Disclaimer: The only things that I own is my computer and what's left in my lint filled pockets. Don't sue me...
AN: It's been a while, I doubt anybody's even reading this...but if you are...enjoy. And like every other writer, reviews always make my day.
Dawn stared. That was all she could do. She knew that by now, trying to run away was futile. These dream-like sequences allowed her little movement or interaction with the scene around her. And although she could move, she wanted to know a bit more before wandering off somewhere.
This time the scene unfolded before her like a movie; onto the set of what looked like a training camp. For what though?
Her questions were soon answered when a couple of men jogged through right before her. On instinct, she took a hesitant step back. But she knew quite well that no one could see her. To these people she was, in essence, invisible. And although the thought was unsettling, it didn't really trouble her all that much. Honestly, she was used to it.
What completely threw her off track was the fact that these weren't men at all. Upon closer inspection, these men turned out to be boys. Many of them in their early teens. As her body took her closer into the midst of these children, a shiver ran down her spine. Among these boys were demons. Crimson-horned, sharp-nailed, tall 8-footed, Kahk'l demons.
She had read a small passage on them when she was doing some research for Giles. Distinctly she remembered that they were a fierce and unyielding warrior type. A type that trained ever since they were children; the type that was brutal and forceful. Her dark hair swished as she glanced around her. But there were no child-like Kahk'l demons, she only saw human boys.
Young boys training with Kahk'l demons. Dawn's blood ran cold. The Kahk'l were... She looked over to a worn down building with bars over the cracked windows. Occasionally inhuman wails were herd from there, only to be silenced. They couldn't be doing what she thought they were...could they?
She ran toward the darkened glass doors, in a fervor. She needed to know more.
The hallway was dark with dying light bulbs illuminating the shadowy hallway. Dirt and grime lined the floor. Thank the gods that her sense of smell was supposedly muted here.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she reached the second floor in no time. Seeing nothing much of interest there, she proceeded to the third floor. Dawn eyed one of the doors down the hallway on the far left. A Kahk'l demon had just stepped from within it and was now making its way toward her. Following her instincts and ignoring the demon, she advanced through the door.
She entered. At once, she turned away in disgust, choking. Something repulsive hit her auditory senses. And the smell was overbearing. Since when was she able to use her sense of smell in these weird dream sequences?
What she saw was disgusting. She shook her head in abhorrence at the sight before her. Demons of all types were lined up in what looked like cages no bigger than themselves. There was one word for this: Inhumane.
Dawn walked further in. The air around her was rueful. Some were chained up in their cages and many looked like shit. A number of them were crumpled on the floor with battered bodies. The smell was gut wrenching. She took a minute, coughing to rid her nose of the vulgar smell. No doubt that the 'caretakers' had left some to rot. This was immoral. Even demons didn't deserve this.
She swallowed her nausea and looked around. None of the demons were Kahk'l aside from maybe one or two. Many of them were of other types. Human looking ones, menacing ones, small puny ones, and even ones that reminded her of Oz...But why were they here?
Another wail brought her to the end of the hallway, where it diverged into two. Taking the route where the wail was heard from again, she walked briskly trying to locate the sound. Then she heard something. She tentatively stepped through a door to a room where she heard voices hissing in argument.
A group of Kahk'l demons were bent over a table, arguing over which body part to cut off of their human looking victim, who was lying helpless on the grimy steel table. As the one closest to her made his own decision and sank his scalpel blade into the leg of the victim, the man on the table jerked and cried out. As if pleased by the pained outcry, the other members of the group followed suit with other parts of the victim's body.
Blood pooled onto the floor, slowly leaking to where she was.
By the time they were finished however, Dawn was still standing there numbed. She almost threw up. She had watched a man get dissected--alive. Without another look to the mutilated body Dawn backed out of the room.
In a cry of surprise she backed into something solid. Abruptly turning she came face to face with a man. Though attractive somewhat, his frigid demeanor scared her. She screamed once and tried to run in the opposite direction. Not wanting to know why she could feel him. However, he was much to fast for her and he grabbed her by the arms. "Why little girl, have you gotten out of your cage again?"
Her eyes grew a bit rounder. "You can see me!" She whispered heavily, while shaking her head a bit in disbelief. This place was getting stranger and stranger...it wasn't like other 'dreams' she's had. To a certain degree, this place almost seemed...real. Well that is except for the fact that nearly no one could see her. No one but the man adorned in a white lab coat frowning mockingly at her--that is.
"Ah...guess it was your lucky day that I ran into you here. I was just going to the cells to get a Dreg." He grinned as he hauled her off into a room. "Come along."
Dawn struggled ceaselessly. How could this man see her? They weren't suppose to see her, she wasn't suppose to be able to interact with them. What the hell was happening? "Now now," the man scolded, "Don't make this harder than it already is."
As he opened a door, he threw her to the middle of the room, before he himself stepped in. She landed in a heap, breathless, of having struggled all the way there. As she took in her surroundings, she noticed a large snake like demon chained to the wall. It's beady black eyes didn't seem to notice her, but had it's glaring gaze at the man that had thrown her in there.
"Elox...I brought you a toy." The man gestured to the middle of the room, quite proud of himself. "Like it?"
Elox's eyes narrowed, and he let out a hissing laugh, "Aalkhan, you mussst've been working with them Kahk'l for too long. You're imagining thingsss."
The man frowned. "No I certainly am not."
"There isss nothing there."
Aalkan walked up to the snake demon and slammed down a dart right into Elox's shoulder blade, making him crumble and hang on his thick chains for support. "Do not lie to me demon."
"Why would I lie to you!" Elox hissed, annoyed. His ebony eyes flickered to the middle of the room, unable to focus on anything and then back to the man by the door. "There isss nothing there!"
All Aalkan did was murmur in contemplation. "Yes yes...you wouldn't lie to me. Unless..." The man threw Dawn a foul look. By this time, Dawn had retreated into a corner and had been considering her escape route.
"You!" He came by and pulled on her arm. He jerked her to the floor when she resisted, "We shall go see another." With that, he pulled her into a different room, with a different demon, who also swore that he saw nothing there.
And so the day lingered on. Aalkan dragged Dawn to countless demons and was baffled at why no one else could see her. He had even tried to show her to a few Kahk'l demons who simply dismissed him.
At long last, Aalkan was on the brink of insanity. His mind couldn't comprehend why this girl was haunting him. Why only he could see her. He had brought her back to a small filthy room after numerous attempts to explain her and left her there to rot. Intending to never come back for her again.
Dawn was a mess. Her cheeks streamed of tears. Her body aching and sore. Her mind harshly contemplating on why she hadn't woken up from this nightmare yet. This dream sequence was unlike any other, for once, she could actually focus on what she felt. The overwhelming feelings that she usually got from others seemed muted somehow. It was blocked. She could only feel her own emotions. And she was scared. What if...what if she never made it home?