Dragon Lady
Shadow Moon
Ch.5 Dark Dreams
Disclaimer: I don't own them or the book Four Past Midnight.
Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Ladymars, who has been kind enough to review all my writing and who got me into this mess the first place. She is a great writer and true friend. This is my first and probably only attempt at a horror fic (horror is not my favorite genre). If you don't like horror, feel free just to skip this chapter or skim through it since only the ending is of any real significance to the plot line. Now, on with the story.
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Altera's nightmare…
The first thing Altera notices when she wakes up are the splitting headache that is sending violent jolts of pain coursing through her body. The ground beneath her is hard and slightly moist and the air is humid and heavy. She reaches out a hand and grasps a fistful of grass.
Where am I?
Slowly, she opens her eyes. Standing before her is a large, stone, column with writing on it. Is this…?
Altera climbs quickly to her feet, glancing at her surroundings. More of these stones surround the area. Trees, twisted and bent, their branches reaching up like fingers to scrape the sky, dot the landscape. An orange, full, harvest moon sheds an eerie light over the scene; casting shadows that creep from stone to stone.
I'm in a graveyard.
Altera feels her stomach clench, but forces down the bile that threatens to gag her. Slowly, she makes her way around the stones, but she can see no way out, all she sees is row upon row of tombs.
A chill wind runs down her neck and she begins to shiver. The air around her is warm, yet for some reason; she finds her knees buckling and her teeth chattering. Her skin is cold and clammy.
How did I get here? I don't ever remember coming here before. Is this some kind of bad dream?
Suddenly, she feels a cold presence behind her. Someone is breathing down her neck. The tree behind her bursts into flames, pieces of wood scattering everywhere. The wind begins to howl, carrying the evil laughter of its master.
With a small cry, Altera begins to run away from whatever it is behind her, but the presence follows. For a brief moment, it seems like it has a physical form, but Altera doesn't want to stop to look.
The walls of a crypt loom up in front of her, dark and foreboding. She reaches the door and flings it open. A coffin sits in the center of the stone edifice, covered in cobwebs. Altera stares at it, her heart in her stomach. Then, she feels the strange creature drawing near and without thinking runs to the coffin and pushes off the heavy lid. Inside a body is resting peacefully. White hair still sticks to the grinning skull, which is spread over what was once a pillow. The skeleton is small with many bones cracked or missing. What cloths if once wore are gone, leaving nothing but a few scraps and dust. In the arms of the skeleton, a smaller one rests, cradled against the other's chest.
Altera feels tears streaming down her face. For some reason, the picture didn't scare her. She feels remorse, but not fear. The two seem peacefully at rest and without pain.
The presence at the door interrupts her thought. Murmuring a quick prayer for the dead, she jumps into the coffin and slams the lid shut.
The door to the crypt opens. Altera holds her breath, listening as it comes nearer. Its breathing is heavy, moving in and out. Suddenly it laughs. "You'll never find me that way Pisces, hiding like a mouse in a hole. When you feel like coming out and playing my game, I'll be waiting. I'm looking forward to winning." The creature turns and moves away. Altera hears the door to the crypt open and close.
With a sigh, Altera lifts the heavy lid, pushing it sideways so she can get out. Before replacing the lid, she takes one last look at the two sleeping figures, and gasps in surprise.
In the smaller skeleton's hands, a shining black crystal which wasn't there before lets off a soft white glow. Altera reaches down and before she can touch it, a blinding white flash lights up the crypt.
As Altera's vision clears, she looks once more at the skeletons, but they are no longer what they were. The dead figures are now flesh and blood. The larger figure looks only a few years older than Altera herself. Her hair is golden yellow and her skin pale as the winter's first snow. The shreds of fabric have turned into a beautiful white dress, covering her body. White rose petals cover her and the coffin. In her arms, the body of a baby rests, still clutching the black crystal.
"Thank you," Altera tells them, and removes the crystal from the child' s hands. Altera grasps the lid and slides it over the coffin, leaving mother and child to rest peacefully for all eternity.
Rei stares into the jumping flames. After Altera didn't show up at the meeting, Rei decided to meditate.
