Dream in Shadows

Bubbles drifted from his parted lips, floating through the black water. The water shook, a muffled shriek echoing around him. His fingers twitched and curled. A burst of bubbles escaped his mouth as his dark brown eyes snapped open.
He curled into a ball and grabbed at his throat. Another muffled shriek shocked the water, and he closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. A shiver ran down his spine, arms, and legs. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted, peering into the black depths. More precious bubbles escaped him and floated above. His gaze followed them, up to a pale blue light only just breaking the surface. Clenching his teeth again, he uncurled and clawed at the water with his fingers, kicking back and forth with his feet, propelling himself towards the blue light.
The water pulled at his heavy clothes, slowing him down. He squeezed his eyes shut and sealed his lips, holding what little air his lungs hid. The inky blackness of the water dissipated, the blue surrounding him in its place. His eyes opened to the bright light, suffusing the water with more of its glow as he neared the surface.
Strands of auburn hair bounced around his head each time he tugged at the water. Ripples played along the surface just above him. His fingers grazed the top. A spasm shot through his body, sending the last of the air from his lungs. Both of his hands covered his mouth, too late to save his breath. He pulled them away and clawed again at the water, breaking through the surface.
He opened his mouth wide to suck in as much air as he could and choked on water before slipping back under. Clenching his teeth again, he pulled himself through the surface. Coughs forced some of the intruding water from his burning lungs as he tried to remain afloat with a weak attempt at treading. Managing one eye open, he looked for something to grab. The water bounced against a blackness, and the blue reflected off of it. With a quick inhale, throwing him into a small fit of coughing, he dog-paddled towards the black. His hand slapped against the flat surface and he pulled himself closer. He slapped his other hand against it and slowly pulled himself out and crawled away from the water. With a gasp he collapsed onto his side with a wet thud. Air burned at his throat and lungs as he took in as much as he could. Water slid off of his pale body, aching and limp, and puddled around him. Heavy lids pulled together.
A deep laughter echoed around him and sent shivers through is body, returning him to the conscious world. With a groan, he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up, curling his knees under. He stood up onto his bare feet. Water dripped into the puddle from his large sagging t-shirt and shorts. Another shiver made him cross his arms tightly against his chest, and he looked around. Torches bearing dancing blue flames lined the black walls down a long corridor.
“H-hello?” he croaked and then coughed. When no answer came, he willed his feet to carry him down the hall.
The torches continued far beyond his sight, giving light but no warmth. The hallway brought him to a round room. More hallways broke up the walls. A large person stood in the center of the room. Shrouds of blue swirled around it, extending from its waist or shoulders and dancing at frayed ends like the flames along the walls. Gold shone from its plated torso and rings hovering behind its shoulders, long and torn strands of cloth flapped lazily towards the ground. The being turned towards him, its glowing gold eyes gazed at him through a faceless, hovering white mask.
He took a step back, his voice caught in his scratchy throat. The thing turned away and glided down one of the hallways, the shrouds billowing in its wake. A pain in his lungs reminded him to breath, and he closed his gaping mouth.
Suddenly a pair of dark arms wrapped around him, a hand covering his mouth. They pulled him back as he tried to scream through the hand. Warmth shocked his cold body as a voice whispered into his ear, “Shhhh, you live for now. If you scream I promise to reverse such.” The soothing voice had a weird accent, almost like the vampires’ from scary movies.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he nodded and held back a powerful urge, the tears welling behind his lids.
The voice chuckled and whispered again, “I don’t want to hurt you, little guy.”
Both arms loosened their grasp, but the hands lightly grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. He slowly opened his eyes. A darkly tanned older boy smiled at him, his icy blue eyes showing a mild amusement. Messy gold hair swayed as the boy pulled off his long white jacket and swung it around his shivering prey.
The older boy kneeled down as he tightened his coat around the younger and looked up. He asked, “I don’t suppose you know the way out of here, do you, little one?”
He shook his head.
With a chuckle, the older boy said, “It’s fine. Oh well. I suppose we just have to wait it out.” He looked away with a frown. His eyebrows furrowed together beneath the sudden creases in his forehead. A smile played on his lips as he turned back to his prey. “My name’s Damione. What may yours be?” His tilted his head slightly.
