Chapter 2 : Dreams Unwind

Part 3

Azura

I couldn't function right. I felt like I didn't even know how to cry correctly. Tears kept rolling down, making my eyesight blurry, but I didn't feel sad. I felt disappointed and lonely, but not bad enough to shed tears over. And yet here I am, crying over loneliness. I clawed at my forehead, trying to force everything out, shaking my head as I did so. I needed to let everything out, but how? I instantly pulled the covers off me and ran to my closet. There were still boxes and boxes of things I hadn't unpacked yet. I grabbed the one labeled "personal things" and set it on the floor. Sitting down, I rummaged through the box until I found my most recent journal. I still had a good amount of bare pages left, so I took it and crawled back into bed. I had to wipe the tears away to look for a pen, but eventually found one in my night stand. I opened the journal to the last page I had written in, and began to write a new entry. Even though the only light I used was that of the moonlight coming through my window, I could see fairly well what I was writing.

...

November 22nd 2008.

Dear diary,

I haven't written in ages, and I'm really really sorry. I would say it's because I'm busy, but I'm not. I just haven't been in the mood for it. I want to go back home, I feel so alone right now. Early this morning, around 10 or 11, I took a walk in the woods and met this guy. Eh.. He looked about mid or late-20s. At first I was a bit nervous. He was on our property, I was sure, so I thought he was some crazed lunatic.. I seriously thought I was going to get kidnapped. He was very odd, and at some points he came off rude, but he was very attractive. I doubt I'll see him again.. He had the prettiest eyes I had ever seen, though. They were the color you would use as a child to paint the sky. A bright, light color that outshines everything. His name was Jack.. I don't remember if he told me his last name or not.

Love, Azura.

...

I dreamt I was running down the street, the cold pavement hitting me painfully at each step. I was barefoot, and in my night clothes. I was running after a silhouette way ahead of me. I tried screaming, telling them to wait for me. Immediately, my mind told me it was Jack, the man I had just met this morning. Soon enough, the silhouette's pace slowed, and I was able to catch up closer to him. At about ten feet away, I began to reach out my arms, frantically telling him to stop. All I could see was a black outline. By now, he had stopped completely. He turned around, and to my surprise, I realized it was not the man I thought it was. This man looked completely different. He had black hair that cascaded to the middle of his back, and he was wearing a long black cloak. He was terrifying. I let out a sharp scream, in fear. There was only one fictional character I could think of when I saw this man. He looked just like Dracula. Or at least how I always imagined him.

"Do not be frightened", he told me, smiling, "I'm a good person."

I couldn't move, all I could say was, "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter," he grinned, coming towards me, "I want to show you something."

"What?" I asked, feeling threatened for my life.

He reached out a hand towards my back, and proceeded to walk me down the street. He kept smiling the whole time. I looked around to see if I knew exactly where he was taking me, but I was beginning to get lost. Up ahead, I saw a door that was in the middle of a road. It was laying against the pavement, the doorknob had been taken off. When we reached the door, he bent over, and began to pick up one side. It was an opening, with a dark staircase fading into more darkness.

I started to feel discomfort, thinking he was going to push me in. Thankfully, all he did was smile, and drop the half of the door he was holding, completely opening it. He brought his hand out again for me to hold on to. All I could do was shake my head and decline.

"If you want to know everything you've been asking yourself, come with me now." he said, more demanding now.

My body willingly followed, my mind, however, was unwilling. I kept thinking how I would never come back out.

"What will happen to me?" I asked, as I took his hand.

"Just come." he said, stepping onto the first step.

We started walking down the stairs, I could feel the light fading from behind. I was worried I would never see my parents again. Of all people to be worried for, I was thinking of my parents. They never even seem to worry about me. It felt like hours, walking down the steps, until we finally landed onto a flat area in an unfamiliar room. The room was dank and smelled of mildew. It chilled me right to the bone. It was lit with what looked with torches built into the walls. There were many, many doors leading to God knows what in the room, and I didn't exactly want to find out.

