The Time Cranium

Chapter 2- Dream of looting

Weathered tomb loomed all around him as he ran full-speed down the narrow path. "Have to get away... have to--" An unearthly scream rends the still air, looming from closed behind him... too... close...he started to look over his shoulder... when the world around him seemed to blur, and a powerful voice echoed in his mind.

"Keep... running... don't look back."

"I have to... keep running." He complained in his thoughts. Clenching his teeth, he kept his eyes focused on the path and pushed himself to even greater speed. Dodging between two crumbling mausoleums, he felt a surge of hope as the cemetery's gate came into a view across an opened expanse of grass. Before he could take another step, the strange voice returned, seeming to come from everywhere at once

"You wont make it... turn back hide." the voice continued to warned him.

"Who are you? How do you know?" He asked, a nearby sound drew his attention, and he look left to meet the empty eyes of his pursuers. The crowds on other side and a creature hovering unnaturally a dozen yards on the other side.

He looked from it to the distant gate biting his lip. "The gate is so closed... I'm going to." He whirled around and sprinted back the way, he came, the crowds and the creature furious shrieks pursuing him down the labyrinthine pathways. "Hrrrahh!"

"come on...must be somewhere to..." He skidded to a stop by a half-crumbled tomb with the creature forward and the looting crowds lingered back of the creature-howls echoing his ears, he crawled inside... and slammed the heavy door shut behind him, just in time! His breath seized in his chest as the crowds clawed at the outside of the door, then started to circle the tomb, hissing in frustrations. "What do I do?... What do I do?" He held his breath, trembling, waiting for the voice to guide him... but that time, it doesn't. "Please leave!... I don't want to die here... please..." The pale of the creature bursted through the crumbling stones, seizing him by the throat and dragging him from his hiding place!

"NO!" For an instant, time seemed to slow like a time traveling. And he found himself unable to move as the voice spoke one last time.

"You need my advice, and yet, still catched him... so many times I have seen this moment...and every path leads to your death. There's no more you can do to save yourself. We must find another way..." The voice came and spoke to him for the third time.

The creature claws came scything down, and the crowds too were still pursuing the direction-and he screamed as his flesh was torn opened, his whole world becoming a storm of blood and white hot agony... "Gaaahh!!"

The creature drew it's mouth closer aiming for second bite- as an unknown portal looping emerged out and jerked him from the creature-He woke up in another dimension-dream world-sitting in a cab. Then, hanging his head against the cab window.

"Auuggh!! Gaaahhh!!... Ouch!""

"Owww...what is the..."

"I was wondering when you woke up. Everything alright back there?" The cab driver asked smiling.

"Yeah... There was this graveyard...and this... this creature... wonder what he was looting with my body." He replied.

"Hey I don't know about that."

Everything was different in the other dimension, his body part which was torn opened was sealed. Nothing seemed to happened to him, it was unimaginable and over his thoughts. He thought he was dead and gone but nothing was on his body when the portal took him to the another dimension.

Suddenly, the cab turned onto a bustling street and pulled over... he stepped out of the cab, and the heavy, honeysuckle-scented air wrapped around him like a plush blanket. The street sings with joyful sound of brass instruments and tapping drums, intertwined with laughter and rowdy shouts from the crowd of revelers. "Whoa." He leaned against a lamp post and slowly looked around, taking it all in... "Where's is this place?" He asked himself.

Among the sea of jubilant faces... he realized the one was standing unnaturally still, eyes fixed steadily on him... 'Mysterious Stranger' "Who..." Seth asked blandly furtively himself, The man held his gazed for long moment as he stood frozen, struck by a sudden portentous feeling that he couldn't explained... until the moment was broken by a young woman rushing forward to wrapped him in a tight hug!

"Oh my god Seth? Is that really you? You look great! On earth after you left heaven!"

"Rachna! Hey..." He glanced back at the crowd... but the stranger had vanished.

"Seth? You alright?" Rachna asked cautiously.

"Yeah... I'm fine. How are you?"

"Everything fine!"

He remembered people in the dimensions but he couldn't recalled where he was!

"Rachna! What's this place?!"

"Seth, don't you remember, this is Khartoum presence!"

"Yeah!" Seth responded and brushed it as nothing. But not knowing where he was.

"Hey, you said you wanted to go all out for your twenty-fifth birthday and going all happens to be my speciality." Seth asked Rachna.

"Yeah... This week I want to have fun."

He followed Rachna down the crowded sidewalk weaving through the dancing crowd. Dodging around group of musicians, he walked right into a slender woman walking in the other direction! "Hey!" The woman shouted.

"Oh! Hey yourself, beautiful." Seth said praising her, then the woman smiled, taking a long sipped from her bottle of beer and shimmered playfully.

"Ooh, you're cute. Bold, too..." The woman responded back, she leaned in, and her body seemed to shimmered, skin glowing with an inner light. "I like that in a man."

"what the hell...?" Seth surprised.

"Unfortunately... I've got somewhere to be. Maybe next time." She pressed a quick kiss to Seth cheek, then slipped past him, disappearing into the crowd.

"Seth? You okay?" Rachna asked.

"Her...face...it changed, it...." He trailed off, shaking his head. "Sorry...just thought I saw... something weird for a second."

"The week I have planned for us? you'd better got used for getting weird. Now come on! We're already running behind. If I don't get something neon and boozy in me ASAP will literally die."

He followed Rachna down the street, casting one last look over his shoulder... "Seth are you okay?!" then another strange voice came in "Seth, Seth! Are you okay?!" the voice spoke nonstop.