Dream and Nightmare

Chapter 2 - Surrounded by Death

Anah made her way out into the dense woods as her family was at the beach. She walked along the forest floor with deft steps. Not a single twig cracked under her feet, and not a single footstep was left behind. Soon, Anah couldn't hear the crashing waves of the deadly ocean anymore. It was quiet except for a gentle rustling of leaves. Anah could imagine that she was somewhere else. In a world where her family didn't exist and there were never ending adventures, Anah was happiest. 

A loud rustling of leaves woke Anah out of her daydream. Something big was moving around to her right. Maybe her parents had been right about wolves and perverts. She crouched down to her heels, peering through the low ground cover. She didn't have to wait long before the source of the loud noises came into view.

It was Jack. He had an old canvas bag slung over his shoulder and an open journal in his hand. Unlike Anah, he made absolutely no effort not to disturb the forest. It was clear he was on his own mission, and not there to observe.

His brow was creased in concentration, and his eyes were dark and sunken like he hadn't slept. Something was haunting him. Anah was afraid that if she confronted him, he wouldn't tell her what it was. She had completely forgotten to look at the papers on his table the last time she had seen him because she had become so preoccupied with his stupid shelves, and she hadn't seen him in the few days since. 

Anah followed him as quietly as she could, tiptoeing through the woods as silently as any forest critter. Jack clearly had no clue where he was going, but he knew what he was looking for.

After a while, he stopped, looked around, looked back down at his journal, and then up at a tall tree whose roots wrapped around a large stone. He gave a whoop of joy, laughing at his discovery. His excitement at a simple rock was a bit concerning for Anah. Perhaps he was mad.

Then Jack pulled out a blade, slid it along his palm and pressed it to the rock. Anah froze, dumbfounded at his behavior. What the hell was he...was that rock glowing?

She squinted her eyes. Yes, the rock was glowing gold, emitting a faint light through the trees.

Shocked, Anah crawled forward to get a closer look. The spot on the dark stone where Jack had wiped his bloodied palm was turning blue, and slowly started crackling with something that looked like blue lightning. The blue lights covered the rock, cancelling out the beautiful golden aura. 

Jack looked just as shocked as Anah, but his shock soon turned into a wide grin. "I knew it." He said. "I knew it!" He kissed the journal before sliding it into his bag. His blade he kept in his hand gripping it tightly. Anah knew if she'd had a blade, she'd be doing the same thing. Those lights weren't natural in the least. Jack slicked his hair back and before Anah could comprehend what he was doing, he stepped into the stone. Literally walked right into the bright blue lightning covered stone and disappeared!

Anah ran forward, not concerned with hiding anymore. "Jack!" She stopped in front of the rock. It felt like lightning, too, the crackling energy making the hairs on her arms stand up in anticipation. "Jack!" she called again, but there was no reply. 

It wasn't a hard decision. Anah had only dreamed of somthing this magical happening in her boring, miserable life. With a deep breath and a prayer to any and every god that had ever existed, Anah followed Jack's lead and stepped through the rock.

 ...........

Anah was dead. She knew she was dead, and was slowly coming to terms with it. They say there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Anah didn't have to go through all of that. She skipped right to acceptance. She was dead. There was nothing she could do about it.