
Preface
There I was, standing in the marsh, breathing in the murky hot air. I had on my favorite PJ pants and a tank top. My long blond hair blew in the warm breeze, flying around my face in all directions. How have I come to be here? It was lovely, almost sunset, as the remaining rays danced off the murky water that covered large areas of the ground I stood on. Around me, swamp. The trees are tall, and covered with moss. I notice that I am standing in the mud, barefoot. This place has a strange moldy smell to it, and I could hear insects chirping and frogs croaking, I had been here before.
Glancing around, I see an almost beautiful landscape, made up of cloudy marsh water that reflected the darkening sky. The water was overgrown with moss, and the trees surrounding me seemed suffocated by the same fate. Green, everything is as green and shinning as the tiny fading rays of sun bounce around the air before finally settling into the distance. It had gotten colder instantly with the vanquishing light, and I was freezing. I was finally recovering from the shocking beauty of the strange place, and realized I was alone, in a strange place.
What is going on is all I could think to myself. Confused and cold I walked into the darkening darkness. After a couple of awkward muddy steps I tripped, over an exposed tree root. As my hands hit the cold water to brace myself, I realized I was afraid. A terrifying feeling swept over me as I stumbled to me feet frantically wiping the cold water from my palms. A branch cracks behind me, I hear something like footsteps, coming toward me. Frozen there, I can hear the words in my head, but I struggled to speak, is someone there? No reply, but the sound of movement is still there, behind me, in the dark.
I felt the fear more strongly now, I couldn’t turn my head in the direction of the noise, for fear of what I might see. The footsteps were heavy, and loud cracking the ground beneath them, I closed my eyes waiting. Waiting for what?
Would I run?
Could I run?
My legs started to shake as I tried to find the courage. My heart was beating hard enough for me to hear it, louder even than the steps that were drawing closer to me from behind. A pitiful whimper escapes my lips as I start to take a step forward. Then I heard the voice.
“Why are you afraid?”
The voice was friendly, and warm. Surprised, I turned my head quickly to confront my stalker. My eyes focused on two glowing dots in the near distance, blue like a summer sky, the light of the moon made them shine like blue gems, they reflected in the moonlight, as beautifully as they did in the sunlight.
Standing there, still half hidden in the darkness of the shadows and the trees, I made out a form, a man with crystal blue eyes, a familiar man. His eyes enchanted me as the moonlight shone wildly off of them. He smiled and I felt comforted, and safe. His smile swept away the fear I felt here tonight, in our strange meeting place. He is a tall man with wild, shaggy blond hair that glistened. He is very muscular, from what I could tell, and dark skinned. He wore a long sleeved cream colored shirt, under a dark velvet green vest, with silver stitching. The fibers in the stitching of the vest also reflected brightly in the moonlight. In comparison to me the man was huge in his stance, as I was a mere 5’5” in height. He had to be 6’2” at least. His features are flawless and dominant on his broad face. He has deeply set in eyes that glow even in this thick darkness where we stood. His nose is finely sculpted in proportion with his face, and his smile… He had an amazing smile. Pure white glistening teeth shone through his thick dark lips as he smiled at me.
“Why are you scared Val?” He repeated warmly, tilting his head slightly, still smiling. I shivered as I focused on the words, wrapping my arms around myself, as if it would warm me. He knew my name, and I felt afraid again, but not enough to try to run. This was the first time I had heard him speak, and I was caught off guard by his question. A gust of cool wind blew my long, strawberry hair across my face, blocking my view of the man. I quickly brushed the sticky wet strands away and looked up at him again. I shifted slightly backwards when I saw that he was much closer to me now than before. Close enough to see him more clearly in the moonlight. He was enormous and pleasant to look at, but still, I was uneasy.
“How do you know me, who are you?” I said to him, in a low whisper, as I stared up at him with curious eyes.
“You don’t have to be scared, it’s ok for now”, he replied through his luminous smile.
His voice wrapped around my name like velvet. The questions started overwhelming my thoughts as we stared for a long moment. He stood with his hands inside his front pockets, staring down at me. His eyes pierced mine, as if he could see my soul. His attractive smile locked me into place.
“Who are you?” I repeated, confused, and suddenly feeling very nervous as he seemed to look right through me.
His mouth slightly opened, ready to speak.
“Val”-
Before he could say another word he shot his head into the direction behind me. His face suddenly shifted to something unfamiliar, and violent. His lips curling up to reveal his teeth, blue glowing eyes squinted and focused. His hands flew out of his pockets into fists at his side, and a sound, a buzzing vibrating sound echoed from his chest loudly. His whole body was tense as he stared over my shoulder. I had started to turn my head in the direction he was glaring, until I felt his finger tips brush my cheek.
His skin was hot. I touched my face and it almost burned where he had barely grazed my skin. I was looking at him again, unfocused on whatever was behind me, concentrating on the low buzzing in his chest.
“You’re so warm. Who…..”
He reached out to me, still glaring and focused on the trees behind me. His movement halted my question and his hands met my shoulders. They were like blankets resting on my skin. He looked down at me and his face was instantly softer, eyes un-squinted and wide, and the buzzing sound faded into a low hum.
