Phrocylan & The Tree of Life (The Spirit of the Tree Book 1)

Chapter Two: Peas

I vaguely remember someone shouting "For pea-" before I slumbered out.

My pain was so intense I could hardly even feel anything anymore, my thoughts decaying down to What the heck is going on?

I started day-dreaming.

Who came up with the idea that day-dreaming is about good things? I want to rip out his appendix and strangle him to death with it.

This day-dream was nowhere near good.

I was standing in a misty yard, the night sky looming above me eerily with blinding star-light and half crescent moon. My surrounding was suspiciously silent, as if the eye of a storm, the silence before catastrophe. I waited for the same whale figure to pop out and rip me apart like a dog's chew toy, but I didn't get my wish.

Instead, I got an almost worse intake, in front of me, appeared a ghastly form.

At first, it looked like a gooey smudge of white, but then it formed the shape of a young woman- maybe in her mid 20s, with white and silver gown with galaxy linings, rose petaled frock, camouflage leggings, tan skin, big pleady-type brown eyes, and sun-colored hair that emitted heat and power like a radiator on steroids.

She looked at me with a I am going to eat your soul expression, and I had no intention for my soul to be eaten by a gorgeous woman, so I did the natural thing. I ran away.

Except I couldn't, something- more like someone was holding me back, keeping me from running away for my life. Then I remember it's just a dream, so I stopped trying to run. I faced the woman face to face, since I had no other choice.

She made her way through the mist like the stinging cold was nothing to her, and stopped around 7 feet ahead of me. She smiled coldly at me. "I've been waiting for you. You would prove useful in my little game."

I felt like I should know her, the way her sun-hair moved freely as if having their own brain, her eyes twinkling like she had just come from setting fire to a whole city, and her silvery distracting dress... But once again, my memory betrayed me. I didn't even know my own name, let alone some random woman's.

I realised I was looking at her dumbfounded and closed my mouth. "What do you mean? Who am I? What game?"

Her smile grew stronger and colder, with a tinge of sympathy, "Oh, you poor boy. If I told you, it wouldn't be fun for the readers, would it now? I'm afraid I can't answer those questions. Perhaps, some other?" She looked at something in the sky as if expecting someone to swoop down and grab me.

"Who are you? At least you can answer that." I demanded.

She feigned the look of being hurt. Whoever she was, she was not a good actor, that's for sure. "Oh, I'm hurt! You don't remember me? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. But I guess I'll tell you. I'm Riko, the messenger of gods, controller of winds, destroyer of stars."

Oh, great, she's a psychopath! I thought. But a part of me knew she was saying the truth. The sane part of me thought RUN AWAY FROM THIS MANIACAL WOMAN. RUN! But as much as I agreed, I couldn't, I was bound to stand here.

Part of me wanted to reply And I am Superman! But I controlled myself, and asked a safer question, "Why am I here? Am I dead?"

She looked disappointed, "Oh, no, not yet, boy. You are still needed to be entwined and played around with on the field. Your future and 4th Force needs to be controlled before you destroy all our progress. As for why you are here, that's because your mortal form is not yet ready to be conscious again. You are being taken care of, for now." She glanced above me and back in my eyes, "You're lucky, boy. I'm afraid our little meeting is over. You can go back to your ignorant life for now, and remember, when we meet again, you might not be as lucky as you were now."

Then the scene swirled around in darkness. I wasn't sure what had happened, or if I'd heard her right. What was she on about? 4th Force? Mortal form? Progress? What readers? It hurt my already damaged brain a lot.

The darkness dissolved in a mixture of white and golden light, and I opened my eyes. I was lying on an orange bed, in a room no bigger than a normal 2-star hotel room would be. There were 3 other beds in the room, un-occupied, 1 more on my side and 2 more on the opposite wall. The ceiling was decorated with good old nothing and plain nothing-ness. The room was filled with light coming from 4 windows around the room on magenta colored walls and mosaic tiled floor. There was an empty chair next to my bed with a blanket spread on top, maybe for a doctor, or one like the family chair in a hospital.

Some memory of what had happened started coming back to me, a whale like figure, a dream, and a weird woman. My ribs throbbed when I thought about it.

I heard a few muttering voices coming from the doorway to my left, sounds of about 2 people, having a discussion.