Gehenna: An Awakening

Chapter 2

 Will hated nightmares. He hated them almost as much as he loved dreams. In dreams, he could escape, free himself from the problems that life had handed him. And the best part: He controlled them. He had become a master at lucid dreaming, allowing himself to be conscious of his dreams while within them. He could control anything, and he did everything imaginable. He flew, created worlds, formed real relationships, destroyed buildings, and so much more. He was truly free of everything, and there was a new journey awaiting for him every time.

Except for his nightmares.

Will's nightmares were strange. Whenever they happened, he was still conscious in his dream, able to comprehend that he was indeed in a nightmare. But that was it. Beyond that, he lost all control of everything. He would literally lose his mind. It didn't happen too often, but it occurred enough to be noticeable, and Will wanted nothing more than for it to stop.

Often times, the simple formula of the nightmare remained the same: Something was trying to kill him, and usually it succeeded. What haunted him ranged from a simple person to the most distorted and disgusting creature Will had ever seen. And every single time, its eyes glowed a deep blue. It always acted so distraught, so despearte, like it wanted more than just to kill Will, like there was some higher motivation.

However, tonight was different. Tonight something new happened, something that caught Will off guard. As per usual, he was enjoying his dream, feeling free. He slammed into a city street, after having just jumped a mile into the air. The ground cracked beneath his feet, and a rush of excitement flowed through him. This felt good, really good. He finally had power, control.

And then it was all gone. Without warning, the world grew completely dark. This was usually how it went, so Will simply sighed. It had finally gotten to the point where Will wasn't afraid anymore. He crossed his arms, waiting for the inevitable end.

And he kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

Alright. Will thought to himself. This is odd. Usually it would've ended by now. What was it waiting for? Did it want Will to be afraid? Or was it just toying with him, playing with his expectations? Panic settled in, but Will quickly suppressed it. He was in a dream. Regardless of what happened to his dream self, his normal self was completely safe.

Will looked for those unmistakable blue eyes, shining in an otherwise ocean of pitch black. But there was nothing. Will was just... alone.

Had he never lost control of his dream? He attempted to banish the darkness, bring back the city he was exploring, but his environment remained the same.

He stomped angrily, only to flail around when he realized there was no ground beneath him. He was... just floating there. Was he even in a dream anymore? No, he had to be. There was no other explanation.

Then, just like that, Will was in a room. It was roughly rectangular, with rounded edges, and no way out. The ground below him was a brown sand. The walls were what caught Will's eye though. Etched all over them, in a uniform pattern, were symbols, all depicting the same thing. It was a circle, with a hammer pointed diagonally. The hammer never left the confines of the circle, only flirting with the edge.

Where the hell am I?

"Good," A voice emanated throughout the small room. Will whipped around, trying to find out where the source of the voice came from, but the voice rang all around Will, as If there was no starting point. "You're evaluating your surroundings."

Still, there seemed to be no source to this voice. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"And you're a curious one. Even better. Look, I don't have long. In fact, my time is incredibly limited. I have spent a very long time trying to make contact with you, but only now have I done it with my sanity intact,"