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The dream was always the same. Jason had been having the same dream at least once a week since he was
a baby. He knew this but it never stopped the dream from taking him over. Even now knowing it was a dream, he could feel
it pulling him in. He resisted of course, no one would go willing into this dream. He struggled but as always his resistance
was futile the dream swallowed him whole.
Jason found himself standing in darkness, a long black tunnel
opening before him. He could not see it with his eyes, but he could sense it somehow. With those same senses he knew it
curved up ahead and slanted down too. He had been here before he knew that, maybe more then once, but he could not explain
how he knew that either. The knowledge of this place was inscribed in his very bones it seemed. And it knew him too. The
darkness seemed almost alive, beckoning and repulsive at the same time. He did not want to go into that tunnel. Jason would
have rather done anything else, but his feet started to move by themselves.
The tunnel was pitch black
and Jason stumbled more then he walked. He wished for light and was not surprised when he saw a soft glow begin just in front
of him. A staff had appeared in his hand though he knew it had not been there seconds before. But he did not question it,
for this was the way of dreams. He studied the staff by the faint light. It was nearly six feet tall and intricately carved
with figures and symbols he could not recognize. The wood was not something he could recognize either, it was knotted and
polished with age. At the top was a curled silver dragon in European style. The wings were spread and the tail was wrapped
around the body. It was so detailed that he could make out the individual scales on the creature's head. In the dragon's
front claws was a pale blue crystal sphere. The crystal seemed to be the source of the faint light. As if that thought was
the key, the light grew much brighter.
He glanced down at himself. He was wearing some sort of odd looking
robe, mostly white but with stripes of alternating red, blue, brown, and green at the sleeves and hem. It had obviously seen
better days. It was torn in several places with liberal dirt and soot streaks. It stuck him as strange and yet familiar
at the same time. Lifting one leg to look at the hem, he noticed he was wearing jeans underneath the robe and his familiar
battered sneakers on his feet. There was a sword belted around his waist too. In any other setting this would have struck
him as funny, but nothing seemed funny here.
He started walking again, the light throwing odd reflections
off the walls. Things scurried away from his feet. They were pale and sick looking creatures that seemed more afraid of
the glow then of the strange intruder in their midst. In fact by the flash of fangs in more then one mouth, Jason expected
they would have liked to see what he tasted like if the dreaded light would just go out. Jason clutched the staff tighter
and continued on around the first curve.
The light held, but the circle it illuminated decreased. The
tunnel started a steep decline and the sound of wood on stone changed. The floor below his feet sounded almost hollow to
his ears. A chittering noise started, and he could see the creatures crowding right to the edge of the light. But he continued
on pulled by unseen forces. Once again he tried to stop his feet but it did not work. He could no more halt his progress
then he could kill a lion with his teeth.
And suddenly he was there. Jason did not know where there was
exactly, but he could feel it when he arrived. It was obviously a huge cave. The light did not touch the ceiling or any
of the walls. Beyond the feeble glow of his staff was a black so deep it almost seemed alive. And then it moved. A horrific
shape, all teeth and claws blacker then even the cave around it, uncoiled and made straight for him. That's when Jason
woke up.
Or not. He knew somewhere deep in his mind he should have woken up, but he remained asleep.
In his sudden panic he forgot all about the staff and the light flickered and went out. The creature seemed almost as startled
as he was. But it recovered much quicker and howled in triumph. "Little wizard, now you are mine!" The voice
seemed to come from everywhere. It bypassed his ears and sank deep into his brain, feeling oily and foul. It reached out
and seized Jason around the middle with a black appendage.
As soon as he felt the foul touch the fear
and panic set in. He wanted nothing more then to run, to scream, to hide away forever. He had been scared before, heck it
seemed like he had been afraid all his life sometimes. But he had never felt anything like this. He felt like a small child
panting in terror facing the monster in the closet. But there were no covers to hide under here nor were his parents going
to come to the rescue by turning on the light.
Jason could feel his life ebbing away, dream or not he
knew this was the end. He felt his feet leave the ground as the thing pulled him closer. Jason knew he was going to die
and in fact he almost welcomed death as the end of fear. Then suddenly something deep inside of him began to fight. He found
enough strength to say "No." It was a feeble noise there in the dark, but the staff flared once in response. In
the sudden light the creature pulled back dropping Jason to the ground. It recovered and reached for him again. But the
fear was gone, replaced by a sudden spurt of rage. "NO!" He yelled and poured all his will into the staff. The
staff flared alight again, too bright to look at. The creature screamed in pain and smashed him away.
