The sounds of scratching nails came from behind us. All we could do was run.
“Jessica! The hell is going on?” Melissa shouted, “Where are we?”
“We're in your dream. You're being attacked. I don't know why.” Jessica said back. The world had shifted away and was now nothingness in every direction. Even so, walls of very solid nothingness were closing in on us. I needed another option, and fast.
“If I'm sleeping, then why can't I wake up?” She snapped out.
“Didn't say you couldn't, but not a good idea.” I was running out of breath, “With me here, could be bad.”
The scratching came closer and closer, as if we were standing still. We needed a way out.
“So we just keep running?” She sounded like she was running out of breath too. The darkness continued to narrow in on us. The screeches from behind sounded louder and louder.
“Until something better comes along, yes.”
“Wait a minute. What does it matter? It's just a dream!” Melissa pointed out.
“No, psychic attack.” I was huffing now.
“What! Why?”
My lungs were burning, my legs were arching, and my head was pounding now. The dark nothingness was starting to brush against us and push us together. Soon we would be trapped.
You can fight it. Turn and stand your ground, a thought came through my mind. I don't know how, but I realized it was the pain in my skull. It was speaking to me.
“How do I fight back?” I questioned it back.
Just face the hunting thing and unleash your will. I shall shape into what it needs to be.
“You can do that?”
“Who are you talking to?” Melissa asked. She clearly couldn't hear the whatever it was.
Normally, no, but I will have help from the old shadow. Just unleash yourself fully and you will survive.
“Are you sure?”
You don't have a choice.
Damn it. I didn't.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Sure of what!?” Melissa shouted as I turned and thrusted a hand out.
The world inverted. The darkness flipped and became everything. It sucked in all my power and shaped it into a force revealing The Thing to me.
The Thing isn't strange or difficult to understand. It was the most basic simple things. It was hunger, instinct, and desire. It was natural and primal. It was survival. It terrified me to my core.
Luckily the attack went off right and repealed The Thing. The world returned to nothing. I caught my breath.
“What,” Melissa huffed and puffed behind, “in the name… of Fuck! Was that?”
“A dream eater.” I knelt and curled into myself, “That's all I know.”
“What do you mean that's all you know!”
“THAT'S ALL I KNOW!” I screamed at her. I could feel tears trying to escape. I had to focus my breathing. It was just an adrenaline rush, I told myself.
“Well… what now?” Melissa asked. She was also in the middle of a panic. I had to keep that in mind.
I took a deep breath and stood up. With another breath I reached out my senses. In the dream realm it felt like reaching through a rain storm that was standing still. Thick with something that didn’t resist my probing. The walls were gone and we had free reign to go where ever. Now all we needed was a way to go anywhere.
“Pick a direction.” I answered, “Start walking. See where we end up.”
“How does that work?” Melissa scoffed, “This is a dream. We aren’t in a physical place. Moving to another place shouldn’t change anything.”
“Well, it does. It just does.”
I started forward. Melissa followed right after. I could feel her scowl, but I ignored it. We needed to get us out of here, and I needed to do it without hurting either of us. I could unleash a psychic shock, but that would hurt everyone in the room, Jesse and Jennifer included, and likely the next rooms over. A last of last resort.
Another option was lucking into the one path of thought that lead to a natural awaking in the middle of the night. The last, and of course best option, was to wake until out minds naturally went the stage of sleep and woke up. Dream eater attacks rarely stopped people from waking up. At least not the first one. A failed attack would have no long lasting effects.
So kept walking and kept my senses out in front of me. I tried to keep calm and focused, but the on-going darkness was making me impatient.
“I see something,” Melissa said and pointed forward to where a light was cutting through the dark. We looked to one another. There was nothing to say. We nodded and headed to the light.
It grew bright and became blinding as we step through something and enter a bright room. Pews were lined up and banners on the walls showed this to be a church hall. At the altar stood two figures. One of was a tall man I didn’t recogize. Short muddy red hair was glass and a suit of an office worker. The other was Jesse. They were talking as we approach.
“Jesse! What's going on?” I asked with relief and concern.
She just smiled and leaped at me with a hug, “Jessica! You came! I knew you would.”
“Jesse! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I asked.
“She’s fine,” The man answered, “She’s not aware of you being here. She’s still fully dreaming.”
I stared at the man, “Who are you?”
“A man doing a job,” He looked up into and beyond the ceiling, “and of course now they act. Why do dreams always end at the best parts.”
“What are you talking!” I shouted at him but immediately felt the shift. I was waking up. Being pulled back to my own mind and body. “Wait! I have questions.”
“I know you do, Ms Black. I hoped to had more time too, but,” I didn’t hear the rest of his words.