The sound of the whistle creates a wave of squeaking shoes to suddenly stop. Student in the middle of their dodgeball game all turn to look at the coach whose eyes are trained to a certain individual. He waits patiently for that individual to turn their distracted gaze towards them and blink in confusion as to why the game had been stopped, not realizing that his stray dodgeball had hit the coach in the back of his head.
Without a word, coach Mine jerks his chin towards the bleachers in a silent demand that Natsu begrudgingly follows. He knows the silent command by heart with this not being the first or last time he gets sent to the bleachers for hitting the coach with a thrown projectile. It was almost as if everything Natsu ever threw was locked onto the old man's head, causing him to get hit repeatedly. Thankfully Natsu never got sent to detention for it, since he never tried to hit the coach on purpose.
Natsu notices a few of his friends chuckling at his blunder like the idiots they were, but he gets even by punching Gray in the side while Wakaba wasn't watching. The punch leaves Natsu feeling a hundred times better, especially when he jumps out of the way when Gray tries to take a swipe at him. Thankfully the whistle sounds again forcing Gray to get his head back in the game while Natsu makes his way to the bleachers far enough away that a stray ball can't hit him from a certain individual.
Once seated and watching the rest of his class play, Natsu suddenly feels a wave of exhaustion hit him. It makes his head hurt and he tries to liven up the pain by rubbing his temples gently, but the light throb refuses to ease up. The constant sound of squeaking shoes and bouncing balls or the occasion yell doesn't help. Instead the background noise seems to meld together into a disturbing muffled pulse that causes pressure in Natsu's ears to worsen to the point he thinks his eardrums will burst.
~Come play~
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
rEAd oN if YoU sO dArE!
~cOme pLAy wITh uS~
Gasping, Natsu opens his eyes only to have his heart cease.
Around him, the gymnasium is gone. Missing is the noise of his fellow classmates and the coach's whistle. Missing is every possible thing that could ever make sense in the world as everything was gone and replaced with inky darkness. So thick that Natsu can barely even see his own hand as he tries to look around him for some kind of sign that this was real or fake.
Was he dreaming? But how? He didn't remember falling asleep, and even if he did he never had nightmares during the day. The nightmares exclusively tormented him at night when he was alone and away from anyone who could help him, so… how was this happening?
Everything is silent around him except the sound of dripping water somewhere nearby. The silence leaves a pressure in Natsu's chest that has him struggling to breathe, especially when he holds back to gasp for breath, terrified of what the silence and darkness holds within itself. He's afraid that if he makes too loud of a sound, whatever he feels lurking in the darkness would come and snatch him away. The last thing he wants is to become a victim to the darkness and disappear forever like that girl in Gray's story, if it was even true. Igneel was waiting for him, so he needed to find a way out of the darkness.
Running his hands along the ground, the floor feels cold and slick beneath his fingers, cold enough to feel wet. Natsu pushes back the thought as he continues to search the ground until his fingers brush against a long object that he quickly latches onto, and in seconds he is nearly blinded by the light of the flashlight when he switches it on.
With the light surrounding him, Natsu feels like he can breathe again and feels his racing heart begin to slow down with every breath he takes. It is at that moment that Natsu realizes that he's shaking, seeing how the light wavers in his hands that clutch onto the flashlight with his life. He then realizes how utterly terrified he is because this dream is so drastically different than the ones he usually has.
In all of his dreams Natsu isn't always aware that he's dreaming. Especially when he always finds himself walking or running down the same endless corridor with objects that he can see and touch. He didn't have to put much thought in those dreams which was why they didn't terrify him as much, but this dream was different. Natsu knew he was dreaming, and he could feel the very air as if he were awake and not dreaming. As if he really was in this dark endless void rather than back at school and sitting on the bleachers… how did this even happen?
"Get a grip Dragneel," Natsu mutters to himself as he shakes his head to try to get himself focused.
He takes a few deep breaths that fill his nose with the scent of mildew and stagnant water before pushing himself to his feet. He keeps his eyes trained to the ground so that he won't trip over anything or fall into a hole and begins to walk forward, trying to follow the familiar pattern of his usual dream even when this was completely different. Natsu convinces himself that this was to wait the nightmare out until he finally woke up… if he ever did wake up.
"Stop psyching yourself out," Natsu grumbles, his voice echoing in the large space as he puts one foot in front of the other, but the words don't help ease his anxiety.
Instead his heartrate only seems to pick up when the sound of dripping water gets louder and louder with every step that he takes. It causes him to pick up his pace and the familiar tingling sensation that filled his body during every nightmare he's had overcomes him. It leaves his whole body shaking and makes it hard to breathe. He even gags when the smell of mildew and something rotten gets stronger while the dripping water gets louder.
Before he knows it, he's running.
Pumping his arms, Natsu watches the light barely lighting his way strobe around him making him dizzy and his stomach churn. If he didn't find fresh air soon he was going to lose the very little breakfast he had this morning, and throwing up meant slowing down and slowing down did not bode well with him. Not when he felt something close behind him.