The
strength was incredible and Jason's body sped towards the cave wall. With a detached portion of his brain he realized
there was no way he would survive the impact. He knew it was over and he knew that he had failed. He did not know what he
had failed only that it was important. He closed his eyes as he smashed head long into the solid darkness.
Jason awoke in his own bed with a cry. He had been having the same dream over and over until he could recite it by
rote and that had never happened before. Vaguely, he wondered if perhaps he had finally lost his mind. His eyes were gummy
and crusted nearly shut but he forced them open. The light from his window stabbed them and he shut his eyes again with a
soft groan. It felt like he had not slept a wink, so how could it be morning already? He became aware of a sound, but it
took his mind a while to interpret it as his alarm clock. Startled he looked over and cursed. He was supposed to have been
up twenty minutes ago.
Jason flung himself out of bed. Or he would have except the covers had become
entangled around his legs and he went crashing to the floor. Kicking free, he dashed around the room trying to find something
to wear that was if not clean then at least not sticking to the floor. Snatching up what he could find, he dashed into the
bathroom he shared with his younger sister. Luckily she was still in Middle School and would not be up for at least another
half an hour. Once she got into the bathroom it nearly took an act of Congress to force her out in the morning.
Tossing the pile of clothes on the floor he turned on the shower and hopped in. He turned the temperature to
nearly scalding and let the water flow down over his head. Jason let the water relax some of the tension before he began
scrubbing himself as hard as he could. He still felt vaguely unclean from the dream so he rubbed his skin nearly raw. Finally,
when he was red and wrinkled he forced himself out of the shower before the hot water gave out completely. A quick towel
dry and he checked himself in the mirror.
The face looking back at him was one he barely recognized.
His blue eyes were blood shot and looked bruised from the bags under them. And even worse they were pained and haunted looking
as if he had undergone a great trauma. His long straight nose was vaguely red and his strong cheeks were almost sickly pale.
His shock of black hair stood up in spikes all over the place from the drying. He was tall for his age at six feet, but he
had always been long and lean. Though he could still see the muscles in his chest and stomach, he somehow still looked gaunt
and unhealthy.
His mother's voice traveled up the stairs, telling him he was going to be late.
He brushed his teeth quickly, while glancing at the black t-shirt and jeans on the floor. The shirt was one of his favorites
with 'I scare my own family' in blood red script. The jeans were old with a couple small holes at the knee. But
they were comfortable and familiar and that was what he wanted today. The clothes passed the smell test but he sprayed on
a bit of extra deodorant just in case they were dirtier then he thought. Running a comb through the hopeless tangle of his
hair, Jason sprinted back to his room to grab his shoes and books. After tripping on a shoelace and nearly tumbling down
the stairs, he forced himself to sit down and finish dressing. Once his shoes were tied, he shouldered the backpack and raced
down to the kitchen.
His mother was waiting there as always. Her hair was the same deep black as his
but touched here and there with gray. She was dressed in her robe and slippers, though Jason knew she would have showered
already in preparation for work. Over that she wore the silly '#1 Mom' apron Jason had bought her for her birthday
last year. It usually made him smile when he saw it, but not today. Today he dashed into the kitchen and snagged a couple
of strawberry Pop-tarts straight from the toaster. He juggled them from hand to hand as he gave his mom a quick kiss goodbye.
He was late of course, but mostly he wanted to leave before she got a good look as his face and tried
to make him stay home. Normally he would love a day off of school, but not if it meant a return to bed and sleep. The dream
had never come two days in a row before, but it seemed as if the rules were changing. He barely heard his mother call "Have
a good day at school dear" before he was out the back door and running across the lawn to the bus stop.
Luckily the stop was only a couple of houses down and Jason slowed to a walk as soon as he was out of sight of his
house. The lack of restful sleep along with the frantic pace of the morning was already taking its toll and it was not even
7:00 am yet. School did not get out until three in the afternoon and right then it felt like forever. None too soon he found
himself stumbling over the last of the bushes that separated the neighbor's yard from the street. He could see the bus
stop just ahead and Jason shuffled towards it wearily. He shared it only with two other kids in high school. His friend
Walter Lawrence had been sick all week so Jason was not surprised by his absence. But Jenna Thompkins was there, almost bouncing
as she waited anxiously for his arrival.
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