The Dreamer: Origins Act I - A Forgotten Past V: Mourning Glory John was in a dark room illuminated only slightly by a few torches that flickered in a struggle for their lives. The flickers of light allowed for only brief visibility of his surroundings. Midwa had collapsed on the ground in front of John. His eyes remained shut, and he barely took breaths. John knelt down and spoke. “Midwa? Can you hear me? Midwa?” But there was no reply. John looked around frantically for something he could use to help the weak rodent, but he was barely able to see as the light flickered and caused Midwa to fade in and out. Suddenly there was a cough. John immediately looked beneath him and saw that Midwa had opened his eyes. Though he struggled to open his mouth, the rodent uttered, “John…we don’t have much time…The longer we meet here, the weaker I am becoming.” John replied with a voice filled with concern, “But you seemed so strong. I don’t understand.” Midwa struggled to respond. “I do not know how many more times we can meet before I will…” He stopped himself before he could complete the sentence. John’s voice had transformed into one filled with desperation. “But I need you…We need you.” Midwa attempted to ease John’s apprehensions. “No, John. It is I who needs you.” However, this remark perplexed John further. “But how? I’m not…” John woke up to the sound of screams instigated by the tremors that had continued to rumble throughout the cavern for the past hour. As his eyes opened wider, the blur became more focused. He saw all the kids scramble. They carried rocks from the massive base of rubble toward its highest point. The higher they ascended, the narrower it became, which made it increasingly unstable. They did not have much time before the cavern collapsed. Fully alert, John sprang to his feet. Although he was banged up badly, pain was the least of his concerns; the same went for the others. The brushes with death had become more frequent; however, it was still better than the alternative of imprisonment in the palace at Her Majesty’s mercy. They needed to escape soon, and just as importantly, they needed to eat something that would provide them with enough nourishment to continue their journey. They were running on empty. John began to contribute as he grabbed some sizable rocks from the base and carried them to the top. This gave them the additional height they needed to reach a ledge in the cavern ceiling and return into the primary corridor. The tremors became more frequent as they advanced further. They picked up their pace as they scaled the claws of Arachno. As several feet remained from the ledge above, the rumble became constant as more rocks fell from the cavern ceiling. Tony was at the highest point, while the others were scattered throughout the mound they had constructed. “We need to go now!” he yelled. Jacob spoke up as well. “Come on! This place is about to fall apart!” Everyone dropped the rocks they carried and began to sprint toward the top. They soon gathered around the highest point, still several feet shy of the ledge that led back to the corridor. They had built up just enough to give themselves a chance to escape. Tony, who was the tallest and strongest of the bunch, was up first. He jumped up, grabbed on to the rough ledge, and pulled himself up with relative ease. Jacob lifted Joey up toward Tony, who pulled him so strongly that he flew a few feet behind him. William and Rob followed next. This was good progress, but several still remained, and the mound had become increasingly unstable. Jacob yelled out, “OK, everyone, we need to send two at a time now!” William pulled up Freddie as Tony pulled up Ivy. Tony hoped to gain her favor by saving her life. Norman and Pippy were next. As Freddie pulled up Pippy, it took the collective effort of the others to lift Norman. Only Jacob and John remained below. The rumbles finally pushed the mound’s stability past its breaking point, and it suddenly collapsed a few feet. John and Jacob jumped up, but they could not reach the ledge. It was simply too high, even when the kids above them extended their arms as far as they could. The mound was on the verge of collapse. Freddie suggested that they lower him so they could grab on to his ankles and they could lift them together. William yelled, “It’s risky, but worth a try!” Freddie cautiously extended his legs over the ledge as Tony tightened his grip around his hands. The others anchored Tony by forming a line behind him. John encouraged Jacob to go ahead of him and grab on to Freddie’s ankles because he believed that Midwa would protect him. However, Jacob, valiant as always, felt personally responsible to protect them and insisted that John go first. “John, we don’t have time to argue! Go ahead! I’ll lift you. You