I dream of a time when things were better. I dream of fields of grass with berry bushes and colorful trees. I dream of a vast ocean filled with creatures of the deep. I dream of an open sky under the watchful eyes of the cosmos. I dream...
***
Day ???
Status: ???
***
I awake from a dream that I could not remember. My world is suddenly dark and silent. The ground is cold and metallic. My back is rested on a mound of sand and I feel a tingling pain in one of my limbs.
"Raaa!" I barked for help, for food, and for any stimulation beyond a deprivation of all my senses.
My voice echoed repeatedly in both my head and my surroundings. There was no one but me in this black windy labyrinth.
Seconds stretched to minutes. Minutes stretched to hours. My hunger gradually starts to eat myself away. I must begin moving or I will surely lose consciousness.
As I rolled myself around the environment, I crash into all kinds of metal objects. I feel blunt strikes to my below and sharp cuts adjacent to my torso. After continuing to crash and injure myself, I discover that I am a creature with four limbs and a torso. The limbs defend the torso and interact with the surrounding world while the torso provides the limbs with energy.
I sniff. The scent of sweet enters my being. Although I do not know what I mainly eat, I am still curious about this smell. I slowly shamble and follow the smell down a long dark hall. Every movement I make creates loud clangs.
I travel. More hours pass and my limbs start to fail me. One by one, my limbs goes limp. I feel numb and cold. I feel hungry and alone. My consciousness fades and I fall asleep once more.
***
I awake in a field of grass and berries. I rush to pick the berries and gorge myself. The sweet fruit wets my insides. I eat until I can no longer move. I then lay myself against the soft ticklish grass. The breeze combined with the tickling grass puts my mind at ease.
I was able to rest for a long time until I was awoken by strong freezing winds. The grass around me had withered and revealed an ugly gray soil beneath.
I must run. This place is unsafe...
***
I awake from my dream once again. The freezing winds replaced by a dry air and the natural scenery turned dark once again. However, the smell of berries lingers in me.
I sniff. The familiar scent of sweet is neither getting closer nor further. This corridor must lead into itself. I focus on the smell, numbing the sensation of cold air and metallic floor. The scent begins to take the shape of thin smoke oozing from above the corridor. As I focus, the trails of ooze begin to merge into a singular long thread.
I climbed, grabbing to any tangible surface to try and escape this cruel corridor. Each time the room above is within reach, I slip myself on the smooth texture of the walls. Every time I fail, my focus scatters and breaks the image of the smell. Again and again, I try until the sensation of hunger and realization of dread enters my being.
I try one last time. My movements, despite sporadic, help themselves to my previous failed attempts. The walls continued to clang as my body placed its limbs on higher ground. Eventually, I am confronted by the opening to the room above.
Clang. I knocked with one of my limbs. The noise image was too vague for me to determine a grapple point.
Clang! I knocked with two of my limbs. The image begins to clear up. Knocking with two limbs is already too unstable but manageable if I time it right.
Clang! The ledges around the opening formed a convex shape except for an area on the opposite end.
CLANG! A loud thud echoed across the looping corridor.
"ra..." I barked lightly.
clang.
clang...
Clang.
Clang!
Clang!
My body starts to shiver. It was not I who had fallen from the knocking. Something else found its way down here with me. It is approaching me slowly.
Clang! clang.
Clang! clang. clang!
More of its limbs bang against the metal floors and walls. The closer it got, the more limbs I count. It is beginning to pick up its pace. I must lift myself up now before it catches me.
When I started to yank myself up to the above room, the creature's movements became more aggressive. My body's instincts push me to hurry. I can sense the creature closing in on me. I mustn't let go. I must use all of my strength to pass through this small opening.
I am halfway across the entrance, but the creature is within smelling distance. The sweet berry scent is suddenly overpowered by strong foul smells of rot. The sour smell is making me dizzy. This is bad, I can feel my grip loosening.
"RAA!!!" I screamed then accidentally bit down a sensitive part of my mouth.
My attention from the rotten smell shifted to the unbearable pain in my mouth. This pain prompted my body to wince towards my grappling limb and lift myself from the halls beneath me.
However, to my dismay, the awful scent returned alongside loud clanging from the creature. It is climbing towards me. I have no time to rest. I must move or it will catch me.
I huffed and puffed. I shamble with all of my energy in hopes of reaching a safe area. Although the creature runs slowly, I can barely outmaneuver it with my body injuries and this pestering hunger.
"Left, right, left, left, forward..." I thought whilst making my way from room to room.
The darkness makes it difficult to escape this creature's sensory range. I keep running into walls that release loud echoing clangs that alert it of my location. Each mistake I make allows the creature to gain footing. It wasn't long until I was in the creature's grabbing range.
It began to swipe violently. First, it started with a single slash. Then, as it got closer, the intensity and speed of its swipes increased dramatically. Right as it was about to reach me, it bundled a few of its limbs and smashed close to my area. The impact was so strong that I felt the vibrations of the slam.
The ceiling starts to collapse from the damage. Metal debris starts falling around us. A stray piece of metal sliced one of my limbs and caused me to lose my balance. Despite shutting out the pain completely, I still could not get the limb to move. I can no longer shamble and must crawl from the encroaching terror behind me.
CLANG!
CLANG ! CLANG!
The creature slightly grazed me with one of its limbs. I felt its warm fingers trying to wrap themselves around my injured limb.
CLANG!
"It's over" I though. The creature has a firm grasp on me now.
I tried to break free with my remaining strength, but was met with the horrifying revelation that the creature was much more massive than I am. It began dragging my body closer to its slimy self and reinforced its hold with more limbs.
My conscious is beginning to fade from all the damage I've taken. It won't be long until I enter my dream again.