After swallowing a cough, the boy managed, “Bray.”
“Well, Bray, are you a human from Sin?”
Bray blinked, confused. “S-sin?”
“Hmm, yeah, you are. I guess the anomaly captured you as well.” Damione sighed as he stood up and gazed over Bray.
“Anomaly? Who’s that?” His eyes became wider, and he backed away from Damione. “How did I get here? What’s going on?” he yelled.
A warm hand was pressing his mouth closed, another wrapped around his arms and holding him to the warm Damione, no longer in his own view.
“Please, Bray, this is not a place where you would want to be loud. Dangerous beings have been pulled here, just as you have.
“You are from Sin and there are more planes like yours. The worlds exist with, but not in contact of, each other world. All that connects them is something called the Highway of Memories and someone, or something, warped it. That’s the anomaly, whatever that being did. Who you saw earlier was a very dangerous god and he, with a few others, are searching for that anomaly to end it. Until then, we are stuck here. Okay?” He released Bray who fell to his knees.
Damione walked around him and kneeled down before him. He placed a hand on each of Bray’s shoulders and smiled again. “Are you all-right, little one?”
His dark brown eyes met the older boy’s cold blue, two pools of water. He stopped shivering as he gazed into them. “I-I think so. I want to go home. I want to go back to my bed; to my mommy and daddy.”
The older boy nodded before standing up again, pulling Bray up with him. He opened the coat and led the boy’s arms into its sleeves and then clasped the belt. “That should keep you a little warmer until your clothes dry. Now, I found you pretty easily. If we stay here, others will be bound to find us. I assure you, most of the others here would make a nice snack out of you. We should get moving.” With that he took Bray’s hand and pulled him into the large room to one of the other hallways.
“Damione, what others? Why would I make a snack?”
“Well, you’re a human. I think you would call us demons. Most prefer meat. And, sorry to say, you’re meat.”
He flinched and tried to walk faster to keep up. “You’re a demon too? Would you eat me?”
Chuckling, he turned back with a warm smile. “Yes, I’m a dragon. Once upon a time, you would have made a small appetizer. But, I suppose,” he said and his face became more thoughtful, “having children can change a person. You remind me too much of my baby when he was still alive. I guess that’s the only reason why I’m helping you at all.” His face brightened with a toothy grin again, and he turned and continued down the hallway.
Bray looked at Damione’s dark hand, firmly wrapped around his own. It had become hot, as he started to warm up, and the heat spread through his arm. Light from the blue torches colored Damione’s sleeveless white shirt and his slender, muscular arms.
“Aren’t dragons bigger? And why do you look like a human?”
“I can look however I so choose. I’m an old dragon.” His body shook with another chuckle. “I am bigger than you though, by at least a head. I can’t really hide that, I suppose.”
“Are you so warm because you’re a dragon?”
“My, you’ve become awfully talkative. Try to keep quieter though. And, yes, my body generates far more heat than yours.”
Damione stopped and pulled Bray against his chest. He leaned against the wall and looked around a corner. Bray was about to push away but Damione’s warmth went through the coat and his wet clothes. There was a deep beating, almost like a drum. He pressed his ear against Damione’s chest, discovering the source of the deep beating. His heart was slow and constant, a tempo like a clock’s ticking. His lids became heavy again, lulled by the warmth and rhythm.
“One of them is coming this way. I can’t see it, but I can hear it. It’s strange, it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard before. Try to stay as quiet as possible, ‘kay? And don’t fall asleep, not in here.”
Opening his eyes, he stood up a little straighter and looked up at Damione. He was still looking around the corner, searching for whatever was coming. He chewed on his lower lip and looked down the hallway from which they had just come. It was dark, just like everything else, even with the torches. The only real lights were that being from earlier, and Damione. His gaze traveled back up to him.
“That’s not good, not at all.”
“What?”
Damione wrapped his arms around Bray and jumped back as a huge creature, a mass of swirling black and blue smoke, slammed into the corner of the hall. It pulled back, eight thin, long legs ending in bony hands, working together. It didn’t have a head, only a large floating white mask, just like the other being. This mask had a massive crack up the center and a purple fire glowed behind each of the eye holes.
