Dreamwalker

The Uncharted Dreamscape.

Every cell in my body tingles as I pass through the portal. Heart racing and ears ringing, I land on the other side, sore and gasping for breath.

I focus on my aching limbs, and tell them to shut up, its a dream, they shouldn't be hurting. The pain leaves and I stand up, brushing my pants off and taking in my surroundings.

"Well...this is not what I was expecting." I'm not sure what exactly I had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't a forest. And a dark forest at that.

I'm standing on spongy loam, roots stretch out over the ground like long crooked fingers, bony knuckles poking up out of the leaves, waiting to trip their unsuspecting victims. The trees themselves are dark and bare, somehow blocking the light out without the use of leaves. As I pear up at the bent, naked branches, I wonder if there even is any light to block out.

I return my gaze to the forest floor, and notice that a thick mist now envelopes the forest floor, blocking the intrusive roots, and my legs, from my sight. That is going to make maneuvering the forest floor much harder.

I close my eyes, and imagine a way through the forest, a guide to show me where to step, and some light wouldn't be bad either.

I open my eyes when I hear a small sound, like a small flute softly playing a single note. I smile as I see a little blue light, hovering a few feet in front of me. It flits closer towards me, repeating the sound.

"You're my guide, and my light too I see. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess things work differently here. Alright, show me the way out of this forest."The small wisp pulsed once, and then began to move through the trees, zig-zagging slightly to find the best path.

I follow without hesitation, walking confidently forward, following the wisp through the forest.

It leads me on a seemingly random course, but soon I can see the trees thinning, and the forest is steadily growing lighter. A soft, white glow, that I rightfully assume is moonlight.

At the edge of the forest, the wisp stops and waits for me, cooing softly. I smile and hold up my hand, palm facing up. The wisp trills in a slightly higher pitch, and zips over to my hand, rubbing against my palm lightly.

"Hey," I say with a small laugh, "that tickles." The wisp seems content to just hover a few centimeters above my palm, glowing and cooing happily. "I should give you a name..." The wisp floats up in front of my face and pulses rapidly. "It's a bit cliche, but how about Flicker?"

Flicker, as I named her, trilled and flew around my head excitedly, weaving through my hair and around my torso. I laugh and hold my hand up again, calling her to come to a stop on my palm.

"Shhh, we don't know who else is lurking around in here. There could be Wraiths nearby." Flicker's pale blue glow turned red briefly, followed by angry sounding trills. I tap her lightly with my index finger, calming her down. "Calm down, we don't want to let them know where we are."

Her light turned blue once again, and she cooed softly. I glance around, trying to see through the thick fog. "Where do we go from here?" I murmur, taking a hesitant step forward, then turning in a slow circle. "How am I supposed to find Jeremy when I can't even see where I'm going?"

Flicker flies right up in my face and trills excitedly. I pull my head back slightly and hold up my hand. "Whoa, calm down." She reacted to Jeremy's name, is it possible he sent her? "Do you know Jeremy?"

Flicker coos lovingly, and then zips a few feet into the fog before returning to me and cooing again.

"Do you know where he is?" I ask excitedly, Flicker repeats the motion, and waits for me in the fog. I follow her, enveloped by the fog, I soon grow cold and damp. With a deep breath I create a warm air bubble around myself and Flicker, protecting us from the damp of the fog.