Raspberry's Second Life

September 18th 2010 05:01-08:39

Awake Non-lucid Semi-lucid

It's night time, I'm lost in a forest. There are trees everywhere, all tinted blue from the darkness. I cannot see the sky, there's a slight breeze. It should be peaceful... but it's not. I sense danger. I move up a gravel path until I hear someone shout. I instantly tense up, awaiting danger.

"C'mon!" I hear someone shout. Looking downwards, I see a strong rushing river. It's slanted, but no water leaves the banks. I know that if I land in it I'll die. On the opposite bank is a teenage girl. Her brown eyes are wide, chin-length hair ruffled. She gestures to me, obviously afraid of something.

I run and jump, miraculously landing on the other bank. She grabs my arm and sprints forward. "They're after us!" The gravel path turns to slippery mud. I have no idea who "they" are, but I know it too. I name the girl Mae. She's smaller than me, with delicate features. A fast runner, too.

"They have bombs!" She screams, terrified. Then I hear it... a sort of disturbance in the air. An engine. "We need to get underground." She sees a wooden plank, sticking up out of the mud. Relief floods onto her face, she knows what it is. She yanks the plank from the earth, catches my eye, and jumps into the hole where the plank was. The mud swallows her up. I find another plank. It has "the Hag" written on it. For a second I don't know if I should, but then I hear the bombers getting closer. I rip the plank up and jump.

I land on my back with an "oomph!" I'm now in an underground room. Luckily it's bare, with no hag. Thank god...

A tall boy with bright orange and red hair walks in. His name's Jay, he's a friend from school He takes me to his room, where his brother is too. I look around, a little suspicious. I even check in his black wardrobe. He laughs, and lets me look where I want. He tells me this place is called the Warren. I feel like a rabbit. I wonder where Mae disappeared to.

[Dream Skip - A few months later] I am now a member of the Warren. They are protecting me from the ones who want to kill me. They treat me as if i'm special, I think they know something I don't. But Mae says they'll tell me in time. The entire situation confuses me.

I stand in a field across from the main entrance to the Warren, which is a grey, stony cave. When you go inside, it leads down underground. There are two "guards" standing at the Cave. It's a gorgeous sunny day, flowers are everywhere. The sun brings warmth to my skin, but as always, there's a breeze. The wind never truely leaves this place.

There's something going on over by the Cave. I run over to see. Mae is there. She's pushing someone in a wheelchair, an old man with wild eyes. He stares at me, and I get that creepy danger feeling again. There's something not right about him, something I don't trust. He's one of them, he's here to kill me. I try to tell them but they don't believe me, they say he's harmless, a cripple.

I flee, sprinting past the Cave into the field of Golden Thorns. It slopes downwards. Somewhere during my sprint, I morph into a wolf. I'm crashing through the thorns on all fours, panting. Nothing matters except the instinct to get away from that man. I'm trying to get as deep as possible into the thorns, where the crippled man cannot find me. I stop and lay down flat in a hollow, whining. I stay there for awhile.

[Dream skip - a few years] I stand on top of the stone steps. They lead down to a road, and then across that is my hometown. I run a leap, flying. Everything is sharper and clearer than before. I have more control. I use my large, golden feathered wings to propel me into the air. I fly to the field, landing. Everyone is amazed, but they already know my abilities.

Is it just me, or is Mae looking slightly jealous? I don't trust her now. She brought the cripple here, and even after these few years, I still believe he is trying to kill me. He's just waiting for the chance. I see him watching me from across the field. Shivers travel up my spine. I resist the urge to flee.

"We need to talk." Mae declares.

"See you at the castle." I say. I take off, souring to the castle.

[Dream skip - a few minutes] I'm sitting on the wall of the castle. It's so high up, I feel like I'm floating on the highest cloud. The wind threatens to throw me off the wall. Below me are hills, but they're tiny from this height. I can see the forest, and can imagine the Warren running underneath. I can see the Cave, and the field. I can see the golden thorns behind it.

Mae stands next to me. "Are you going to kill me?" She asks quietly.

I swing my legs over the edge of the wall, wondering what would happen if I fell. I'd fly, of course... And live. A part of me just wants to fall and see what happens.

"You saved my life once, so I won't take yours. But you brought the danger to me, so understand that I'll never trust you, Mae."

She sits on the wall beside me. I feel calm, something I've never felt since I winded up in that goddamn forest. I stare out across it, and I can feel her watching me closely. I wonder if she thinks she can kill me. Instead, the unexpected happens.

"I'm sorry." She whispers. Then her body slips off of the wall. I don't fly down to save her, I don't do anything. I continue to stare across, wondering whether or not I should tear the cripple to pieces with my wolf teeth. A small part of my mind tells me I'm paranoid. All he's done is watch and listen. Maybe that's all he needs.