Quote:
The large lake in the valley glitters in the harsh sunlight - mirrored images of the vast glacial cavern and twin peaks high above are broken with the breaching of hunting fish lurking just below the surface, watching for thirsty insects. Dragonflies flit and stall, humming their hypnotic lullaby as they pass by. A drink from the clear waters would be cold and refreshing, and the thought of taking a plunge, or even just a dip of the toes, has crossed many minds.
The turquoise-hued lake stretches out before you, beckoning.
The turquoise-hued lake stretches out before you, beckoning.
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The sun was at its zenith when winds whipped wildly against silhouetted forms. Their movements looked unnaturally quick, like raging shadows fighting against the light, but their charges were not directed towards the heavens. They were after us. A pack of flesh bags with targets on our backs, living on land that was once prized for its treeless terrain. In the glistening turquoise water, so far removed from the yellow grit of that old world, it is clear now that it was never a gift. It was just a trap waiting to be sprung.
Like colored scent trails on time warped monsters, traces of them seemed to billow off in the same way steam rises from cool pools on humid days. Maybe it was their speed, or perhaps it was our frenzy, but I remember moments where dark paws would swipe out and instinct would take over, somehow slowing the attacks to a crawl. It gave victims a chance to dodge, bob, weave, and escape the dangers they faced. But it gave our enemies their moment of sucker-punched pride, or in other words the fire to fuel their fight. I watched it happen. And then it happened to me. A grey wolf leapt from my peripheral. I’ll never quite understand how shadows are able to creep upon you like that. There was a squealing of young pups at my back as the children, who are no longer children these days, cried for their true parentage. The staggering fear and adrenaline moved my body to act but my mind could not keep up. It could not fathom the moment or the monstrosity within it. I remember when it broke, my mind that is. I can see the cracks even now, eyes closed and looking to the back of my head. If it weren't for how truly dense the mind can be, I'd probably see right through to the other side...
Fear and shame went with it, which surprised me. It was snuffed out in a moment. So quick.
The memories of my youth were also lost. In their place, the familiar faces of Moongate pack mates who rise to fill in the gaps. Where my childhood used to reside these faces now twist and writhe in ways that belie their current-day expressions. They are covered in blood and gore and come for me like the savages they were the night of their raid. Yet, in the waking life where the distance is actually closed, they open their large mouths and words fill the space where violence should be. Their eyes are clouded over by daily routine, not bloodshed. It makes the memories of fallen comrades mix and blend and, more often than not, I find myself remembering the Moongate fighting with me. But also against me? And better still, every now and then every face becomes Cloud by Night’s. My love, my life, my everything. He is running with me and tailing me. He is protecting and advancing. He is the whimpering child at my back and the shade who intends on devouring them. In his eyes I still see the moment he sunk his teeth into me. As a matter of fact, he has never let go.
From time to time I feel something. Anxiety? Fear? Loathing? But most of the time I’m numb. Numb like the feeling my toes get when I dip them in this lake. The process is so similar... at first it's cold, then my limbs grow stiff until gradually I feel nothing at all.
Nothing.
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