Monster of Blue

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

     This must be a dream. A nightmare. Mitchell…please, wake me up.

      Thick gangly black roots sprout from twisted trunks. The ground covered with a paper-like mesh of sea green leaves, the delicate structure crunching with each step I take but never letting my feet sink in—not a blade of grass or patch of earth in sight. The ebony hued roots separate and spread through the air, intertwining with the nearby trees. Creating a spider web of darkness with little patches of purple shining through from the hidden sky. Shadows move and dance of their own accord, dashing to and fro in the blink of eye—little yellow eyes watching me from far away. 

     Glowing green mist parts around my ankles with each stride I take, an ominous round, layered manor lying in just a short walking distance of the unmarked path. It’s balanced and strikingly beautiful structure feeling me with dread with each step closer my capture takes. As if a sixth sense is telling me to flee while I still can. My trashing had stopped long ago, when the reflection of my room could no longer be seen and my tears finally dried. Lead seems to fill my bones and limbs, my heart being mercilessly squeezed by an invisible grip. Lingering tears blur my vision and I walk as far away from the creature’s seemingly gentle grip as he allows. 

      “What…is this place?” I whisper, my voice raw, “Where have you brought me?” A deep throaty chuckle leaves his gray lips and letting go of my wrist he opens his arms, gesturing to the new world around him. 

      “Why, my sweetheart, we are in the subconscious of the human mind. Behold! A simple fragment of the nightmares and chaos that cloud your minds, a gateway into a world of horror unknown to all but the cruelest of man. My home.” 

     A gruesome smile grows on his face, showing off sharp pink stained teeth. “Oh I’m sorry, I mean our home. Ah, such a pleasant word upon my tongue. Ours.” 

     I start to shake as he speaks, a sudden chill wracking through my body as he pronounces the word ‘ours’ over and over again—the sudden realization of his words making me scream in protest. 

      “No! No, no, no!” I back away from the monster, refusing to look him in the eye. “Whatever I did I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please, please let me go!” Tears begin to trickle down my face. I run a hand through my hair, pulling at the strands as I try to wake myself up from this dream. 

      “Let me go,” I choke out, my throat tightening as my breathing hitches, “Please, just let me go. I won’t…I’m sorry. Please…” 

     The monster cocks his head to the side, bones cracking with the small movement. His smile grows impossibly wide, chest shaking in silent laughter. “How pathetic yet so…tempting. You may say whatever words you want my dear. They matter not. You were mine from the first day you agreed to come with me. Though I must admit that it was a tedious test of patience waiting for you to grow and ripen.”

      He takes a step towards me and I bolt. The wind hisses in my ears as I run into the darkness of the trees—my heavy breathing becoming white noise as I dash through the woods. The shadows dance and part out of my way, small giggles and inaudible words echoing along the trees. Those beady yellow eyes following, watching. The corners of them crinkling in amusement as they follow me from a distance. 

     Suddenly, a mouth of razor-sharp teeth appears before me. An inhuman strangled cry pierces my ears, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on ends. Something instinctive clicks in my mind as I stubble and dart another way—the monster of blue disappearing as quickly as he appeared, his low dark laugher impossibly close to my ear. Cold breath nips at my heels, a blur of blue sneaking into the corner of my eye then vanishing with only the rustle of the leaves signaling his presence. I dare not look back as I continue to run. The muscles in my calves and thighs tighten with fatigue as a sharp pain stabs me in my side.