. He really wished he was more prepared for this encounter. Suddenly he felt as if a weight had been placed on his shoulders, not metaphorically, but literally. He glanced down and found he was now wearing an exact opposite suit of armor from the dark figure looming over him. It was a luminous, shimmering, silver, almost white, the mask painted with a black skull. He bounced a little and moved around a bit to get a feel for it and found it to be light weight and exquisitely articulated. Instinctively Max reach over his shoulder to find a pair of swords oriented in an x shape across his back.
He drew the swords and looked them over, expecting at any second to be attacked. The swords were Japanese style katana blades with ornate carved tangs and long, red rope wrapped handles. The top half of the blade was engraved with some iridescent black lettering he did not recognize, the lettering then spiraled down the remaining portion of the blades, all the way to the tangs. The swords were identical in every way. He then assumed an attack stances and waited for the inevitable attack.
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Another part down on paper (well, on screen?). How do you ppl feel about it? Let me know. I think after the next chapter I may leave some personal info so let me know what u might want to know. As always thanks for reading!
-coreyfuchs
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Dream Therapy
General Fiction"Dreams have always expanded our understanding of reality by challenging our boundaries of the real, of the possible." -Henry Reed Ex-army Ranger Max was angry and depressed. Mental illness plagued him. Now he's stuck inside his own dreams with only...
