The dreamworld’s landscape awed Jake, leaving a blank, open canvas of wonder upon his face. Dark swirling clouds painted the sky letting mere streaks of sun light to pierce the armor of water. Walls of houses constantly moved and things unimaginable to the wildest imagination stalked the streets. Jake viewed himself in third person, watching his own facial expressions and movements. All along the asphalt, the words "beware," "You’ve been warned," and "death," were scrawled out in a thick crimson paste. His eyebrows raised in amazement as he walked over and knelt down to feel the liquid. The a shockwave was sent through his spine. Blood was a sure sign of pain and he did not want to stick around to see who the culprit was, so he ran up to the park behind his house.
Standing idly in the sand which rippled like water being disturbed with every tiny movement, Jake’s eyes moved all about the playground view sand build itself into castles then crumbling like the fall of Rome and trees moan with faces of pain every time a breeze came flowing through. He placed his feet back on to the solid concrete surrounding and drifted effortlessly to the street outside the perimeter where the world ended and nothing but darkness prevailed. He was alone with nothing but a circle of light engulfing him. Ebony swallowed the earth and with one last futile attempt it left it’s last light within poor Jake Matthews.
Suddenly, all around him came voices. Faint whispers, but voices nonetheless. He walked, then ran, spun around in circles and yet all there was to look at was darkness. He was starting to get frustrated until something caught his eye in the distance...a dot of light. He raced to it, but no matter how hard he pushed himself it felt like he was merely walking. The dot was growing larger and larger the further he rand until he was face to face with what it really was...a ghostly pale entity! It then opened it’s mouth to speak.
"This is and always will be our land," it said floating in midair, its clothes tattered and drifting. Jake watched himself, unable to speak. The apparition began to speak again, "We will show ourselves in due time. Be aware of our presence. Innocence shall be tainted to redeem for the sins committed against us. You have been warned. Pain upon the living..." Jake thought it sounded like some bad horror movie dialogue, then his mouth dropped as the creature’s face distorted into the most gruesome appearance he’d ever seen.
****
Sweat pooled all over his body as his eyes flickered open suddenly; his chest rising and
falling frantically because of the nightmare. He looked over the clock, 3:00, illuminating brightly in the shadows. He sat up quickly, checking his pulse as his heart rate slowed down, then lifted his comforter off and walked to the bathroom. Once inside, with all the lights beaming, Jake looked himself over pulling at the bags under his eyes.
Walking into the kitchen was unsettling, a feeling of unease stood on his shoulder as if something else were lurking in the unknown, which kept Jake alert. Slowly looking around the corner of the wall to see out what he wanted, his legs almost buckling from the weakness caused by the nightmare. Fear was building deep within until he flicked the light on, then it subsided once more.
"This house is too damn creepy," Jake whispered to himself as he opened the refrigerator.
Food was piled on his arm along with a glass of ice water held firmly in his other hand as the teen slouched back to his room. The warmth was still emanating from his own body heat and the smell of testosterone was strong, after all, he was a typical teenage boy. Jake dropped the snacks onto the bed and set the drink on chest of drawers, just now remembering that he left the kitchen light on, so he sulked in his boxers over to the light. Jake reached the switch, but checked over the kitchen before switching the light to its original state. Lights out. Yet deep in the shadows an ominous shape emerged and the corner of his eye caught it. He chose to believe it was his still active imagination, but turned back towards the kitchen regardless. Squinting hard, he saw a silhouette standing against the back window. Jake’s heart race picked up yet again as he continuously watched the shadow looming over it’s section.
"Hello?" He uttered rather quietly, but the shadow merely twitched, which Jake found to be rather interesting. He asked again, "hello?" Again it twitched. As his mind wandered in and out of possible answers, he decided that the only way to get rid of the unseen is to shed light on the situation, so he did.
The kitchen lights popped on instantaneously and the mysterious shape disappeared with the rest of the night, leaving only a feeling of safety. To Jake, that’s all he could ask for, but the time came again where he had to turn the lights off and go back to bed. He clicked down the switch and at the very moment he looked back again, the thing was standing right in front of him! "How could this be possible," the thought came when he began to shake uncontrollably. The shadow had no physical features or even a sign of breathing. It didn’t take more than a few seconds to run full speed to his bed and under the covers. He closed his eyes tight until he once more entered an alternate world.