He could feel the familiar tingling at the back of his neck, the one you got when someone stares at you way too long or intensely. The staticky feeling that pulsed and traveled up the back of your skull and over your head until it reached your eyes and made them twitch. The one that made your ears burn and your hands sweat while your body grows cold and alert as if danger was only inches away. This is the feeling that kept Natsu running through the darkness.
"Dammit, Dammit, DAMMIT!" Natsu growls while pushing himself further when he senses what feels like a hand brush the tips of his hair at the back of his head.
Whatever was chasing him was teasing him and it was driving him crazy.
~PLaY WitH uS~
A distorted child-like voice says, but it sounded as if more than one thing had said it. It doesn't help that several different giggles resonate through the darkness filling Natsu's ears and almost causing him to trip on his own feet. That only leaves them laughing louder.
~CoMe plAy~
~pLaY wITh uS nATsU~
~PLaY WitH uS~
Tripping over his untied shoe laces, Natsu is sent sprawling to the floor in a heavy heap as he yells in surprise at the sudden pain that envelopes him. The fall knocks the wind out of him and he coughs from lack of air and the smell of mildew and rot that is so overpowering that Natsu can no longer breathe.
~ShE iS WaiTiNG fOR yoU nATsU~
~dON't YoU WAnT tO plAy wITh hEr?~
Who?
Pushing the question from his mind, Natsu goes back to searching through the darkness for his flashlight while trying to cover his face with the neck of his T-shirt. It helps to somewhat stifle the bad smell, but it doesn't block out all of it. Not to mention the fact that Natsu seemed to quickly be losing consciousness which worried him, because what if he didn't wake up? What if this was the end? Would he never get to see Igneel or his friends again?
DAMMIT!
Latching onto the flashlight that had rolled only a few feet away, Natsu stands to his feet and finally faces the flashlight behind him where he had refused to look the whole while he was running.
Choking on a scream and a sob, Natsu stares at a sight beyond words. A scream continues to build up in his chest while his eyes widen at what stood before him.
Jumping away, Natsu feels himself fall backwards endlessly and he can do nothing except scream out in fear as he continues to fall. He tightly screws his eyes shut and tries to fight his way out of the grasping hands that clutch onto him and pull him in every direction.
~nATsU~
Pulling his arm back, Natsu lets it sail forward and makes contact with something fleshy and hard.
~NaTSu~
Natsu keeps fighting until something rams into the side of his face making his head spin.
Nat-su~
Reeling, Natsu can barely focus on the sound of his name which sounds distorted and far away. Still, he tries to open his eyes only to find that he can't see anything other than a far-off bright light. It only seems to get brighter the more he thrashes around and continues to fight off the hands that hold him down.
NATSU!
Something gets in the way of the light and it looks like a person. For a second Natsu thinks it's the girl from his dream, but as he continues to focus on the image he realizes that its Lis. Not a second later Natsu realizes that the hands holding him down are coach Mine and a few of his classmates.
"Natsu, calm down!" Lisanna pleads while gently grasping his face so that his wild eyes focus on her, "Please Natsu, you're safe. It's ok… you're ok."
Blinking a few times, Natsu realizes that he was no longer in the inky darkness and what surrounded him was bright light and the sounds of murmuring and not dripping water or the sound of his running feet. The air smells of rubber from dodgeballs and not mildew or rotten flesh, and the hands that hold him are human and not whatever those creatures that had chased him were.
"Dammit," is all Natsu gasos before passing out…
Midnight blue eyes stare in wonder at the dubious teenager laying in the infirmary bed across from him, watching as the boy stares up at the ceiling looking lost. He notices the obsidian eyes usually filled with a lively fire are now blank and clouded.
Thoughts and unseen images swim across the dull irises causing Gray to worry for his usually boisterous friend. Especially when he knew the pinkette long enough to see that something was bothering him which had caused him to make that scene earlier in the gymnasium.
After getting punched by Natsu, Gray had tried to swipe back at him with no luck and instead decided to focus on the match being played against the other half of their class. He had gotten so into the game that he was scared shitless when a blood-curdling scream filled the gymnasium and was surprised that it was coming from Natsu.
Immediately, Gray had dropped his ball and ran towards his friend who was writhing on the ground and screaming his head off so hard that a vein popped out on his forehead while his face turned a nasty shade of red/purple. To make things worse, Natsu's eyes had nearly rolled to the back of his head and it took too many people to hold him down, surprising everyone by how strong the pinkette was. A feat Gray learned when he was decked in the face by a stray fist which he quickly returned when he was able to stop seeing double.
Irritable grumbling has Gray look up to find the ill-tempered local doctor who sometimes came to help at the high school enter the room with her usual scowl directed at him. Porlyusica continues to mutter under her breath as she hands Gray a small paper cup filled with two pills and an icepack.
"Here," Porlyusica grumbles while shoving the pills and icepack into Gray's hands before placing Natsu's items on the nearby nightstand while the pinkette continued to stare at the ceiling, blinking every so often to show that he was still somewhat conscious, "Take the pills and put the icepack on your face. It will help with the swelling, "Porlyusica mutters before turning to head towards the exit.