grab on to Freddie’s legs. I’ll hold on to yours! They’ll pull us both up. Now go! Trust me!” Without giving it another thought, John climbed onto Jacob’s shoulders and was lifted as high as Jacob could manage, barely reaching Freddie’s ankles. Tony was ready to pull as the others anchored him in place. Once John had a firm grip, Jacob jumped up and latched on to John’s still-drying pants. As Jacob managed a firm grip, the mound collapsed beneath him. Most of the fallen rocks, along with Arachno, were now submerged. The rumbles echoed throughout. However, a bigger problem loomed. The cavern was about to collapse completely on itself. As space was limited at the end where they were attempting to pull up Jacob and John, William suggested that some of others head to safety. Otherwise, the weight would collapse the area they stood upon. The weight of Jacob and John proved to be too much. Progress was stagnant, as Tony, William, Norman, and Rob could not pull up the weight of both John and Jacob. Tony called over to the others, “Hey, guys! Come and help! We need all the strength we can muster before we all fall!” William yelled, “But the extra weight!” Tony was upset with William’s lack of empathy. “We leave no one behind!” The kids struggled in their efforts as they failed to manage the pace they needed. Time had begun to run out rapidly. The ground had begun to crack beneath them and part in the middle. Joey and Pippy were knocked off balance, and they stumbled off the side. Ivy and Norman were able to grab on to Pippy and pull her quickly back up. Joey managed to grab on to the ledge and pulled himself up. Unfortunately, this cost them valuable strength and time. John and Jacob were now a foot closer to their demise below as they stretched and strained the arms of the kids above. The ground started to splinter further, forcing Ivy and Pippy to race to the opposite side of Tony and William, who suddenly held on to the total weight of Freddie, John, and Jacob. John looked down at Jacob and yelled, “Try to climb ahead of me!” As they struggled to maintain their grips, Jacob attempted to follow John’s instructions and climb, but the wetness of John’s pants prevented him. He looked up and yelled, “I can’t! Your pants are too wet. I’m sorry, John, but both of us can’t make it…You’re our best chance. Promise me you’ll take care of the others!” John yelled again, “No, Jacob! You can’t let go! I can’t lead them! He whispered to himself, “Midwa, please…” Tony yelled below, barely louder than the powerful rumbles, “This isn’t working! You have to try to climb!” Jacob stared into John’s eyes as he spoke. “Don’t worry, John. I believe in you.” He released his grip and fell below. He descended and faded into the abyss. John’s scream echoed above the violent rumble that shook the cavern to its core: “Jaaaaacoooooooob!” But Jacob had disappeared from their view. The screams of the others also echoed throughout the cavern; however, there was no time to mourn Jacob’s death because they were about to share the same fate if they did not get out immediately. With the weight of only John and Freddie, Tony and the others were able to lift him with just about everything they had left. As John reached the ledge, Tony turned around and instructed the others to run toward safe ground immediately. He did not need to tell them twice. They sprinted as they never had before. John ran as fast and hard as he could. He quickly gained on the others, who were already close to safe ground. The ledge finally gave in under the extra body weight, triggering the remainder of the ground beneath him to collapse in his wake. Only moments remained before Ivy, Tony, and John reached the platform, where the others waited impatiently and cheered them on. The ground splintered further and left just enough room for them to run single file. Ivy crossed first, with Tony almost immediately behind her. He held on to her and asked if she was OK. John’s pace had slowed slightly as the disappearing ground flirted with his toes at each step. As he took his final step, the ground beneath him collapsed. Ivy pushed Tony back and raced toward John. He had just enough forward momentum to reach Ivy’s extended arm. Ivy, with her lightning-quick reflexes, had reacted before anyone else noticed John would not reach. As he dangled over the edge, the others quickly gathered around and pulled him up to safety. John did not shy away from eye contact with her this time. He was grateful, and she knew it, as she said, “You owe me one,” with that endearing grin of hers. Tony’s glance of jealousy did not go unnoticed by Pippy, who had always thought he was an odd character. As the last of the rocks crashed down below, they realized that they were at the end of the corridor that they could not advance