Mr. Misty-Eyed | Josh Dun

dream sequence | twenty-eight

A chill shook my body to the core. The ice and snow that surrounded me looked dull and grey as though dirtied boots had walked across it too many times. But there were no footprints. There was nothing.

My legs burned as I tried to stand, but instantly my knees buckled and my body dropped back down the ground. An exasperated breath left my lips as I turned my face toward the sky. The pitch black atmosphere was back and all I could make out was the jagged edges of tree branches that reached upward in search of their own escape.

I made a move to stand once again and yet I couldn't. An invisible weight held me down against the freezing ground and with no other way to run I began to crawl across the forest floor.

My fingers grasped at ice chunks as I drug myself along. It felt like I had two-ton bricks tied to my legs, but I forced myself onward. I let out a silent gasp as my hand reached out again and touch something that wasn't snow. The fabric was soft and wool like and as my fears began to grow I realized exactly what it was.

I gripped tightly onto the end of the scarf and pulled, but it seemed as though the material was caught on something. I tugged harder finally being able to pull myself into a crouched position. My hands shook as I used the scarf as a sort of lead, the tension in it pulling me toward an unknown direction.

As I continued to reach out and grab at the material it started to unravel, string after string falling apart until I was holding on to only one thin thread. My fingers curled around it and tugged on it, but it became taut. I stood on shaky legs and leaned back slightly to give myself more leverage and with one final pull the string snapped off whatever it had been caught on.

My eyes squinted and I fell back with a loud yell, a bright blue light blinding my vision. Smoke began to fill my lungs and I coughed back the fumes as I backed away from the detonated flare.

The smoke that came from the source of light wafted through the trees, entangling itself in the branches. I wasn't sure if I should be afraid of it, but the warmth that radiated off of the light had me moving back toward it.

It was the only source of security I had in this horrible place. Without it I'd be blind to the dangers that lurked around every tree. My breathing began to accelerate as I stared into the harsh glow. It dimmed slightly and I rushed towards the light as it began to fizzle out just as quickly as it started.

I didn't want to face the darkest again, not yet, but it was too late. As I fell to the icy ground in front of it, the light and its warmth lessened until everything was once again coated in black.

.