“W-what?”
“They actually exist?” A look of horror was spread across Damione’s face as he looked at the mass. “A dream stalker? That thing must be the cause of the anomaly. It has to be.” His face became fierce as his lips pulled back, bearing sharp fangs, and a low growling rumbled from his chest. “That’s what’s been pulling us here. It’s been trying to capture the right one to satisfy its hunger and missing, until it finally captured you. You were sleeping before, weren’t you?”
“Y-yeah.”
The stalker lowered itself to the ground, it’s long legs folding. Damione pulled away from Bray and slammed his palm against the ground. A light blue glow formed under the stalker, and it jumped back as a massive spike of ice pierced through the floor, tearing up chunks in a small explosion of cold dust.
Bray gasped and fell back against the wall as Damione dashed around the spike after the stalker. He flinched as a loud crack filled the air. There was a flash of blue from a side hallway followed by an earsplitting shriek. He curled up and covered his ears. The sound sent shivers down his spine and formed thick knots in his stomach and chest. It was that same shriek that had woken him up in that pool of water. Its mask was cracked, too.
The same deep laughter echoed down the hallway. All color drained from his face as Bray looked up towards the laughter. Shrouds of blue fire from the torches formed it as it glided towards him. Its mask vibrated with laughter. His eyes refused to move away from it as it flew past, its head far above the torches. It was three times his own height, a giant demon.
With a gulp, Bray turned away from it and tried to stand. His legs buckled and he fell to his hands and knees with a groan. Warm hands pulled him by his shoulders to his feet. He looked up into Damione’s icy eyes.
“We’ll let him handle it. I say we run.”
With a smile, he grabbed Bray’s hand and ran down the hallway. Bray barely managed to keep up with him, his legs still heavy.
“What was that!?”
“A god.”
Bray stared at the back of Damione’s head, awestruck. “A-a god?” he muttered.
“Well, not like yours, but one none the less! It doesn’t care about us though, so we’ll be fine if we stay out of its way.”
Damione led him around a corner and then took another right. There was another shriek. The walls shook from smooth, black marble to countless fuzzy little dots, pulling apart. They quickly reformed into the wall. He gawked back at it.
“Hey, maybe you’ll get home after all. If he can kill the stalker, this place will return to normal. You’ll be returned to Sin.” He slowed to a walk and wrapped his arm around the unsteady Bray’s shoulders. With a smile, he said, “I guess we can wait it out then. Shouldn’t be much longer.”
Bray gave a weak nod.
“You okay, little one? Your face has gone a little grey.”
He looked down but Damione pulled his chin up with a finger and locked his gaze with Bray’s. “You’re not scared, are you? You’ll be fine with me here. I’m a lot tougher than I look.” His warm smile brightened his face, even his eyes shone.
“I don’t understand. What’s happening?” Bray gritted his teeth together and wrapped his arms around Damione, burying his face into Damione’s chest. “What’d you do? How? What is this place!?”
Damione’s hands hovered on either side of Bray, unsure what to do. “Uh, well, I already told you that. I’m not supposed to say anything, though. You don’t have to worry about it; you’ll be sent back to your world, and this will be nothing but a bad dream. I only told you anything earlier so you’d come with me.”
“What?” He looked up at Damione. “But, I don’t understand! How did you make ice come out of the ground? What’s Sin? And how can God be that, that thing?”
Damione sighed. “First off, that wasn’t God, not yours anyways. He’s a different type of god. You don’t have to know anything else, really. It won’t benefit you.” He lightly rubbed Bray’s shoulder.
“Just tell me, please!”
“Why do you suddenly want to know? You weren’t concerned earlier.”
“Because there are a bunch of things that I don’t understand now.”
Damione frowned and looked up, then turned to look down the hallway. With a sigh, he turned back to Bray. “Silly human.” A small smile played on his lips. “I guess I really don’t care about any rules, never have. You really want to know what’s going on?”
He nodded. The dragon smiled, bearing his fangs.
“So be it. Sin is one of five planes. Yours has nothing like what you call magic or demons or gods like him. Yours would be the safest, and the most remote. No one may enter or leave it, normally. Where I come from, all of those exist and anyone who know how to may enter or leave. And, I made that ice appear by calling on spirits.”