to earlier. The burning root extended far beyond the entrance, running throughout an entire network of tunnels. They needed to decide which tunnel they would enter. It was critical that they find food quickly, or they would not last much longer. Fortunately, they were able to quench their thirst from the surprisingly fresh waters of the cavern before it had been taken over by the murky jade ooze of Arachno. Before they moved forward, they all turned around and looked upon the collapsed cavern. Far below, their leader had fallen. They paid their respects as they remained silent for a few heartrending moments. Unfortunately, they did not have much time to linger and mourn the death of Jacob properly, as much as they wished to. The adrenaline began to subside, and the harsh reality of hunger once again dominated their thoughts. “What do we do now?” asked Joey, the youngest of them all, as he desperately looked for leadership and guidance. Freddie and Ivy asked the same, followed by Norman and Rob. Tony remained quiet, but William chimed in. “Jacob and I were the closest, and since I’m the eldest now, I should be the new leader.” Freddie jumped in. “That’s not fair! You’re only a month older than Tony. At least that’s what he said.” “I suppose you think that Tony should be the leader?” William replied aggressively. Freddie managed to overcome his intimidation. “You just can’t claim leadership. You have to earn it!” “Well, we should cast a vote. I vote for William,” Norman, ever so eager to please, yelled out. Rob jumped in. “Me too. I vote for William.” Tony joined in. “Sorry, William, but I don’t trust you. I’m going to have to vote for myself.” William continued his aggressive demeanor. “Fine, I don’t trust you either!” “What has William contributed? Just because he was close with Jacob doesn’t mean he can lead like Jacob. My vote is for Tony!” Ivy was now engaged in the discussion. She nervously looked over at John as she stood next to Tony. It was a silly notion to think she would vote for me, John thought. “Tony!” Freddie yelled out excitedly. William’s attitude persisted. “What about you, John?” He mumbled to himself, “Better not vote for yourself. We’ll all end up like Jacob…” John overheard William, but it did not matter because he was already overwhelmed with guilt, as he felt responsible for Jacob’s demise. It was irrelevant that the fallen leader had insisted that John go first. He knew the others had reached the same conclusion: Jacob had died because of John’s selfishness. And he was convinced of it as well. He glanced at Ivy and replied after several silent seconds, “I vote for…Tony.” Tony was surprised but understood that if he voted for William, he basically admitted his guilt. John felt it was best to internalize his guilt for a while. Joey followed the footsteps of Rob, as always. “I vote for William.” William looked over to the last voter. “What do you say, Pippy? Go ahead and make the obvious choice.” He was clearly referring to himself, as his words were accompanied by an undercurrent of unsubtle pretentiousness. He knew that Pippy had a crush on Rob, so she would go to whichever side he had chosen. It was a no-brainer. In Jacob’s absence, William seemed to have stepped from behind his shadow and proved to be arrogant. “John,” Pippy whispered. William yelled at Pippy, “You can’t vote for John! You know what he’s done! He’s a freak! He’ll get us all killed!” Tony jumped in and shouted, “Shut up, William!” She can vote for whomever she wants! If she wants to vote for John, then she can vote for him!” Tony felt empowered as Ivy stood by his side, even if she did not look at him. William shot back, “Well, OK, you two-tone idiot, that doesn’t help us! That leaves us a split vote, with four votes each if you do the math. So no one wins, you two-tone bonehead!” Tony was unmoved by these words. “Go ahead, make fun of me. The others may not remember their past, but I do. And so do you. So if you want me to stay quiet, then you sure as heck better…” William could not gather any words together in response. An uncomfortable silence overcame everyone and lasted an unbearable minute. Pippy broke the silence. “I…I…” But she was overwhelmed with the decision-making process and ran off into one of the tunnels, the dimmest one, as the burning root terminated at its entrance. As he felt responsible for Pippy’s fleeing, John immediately ran after her. Tony called over to the others to follow as well so they could stick together. Ivy and Freddie did not hesitate and ran after Pippy, John, and Tony. Joey began to follow as well, but William shouted, “Hey! You’re with me; you voted for me! If you go with them, don’t bother to run back when they get themselves slain!” Rob joined in. “Come on, Joey. This is our best chance.” Joey