wake up, start dreaming
Rei wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. At first he thought he was wide awake, and had just somehow stumbled on a new area he hadn't seen before. He'd been walking through a corridor, and the plant-like walks had slowly faded into a different place. An area of lush grass and gently sloping hills. It felt cool and damp, not like the sticky hot of the rest of the ship. It was dusk, the sky was purple-red and a few stars were beginning to show. He walked around a bit. The place seemed so, so familiar.
And then he found the campsite. A small ring of stones surrounding damp wood that would make for a smoky, bad fire. The signs of three different sizes of footprints in the grass. Signs of scrounged food. He knew this place. This was the camp that he and the others had made when they first awoke, displaced in time. A little nagging feeling in the back of his brain told him that this place couldn't be on the ship. But he ignored it.
Rei poked around the camp a bit, remembering the difficulty of the three of them trying to survive, unable to understand each other, all feeling lost and alone. He had been absent-mindedly playing with a long stick and the fire, like he used to do, when he heard a low, animal growl behind him. Startled, he turned. An animal... no, a monster was behind him. He could only partially make it out in the dim like. It was almost like a manticore, or maybe a chimera. It had the strong front legs and torso of a lion, its hind legs like a goat's. Ugly, diseased feathered wings sprouted from its back. And its face... its face was human, though he couldn't make out the features. The thing filled him with fear.
It growled again, and he didn't think. He just ran. And ran. And ran. The landscaped faded and warped again, and now he found himself in what appeared to be a Greek temple, though it was lit by electric floodlights, and a futuristic city could be seen beyond the columns. He stopped, panting for breath, looking around at his surroundings. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his back, his shirt shredding. Something warm and liquid trickled down the curve of his back. It was the beast, he knew it. He began to run again, towards to the other end of the temple, trying to ignore the pain.
At the other end of the temple was a dais. On it was a marble throne of some kind. He climbed up, and spotted a heavy, sharp knife. He could hear the beast climbing up behind him. Acting on instinct, he whirled around, and stabbed at the beast, hardly even looking at it. He plunged the knife into it's back, again and again and again. Eventually, it fell to its side, only barely alive. And that's when he saw the face for the first time. A pale, pointed, androgynous face. With piercing hazel eyes. Framed by long reddish brown hair. He knew this face. This was the face of Puck, one of his closest friends in he world. He fell to his knees, embracing the bloody animal and crying.
In the ship's corridor, Rei sat on his knees, tears streaming down his face, holding thin air, looking at something that didn't exist, only half awake. The back of his shirt was torn open. Four deep scratches ran diagonally across his back. Blood was everywhere.
And then he found the campsite. A small ring of stones surrounding damp wood that would make for a smoky, bad fire. The signs of three different sizes of footprints in the grass. Signs of scrounged food. He knew this place. This was the camp that he and the others had made when they first awoke, displaced in time. A little nagging feeling in the back of his brain told him that this place couldn't be on the ship. But he ignored it.
Rei poked around the camp a bit, remembering the difficulty of the three of them trying to survive, unable to understand each other, all feeling lost and alone. He had been absent-mindedly playing with a long stick and the fire, like he used to do, when he heard a low, animal growl behind him. Startled, he turned. An animal... no, a monster was behind him. He could only partially make it out in the dim like. It was almost like a manticore, or maybe a chimera. It had the strong front legs and torso of a lion, its hind legs like a goat's. Ugly, diseased feathered wings sprouted from its back. And its face... its face was human, though he couldn't make out the features. The thing filled him with fear.
It growled again, and he didn't think. He just ran. And ran. And ran. The landscaped faded and warped again, and now he found himself in what appeared to be a Greek temple, though it was lit by electric floodlights, and a futuristic city could be seen beyond the columns. He stopped, panting for breath, looking around at his surroundings. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his back, his shirt shredding. Something warm and liquid trickled down the curve of his back. It was the beast, he knew it. He began to run again, towards to the other end of the temple, trying to ignore the pain.
At the other end of the temple was a dais. On it was a marble throne of some kind. He climbed up, and spotted a heavy, sharp knife. He could hear the beast climbing up behind him. Acting on instinct, he whirled around, and stabbed at the beast, hardly even looking at it. He plunged the knife into it's back, again and again and again. Eventually, it fell to its side, only barely alive. And that's when he saw the face for the first time. A pale, pointed, androgynous face. With piercing hazel eyes. Framed by long reddish brown hair. He knew this face. This was the face of Puck, one of his closest friends in he world. He fell to his knees, embracing the bloody animal and crying.
In the ship's corridor, Rei sat on his knees, tears streaming down his face, holding thin air, looking at something that didn't exist, only half awake. The back of his shirt was torn open. Four deep scratches ran diagonally across his back. Blood was everywhere.