Memories (Of Dreams and Demons)

Foundations

This is the first rough draft for Chapter 34 - Foundations - plot and action outline, needs polish and to paint the background scene.

I barely manage to catch myself as I lose balance, the hallway tilting violently to the right.

Now forced to one knee, I barely keep myself upright with my right hand, desperately seeking something to hold on to. The whole building, or whatever it is I've dreamt myself within, shifts as if raised by a giant hand.

The ground shakes, a growing rumbling  like an earthquake. The sound of footsteps echoes down the hallway as tile after tile falls, into a darkness beneath that has no bottom. Don't panic, don't lose yourself. Just focus on your balance, find something to hold on to.

Paintings all float about, thousands swirling about, even as my finger rests firmly on the one before me. I can catch the pictures within some of them as they draw close. Scenes of beautiful landscapes, castles, nightmarish beings and unimaginable battles; each individual piece masterpieces of art that must have taken a lifetime to complete.

Yet even as I stare, admire their beauty, the paint within escapes from frame, slips down the walls of the hallway. It flows a surreal mess; streams of paint becomes a flood until it fills my entire head, a million shades of every color beneath the sun.

The chandeliers slowly fall from whatever kept them hanging in frozen suspension, what little light they shone upon the scene fading from memory, the myriad of colors turning grey alongside the banishment of light.

An instant of pitch blackness, then I'm somewhere else.

"Naoko!" I rush, as I stumble back in to the clearing.

A rainbow haze flows away from the edges of my vision, a high-pitched ringing in my ears fades to peace. I clench my jaw, shaking a sharp headache away. It vanishes after a couple of seconds, my sight returning to normal.    

The fire has dimmed, now burning gently away into nothing, its final light a dim glow within black wood. As my hearing returns to normal only the peacefully repetitive sound of frogs and crickets fills my ears, the gentle flow of the distant waterfall barely audible in the distance. I hear, see, smell nothing else.

Naoko slips sideways as her eyes jolt open, instantly awake, where I sat beside her in the painting now but empty air. With nothing to lean on, she catches herself clumsily on the ground, and glares at me. Alia, who had sprawled herself over her shoulder, tumbles into the dirt, coughing and spluttering as she wipes dust and sleep from her sleepy eyes.

"That's not my fault," I rush, my eyes darting about the darkness, seeking the fiery eyes that fell upon us, "sorry!"

She rubs her eyes, "what is it?"

"There's something out there," I rush, "something knows we're here!"

Naoko's eyes narrow, "how do you know that?"

"I just know," I say, "I saw it. We need to get ready!"

"Why don't we just run away?" She asks.

"We can't run," I say, "it's out there. In the darkness, watching, waiting."

Thunder booms in the distance, and Naoko jumps, returning my concerned look.

She frowns at where I stand, her eyes narrowing, "what happened to you?"

"I went somewhere," I say, "I was somewhere. I saw the man of shadow!"

Her eyes go wide, "he is here? But Cale said.."

"I don't know," I reply, "I don't know where I was!"