Ray of hope || by Elin Moon

Chapter _: Laa Laa's dream

Where am i? What is this place? It's so dark, and the blizzarding cold makes my fur stand up on edge. The floor is bright white and checkered, yet my body seems to be the only light source in this dark abyss. Slowly, I move forward, trying to rub warmth into my arms, with failed results. My body feels like it's absorbing the cold every second, leaving me numb and shivering.

Where am i? Why am I all alone? I can't be all alone! How did I even get here? And where is "here"? I shiver. It's all I seem to be doing. I walk at the pace of a snail; I can't seem to speed up. Like an invisible force is holding me down. I hate it. Hate it.

My friends. Where are they? They wouldn't have left me here! They have to be around here somewhere! I can almost see them in my mind: Tink frantically looking for us, Dip calling for us all irritated, thinking it's some stupid joke, and Po; tiny, innocent Po, sobbing her heart out while crying out our names. The thought makes me want to scream till my throat bleeds.

"Tink! Dipsy! Po! Hello!?" I call out, my voice echoing through the emptiness. They must have heard me and soon, they will come running towards me. I wait. One. . . Two. . . Three. . . Nothing happens. Again. "Guys! HELLO!?"

I hold my breath as my voice echoes again. Nothing. Nothing at all. I feel my heart beating faster as panic officially sets in. I'm all alone. My friends couldn't be here, they would've heard me! What is happening!? I feel my eyes pool with tears and a sob escapes my mouth. Panic. Panic. Fear. I try walking faster, I try running, but I can't. I can't.

Suddenly, I hear distant footsteps. I look up, and see another radiation of light. It's rather far away, but it seems to be approaching me. My friends? Are they here? Is that one of them? Did they hear me? Is it Tink? Po? Dip?

No. It's someone else. The screen on their tummy is glowing a blinding white, just like their mouth. They have no eyes. Their fur is a pure black, blending in with the dark void. Dread, or perhaps nausea, pools in my stomach. I can feel something crawling up my throat, burning my throat like acid. Blood was dripping from their mouth.

My breathing starts to speed up as I turn around and try to run from this creature. But, I can't. I can only walk. I can feel my heart beat violently against my ribs, hear it rushing in my ears. I see things. Pools of blood, and corpses devoid of all life. They look eerily familiar. 

My friends. . . It's my friends. That thing must have done this, and now I'm going to die too. How could I have let this happen? A choked sob escapes my lips as I look back, and I see it gaining on me.

It was approaching. Quickly.

I'm trapped. I'm never going to outrun this thing, I can't even run. Tears start to run down my cheeks as I fall to the ground and gather up into a ball on the floor. I can hear its steps approaching. Closer. Closer. Closer. Until it stops, and they're right in front of me.

They say something, but It's hard to understand. Not only is their voice deep and rough, but it sounds like there is static over it. A lot of static, like a very old recording or a broken tv.

"Hope" 

The only thing i can understand of what they're saying. Hope? What do they mean? Are they mocking me for being so hopeless? Or is it something else? My head hurts.

Suddenly, I hear a high pitched scream, one that leaves my ears ringing. My eyes fly open from the pain.

"Laa? Laa Laa?" I hear a voice whisper to me. A familiar voice. I turn my head over and see Dipsy sitting upright in his bed, looking at me with a worried expression. I sit up, my body still feeling shaky. From the sound of the slow, even breaths i can hear in the quiet night, I can tell Tink and Po are still asleep. Dipsy gently touched my shoulder.

"I- I had a bad dream." is all i can mumble, my tongue feeling as heavy as rocks in my mouth. I just want him to stop worrying about me, although I'm starting to feel a bit worried myself. This is becoming a reoccurring nightmare.

"I could tell," he said. "You were tossing and turning like mad." He removes his hand from my shoulder and wipes something off my cheek. A tear. "You also started crying." He sighs, tucking a bit of hair behind my ear. "Please, just talk to me. I want to help you."

I pull my knees up to my chest, and slowly start rocking back and forth while fidgeting with the fur on my arms. Dipsy starts rubbing my back in a slow, circular motion. I want to tell him about my dream. I don't want to burden him, but I want to tell someone so bad. I can't take it anymore. 

"I was alone. It was really dark." I start, looking down at my knees. I don't want to meet Dipsy's gaze. I fear I'll start crying if i do, remembering the liveless Dipsy from my dream. "I couldn't run. I tried calling for you, and Tink, and Po. But you weren't there." My voice becomes shaky on the last words, tears rolling down my cheeks without permission. I can't continue.

"Oh, Laa." he says, pulling me into an embrace as I start to sob. "I promise we'll always be here with you. Me, Tink, and Po. We'll never leave you." He pets my head gently as I cry into his shoulder. "We're like family, and family always sticks together. I promise"

I don't know when, but I fall back asleep as Dipsy holds me. I'm placed back on my bed, tucked in, with a warm, secure hold of my hand from Dipsy. The night is peaceful.

Yet the dream still plagues my mind.