Prelude to a Dream Part 2

**Lucen**

Trapped… surrounded on all sides, repressed. Too dark to see, too quiet
to hear, or was it too loud? Something pressing down, keeping him from
moving. He couldn’t see, his eyes burned and the darkness gave way to
viscus pink fluid. His limbs were too heavy to lift and his bones
ached. Something was choking him and his jaw was being pried open.
Damian began to panic and tried with all his might to wrestle free of
this odd restraining mechanism. He shook in the confined space as
violently as he could muster, but it was no use. He hadn't the strength
break free. As he started to settle in again, he noticed that what
little light could trickle through the pink fluid was disrupted by
something above. A cold shadow was cast over him and suddenly he was
grasped by something powerful and cold...

The world snapped into place around him suddenly, darkness fading into
subtle light, deafening silence breaking down into quiet ambiance. He
shot upright, sitting rigidly in his bed, looking all around
frantically. The dream had already faded, banished into the deepest
corners of his mind. His breathing slowed after a few seconds and the
sweat dripping down his body sent a chill through him. Another night
interrupted by nightmares.

Damian pulled the sheets back and placed his bare feet on the floor. A
deep breath quelled the slight nausea that always accompanied the
dreams and he stood up. Walking slowly to the bathroom, he tried
desperately to remember, to place the images in some sort of order that
might make sense. But it was all a blur, incomprehensible. He splashed
some water on his face and tried to shake it off, but the detached
aftermath wasn’t fading. He felt so close to figuring out what it was
that had been bothering him for so long, so close to understanding… but
it was still out of reach.

“Disorienting, isn’t it?” came a familiar voice from behind him. Damian
spun quickly to find an unmistakable silhouette in the doorway.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to stop bothering me?” She
smiled through the darkness. “You’re in my apartment! What’s wrong with
you?” He moved through the door, bumping her as he passed on his way to
the phone. “That’s it, I’m calling the police!”

Picking up the receiver he was not all too surprised to find no dial
tone. Placing it down softly he turned back to her. “What? What do you
want?”

“The same thing you do. Answers.” She moved across the room and sat on
the edge of his bed. “You don’t belong here anymore. You’re ready to
know the truth.”

He moved to the bed and stood above her, glaring down. “Stop it! There
is no truth! How many times do we have to have this discussion?”

She stood up slowly. “As many times as it takes for you to realize that
this world isn’t real. That it’s not where you belong.”

Damian shook his head. “You’re speaking in riddles.”

Walking across the room, she said, “They’re coming for you. It’s become
obvious that you won’t last much longer in this place and they can’t
risk you drawing attention where it isn’t wanted.”

As she approached the door he turned to look at her. “Who is coming? What are you talking about?”

She reached for the door. “I can’t protect you from them. You have to
do this yourself.” As she opened the door, she placed a card the table
next to it. “I hope to see you again.” And without another word, the
door closed and she was gone.

Damian sat down slowly and placed his head in his hands. He had to be loosing his mind.

The next morning came far to quickly, and Damian found himself unable
to get ready for work. He just couldn’t see the point anymore. Either
something huge was bearing down on him and his life was about to change
forever, or he was going insane and would be institutionalized in a
matter of days anyway. In either case, work seemed like the last thing
he needed to be worrying about.

He wasn’t sure where to start looking, but he needed to find some
answers. He fingered the card that had been left on his table the
previous night. There had to be another way.

Throwing on a jacket and heading for the door, Damian tried to put the
card down on his way out. It ended up in his pocket despite his best
efforts to the contrary. A few minutes later he was in his car, pulling
out of the parking garage beneath his apartment building. “…this world
isn’t real.” She had to be speaking in metaphors. She just had to be.
But what could she have meant? He found his hand on his pocket,
touching the card through the thin material.

No, he would find the answers on his own. He had always been able to
survive alone, there was no reason to start relying on people now.
Especially people he didn’t know, or trust.

His mind drifted for a time. He barely paid attention to the road as he
drove. There was no way to tell what time it was anymore, as he had
completely lost track of the day. His gas tank was approaching empty
and he decided to stop off for gas. He was still in the city, but
definitely not in a part of it that he was familiar with. It was run
down and felt dead.

Part of him didn’t want to stay a moment longer than was necessary… but
there was something inside him compelling him to look around. Normally,
common sense would have prevailed, but Damian didn’t feel fully in
control of himself anymore. It was as if he was watching through
someone else’s eyes. He could see things happening, see himself
walking, but had no control any more. Something was literally pulling
him toward the building up ahead.

It was tattered and crumbling, barely standing at this point, and the
doors were all boarded up. There was a crack in one of the planks of
wood and he saw himself kick through it. A moment later, he was inside
the darkened remnants of an apartment complex. The doors on the inside
weren’t boarded up, in fact most of them weren’t even attached to the
hinges any more. He moved quickly forward, heading for the only spot of
light in the entire hallway.

There was light flooding out from a room up on the left. It wasn’t
completely solid though. The light was wavy, like looking at the
pavement on an extremely hot day. Damian felt a pang of fear shoot
through him then. Something broke the fluidity up ahead, a shadow…

Someone was inside the room. Suddenly, he didn’t want to explore
anymore. He simply wanted to turn around and walk back to his car, but
his legs wouldn’t listen. Continuing forward, he began to panic inside.
Whatever was in that room, it had the air virtually alive with
hostility. He could feel wave after wave of it wash over him as he came
closer to the door.

Finally, he was there, standing just outside the room, just
outside of the light splashing out into the hall like water. If he hadn’t
been so terrified, he probably would have commented on just how
beautiful it was. But, instead, he was faced with walking into a room
that was absolutely brimming with negativity, about to step inside.

He tried to close his eyes, to stop his legs from moving, but it was
useless. He found himself entering the room and what he saw was… it
was… impossible.

It was a small living room with overturned furniture, a broken TV, even
a phone on the wall, but in the center of the room hung what looked
like a tear in the air itself. There was a swirling void inside the
tear and crinkled bits of reality all around it. The air was swirling
and the hostility he felt grew more intense with each step. As much as
he would have liked to back away, he had to endure watching his arm
reach out for it, and the jolt that charged through him as he touched
the edge of it.

It was like a low amplitude electrical charge passing through him, cold
to the touch, warm in his flesh, painful near the bone. But he couldn’t
pull away. He wanted to reach further into the void. Before he could,
his senses all came back to him at full strength, he regained control
of his arms and legs and the pain from touching the edge of anomaly
before him intensified dramatically. Pulling his arm away quickly, he
yelped. “Dammit!”

Even as numbness was spreading through his arm he felt compelled to
reach into it again. He found himself moving closer, then something
grabbed him from behind and pulled him away. A moment later, he was on
his back looking up at men dressed in black suits, with black
sunglasses covering their eyes. Around them were what looked like
Hazmat teams.

Damian wanted to ask what was going on, but before he could open his
mouth, he felt a needle poke him in the arm and drowsiness began to
overwhelm him. It didn’t take long before the darkness overtook him.
His last thought of the strange tear in reality that he couldn’t pull
away from…

**Illyria22**

Very cool -- looking forward to reading more!

Lyr