Our Creators

Chapter Two

Austin's POV

There were trees everywhere, encircling me as I was stood in the middle. I looked up at the sky, not a cloud in sight and the sun shining down on me. To my right there was a small patch of red tulips, one of my favourite. I slowly walked over to them, allowing my fingers to lightly glaze over their petals. It was not uncommon for me to have dreams like this. I believed that it was my brain showing me some awareness of the outside world. I knelt down by one of the flowers, took the head between two of my fingers and plucked it from its stem. I brought it up to my nose and gave it a sniff. I smiled and closed my eyes for a moment.

When I opened my eyes, things were now dark. The sky was now flooded with dark storm clouds and the wind was starting to pick up. I dropped the tulip to the ground, wrapping my arms around my body. I jogged into the forest to the left of me, hoping to be shielded from the wind. As the wind got stronger, it only urged me to run faster. I had no idea where I was headed, but I was hoping somewhere better. I thought maybe I could run myself into a better dream. This place was usually my safe haven. It was the place I knew I could come to in my dreams that held no responsibilities.

I ran and ran until I approached another clearing in the trees. Except this one was different. This time the grass was all burnt and barren in places. I came to a halt on the edge of the clearing. The wind had finally decided to stop. I was thankful for that, however, now I was surrounded by an eerie silence. Something in the middle of the field caught my eye and I hesitantly walked over to it. Once in the close proximity, my brain started to register just what it was.

A single brown feather.

Alan's POV

I tossed and turned in my bed. In the recent weeks, I have had troubles sleeping. The doctors had said it was just a side effect of the new medication they put me on, but jeez what I would do to get a night of uninterrupted sleep. I rolled over onto my back, pulling the duvet up to my chin trying my hardest to go back to sleep.

After what felt like forever, I found myself drifting back to sleep. A very visual dream appeared in my head. There were tall, evergreen trees all around. The sky was dark and the occasional drop of rain would fall on my face. I looked around. This dream felt different than the normal, meaningless dreams I have every night. I walked farther into the trees, hoping to draw some conclusions about where I was. As soon as I reached a brief gap in the tree line it hit me where I was.

This wasn't my dream.

I rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hands to get a clearer picture of what was right in front of me. In the center of a dry and barren field was Austin. I could recognize that figure anywhere. I stayed locked in place, too afraid to move. I had promised myself that I would never enter another person's dream unless the situation was dire. I squinted my eyes in his direction trying to get a better look at what he was doing. His back was to me so I couldn't see much, but I saw a single brown feather lying on the ground right in front of him. It was really hard to miss, it was almost like it had some strange aura to it that made it stand out.

I watched as Austin knelt down to pick up and feather. When he stood up again, the feather was gone and there was a circle of darkness now surrounding him. Involuntarily, I took a few steps forward. As I got closer to Austin I noticed that it wasn't just darkness, but blood. I took one step back hoping to steady myself, however, my foot stepped on a small branch and it cracked. This sudden noise made Austin turn around. I froze in place, my eyes fixated on his.

"Alan, what are you doing here?" His voice oddly calm.

"I-I...." I stuttered trying to grasp at the right words.

He started walking closer to me and I was still frozen in place. As he got closer, I started to notice more distinguishing features about him. His hair was nicely styled upwards, his clothes were neatly pressed. As I moved my eyes along his body, my gaze stopped at his hands that once were outstretched in front of him. They were covered in blood.