Midnight's Dream

Midnights Dream: Chapter Six

"Dream," Mamas soft voice was so close, but when Dream spun around, was still hidden from sight. "Dream," she heard again.

"Mama, where are you?" Dream yelped.

"Dream!" a sharp claw poked at Dream, and she shot up out of her make-shift nest as is her fur had been set on fire. Shadow was standing next to her, his eyes wide.

"Are you alright?" Shadow inquired.

"Yes, I just had a dream." Dream murmured, her fur starting to lie flat again.

"It's time to go," Papa's voice startled her, and she looked to see him sitting at the edge of the bush they had slept in over night. His dark fur was outlined in white, and he sat tall, with his tail wrapped around his legs. For once Dream agreed with her father, her paws tingled at the thought of being back on Mama's trail. Crawling out from under the bush, Dream shook fiercely, preparing herself for the day. Shadow followed shortly behind, flicking Dream's nose with his tail as he went by.

"Come on," he urged. Walking up to be between the two males, Dream looked down to find herself between the strange tracks that they were following. She tilted her head to the side slightly, still baffled by what sort of creature could have made these tracks, their giant paws making solid lines that seemed to never lift from the ground. Taking a deep breath, Dream murmured, "let's go," and started forward. Suddenly she felt hopeful; maybe they would find Mama today, in the forest, unharmed. It seemed unlikely, but Dream couldn't afford any other thoughts right now, or she didn't think she would be able to go on.

~

"Wow," breathed Shadow. Dream was too shocked to say anything, and she felt as if her entire body had been turned into ice. Papa tried to look indifferent to the sight, but he stood rigid, just as in awe as his children. They were standing on top of a rise, looking past the tree line into a valley like Dream had never seen before. Long, straight, grey rivers criss-crossed between things that looked like giant, square boulders. The boulders had pointed tops, and some were unnatural colours, some had colours Dream had never even seen before. They must be human dens Dream figured. There were very few trees, and the only grass was in patches around the giant boulders. Strange wooden structures surrounded the grass patches. Humans swarmed around the edges of the grey rivers, and noise seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Other creatures; giant, unnaturally coloured beasts with glaring eyes and four giant black paws, prowled around in the grey river, but didn't sink, and didn't appear to be swimming. Looking harder, Dream figured the river must be made of stone. As she studied the stone-river, she noticed how the beasts paws stayed on the ground, always keeping contact with the stone-river.

"Papa," she whispered, as if talking any louder would attract the beasts attention. "I think those are the creatures who made those odd tracks we followed."

"Yes, I believe you are right. Very good," Papa nodded at her, causing pleasure to bubble up inside of her, drowning out even the fear she felt of this new, strange place.

"What if one of those things ate Mama?" Shadows question broke off into a wail..

Papa shook his head. "Those humans don't seem afraid of the beasts. It doesn't appear they eat living things." Looking around the strange sight in front of them again, Papa sighed. "We'll never be able to avoid this many humans. We will wait until dark." Turning, Shadow and Dream had no choice but to follow him back into the tree line.

~

Dreams eyes blinked open to see Papa leaning over her.

"I was just about to wake you," he growled. "It is time." Nodding, Dream stood, shook the moss from her fur, and walked over to wake her brother. When poking him was only acknowledged with a growl,she turned around and sat on him, pushing all the air from his lungs. With a loud snarl, Shadow leapt up, snapping, barley giving Dream enough time to jump out of the way.

"Let's go, you fat lump," Dream snapped, displeased with her brothers display. Dream stalked over to sit with her father while they waited for Shadow to stretch before jumping up and running back towards the rise. At the top, the Treasure Pack paused to observe the strange valley. Now everything was in shadow, except for multiple, harsh lights that looked like tiny moons hovering above the stone-river. A few of the giant dens had lights shining though smaller squares on the side of the den, and Dream told her father how she thought they must be human dens.

"Then they must go there to sleep," Papa commented after Dream had shared her thoughts.

"Which means they shouldn't bother us at night." Shadow finished. "Let's go!"

Taking a deep breath, Dream plunged down after her brother and her father, into the dark unknown.