Mr. Misty-Eyed | Josh Dun

dream sequence | three

Ice cracked underneath me as I laid flat on my back against the cold, hard surface. Even though my eyes were shut tightly, I knew once I opened them I'd be blinded by the immense light waiting for me. It was something I wasn't accustomed to in my dreams, but it couldn't be good. My dreams were never good.

It was cold, freezing, my body tense from the chilling air. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter while the sound of something shattering caused my heart to leap into my throat. I knew exactly what was coming, but I wasn't ready. No one could prepare themselves to be submerged under water and into an abyss of cloudy nothingness.

A weight on my chest forced my eyes open wide and as I predicted, the bright white radiating off the snow drifts around me made my eyes burn. The pressure on my chest increased dramatically and I exhaled a puff of air, my hot breath looking like smoke above my head as it came into contact with the frigid atmosphere.

I could feel the ice shift underneath me and before I could react I slid sideways as the ice below cracked and lifted into the air, bobbing up and down in the water. My legs shook as I tried to stand. Once I had finally steadied myself, I took only a second to look at my surroundings.

It was a frozen tundra. A vast ocean of ice for as far as the eye could see. My heart pounded in my chest so quickly it felt as though a heart attack might be the end of me instead of my nightmares. In the distance I watched as the ice broke and split from each other, jagged edges popping up, getting closer and closer.

I had no choice but to turn in the opposite direction and run for my life. Through the hazy mist I could see a dark smudge that I could only assume was where the water's edge hit land. It was my lifeline, the only thing propelling me forward and away from the inevitable.

My feet slipped and slid as I continued to run toward the land that my mind teased me with. I knew I'd never reach it, but I couldn't stop myself. It was the only shred of hope I had. I gasped as my knees hit the ground hard, water consuming my left foot as it broke through the thinning ice.

I huffed, pushing myself up, teetering back and forth before I once again started to run. I could see it clearly now, a line of trees bare and withered from the cold, but I couldn't help but let a smile tug at my lips. Maybe I actually could make it.

The burning in my lungs only pushed me to run faster, the ice breaking behind me was the furthest thing from my mind. With just a few more strides I'd be there, I'd be safe.

The wind was knocked out of me, my body crumpling to the ground in pain. I was there, the bank of land mere feet away, but something was stopping me. My mind began to race as a shadow stepped out from behind a tree. The same shadow that had laughed at me through the ice. He was laughing once again and I knew that I was damned. It had been as I had expected, the bit of land had only been a tease, something I'd never be able to reach.

"No!" I screamed, feeling sick as that menacing sound hit my ears.

The ice my hands rested against broke and I fell back, my body coming into contact with the dark water I knew all too well. I shut my eyes immediately, my joints locking up from the freezing temperature. And for once I let myself sink.

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