slowly returned with his head down, filled with shame of the weakness within his tiny frame. Worse still, he had a crush on Pippy. He was enamored with her quirks. William commanded Rob, Joey, and Norman, “Follow me. This tunnel is the brightest. Those idiots won’t last five minutes.” They followed the burning root down the length of the tunnel. Along the way, they noticed an open hall illuminated in the distance, which gave them hope. “Come on, guys! Hurry up!” William shouted. As they reached the hall, they observed the elegant lighting on display, which highlighted a large dining table in the middle, fit for a king. Every seat was occupied by men and women who appeared to be enjoying a fantastic feast over engaging dialogue. One man laughed so hard that wine exploded from his nose. A figure with glistening, murky jade eyes faded into the shadows. It went unnoticed by the group. William once again shouted to the others, “Come on!” They sprinted toward the table, but as they approached, they realized that it was just an illusion that began to fade back to their harsh reality. No living being dined at the table. They appeared to have been deceased for several years, as cobwebs covered them almost in their entirety, along with the food they appeared to consume. The kids looked at one another with concern but soon noticed in the middle of the table an enormous, freshly cooked pontaccio. This was quite a mysterious hall. They were overcome with the delightful aroma and did not hesitate to climb onto the table. They crawled hastily over and took several mouthfuls of pontaccio, as big as their young mouths could handle. They tore apart the large fowl animal, and within minutes, all that remained were the bones. They washed it down with some accompanying freshwater that had been laid out for them. William said to the others as he chewed on the last piece of pontaccio that he’d wrestled away from Joey, “What did I tell you guys?” He spat on the others inadvertently as he sucked his teeth for remnants. “Stick with me, and you’ll be OK. Do you think the others are eating this well? They’re probably rotting somewhere, dying from starvation.” However, the others did not say a word. They silently questioned his arrogance. Nonetheless, their bellies were full, and they acknowledged his leadership. It became eerily quiet when they stopped their dialogue. They looked beyond the dusty seats of the table as a sea of murky jade eyes slowly approached along with mild shrieks. The kids huddled to the center of the large table, where the lone spotlight highlighted their meal. Their screams of fear echoed throughout the tunnels of the cavern, though not far enough to reach the others, who were still in pursuit of Pippy. Tony, John, Freddie, and Ivy followed the faint footsteps and whimpers of Pippy as they ran cautiously through the barely illuminated tunnel. They managed to keep up the pace until they suddenly heard a loud thump that echoed in the distance, followed by complete silence. Concern overcame them. They quickened their pursuit and crashed into a gate as they kicked up a cloud of dust that had just settled. They rubbed their arms and feet for the minor bruises that resulted from the impact. They knew Pippy must be on the other side, as there were no other paths that branched off from the tunnel until that point. John felt personally responsible for Pippy’s safety, especially as Jacob’s death had already begun to weigh heavily on him. John began to strike his open palm repeatedly on the ancient gate. He was frustrated. A tear ran down his cheek. Tony noticed the sniffle and spoke up to take the attention away from John. “OK, guys, there should be a lever around here somewhere.” Freddie responded, “Tony, I’m starving.” Ivy echoed the same. John could not focus on his hunger because he was still distracted by the burdens he had allowed to overwhelm him. Tony spoke. “We’ll find food as soon as we find Pippy, OK?” They nodded hesitantly, barely able to see the outlines of one another’s faces. Tony began to feel around the shadows for a lever. The others did the same as they stuck their arms and hands everywhere they could reach. Tony whispered to himself, “I remember it was around here somewhere…” This continued for several minutes, unsuccessfully. “I got it!” Tony yelled excitedly as he pulled the lever. But it had no effect. Freddie whispered to the others, “Hey, there are flowers near the borders of the gate.” Intrigued, Ivy whispered back, “That’s odd. No flora should be growing this far underground.” Tony added, “Nice job, Freddie! Those are morning glories. Everything is edible except for the seeds, which can be poisonous. So do not eat the seeds! It should hold us over until we find something more substantial.” The kids grabbed as