Miracles Happen in the Strangest Ways
Chapter 3: Dreaming in Metaphors
Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Notes: I got back from a bad camp, and what do I see? 11 reviews, just waiting for me! I was so happy, I shouted "Oh Boy!" Then I danced around my house with joy. And now I'll end this craptacular rhyme. By asking you to do it a second time. (For those of you who don't understand, I'm asking for ten more reviews, so I have better self-esteem in my writing. I REALLY need it)
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Tai awoke with a terrible headache. He sat up, rubbing the sore appendage, wondering if anyone had gotten the number of the tank that hit him. Wincing slightly, he pushed himself up onto his knees, trying hard to ignore the slimy feel of the ground below him. Then, when the felt ready to face the bright light of the world, he peeked one eye open to survey his surroundings.
He suddenly wished he hadn't.
Stretched out before him was a burning wasteland. No trees, no rocks, no buildings, no…anything. It was all barren. All he could see was sand and fire ravaging the land. It was quite literally, Hell.
Tai was left gaping, staring wide-eyed at the horror before him. He had always said the Digital World was Hell, but this was the real thing! Burning, barren, hot, bad, Hell. Nothing else to it. He was horrified to say the least. Hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind:
Where are the others?
Where am I?
How did I get here?
Where's Agumon?
What is this place?
What happened to me?
How will I get home?
Can I get home?
Who sent me here?
I want Matt.
The last one startled him. Since when would he want MATT? That blonde was a stuck-up little jerk with a bad attitude, no point in calling him. And yet, that's who Tai wanted now. His friend, no matter which way you sliced it. Sure they had their fights, and hated each other's guts, but those were the messy details. That mad you miss the real picture. So, that's who he called for first.
"MATT!" he shouted, while thinking of his friend, the Lone Wolf, as if willing him to answer. He waited patiently for his friend to reply.
But Matt wasn't the one to answer.
Instead, a huge blonde wolf with ice-blue eyes trotted out of the sands, to a rock cliff above him that Tai hadn't noticed before. The wolf looked down at him for an eternal moment, then turned his head upward in a long, haunting howl. Tai was in awe of the beauty of it all. Then, the wolf dashed down the rock, dived into the sand, and disappeared. Tai blinked.
Suddenly, a long procession of the weirdest things Tai had ever seen together marched out of the sand. Led by the blonde wolf, there was a blonde girl with clouds coming out of her ears and pink skin. There was a mother carrying her baby (unseen to Tai) in a bundle of cloth, with fire in her chest, right where her heart would be. There was a giant floating brain, and there was a skittish black cat that jumped at the sight of its very shadow. Finally there was a pair of young angels, shining like the sun so he could not see their faces. They held hands and were silent as they passed by. All together, it was quite a weird sight.
And Tai felt compelled to join them.
He tried to sit up to join them, but found, to his surprise and confusion, that he had grown roots, and was unable to move. He struggled with them so he could catch up to the mixed-matched band, but the thick plants would not break. Eventually he gave up and settled back down on the ground to sadly watch the group disappear over the horizon. As they left his vision, he felt hot tears running down his face like flames. They trailed down his cheeks, and dropped to the ground. Tai was crying, the unbeatable, the first to Digivole to every level, the defeater of Etemon, Venommyotismon, Metalseadramon, Mechindramon, and many others, the leader of the DigiDestined. He was crying, like a lost child.
Nevermind the fact that he was one.
Then all of the sudden, he felt something shaking him. The roots disappeared, and the Keeper of Courage was thrown across the sand. Then, a loud voice boomed from the heavens, like that of God, screaming at him. It took him a moment to realize he recognised that voice.
It was Matt.
"Wake UP! Come on you idiot, don't die on me now! Come ON Tai! You can't DO this to me, PLEASE don't die! WAKE UP!" and one final jerk rocked the area. Then, all was still. All of the sudden, it began to rain, and Tai had one fleeting thought.
Matt is crying.
And with that, Tai's eyes snapped open.
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I know it's not much, but writer's block will do that to you. I need inspiration, badly. That, and a Beta Reader, anyone interested? Oh, and here's a little challenge for ya: Where am I getting my chapter titles? The correct answer gets a big prize (If I can think of one). Good luck!