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"In my lair." he answered.

"Your.. Are you gonna kill me?" I asked him, getting worried. Tears started to roll down my cheeks.

"No," he started, "I want to show you something, though."

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"Come here." he said, waving a hand and walking towards a door on the opposite side we had come from. The door was black, and had silver swirls that began from the middle and spun out until it reached the ends.

"Where are we going?" I asked nervously, as he reached for the doorknob.

"I told you. If you want to know the answers, just follow me." he said, turning the knob.

"Not until you tell me who you are." I said, getting goose-bumps. I didn't want to follow him.

He sighed, letting go of the doorknob, and slouching against it. "My name is Phobetor."

"Who?!" I asked, completely confused. I had never heard a name like that before.

"You don't know me, so it doesn't matter."

"And that's going to help me? You actually think I'll follow a stranger into God-knows-where?" I asked him, throwing my hands up in frustration. I was starting to fear for my life again.

"Azura-"

"How do you know my name?" I demanded.

"Let me finish," he stated, pausing a second. "Azura, I know you, but you do not know me. I know you because I am the one that gives you nightmares-"

"Well, it's working." I interrupted.

"Do not interrupt me." he growled.

"Sorry." I apologized, terrified. I was mouthing off, when my life could be in danger. This was just the very thing I snapped at while watching movies, every time the damsel in distress decided to be cocky towards her captor. I closed my lips tight, trying to urge myself to only listen.

"I am the god of nightmares." he explained, a bit more testy now.

"I'm dreaming?" I asked him.

"Are you not surprised about the way we got down here? The entrance?" he smiled evilly.

"Oh. Yeah, I forgot.." I said, remembering the doorway that came out from the top of the street, "So.. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you asked me. Now, will you follow me, or not?" he asked, turning around again and reaching for the door.

"I suppose, since I'm dreaming, it won't hurt. Right?" I asked him, walking a few steps closer.

"I promise I will not harm you." he said, smiling and opening the black door.

I was walking forward, when I saw what he had expected me to step into. It entered into a wide field, the sky a bright violet color. He stepped into the field, and I followed behind. The minute I exited, the door vanished.

"I don't remember asking anything about this..." I mumbled to myself.

"It's coming." he said, also to himself. We seemed to be in different worlds, yet standing a foot away from each other.

"What's coming?" I asked him.

He pointed up into the sky. I looked up, and saw a huge meteorite coming straight towards us.

"I didn't ask for this. Take me back, now!" I screamed, crying hysterically, "You said nothing would happen to me!"

"I said I wouldn't harm you. You won't feel anything." he assured.

I looked up, and it was about to hit us. I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. It impacted about ten miles away, and I saw fire stretching out from where it had hit. It was coming straight for us.

"No!" I cried out, grabbing his arm, pleading for him to take me back home.

"Azura. When it hits, you'll know everything. I have to go, but I promise you will wake up and be unharmed." he said, fading away like a ghost.

"Oh, my God!" I cried, looking back at the fire that was only seconds away now. I started to feel warmer as each second passed. As it hit me, I felt a surge of electric warmth. It didn't hurt, like he had said. It gave me serenity, in fact. I started to burn, but a cold hand touched my face.

"Azura." I heard in a low tone.

I searched for a face in fire that had completely surrounded me, drowning me in flames. I knew that voice, even if I had only heard it for the first time today.

"Jack?" I called.

I felt another cold hand reach out to my right hand. The coldness started to spread throughout my body, starting at my cheek and hand. I still couldn't see him. I heard a loud blast from where the meteorite had hit, and it awoke me. My eyes opened immediately, and focused onto my window, which had been completely frosted in what looked like many different sizes of butterflies. I had a strange feeling that someone was outside my window, so I crawled over to it and opened the window. I shimmied myself a ways out so that I could look around outside. I felt a cool breeze blow onto me. I looked towards the left of the window and saw Jack walking away.