“Don’t fear me, or this place, I’m here to help you, and keep you safe through this. “
I felt my body melting under the tone of his smooth words, as he spoke he looked me in the eye, locking me into his grip. He had a powerful pull on me and I didn’t know why, or who he was.
A frightening growl filled my ears, the man’s glance was back at the trees behind me, his face twisted and violent again, I could feel his fingers tightening on my shoulders. I couldn’t look toward the deep growling I heard over my shoulder, he held me in place, and the humming from his chest had gotten strong again.
I could feel the air changing. The smell, the feel of it, coming from behind me like a wave. The smell was unpleasant, like garbage. The air itself stung on the backs of my arms like little pin pricks. His hand released my shoulder and he reached for my face, holding my chin in his hand. The burning it caused wasn’t unbearable or painful even. It was hot, by all means, but it didn’t hurt like I would think it should. His heat was comforting to me.
“Vala”,
He said as he raised my chin to look me in my eyes, the growling still behind me. Looking into his eyes makes nothing else matter, like I’m under a spell, I’m not afraid, and the animalistic sound growing more intense behind me, is but a whisper in comparison to what his eyes scream to me. I’m completely calm.
He carefully, but quickly spun me into the direction of the vicious sounds, breaking me from my comfort zone inside his eyes, causing mine to snap shut with fear. With my back against his chest now and my eyes closed, I could still feel his hands on me, and his warmth on my back, and I could still her the growls, louder and closer to me now. The air, unpleasant smelling and cold, now stung against my face and I could feel my hair blowing against the man’s chest.
I felt him lean toward me, his lips next to my face. I could feel his breath on me, hot and pleasant, cancelling out the sour hot air coming at me now. My eyes still closed the growling still growing louder.
“Open your eyes,”
He whispered, his voice again like velvet warming my skin with his breath. In the moment it took him to speak, the growling was faint, like a blur in the background. As I struggle to open my eyes, the growling becomes more noted, as if I were coming out of a wonderful dream, into a nightmare. The dull growl in the background intensified into an un-ignorable screech. Fading from comforting, velvet heat, to cold vicious, vile smelling pin pricks on my face.
He let go of my shoulders the instant my eyes became fully open. And upon being fully open, I could see two dots in the trees, not far from me, shining bright, and yellow. I could see breath coming from where a mouth would be, if these were eyes. The warm breath made a misty fog in the cold air, steady and raspy. I could hear it breathing. I turned my head to hide in the man’s warm chest, but he was gone. I was alone, with whatever was in the trees, snarling at me, watching me with yellow eyes.
Realizing that I had no chest to hide in, I turned my face back toward the trees, toward the beast. I wasn’t scared, but anxious as the eyes followed me, hovering in the blackness, surrounded by the floating evaporating mist of its hot breath. As I stood frozen, waiting, the thought to run entered my mind again; however I was strangely drawn to the yellow glowing dots, as I was with the man’s bright blue glowing eyes. They attracted me, but in a different way.
An enormous black figure took a step toward me, avoiding any small ray of moonlight that would let me catch a glimpse. I couldn’t make out many details, just the yellow glow of the eyes, the mist of the breath and a white glisten shinning from long, sharp teeth, I guessed. It was huge and fear came over me again. Why he left me alone, I wondered as I watched the stalking creature, following me with its eyes. Why am I……?
It lunged toward me without warning, jumping high into the air, well above my head. It flew effortlessly, right for me.
The air began to swirl with a chalky blue color, an almost smoky texture, swirling around the beast as it flew toward me howling loudly. The blue smoke swirled in from all angles of my vision. I quickly threw my hands up over my eyes, as if to shield myself from the enormous figure flying toward me through the unnatural blue smoke and darkness.
Standing there, waiting to be killed, the howls from the creature start to fade, as if getting farther away, rather than closer. I feel the air starting to warm, as the howling turns to a distant moan, and I can smell sunlight in the air. The noises from the swampy place are gone, and I let my hands fall from my eyes. I was in my bed, lying down on my back with my eyes open. A poster of my favorite actor, Taylor Lautner, smiled down on me from the ceiling. I let out a loud sigh as I sat up rubbing my eyes frantically, trying to focus on my room. I could almost still see the blue chalky smoke recoiling and disappearing, evaporating into the air around me.
That was new, I thought to myself as I examined my room. Unnaturally tidy, as it always was.
I had dreamt about the young man before, almost as long as I can remember actually, always dressed the same, and always in the murky place that I had never actually been. It never had changed though, until now.
I twisted my fingers through my hair, still sitting there on the bed trying to imagine a reason why it had been so different in that place on this night… It’s never dark there, I thought to myself, still running my fingers through my hair. There is never anyone, or anything, there with us, and he had never spoken before this night. I had never been close enough to feel him breathe before. It usually went, him and I, alone in the marsh, in the sun. His blue eyes always on me from a distance and him always smiling, staring at me. That’s it, I wake up. Definitely a different story tonight.