Dead Dreams

Five

There was a time when I ran through the woods before. I remember how frantic I was as I ran, branches scratching me and the soft dirt slowing my movement as I tried to get away. The darkness also served as an obstacle, I could hardly see a few feet in front of me. This place is awful. Why do I have to be here? Was what I thought. Why me? As terrible as it was, I wished it was someone else instead. I wanted someone else to suffer instead of me. I was knocked from my thoughts as I almost tripped over the roots of a tree. Using the tree for support, I was able to steady myself. I came to the realization that I was a few steps from the edge of a clearing. I didn't want to go out there, but staying here was not the best option either.

I took a few steps to the edge, my anxiety growing with each and every step I took. Any choice I made in this place gave me such strong unease. I was smart enough to know that there was no one and nothing here that I could trust. I was alone. I bit the inside of my cheek to make myself focus. Focusing wasn't able to stop me from fiddling with my jacket though. Just barely, I peeked around the edge of a tree to see if there was anything there. I was a little surprised by what I saw, and even that I could see.

There, in the middle of a dead flower patch, sat what seemed to be a person on a sheet. Each and every flower bent to the ground-directly to the ground in an arch. It was the most unnatural looking scene to me by far. The person had long, black hair that trailed all the way to the ground and some of it pooled there. It was messy, but I could tell that it must have been hard to manage because of the odd pieces of hair that stuck out here and there. They were surrounded by a few...animals? They were all deformed in some kind of way. I saw a rabbit missing an ear and eye, a teddy with what looked like dried blood coming from a large hole in its chest with organs hanging out, and a monkey that held symbols with its eyes sunken into its head and its fur looked singed off in odd places. The worst part was that they all held smiles on their faces. It wasn't the pleasant kind though. It was like they were forced to smile. Their eyes held no sort of light.

They were not the worst things I had seen, but it was still hard for me to look at them. I realized I was shaking terribly, but I just made myself grip to the tree. Somewhere, very deep inside, I could hear a whisper telling me that this moment was important. So I continued to watch. I heard what sounded like the clinking of glass and...talking? I was too far to make out what it was and I strained to hear something more, but I couldn't. I mustered up the courage to peek around the tree some more, and then a little more. Centimeter by centimeter, minute by minute. All the while, I made sure that the monsters in front of me continued with their conversation. Within a few minutes, I was standing directly beside the tree. Then finally, I was able to hear something. A single word. But it wasn't from any of the animals. It was from the person. They hadn't spoken it though. Their word just permeated through the air, like they had just thought it into existence. In that moment, my face must have fallen completely. I had made a mistake.

"Human."

I was terrified and simultaneously felt the strongest dread I had ever felt in my life. It felt like my soul had drained out of my body and into the soil below, and perhaps even deeper looking for a place to hide. I felt so cold. Shivers took over my body to the point that I struggled to keep my balance. All the animals had turned to face me now. Then the person stood up as well, and they leisurely turned to face me. I had the strong urge to close my eyes, but I was completely frozen in that spot. All I could see from that distance was a smile. A smile that held teeth as sharp as razors. This one held sincerity, but sincerity can form in the most hateful feelings. I knew right then that I was facing a danger far greater than death. If I was caught, I would be ripped apart and my soul really would drain into the soil, keeping me in this place until the end of time. I snapped my head back and ran as fast as I could back into the woods from where I came. I no longer cared much for what lay inside, and there was one thing I now knew for certain in this place. I never wanted to see that thing again.