“Spirits?”
“Maybe the dead, or just masses of conscious energy. But I surrender a bit of my own power as compensation for a favor. The more a spirit likes me, the more likely they’ll do as I ask and the less they want from me in return. Understand?”
Bray pulled away. “So, you don’t do magic or anything?”
He shook his head. “Nope. No such thing. My way is just a dead way. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone use that method in ages. Happy now?”
“I guess.” He looked at the smooth floor. “It doesn’t really make sense. It’s better than before though, I guess. But, where are we?”
“Nowhere. This place doesn’t really exist. Think of it as a dream of the stalker. It brings people here, where it has a physical form, so it can eat them. Well, that’s how the legends go. Anything else, curious one?”
Bray shook his head. “I guess not.”
“Good, and your color is back. You’re too easy to distract.” He grinned and grabbed Bray’s hand. “We really should be going though. Like I said before, so long as we keep moving, we should not run into any other beings. Once the stalker has been slain, this place will disappear. At that point, your world will draw you back to it. You should never have been able to leave it, so it will not let you stay away for long.”
“So, I’ll get to see Mommy and Daddy again?”
“Uh, yes, of course. Well, I think.” He shrugged before pulling Bray down the corridor.
“Wait!” he yelled and tried to pull Damione to a stop.
He complied and turned back. “What do you wish for now?”
“Will I be able to see you again?”
He flinched and replied, “What?”
“Well, when I’m sent home, will I ever be able to see you again?”
“Why would you want to see a demon ever again?”
“You’re warm.” He stared down at Bray blankly. Bray’s face became hot under Damione’s stare, his cheeks and ears turning red. “Well, you are. And, you’re helping me, right? And, you’re kind of cool.”
“Did you not just say I was warm? How am I cool as well?”
“Not like that! You’re really cool. Like, awesome, I guess.”
“I still do not understand. I’m afraid I have not learned quite enough about your world yet. Yeah, my cousin would be much better for this sort of situation.” He let out a small laugh.
“Um, well, I like you. You’re nice and strong and stuff. You’re like a big brother, but better!”
Damione had a blank stare before suddenly breaking out into amused laughter. Bray’s face became a deep red as he looked away. When he caught his breath, Damione kneeled down to look up at Bray.
“So, I’m like an elder brother? I suppose that is nice; I feel younger than if you had said father. Of course, you are most likely used to seeing older-looking fathers, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to visit you when you go back to your world. Well, not without help anyways. Even then, it’s against the rules. They exist to protect those such as yourself, after all.”
“I thought you didn’t care about the rules?”
Damione opened his mouth but nothing came out. He snapped it shut and crossed his arms. “My, that was awfully quick of you, wasn’t it? Well...”
Deep groans filled the halls. Bray looked around, finding nothing but more darkness. Damione stood up and wrapped his arms around Bray, pulling him close. “Well, sounds like a victory for a certain terrifying god.”
Bray gasped. “But, that means this place will disappear, right? What about you!?”
“Oh, I’ll be fine. I’ll just be dropped off on the Highway of Memories.”
“No, I mean about coming with me. Please?”
The walls trembled. Small particles shook from them, filling the air with a deep purple mist. Every blue flame simultaneously died in a quick flare.
He looked back up at Damione. “Please? I know you’re a demon, but you’re still so cool! I want to know more about everything. Please, please can you come with me?”
Damione looked up with a groan. “Why couldn’t my heart stay cold forever? Fine.” He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Bray. “I’ll find a way to get to your world. I’ll tell you everything. Hell, I might even be able to find a way to help you escape Sin. I guess it’s not impossible, just very difficult. Are you sure about this? You know, if I do this for you, a lot will change. When everything does change, it may not be all for the better.” He looked back down at Bray.
He nodded excitedly. “Yeah, totally! So, does this mean you’ll be my big brother?”
“Uh, well, I guess I could. I mean, it’s not like I have anything else...”
“Really!? Thank you, you’re so, totally, awesome!” Bray pressed his cheek against Damione’s chest and held him as tightly as he could. He closed his eyes to the blinding purple mist and Damione chuckled.
“Silly little human.”