"Aren't you going to give us any water to take with this?" Gray asks, not surprised at the doctor's lack of sympathy, but wanting to direct his agitation at something that reacted back, however he gets no response as the doctor's back disappears behind the door that closes behind her.
Groaning, Gray knocks back the pills and swallows them dry which leaves a bad taste in his mouth as he turns to glare once again at the immobile Natsu who did not look like he was going to move to take his medication.
The small infirmary is silent other than the sound of the nearby A/C whirring softly or the occasional rustling from the curtain billowing by the nearby window. The sound of birds chirping filters through the cool room that smells of antiseptic, and although he wants to welcome it, the silence was driving him crazy.
"What's wrong?" Gray asks, hating how his voice cuts through the thick silence that lingers between Natsu and himself. He also had to hold back a wince from his bruised jaw. "You've been acting weird, and I'm starting to get worried."
Obsidian eyes look up to meet midnight blue and concern showing back at him says that he's doing it again. He's spacing out and making everyone around him worry when even he doesn't know what's going on.
What was he supposed to tell Gray? Was he supposed to tell him about the nightmares that were plaguing his nights?
He should… Gray would understand… wouldn't he?
"Look man, I don't know what's going on but you're scaring people… especially me," Gray's voice breaks through Natsu's thoughts causing him to flinch at the tone Gray was using, "That little stunt you just pulled is not something you'd usually pull, so spit it out. What's wrong?"
Gray Fullbuster was not one to beat around the bush.
"I don't know," Natsu murmurs after taking in a pained breath and sighs heavily at Gray's 'no bullshit' look that he gives him. "I… I've… I've been having nightmares," Natsu finally admits while closing his eyes and feeling his cheeks heat up. Saying out loud made the whole situation now seem so ridiculous.
"Nightmares?" Gray asks, sounding confused but says nothing more, waiting for Natsu to elaborate.
"Yeah… they're very frequent. Been having them for some time now and usually I can handle them but lately they've been… different."
An image of the monster he had just seen flashes in Natsu's mind which causes his stomach to churn and that staticky feeling at the back of his head return.
"Different how?" Grays asks while pressing his icepack gently to his throbbing cheek.
Ur was going to kill him when he got home.
Natsu tells him about the dreams, of the endless corridor he walked or rand down. The ever-changing light sources and the strange creatures that chase him every night. Natsu even tells him about the recent dream he had and the girl that saved his life.
"What girl?" Gray asks, looking curious that his dense friend would even dream of a member of the opposite sex, much less think about one.
Broad shoulders lift and fall so quickly Gray almost misses the gesture, "I didn't get to see who she was, but she saved my life," Natsu says in a low whisper that Gray almost misses his words, "And today I had another dream, which is why I woke up screaming," Natsu admits almost shamefully, "I thought you were one of the monsters from my dream so that's why I punched you, but I guess you're so ugly that I couldn't tell you two apart," comes his mocking comment showing the male that his friend was starting to slightly recover.
"You wish you were as good looking as me," Gray retorts while throwing his pillow at the teenager who surprisingly doesn't fight back. Instead he lets the pillow hit him and cover his face while he remains lying on his bed, "Do you think it was the girl from my story," Gray then asks after a few beats of silence, causing Natsu to remove the pillow to look at him curiously.
"What story," he asks, sounding completely oblivious to the fact that Gray had told a scary story this morning to their friends in the club room.
Really, this guy was an idiot.
"Never mind," Gray mutters with the roll of his eyes, but his good mood sobers when Natsu grows serious again as he sits up and takes the cup of pills into his hand.
"Hey man," Gray says in a tone that has Natsu cringing away from what he really doesn't want to hear, "You do know it was only a dream, right? None of that was real, so don't think about it too much."
But it was real… in it's own special way what I experienced was real, Natsu thinks while frowning down at his pills.
The phantom feeling of the girl's hand in his still made Natsu's palm tingle and the sight of the monster and the putrid smell it produced still lingered to his nose. He could also still hear the creepy distorted voices of the creatures chasing him down and his muscles were still tense and throbbing as if he really had run a marathon.
His dream had been a real one... but how could he ever make Gray understand that without making himself seem crazier?
"Alright," Natsu sighs heavily before throwing back the bitter tasting pills and swallowing hard with a bit of difficulty.
So this chapter was supposed to be out last Friday, but I had a hell of a week of bad luck that I decided to postpone it until now. Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Anywho, how has everyone's week been?
Shout outs
I want to thank my Fantastic Favorites...
- Amanny
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My Fabulous Followers
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and my Fantabulous Reviewers...
- Amanny = Thank you!
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Well that's all the shout outs for today.
If you're enjoying my spine-chilling story give me the honor by Following, Favoriting, and Reviewing - remember, reviews are the reminders I need in order to update faster - and if you have any questions or haunting ideas you can also PM me and I'll gladly add it into the story.
Until next time my ghoulies!