I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it. I've the most terrible feeling that something's wrong.
Rei allows herself to fall into a trance. The heat of the roaring temple fire warms her skin. As she falls deeper, images beginning to appear, but with little clarity. Hmm, that's strange. She must be asleep, but Rena said that she wasn't at home, so where is she?
Rei's concentrates harder, this time looking for Altera's mind instead of her physical body. She finds the presence and lightly touches it with her own mind. Images come rushing at her like a hurricane. She sees Altera running into the crypt and climbing into the coffin. Then she sees the creature walking in. It's just like the one that attacked Reni. It's taken over her dreams!
Altera waits a little longer at the crypt door, making sure that the creature is gone. What did he mean by "finding him."? He's the one chasing me! Isn't he?
After a few minutes tick by, Altera slowly opens the door and peers out. With a sigh of relief, she steps out into the chilly night air. Without knowing where to go, she starts walking down the rows of tombs.
"Altera!"
Altera turns around, wondering who is speaker to her.
"What? Where are you?"
"Altera, listen, it's Rei!"
"Rei?"
"Yes, You're dreaming."
"So I've noticed."
"But it's not an ordinary dream. That thing you saw earlier, it's a kind of dream keeper."
"Dream Keeper?"
"Well actually, it's only its shadow. Its physical body is somewhere else."
"Great, so how do I avoid it?"
"You don't and you don't want to. The only way you can escape the nightmare is to find its physical body and destroy it."
"But what about the shadow?"
"The shadow itself can't do anything to you, physically anyway. Be careful though, your physical body can't last too long. You only have 24 hours to get out."
"That shouldn't be a problem."
"Normally it wouldn't be to hard, but time in the dream world moves slower than time in the physical world."
Altera sighs and mumbles, "There's always a catch isn't there?"
"Unfortunately yes. I'm not entirely sure, but I think you have…"
Rei is pulled back to her physical body violently. She rests her head on the floor, her breath coming out in short, shallow gasps. Pulling away the sleeve of her shirt, she glances at the watch on her wrist and her eyes widen. She has been out much longer than she thought.
"You have about two hours."
"Rei! Rei?" Altera shouts frantically. "She's gone. I don't have much time left, I should probably start moving." Altera picks up her pace, running through the cemetery. A dark shape looms up in front of her, casting long eerie shadows upon the ground.
Altera stops and stares at the large manor, the biggest she has ever seen. It is a one-story building made up of plain stone. Gargoyles are perches on the top roof and in front of the steps. Smoke is billowing out of a chimney and a small flickering light winks in and out from room to room. He's in there.
Cautiously, Altera walks up the stone steps to the large wooden doorway. There appears to be no way in. There is no doorknob or bell of any kind and no windows allow entry.
Altera sighs and turns around, trying to think of another way in. The sound of creaking causes her to turn back around. The doors slowly swing outward, the heavy oak doors straining on their hinges. "I guess that means I can come in."
She steps through the doors and into the dimly lit hallway. Candles line the walls, illuminating red paint and a few pictures. The floors are solid wood and a red oriental carpet stretches off down the hallway.
After passing a few doors and other hallways, Altera comes to a set of large double doors. The doors open with a groan and Altera finds herself in a large ballroom. The ceilings are vaulted and come to the top in a domed shape. The walls are lined with mirrors and a piano sits in one corner. She steps in cautiously, her footsteps' making earth-shattering echoes.
A speck of light appears on a mirror in front of her. Altera squints, not able to believe what she is seeing.
"Rena?" The tiny fairy nods once. Her face is very white and her eyes as big as saucers. She raises a hand and points to the area behind Altera.
"What is it? I don't understand!" The piano behind her strikes a dark cord. Dimly, she recognizes it as the entrance to Beethoven's Toccata in D minor. Altera turns to see who is playing, but no one is sitting at the bench, the keys dancing merrily by themselves.
Altera turns back to the mirror to confront Rena, but her guardian is gone. Her mouth drops open. Through the mirror, she can see the figure in black at the piano. He smiles wickedly and Altera hears a loud cracking sound above her. Before she can glance up, the mirrors in the room shatter, scattering glass all over the room.
