Countless galaxies fill the night, illuminating an impossible range of colours before clashing with the dense fog below.
A rattlesnake slithers silently through the deep haze, clearing a path to three feminine figures who've materialised amidst the misty sea. Their pale, iridescent[1] forms clad[2] in togas of various colours — lilac, beige, indigo respectively. Beautiful and ethereal[3] yet have no discernible features besides their vivid eyes.
The serpent encircles the triad[4], clearing veiled thorny vines that increasingly ensnare them, before disappearing behind Indigo.
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1 - Iridescent - Showing luminous colours that seem to change when seen from different angles.
2 - Clad - Clothed.
3 - Ethereal - Extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world. Heavenly or spiritual.
4 - Triad - A group or set of three connected people or things.
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Interconnecting tendrils pattern towards the centre where they converge[5] and erect[6] an encased crystal ball. A bat lands on the stone, dying it black, then flying away just as new colours and shapes begin to form within. The luminous[7] figures are captivated.
Trying to move closer proves strenuously[8] useless.
The entranced figures look out with blue eyes that pale before darkening. A lemming timidly reveals itself upon Lilac' shoulder while a lion announces[9] itself beside Indigo.
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5 - Converge - A meeting point.
6 - Erect - Rigidly upright or straight. Or, to construct something.
7 - Luminous - Full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark.
8 - Strenuously - In a way that requires great physical exertion. With great effort and determination.
9 - Announces - Make a public and typically formal declaration about a fact, occurrence, or intention. To make known the arrival or imminence of (a guest or a meal) at a formal social occasion.
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Their eyes change, again. First to red and then black, only to grow increasingly bloodshot until finally weeping tears like wine.
Razor vines continue to grow around their core,[10] enrapturing and drawing blood as they trail up their forms. Beige looks up and reaches out desperately while the binding vines ultimately overwhelm — her light extinguished.
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10 - Core - The central or most important part of something. Here it refers to their abdominals, or stomach region.
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The other two close their eyes.
Their skin colours to that of their garments and they don black hooded cloaks.
A strangled, crucified body hangs behind them.
Daggers are taken to their chests, cutting away until their hearts are carved out. So carelessly they hack to leave betwixt[11] their breasts maimed.[12] Lilac and Indigo ignore the mess that spills forth as they eat their bleeding hearts.
When done, the two haphazardly[13] stitch the hole that's left and smear smiles on their strangely blank faces. They present their bloody, botched[14] work with painted pride before bowing to adorn the mutilated,[15] dull corpse with white shoes. Blood quickly overwhelms the pair yet the beings merely attempt to polish it away, staining them deeper with blood.
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11 - Betwixt - In the space separating two people or things; in between.
12 - Maimed - Wound or injure so that part of the body is permanently damaged.
13 - Haphazardly - In a manner lacking any obvious principle of organization. Acting in a manner that's without much care or thought.
14 - Botched - A task that's carried out badly or carelessly.
15 - Mutilated - An inflicted injury that's a violent and disfiguring.
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Crows start falling dead all around.
The rattlesnake can be heard in the distance.
Moments pass in eerie suspending silence.
An owl suddenly screeches forth.
⭑
⭑
⭑
Startled awake and blinded, I protectively shift away from the intense afternoon sun.
My mind is in chaos, my heartbeat erratic, and my breathing shaky.
Fear and confusion linger.
Pungent[16] whiffs of summer gradually calm me and I glance about the vehicle with blurry eyes. Trudy and Randy sit up front minding their own, their akin[17] reddish hair peeking from behind their seats. Jesse and Arturo debate in the next row about some randomness they've thought up this time to discuss. To my side, Alec sits quietly beside me listening to music.
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16 - Pungent - Having a sharply strong taste or smell.
17 - Akin - Of similar character or characteristics.
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Lingering sleep fogs my vision.
Alec looks up as I rub at my eyes, "Welcome back."
"Wha-?" I let out, lagged, brain not yet working properly.
Chuckling, he clarifies. "To the land of the wake." He then adds, "Also, we crossed the town marker not long ago. So," a smile graces his face, "welcome home."
A twitch of the lips is all I manage to muster in thanks, lacking the current energy for more.
"Crazy dream?" Green eyes twist in concern beneath his woolly brown curls.
My eyes glance past him to the greenery beyond the window, "Pretty creepy."
"What about?"
At a loss for words, I struggle to explain. "I don't-, I don't even know how to describe it." Thinking hard, "Lots of fog and blood." My expression, no doubt, twists in distaste, "And dead birds... It was weird." 'Stranger than usual,' my concentration shifts back to Alec in time to see his face pinch in response.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, mate," I light it off in a nervous habit, "it's just a dream." 'If only it was so simple. Last one I ignored...' I let the thought die off. 'Paranoia doesn't help either,' I maxim.[18] 'Nothing does,' the last bit echoing off the previous; trailing like a disembodied[19] phantom within the recesses[20] of my mind. 'Just forget it.'
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18 - Maxim - A short, pithy (meaning concise and forcefully expressive) statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.
19 - Disembodied - Separated from or existing without the body.
20 - Recesses - A remote, secluded, or secret place.
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"About time!"
My attention snaps forward to meet Trudy's attentive glances in the rearview mirror.
"You were no help with directions! You fell asleep as soon as we started moving this morning," she pouts. "Did you even wake? Or did you sleepwalk to the car this morning?"
"Sorry about that." Sheepishly adding how "I'm not a morning person. But I'm glad the directions were manageable." Deciding to leave out how I stayed up late last night with the suspiciously wakeful Alec playing games.
"Yeah, thanks. Luckily-"
"Luckily, I'm such a great navigator," Randy boasts.
Trudy rolls her brown eyes, "Luckily his directions were pretty detailed. You almost made us get lost about a dozen times-"
"Hey," Jesse's voice thankfully distracts me from the beginning of yet another Baker Bicker session. He and Arturo turn in their seats, "are there any cool places we should see during our visit?"
"Or some place we could stop by to smoke at with a good view? I could go for some herb about now," Arturo adds, his blue eyes contrasting with his dark hair.
'Waking up to those two,' I briefly glance at the Baker siblings, 'I could also.' My head reverberating[21] with their echoing squabbles. Briefly massaging my temples, I respond, "Any place, to be honest. The whole area is beautiful, from what I can remember at least." After thinking a bit more, "But the river is a must see. I only saw it once when I was young, but I'll never forget it."
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21 - Reverberating - Seem to vibrate or be disturbed because of a loud noise. Repeating several times as an echo.
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"Cool," Jesse exclaims.
'He's too easy to excite,' I smile.
"How do we get there?" Randy asks, apparently having listened over his own 'conversation'.
"It runs through the centre of town. It's hard to miss."
Everyone soon returns to their previous engagements.
"What're you listening to?" I nudge Alec.
Instead of responding, he sends a song to the vehicle' speakers, which then permeates[22] throughout its confines.
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22 - Permeates - Spread throughout (something); pervade.
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After a moment of listening, "Who's this?"
"DieHardNinjas."
Randy lets out what seems to be a mixture of a groan and scoff, "Not your B.E. music again. Get with the times. Do you know anything from this millennia?"
"Well, I like it. It sounds cool," I respond, defending my best friend and flashing a smile his way. "It's lyrically beautiful, yet somewhat eerie."
He halfway returns the smile before becoming lost in the music.