much as they could find and ate most of it even though it was mildly unpleasant. They stored the rest for later. Ivy, with her astute sense of hearing, started to pick up on some noise and whispered to the others, “Guys, I hear something from the other side of the gate. It sounds like a voice, but it’s muffled, and I can’t make it out clearly.” But as she finished her sentence, Freddie whispered, “Shhh…I hear footsteps. It sounds like they’re coming from back over there.” They fell silent and listened intently. But the sounds stopped. “I swear I heard footsteps!” repeated Freddie. Ivy interrupted. “Shhh, I just heard them.” They again fell silent, but once again, there was no sound. They began to slowly step backward toward the gate as they remained in close proximity to one another. John, however, sat on the ground in the corner, his head rested on his knees. He was silent as he caressed a lone morning glory below that had grown in isolation. The sounds recommenced, and soon faint shadows appeared on the walls. They originated from around the corner of the tunnel. The shadows shrank as they continued to lurk closer. They soon appeared to outline men. Before long, the figures revealed themselves. They seemed to be ancient soldiers, ghostly as their spirits faded in and out as if they were not quite there. Their murky jade eyes contrasted against the faint shadows. Dozens upon dozens of orbs began to blend together as the dark figures dominated what little light remained in the tunnel. The undead warriors approached unusually slowly, as if they were under a spell. John finally looked up, speechless, as a final tear rolled down his adolescent face. His eyes were once again bright blue. They illuminated his surroundings and revealed the soldiers who appeared even more terrifying against the radiance of his light. John was empty of expression. The ancient army continued their advance. The brilliance of John’s eyes began to dim. The energy did not fade, however; it had begun to outline his body. His body was soon completely outlined, and the illumination began to flow outward, no different from when he was in the depths of the cavern waters. A field enveloped the kids, who were still frightened about the uncertainty of what was going to happen to them. The ancient soldiers were now within striking distance. They unsheathed their swords, which possessed a hazy jade glow along their piercing edges. The warriors took their final steps, cocked back their swords, and swung directly at the kids, with the intent to thrash them. The long swords swung downward with the force of their ancient might and made even the usually calm Tony cringe in anguish. Ivy and Freddie squealed in anticipation of the strikes. John stood tall. The swords struck, and a loud impact echoed throughout the tunnels of the cavern. Tony, Ivy, and Freddie looked up and realized they were still alive. The undead warriors appeared to actually be dead, as they were laid out on the ground, immobile; they had been thrown backward from the impact. They gawked in astonishment at John. After a few moments, John finally broke the silence. “The undead cannot be killed, not here at least. The enchantment that controls them is too strong in these tunnels and will once again take effect. We don’t have much time; we need to get to the other side of the gate before they wake up. I don’t know how much longer Midwa can help us. Let’s go!” John turned his back to the undead warriors, who would lie immobile only momentarily. Facing the gate with the others, he slowly began to walk. They passed through the gate as if it were not there. Freddie was impressed by the mechanical inner workings of the ancient nine-foot-thick gate, which took them several seconds to walk all the way through. Ivy glimpsed behind and saw the soldiers once again rise to their feet and recommence their advance. The darkness was soon broken by a blinding light as the kids emerged on the other side. They overheard the fiendish thrashes of swords against the gate. However, they knew they were safe; there was no way that even the might of their thrusts could breach the impenetrable gate. The field of energy slowly faded back into John’s eyes and then faded away completely. He was again his normal self. Tony’s two-tone face was now masked with a huge grin. Ivy jumped at John and embraced him. She even gave him a peck on the cheek, which made his face flush with red. Tony looked on briefly with envy before he looked away at what was before them. All their eyes were wide open. As they regrouped with Pippy, they had finally gotten the break they desperately needed. Coming Soon : VI - Freedom, at Last
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 12:21:01 +0000
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