Altera attempts to shield her face as a piece of glass is hurled toward her, but it manages to graze her cheek. After a moment, Altera pinpoints an exit on the other side of the room. As broken shards of glass continue to whirl as if swept by the wind, Altera runs toward her only escape. Once through, she slams the door closed behind her and leans tiredly against the frame. Touching a hand to her sore cheek, she wipes away blood. This is much more than a dream. The pain and the blood feel real enough to me. Eventually, the bleeding stops and Altera looks around to see where she has come.
The walls are lined with books of every kind. The smell of must reeks in the air. Ladders are set upon each wall in order to reach books on the top shelves. A library. Altera walks over to a candleholder and picks up one of the lit candles. She then walks into the maze of shelves. Glancing at the spines, Altera realizes that most of the books appear in no particular order. Some of them are even written in words that she doesn't know, languages she could never hope to comprehend.
Another light can be seen from another row of shelves. Slowly, Altera walks toward the flickering light. As she nears it, the figure turns. Ice blue eyes meet her gaze. The figure is dressed in blue with blue hair. The eyes are slightly glazed over and the body is nearly transparent.
Altera chokes back a sob, struggling for words. "Ami?"
Ami turns and begins to walk down the isle, stops, turns back to look at her, and then continues.
"Follow you?" Ami leads her past rows and rows of shelves Finally, she stops at the corner. She reaches out a hand towards the shelf. A book falls from the shelf and lands heavily on the floor. Ami turns once more to glance at Altera, smiles, and then disappears, her figure becoming more and more transparent until it is nothing but air.
As Ami departs, Altera picks up the book that fell to the floor. "Four Past Midnight," she reads aloud. "Why this book? I don't understand."
Altera looks up. Another door, I wonder where this one leads. With no other choice, Altera walks over to the door and pushes it open. The only thing beyond it is a short corridor and another door at the other end.
Holding her candle high, she steps into the dark corridor. The moment she is through the threshold, the door slams shut behind her. Altera turns back toward the door and frantically tries to twist the doorknob, but to on avail. Guess I'm not going back that way.
Altera continues down the corridor toward the other door. The walls are bare and black, the flame from her candle the only light. Altera swallows as the walls seem to close in tighter around her. Perfect time to figure out that I may be slightly claustrophobic.
Finally, her hand reaches wood and she pulls the door open. What the…
The room is filled with clocks, each ticking away. Every kind of clock possible seems to be in the room, from tall grandfather clocks, to tiny digital alarm clocks and wristwatches. Alter scans the room. "There's no door. How am I supposed to get out of here?" Taking a closer look at the clocks, she notices that each one is set for a different time.
"Okay, it can't be that simple. In every movie and every game ever made, when someone walks into a room filled with clocks, all they have to do is set all the clocks to the same time and a door opens." Altera looks around again. "Oh, what the hell, why not?" Altera begins setting clocks. She tries many different times, but none seem to work and every time a time doesn't work the clocks only go back to the original time that was set when she came in.
Altera leans up against a wall. "Yes, I was right. To keep guessing like this is very easy, but the hard part is the time that is spent doing this. There must be thirty different clocks in this room; I can't just keep trying different times. That would take far too much time! Time that I don't have."
Altera quickly runs down the corridor again and tries to open the locked door, praying for a miracle. Nope, still locked. That means my only chance is the room with the clocks but…
"Wait a minute… The book Ami showed me was Four Past Midnight. Maybe…"
Altera rushes back to the room and begins searching the faces of the clocks. Sure enough, there is a large grandfather clock that reads four past midnight. With a triumphant smile, Altera begins to change the clocks. As soon as she is finished setting the last clock, a wall slides open, revealing a new door. "Open sesame!"
The smell of death greets her the moment she enters the next room. It is a billiard room. Tables have been overturned and chairs are lying in splinters on the floor. As she passes a table, Altera sees what looks like an unfinished game of poker. One deck is face up, revealing a royal flush; in blood red hearts. That can't be a good sign.
Altera rounds a corner and her breath leaves her lungs. Hanging from a beam on the ceiling is Sailor Venus (sorry Venus fans, but keep in mind this is a nightmare and I had to use someone), her neck snapped in half. Her eyes are glassy and her skin is chalky white.
