The Shield Of Broverold (Book 1)

Chapter 7

The monster's vision flashed into my head. I screamed. It was coming after me, I tried to take my sword out, but it was not there. I ran faster, into a small pathway, between two buildings. I saw a wall, and realized it was a dead end. I looked back at the monster. It was the same one that tried to kill me last time, but this time, there were no birds to help me. It came closer with a long sword, glowing red. I did the only thing I could do, scream.

My eyes opened. I sat up on my bed, realizing it was just a dream, a nightmare. I had been at Nature's Place for nearly a month and this was the first time I had nightmares ever since I came to Nature's Place. I had been here long enough to understand that in this sacred place, no one gets nightmares, unless something bad is going to happen.

I washed my face; there was still time for my practice session with Sam. He had promised me that he was the one I was going to face. As I remembered his sword, a chill ran down my back. Suddenly there was a scream, a blood-striking scream. I grabbed my phone and ran out.

It was Lara. She too had a nightmare. Brianna was there, comforting her. It was not everyday one gets a nightmare, especially at Nature's Place. Mr. Rowland told everyone to go back to their rooms until the practice session starts. Everyone exited except me. John was nowhere to be seen, in the group that had arrived. I went to Lara. "Are you ok?" I asked, putting my hand on her shoulder. She looked at me. "Yea, it's just a nightmare." She replied still in shock. "I also had one, just now." I told her. Her shock was replaced by fear. "It can't be a co-incidence! There is something bad going to happen, first of all nightmares are rare here, but two? Impossible!" She sounded afraid.

There was tension in the air; everyone had got to know about Lara's nightmare. I attended my sword fighting class with Sam. He was ready for me, and he looked like he was planning to give me a hard time. And believe me, a hard time, he did give me.

I raised my sword, ready to battle, with the most trained swordsman at Nature's Place. I moved forward cautiously. He did the same. I attacked on his shoulder, but he deflected it, easily. He attacked immediately and caught me by surprise. He was fast, really fast. I didn't even have time to attack after that, by the time I blocked his attacks, another would arrive. I knew he was playing with me. "Come on, Mark, you can do better than that." He encouraged. "You're too fast!" I shouted. I tried to concentrate. But at the back of my mind was the nightmare incident. "First of all nightmares are rare here, but two? Impossible!" Lara's voice rang in my mind. I continued to concentrate, trying to forget it. I attacked after a long time and it caught him by surprise. He blocked it and cleverly placed an attack with intense speed. I just had the time to block it. "Sam, Mr. Rowland is calling all of them to the dining area." A boy told from the doorway. Sam looked surprised, but stopped the practice and ordered everyone to run to the dining area. I wondered what the reason was to call a sudden meeting. I saw Lara with her eyes red and cheeks puffed up from crying. "What happened?" I asked. "It's John, he has been kidnapped!" She told over her sobbing.

Mr. Rowland told us that some eagles had seen some monsters taking John away. These eagles followed them and came back to tell us. "We need to get him back!" A boy shouted from the crowd. Mr. Rowland was discussing with Brianna. "Why would monsters kidnap him? Why didn't they try to kill him? Could the Olimusus want something from us?" I overheard Mr. Rowland talking. "Lara's nightmare!" Sam shouted. "Yes, the nightmare had foreshadowed this incident." Mr. Rowland replied still thinking. I felt guilty. "Mr. Rowland, I had a nightmare too." I confessed. He looked at me like he wanted to murder me. "Why didn't you tell us before?" He shouted. I looked down and muttered a silent sorry. "Do you know what 2 nightmares mean?" He asked me. "Not really." I replied truthfully. "It means that a quest is needed. It is a signal from Nature when a new quest is about to start." He explained.