Ray of hope || by Elin Moon

Chapter _: Laa Laa's dream

Where am i? What is this place? It's so dark, and the blizzarding cold makes my fur stand up, on edge. The floor is white and checkered, but once I look around, I see I'm the only light in this dark abyss. Slowly, I move forward, trying to rub warmth into my arms, with failed results. My body feels like it's absorbing the cold, leaving me numb and shivering.

Where am i? Why am I all alone? I can't be all alone. How did I even get here? And where is "here"? I shiver. It's all I seem to be doing, walking at the pace of a snail. I can't seem to speed up. Like an invisible force is holding me down. I hate it. Hate it.

My friends. Where are they? They couldn't have left me here? Maybe they're around here somewhere? I can almost see the image: Tink frantically looking for us, Dip calling for us thinking it's some stupid joke, and Po; tiny, innocent Po, sobbing while crying out our names. The thought makes me want to scream in horror.

"Tink! Dipsy! Po! Hello!?" I call out, my voice echoing through the emptiness. They must have heard me and soon, they will come running towards me. I wait. One. . . Two. . . Three. . . Nothing happens. I try again. "Guys! HELLO!?"

I hold my breath as my voice echoes. Again, nothing. Nothing at all. I feel my heart beating faster as panic sets in. I'm all alone. My friends couldn't be here, they would've heard me. What is happening!? I feel my eyes pool with tears and a sob escapes my mouth. Panic. Panic. Fear. I try walking faster, I try running, but I can't. I can't.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps. I look up, and see another radiation of light. It's rather far away, but it seems to be coming my way. My friends? Are they here? Is that one of them? Did they hear me? Tink? Po? Dip?

No. It's someone else.The tv on their tummy is glowing a bright white, just like their mouth. They have no eyes. Their fur is a pure black, almost blending in with the scenery. Dread pools into my stomach. I can feel something coming up my throat, sickness comes to mind. Blood was dripping from their mouth.

My breathing starts to speed as I turn around and try to run. But, I can't. I can only walk. I can feel my heart beat violently against my ribs, hear it in my ears. I see things. Pools of blood, and corpses devoid of all life. They look familiar. My friends. . . They're my friends. That thing has done this, and now, I'm going to die too. How could I have let this happen? A sob escapes my lips as I look back, and I see it.

It was approaching. And quickly.

I'm trapped. I'm never going to outrun this thing, I can't even run. Tears start to run down my cheeks as I fall to the ground and roll up into a ball on the floor. I can hear its steps approaching. Closer. And closer. And closer. Until it stops. And they're right in front of me.

They say something. It's hard to understand. Not only is their voice deep and rough, but it sounds like there is static over it. A lot of static. Like a very old recording or a broken tv.

"Hope". the only thing i understood of what they said. Hope? What do they mean? Are they mocking me? For being so hopeless? Or something else? My head hurts.

Suddenly, I hear a high pitched scream, one that leaves my ears ringing. My eyes fly open.

"Laa? Laa Laa?" I hear a voice next to me. A familiar, soft voice. I turn my head and see Dipsy sitting upright in his bed and looking at me with a worried expression. I sat up, still looking at him. From the sound of the slow, quiet breaths, I can tell Tink and Po are still asleep. Dipsy slowly touched my shoulder.

"I- I had a bad dream." is all i say. I just want him to stop worrying, although I am a bit worried myself.

"I could tell," he said. "You were tossing and turning left and right." He removes his hand from shoulder and wipes something off my cheek. A tear. "You also started crying."

I put my arms around myself, pulling my knees up to my chest, and slowly start rocking back and forth. Dipsy starts rubbing my back. I want to tell him about my dream. I don't want to burden him, but I want to tell someone so bad.

"I was alone. It was really dark." I start, looking at my knees. I don't want to look him in the eyes. I might start crying, 'cause I'll just remember the liveless Dipsy from my dream. "I couldn't run. I tried calling for you, and Tink, and Po. But you weren't there." At this point, my voice becomes shaky, and tears roll down my cheeks. I can't continue.

"Oh, Laa." he says, pulling me into an embrace as I start to sob. "We'll always be here. Me, Tink, and Po. We'll never leave you." He pets my head gently as I cry into his shoulder. "Friends always stick together."

I don't know when, but I fall back asleep. Placed back on my bed, tucked in, Dipsy holding my hand. The night is peaceful.

But the dream still plagues my mind.