The Cobblestone Bridge (ON HOLD)

Prolouge

His dreams were silent. His nightmares were quiet. There was no noise, no sounds, just silence. In his dreams he experienced the life of a deaf man even though he was never deaf in the real world.

Tonight’s dream was silent just like any other of his dreams. A creek flowed under a quaint looking cobblestone bridge. Everything looked peaceful until two adults, one male and one female, and a child, swaddled in a soft pastel green blanket, frantically ran across the quiet scene.

By the looks of it they were being chased, and the dreadful look of fear over their faces told that whoever or whatever was chasing them had to be quite terrifying. The man and the woman stopped for a second on the bridge and turned to one another. He saw tears shed and could almost read the lips of the two before they engaged in a passionate kiss and the woman departed by running down the winding path ahead of her.

The man was gentle looking and had chocolate brown hair with warm light brown eyes. The man’s eyes lingered on the fleeing woman for a few moments before he turned around bravely to face whatever was chasing them. Heavy tears ran down the face of the woman as she ran with the child in her arms. Her hair was a light shade of blond and her eyes were a brilliant blue like the ocean on a sunny day.

He could feel the air around him get colder and turned his attention back to the man on the cobblestone bridge just as a dark ominous figure came out of the forest that was shrouded in darkness. The only facial features that could be seen of the towering dark figure was the vibrant almost glowing green eyes under the midnight hood of his robes. The man stood his ground with a mixture of anger and determination painted over his face.

“Cadmus” A voice rang out in his head. It wasn’t from the dream itself, it was from reality, from the world of the conscious.

“Not yet.” He thought.

It seemed that the man was speaking with the mysterious creature. It looked like they were yelling at each other. Cadmus felt nervous. He knew what would happen next. He had seen the dream before, many times in fact. He tightly shut his eyes and opened them a second later to see that the deed had been done. The man that once stood in the way of the creature was now reduced to a harmless pile of ash on the ground. The creature swept past the dust mound, over the bridge, and after the woman and her child.

“Cadmus!” The voice was more commanding this time and sounded a bit nervous.

“Not Yet!” Cadmus urged in his own thoughts. “I need more time! I don’t understand this and I just need more time!”

The woman was approaching an old yellow house with peeling paint and a weed-filled yard. He could only guess that it was some sort of crude safe house from the creature that was chasing them. The dark creature was rapidly catching up with the mother and her child. Panic was rising at a tremendous rate. Cadmus had never made it this far in the dream before and was entering unknown territory. She ran to the front door of the shabby home and tried the door. It didn’t budge. The creature drew closer and began to pull his hood off.

“CADMUS!” The nightmare snapped into darkness and Cadmus sprang from his bed to meet his concerned friend with raven black hair.

“Damon, no! I was so close to seeing who it was! He was just about to take off his hood then you woke me up!” Damon’s hands were on his shoulders and his deep blue eyes stared directly into Cadmus’ acid green ones.

“Cadmus just look at yourself! You’re drenched in sweat, breathing like you just ran a marathon, and obsessing over a stupid dream!” Damon let go of his friend and Cadmus ran a hand through his sweat soaked blonde hair.

Damon sighed, “I know this dream has been haunting you for a long time, but you need to let it go. It’s not healthy for you to keep obsessing about it.”

“Everyone tells me that I’m too worked up about my dreams. You, Headmaster Easton, the Adonis twins, even Kelly and Megan agree.”

“Cadmus they’re just dreams. They don’t mean anything.”

“They do, Damon! I’ve had them my whole life and I know they mean something! I can feel it.”

“I know it’s difficult but we start our second year tomorrow and you don’t need sleep deprivation on the first day.” Cadmus rummaged through his duffel bag and grabbed a towel as well as a set of fresh clothes.

“I’m going to take a shower and clear my head.”

“There’s no way you’ll sneak into the communal showers at this hour. Headmaster Easton kindly allowed us to come early and I’m sure he would not enjoy you breaking the rules before the year even starts.” Cadmus opened the window the window of the empty Verom dorms and stood on the window sill.

“Who said I was going to the communal showers?” Cadmus leaned out of the window and let himself fall.

“CADMUS NO!” Damon ran to the window his friend had jumped out of and stuck his head out. Moments before Cadmus hit the ground he allowed his wings to materialize out of thin air and catch the wind jerking him up and letting him glide forward. His wings took the shape of eagle wings and Cadmus started his way off towards the forest.

“Cadmus!? Where do you think you’re going!? It’s a school night!” Damon shouted.

“To the enchanted waterfall of course! Where else would I go? By the way you sound too much like your parents!” He said playfully.

Cadmus soared in the night sky towards his destination while breathing in the cool air. After spotting the waterfall, Cadmus slowly descended and made contact with the ground. He hid his wings and indulged in the fresh air.

Cadmus had never actually been to the enchanted waterfall before, but only heard of it during his first year. Rumors were told of the water that flowed from the falls could rejuvenate lost memories and possibly dreams. Now was the perfect time for Cadmus to find out if those tales were true.

Looking around, Cadmus could feel a little recognition bubble in the back of his mind, but soon turned his attention to the glossy pool of water at the base of the falls. He simply stared for a few moments before venturing closer to the crystal like water. Dipping just his toes in the cold water, Cadmus felt absolutely….