The Eve of Darkness

Chapter 13

Aria sat, relaxed in the open back yard, waiting for Camden to come outside so they could go for a morning run before heading off to the town over to retrieve her stuff that — more likely than not — had already been thrown out by the landlord. Hell, since she hadn't paid rent in a month, she likely wouldn't get her security deposit back either.

Fuck, she thought as she groaned and flopped back, wishing she had been more proactive in getting back to her apartment. At least there wasn't anything important there since I'd been worried about having to leave at any moment.

Turning her head to the side, Aria noted how the backyard didn't really end per se. Rather, it bled into the forest, which would then stretch on for countless miles.

Everyone would have loved this land, Aria mused in her thoughts, a small smile gracing her lips as she recalled how often her younger siblings would complain about the tiny backyard they'd had in Idaho.

Not wanting to spend too much time in the past, Aria forced the nostalgic thoughts from her mind and look up towards the sky. As the sun was still rising, an orange hue brimmed the edges of the sky and small rays of sunlight breached the cracks in the forest wall. It was on the dewed grass, in the light of the rising sun, that Aria laid flat on her back, arms out and eyes shut as the warm rays of the morning July sun began to seep into her skin. Inhaling and releasing a soul-filled breath, she took her time focusing on one individual sense after the other, opening it to the environment around her and embracing the revitalizing energy it gave.

Her bare fingers and toes curled and unfurled, the bones softly cracking as they released their tension. The thick, cool grass was a cushion, embracing Aria's body like a mattress made to fit one's shape. A soft breeze whistled through the nearby pine trees, their leaves and branches swaying like a boat drifting down a calm river. Planting the bottom of her feet on the ground, Aria couldn't help the slight smile that crossed her lips as tips of grass brushed against her skin. The air was warming and dry, gradually shifting from the damp, cold morning into a bright, steady heat. A sigh left Arias lips as her heart beat slower, lungs breathed deeper, and mind cleared. For a moment - just a single, fleeting moment - the forest surrounding her, the ground beneath her, and the breath within her, drummed to the same cadence. In that rhythm - in that harmonious pulse of nature - a soul's whisper sung into Aria's thoughts in the form of a dream.

One moment, she was laying in the expansive yard behind the pack house. The next, Aria was staring up at dark, blooming pines that seems to stretch up hundreds of feet. She squinted her eyes in lethargic confusion, observing the leaves that were so deep green they could have been a dark turquoise. The sun was no longer shining through, as an endless night peeked out above the woods. There was no moon to be seen and no illuminated stars to identify. Despite the knowledge that this was, most definitely, a dream, Aria still couldn't help the way her stomach churned as the pieces of sky that peeked through the tops of the mountainous trees.

It was complete darkness.

She had lucid dreamed once before, similarly on accident, so she wasn't too freaked out about being completely conscious. Heaving a breath, Aria sat up, glancing around to figure out what kind of dream her mind had concocted for her. She was sitting on a perfectly round patch that was covered in grass and flowers. Small, white orbs that glowed softly and appeared to be singing a soft chime floated from the ground. The rogue tilted her head as she observed the flowers in and around the patch, noting their familiarity. There were, strangely enough, only two types of flowers. Enclosing the flower patch were tall rose bushes, blooming with roses that of the richest red Aria had ever seen in her life. They contrasted the aura of the forest in their color, the petals of each flower looking as if someone had painted them in their own blood. Aria's eyes slowly moved over the bushes, squinting just slightly as she wondered what would be on the other side of the thorny wall.