Fragments Gallery
Dreams of Innocence
His feet pounded against the dirt below as he ran. He was barely managing to keep his pace steady as he sought to escape. Trees flashed by on either side but he paid them no mind; instead all of his attention was focused on the ground beneath his feet and the trail behind him. He glanced back and his eyes widened further in horror.
It was coming.
Blood pounded in his head. Fear threatened to overcome his reason but he held onto his sanity with an iron grip; he'd come too far to fall now. Up ahead he could see the edge of the woods. They beckoned him like the light of a fire on a cold night. The edge of the woods… it meant something to him. Refuge.
"Almost there," He gasped, trying to comfort himself with the spoken words. However his words were swept away the moment they left his lips; drowned out by the whispers that he had hoped to have left behind.
The voices followed him, hounding him between the trees. Their whispers frightened him, spoke what he had thought was hidden, murmured what he had hoped to forget. How could they know?
Doubts began to flash across his mind. What was he running from? Where was he going? Where was safe? The darkness surrounding him seemed to be an oppressive force; it began to close in on him. The trees were moving closer. He was running out of space, running out of air. The brief hope he had gained only moments before with the sight of the edge was fading. Gasping he fell; fell onto the cold, hard, unforgiving ground. His breath rattling in his lungs he rolled over, struggling to inhale. Life… air… one and the same.
Out of the woods. Another fantasy.
Even as he fought to breathe he found himself studying the sky above. Thousands of twinkling stars glimmered through the shifting canopy of leaves crowning the trees above. Always there but always out of reach. Just like the forest's edge. His ears twitched as a voice pierced through the murmurs that surrounded him.
"You've lain there too long."
He knew that voice, recognized it like a half forgotten dream. It seemed familiar, but he couldn't place who it belonged to. So familiar and yet he didn't know whose voice it was, all he could say for certain was that the owner of the voice was important. Somehow.
"Get up." The voice ordered and he knew he should comply. There was something in the voice's tone that expected obedience.
"The time has come, rise again."
Gradually he felt himself relax; air once more was flowing through his lungs. Life. From around the whisperers slowly fell silent, their voices stopping as though each were in turn smothered by a great cloth. His strength returned and he pushed himself to his feet. Carefully he looked around. Other than the edge of the forest there were only trees and undergrowth as far as the eye could see. The vast vista felt strangely empty now that the voices had fallen silent. Realization of the silence was an odd feeling when he had been engulfed in a torrent of sound for so long.
Idly he took a few steps forwards, feeling strangely disoriented. Feeling out of place, as though he didn't belong in the world he had just entered. A sudden feeling came upon him and he frowned.
The hair on the back of his neck rose.
He was being watched.
Hesitantly he looked back. There was a light coming up the trail behind him, a dim pulsating light.
It was coming.
"Blood," he whispered, his throat going dry. Without another thought he started to run. The pace he kept carried him swiftly towards the edge of the forest. With a glance back he saw that the light was matching his pace, neither drawing closer nor falling behind. But should he falter… he must not lose speed. His eyes widened as the edge grew nearer. He wouldn't make it. His breath was failing him once more. He was close to collapse. He was… out of the woods.
Out of the woods. Another odd feeling.
Gasping for breath he stopped and turned; fighting to still his heartbeat. He'd made it. He was safe now. Behind him the light had reached the line of trees that marked the edge. Hesitantly it wavered at the line and then passed over.
He stared, panting faintly, at the creature that had pursued him. It was a small thing; small and humanoid. It hovered above the ground but seemed to be a great effort for it as its stained wings fluttered weakly to keep it aloft. Its dirty white skin gleamed in the darkness emanating a pure light.
A light to shine through the darkness.
The light was only dimmed by the grime caking its fair flesh. That tickled a memory in him, something important, but it soon faded. The creature looked at him sadly, offered a grieving smile, and collapsed. It hit the ground with a faint thud and its light slowly faded. Leaving him in darkness.
Rain began to fall but he stood still, watching as tears of rain washed the grime from its skin. He watched as the water drew lines through the blood and mud that covered its skin, revealing pure white beneath.
Glancing down at his own arms he watched as the rain painted similar paths down his skin, cleaning his skin from impurities. At least for the moment.