Scornful Shadows

A maniacal chuckle was the only thing that roamed the forest ringing in her ears with each step crushing the dry leaves under her feet in the fog-filled grove. Her throat had gone dry yelling just for them to be repelled with no response, but she couldn't leave this endless maze without him, could she? 

Her breath hitched in her throat as she tried to yell out for him only for her voice to be engulfed by the mocking laughter of the shadows as they bounced off the trees and rang in her ears. As the night stretched in reality, Alena's mind engulfed her in the strange distorted dreams that twisted her senses, blending her understanding of reality and fantasy. The never-ending walk continued as she yelled his name in a weak but determined voice "Isaiah! Isaiah!... Please... Is anyone there!?.." Her please seemed useless, all there was the endless forest of her dreamworld, the faceless figures in the shadows, and those scornful and mocking whispers they threw everywhere. A rushing pair of feet disturbed the silence of the grove as Alena turned around instinctively only to find it running towards her and then it went dark. She couldn't see anything. Everything went blurry as her head hit the ground. Groaning from the pain, she felt arms holding her small frail shoulders. Muttering of voices…and she fell into a deep state of unconsciousness.

Alena woke up with a start, gasping and panting. She looked around and noticed him resting peacefully by the tree. Relief washed over her panicked figure and calmed her down as if she were lying in a calm river with waves caressing her face. But soon that momentary relief was washed off as the calm waves turned into a sinister fog that snatched away that relief from her and dragged her into a pit of mock laughter finding amusement in her dismay. Her gaze fell upon the seemingly sleeping husk resembling her friend. A brief moment of relief calmed her down before she reached out her arm and gently shook them, hoping to wake him up. She shook him with a firm grip on his shoulder looking expectantly at his face just waiting for their eyes to open, but the husk slept as if in a world of solitude.

Alena looked around only to realize that the once fog-filled clearing near the river had now become where each of her nightmares began. Her heart cried as it felt the horror it was about to go through wrapping itself around it once more. She wanted to wake up but how could she? It was just an endless night spitting at her, and as each spit hit, it left a numb hollow dream behind as its very own scar. 

A wind suddenly flew by her as it sang the same strange melody of laughter into her ears, the same one that kept nagging her in her dreams. While lost in the thought of finding where the wind came from this time, her gaze fell upon the husks, then up ahead at the river, the only fragment of reality in this façade. A sudden grab dragged her whole form to the river and pulled her in, drowning her in the illusion.

Alena gagged as the water filled her lungs and prevented her from breathing, her arms struggled and wrestled against the water, and the force grabbed her and pulled her deeper and deeper into the water till the water swarmed her lungs, blinding her as it tore away the breath from her lungs. How could she possibly wake up now?