Out of the Darkness

116

 "She's beautiful, isn't she?" he murmured, staring down at the doll. "Yeah," I answered, thinking of the real Anna, while I too, stared at her doll. "She is." Ash sighed heavily, and took his seat. "There is something wrong. There is heartache, distress, pain, longing, fear, restlessness, and evil. So many emotions are whirling through this room right now. I'm not sure what is coming from whom. I need everyone to leave please! This is a private session, as you are well aware!" I looked at Sam, who had his forehead creased in confusion. He glanced at me, and mouthed "Do we leave?" I shook my head and looked back at Ash. I knew he wasn't speaking to us. "Thank you. Please keep the noise to a low inside level. I need to concentrate." I watched the flames flicker up and down, left and right, as a breeze blew through the room. Ash closed his eyes and his forehead creased in concentration. "The emotions are still here. I need you both to meditate. Close your eyes and clear your minds." He held out his hands on both sides, for us to take. Once we did, I met Sam's gaze. I wondered if he felt as uneasy as I did. If he were afraid. If I were being honest with myself, I was a little scared. I had no idea what to expect. I hadn't really got the hang of the meditation thing because clearing my mind was hard to do. I had to try though. I met Sam's gaze again, then took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "Listen to the sound of my voice. I want you to think hard about your dreams, Colby. Every detail. What the weather was like, how it felt on your skin. How you felt in the moment. What feelings did you have during the dream? The best and worst parts of it. Down to the very last detail. Think hard. Then tell us about it, leaving nothing out." I thought about my dreams. How they always started off at the beach, the air tasting like salt and sun, the way the white sand felt against my bare feet. The stars twinkling overhead, and the crystals that shimmered on the water from the moon's reflection. The water chilly, when Anna splashed me. The sound of her laughter. How her hair flew out behind her when she would run away from me. How soft her skin was when I caught her around the waist. Then the feeling when she disappeared. The fear, the anxiety, all of it. I replayed the image over and over in my head, telling my story, making sure to leave nothing out. My own voice filled my ears, reliving every word that I spoke inside my head. The Darkness took my terrified Anna again, and there was nothing that I could do about. "This is what you dream every night?" I turned my head away from the scene in front of me, and saw my best friend standing next to me. "It is," I answered, my voice hoarse from screaming Anna's name again. "This is a strong entity, Colby." Another voice had me turn my head to my other side. Ash stood there, watching as the Darkness seemed to devour Anna. "We must not be caught in the dream planes. There are different ones, alternate realities, that we will be able to cross. That we must cross to get you to the answers that you need. There is something that you both need to know before agreeing to walk this journey." He moved and stood in front of me and Sam. The world around me brightened, as the darkness disappeared from behind him. "Betchu can't catch me!" Anna's voice rang out to the left of me. I saw her, like I had so many times before, laughing with her hair blowing behind her as she ran through the shallow waters. I wanted to run after her, to hold her again. I took a step forward, but Ash stopped me with his hand on my chest. "No. You must not become distracted. If you die here, you die out there. In the real world." I snatched my gaze away from Anna and looked back to Ash. His eyes were set and determined, like my old high school principal when I would get into trouble. "This can be very hazardous to all of us. You must follow my direction. If you don't think you can do that at any point during this, you must tell me immediately. If you feel tempted to wander off, you must fight it. There will be demons and other dark entities that try to coerce you from your goal. If you surrender to them, you will die. Am I making myself clear?" He waited for us to answer. Sam and I exchanged a glance, then nodded at him. "Good. Now, are you both sure that you are ready for this? Now is your only chance to leave without everyone else having to do the same." He pointedly stared at Sam. "Are you sure that you wish to put your life in danger for another's mission?" Sam looked over at me and sighed, before looking back at Ash. "Sam, you don't have too," I started. "You can leav-" "I'm positive. I'll do anything for Colby," he replied, cutting me off. I smiled and shook my head. "Sam and Colby versus the Underworld," I said, laughing nervously. Ash smiled at us both and nodded. "Very good. Then let us begin. This dream, this nightmare that you are having. It is the dark entity's way of telling you that they will have Anna's soul, if they don't already. The underlying meaning in this is that you are helpless. You can do nothing to save her. This is most likely not true. They like to terrify you into believing that you are weak. You've already proven that you are not by agreeing to do this for her, knowing that you are risking your life. It always has you alone in the dream, but you have shown that you are not alone."