Altera struggles to swallow the bile that has risen in her throat. Feeling a little sick, Altera leans on the edge of and overturned table for support. It's only a dream, a very graphic dream, but a dream none the less.
Suddenly, she hears the sound of someone approaching. Altera looks for a place to hide but can see no escape. With one last sigh and a promise to herself about never telling Mina about this, she jumps up onto the dead scout's body, using it as a shield. Being much smaller than Mina, it was quite easy.
Altera peers through Mina's hair seeing the long shadow of the Dream Keeper. The Keeper scans the room. When he spots Mina's body he smiles. Then, touching a finger to his head, he disappears in a puff of smoke.
Altera's body goes limp with relief. As she moves to get down, she catches a glimpse of Venus's face. It is turned toward her, her lips curved upward in a smile. The smile on the previously blank face is the last straw for Altera.
That's it! No more, it has to stop!
Altera jumps to the floor, landing easily on her feet. "Dream Keeper! Where the Hell are you! I know you're here you cowering bastard, so show yourself! I've had enough of your games, come out and face me!"
A booming laugh echoes through the manor walls and another door slides open behind the bar counter. Vaulting over the counter, an angry Altera enters the room.
This room is large and domed the very center of the manor. It is covered in vines and weeds. Plants climb up columns and fountains. They shoot out through the stone floors and cascade down walls. In the center of it all stands the Dream Keeper. His body is clothed in a black cloak with hood, a scythe in his bony hands.
"Welcome to my domain. I hope you've enjoyed the accommodations."
"No more Dream Keeper. I will not let you haunt anyone else's dreams. Pisces Transform!"
Altera feels the ring on her hand burn. Soon, her chest and forehead are added to the feeling. She feels the dark wings shoot out of her back and the feathers cascading around her, wrapping her body. She reaches above her head and draws her swords.
"You're finished Dream Keeper." Pisces feels the shadows rush up her power nearly out of control. This time however, she doesn't run or try to fight them off. Instead, she seizes it, ready for a fight. She feels her dark power rush through her. With all her might, Pisces forces it to obey her will.
Dream Keeper laughs and charges her. With very little effort, Altera jumps out of the way. Dream Keeper raises his scythe and throws it, the scythe turning to red fire in midair. Pisces turns quickly and throws one of her swords back at him while at the same time barley missing the scythe. Dream Keeper vanishes and appears behind her. Caught by surprise, she isn't ready for the dark purple ball that he sends in her direction. It catches her in the back and sends her into the dirt.
She feels his fingers close over her throat. With a mighty kick, she pushes him away and takes to the air. Once above him, she throws her remaining sword and once again, he disappears. This time however, Pisces can see the shimmering from above as he reappears.
"Dark Torrent!"
Dream Keeper is caught off guard as dark water rises around him. He reaches out a hand and the scythe lifts of the floor and moves toward him.
"I don't think so." Pisces intercepts it long before it reaches its master. The world fades and the walls blur. Altera feels a familiar dizziness overcome her and her world begins to fade. As it does so, she says softly, "Goodbye Keeper. Game over, I win."
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Author: That was a long one! Not bad for a horror story though.
Rena: * comes flying up, looking very angry * What's the big idea!
Author: What? I put you in didn't I?
Rena: Yes, but you made me look bad.
Author: Well, where else was I supposed to put you?
Rena: Why couldn't you have Serena do the mirror thing? That meatball head would do anything for attention!
Author: Next time.
Serena: * Walks in, eyes on Rena, more that a little angry * Who are you calling meatball head?
Rena: Whom do you think?
Serena: * stutters * I'll get you, you little gnat!
Rena: Oh, really? * Flies off toward Serena's hair and starts pulling. * Take that!
Serena: Oh, owe! That really hurts! * Runs off, Rena still pulling her hair. Some unfortunately fragile things can be heard breaking in the background. *
Author: * leans back and sighs * I need to get some crowd control in here. * Smiles to herself, and laughs * Just wait you two, only a few more chapters and you'll have someone much more appropriate to deal with you!