“A…dream, again?”
This is different, more vivid and lucid than the previous dreams I usually have. The environment around me is my main concern now.
Standing in a burning forest was the only sight; surrounded by nothing but fire and ash on the ground. The smell of smoke is so overwhelming that it stings the nose, the taste of ash tinged on the tongue. The heat of the flames were scorching, yet the wind is blowing from the left side of me and the air was strangely chilling.
Doesn’t matter though, I need to know what the hell I am doing here instead of standing here like an idiot. Looking from side to side, there is not anyone around me, which I already expected. While noises are present, only the roaring fire and crackling sounds of burning trees and shrubbery can be heard; no one is there to answer back.
It was rather quiet despite the loud roaring fire that is resonating across my surroundings.
Although it is rather difficult to breathe, I moved forward to the unknown; hoping to find something that is interesting or out of place in this nightmarish dreamworld I’m in. Nothing can be seen, only the blazing fire and the flame that burns like an eternal pyre.
I am oddly unsure if I should be scared at this point, there is nothing scary about this other than burning forest and being stuck in nightmarish dream of a weird apocalypse.
Continuing to move forward and on spur of moment, the striking voice of Lilim calling my name at the distance, made me froze and took a step back.
In a haste and full of terror for my daughter, I immediately sprinted towards the source; barely caring about the fact that this is just a dream as whether it is reality or illusion, I will always put above all else for the sake of my family.
“Lilim! Are you there?! Hold on, father is coming to get you!” Yelling for all to hear, as the voice is ringing in the surroundings. My sound is distorted like it came from underwater, it is still audible and clearly understandable.
“Where are you?!” Coughing from the smoke and fumes considering that I am panting in exhaustion and stress that is straining my body; not knowing how far away from her location is.
Reverberating loud scream made me immediately stopped in place, growing more worried and scared about the safety of my daughter since the scream was filled with cries of death. Not thinking twice and without hesitation, I still continued to run ahead until finally reaching the source.
That was the biggest mistake I have ever done in my life.My family…my friends, my parents. They are all nude and mutilated beyond repair but still recognizable, gathered in mound of corpses, piled high like a mountain of dead bodies; their blood dripping onto the ground from each of the wounds.
Their faces is what terrified me the most, all of their eyes are gouged out. The stench of rotting flesh fills the air, almost suffocating me with its rancid odor. The mouths of the dead is wide open, revealing their teeth and dangling tongues. One of them was half of their face is torn off, and another one has a huge wound on the chest with intestines spilled from their gaping hole.
On top of the mountain of corpses is…Lilith, naked like always with an ominous smile on her lips; she was standing in the midst of the pile of the dead. She did not look surprised or frightened at all. Her eyes were not on me nor the others. Instead, her gaze is fixated on something else…on the sky.
I cannot scream because my throat is choked up and closed. My vision, even though I am in dream, is beginning to distort and morph in seeing her again.
However, through controlling my breathing and trying as hard to maintain myself in this presence, I reduced my senses to the bare minimum, allowing myself to distinguish surroundings properly and illusion of the dream. The details of the landscape is not clear, I can see that we are still surrounded by burning trees.
Trembling in fear, I took a step backward; accidentally stepping on a wooden stick on the ground, resulting a ear-piercing snap, grabbing her full attention as she creepily and slowly shifted her head to me in a creepy fashion.Wide-eyed and open-mouthed in apprehension of the situation, Lilith smiled like a creeper, licking her red lips in a lustful manner as our eyes were fixated on one another.
All I can do is grind my teeth in consecutive display, fear and pain is running rampant through my body, causing the sweat on my face to drip down from my forehead rapidly; accompanied by a tingling sensation from my toes to the tip of my nose.
“Adam~”
She chillingly whispered my name from above of my loved ones before something horrifically would happen in sudden change of events that made me want to forget everything now.
Burning children slowly materialize around my dead family, crying and being set on the eternal inferno of fire. They were screaming in anguish and sadness, wailing like a wounded animal, not knowing why or how they are there. It was as if they knew they will never see the light of day.
Wait, I recognize all of them. These children…they were the ones that got killed by her in my home village.
Oh god, please not this again!
Across the miserable souls of these dead children, I can see the familiar faces of my childhood friends…Bobby and Alice. Seeing them, even if it was just dream, had caused me so much horror that I could not hold myself anymore in screaming the top of my lungs.
There is no relief from the agonizing agony and despair; it was like a sick and twisted nightmare.
I spun in motion and run like hell as the screaming and dead children run after, crying for help and being in anguish from the fire.
“HELP ME!”
“WHERE IS MY MOMMY?!”
“IT BURNS! MAKE IT STOP! WAHH!”
I can’t help them, I can’t help them, I can’t help them, I can’t them, I can’t help them, I can’t help them, I can’t help them—! There is no stopping. Even if I wanted to stop, I am too late. I cannot save them from being in flames.
Sniveling in my tears, “I AM SORRY!” I screamed out to the burning children. However, it was pointless. They were still chasing me to the end of the earths, their eyes were blank, devoid of any emotion. As much I can run with adrenaline and panic in mind, there will be no escape.
My legs are like rubber and my knees are shivering from the unbearable pain of running so long. Inevitably, I fell on the ashy ground, my face heading straight on the burning hot ash, it burned so bad on my skin that I feel like my flesh is melting off, slowly and gently.
My torture begun, these children-no, whatever they are kicking and punching me to the point that my entire body is broken from their beating. Their teeth are digging into the bone of my arms; their nails are scratching on my face.
It hurts, it hurts so much…
“I don’t want to! I DONT WANT TO DIE!” Screaming and crying for the last time, but it will not change anything. No one is coming to help. Just like when they died. The only one here is me. I’m alone and in agony.
However, something unexpected happened; beyond my control, beyond my expectations. I begin to transform into a form that I wished never to remember and never forget. With each blow, I felt it happening more frequently. Every inch of my skin is burning, it feels like my insides are boiling from the heat of the blazing flames.
I become the monster I avoid to be. As these dead children climb on top of me, I pushed them all away with my inhumane strength, standing up with the loud roar of mine releasing the pain and anger from myself.
With a flash, my human figure is gone; becoming an inhuman creature of the darkest and bloodiest evil. The negative feelings resurfaced once more; pain, misery, desire and more are beginning to control me at this moment.
“I WILL KILL YOU ALL!” My voice echoes like thunder inside of the forest and across the blazing land, grinning evil, I used my immeasurable speed to tear them into pieces; enjoying the sounds of their cries and screams.
A trail of red and blood was left in my wake. The only thing that remained was their torn and bloody bodies that are now lying in a pool of crimson blood.
It feels amazing…the thrill of killing them is giving me immense satisfaction, like that of the ultimate orgasm. How many did I kill? Dozens maybe hundreds— I cannot tell, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I want more, but I saved few more
Two brats are running away, fleeing like cockroaches; within zero time, I appeared in front of them, seemingly ready to attack at-
Wait…it is them. No, no, no. no! Bobby and Alice, these two…their faces.
Flashes of my childhood memories were shown in my head. The time we befriended each other, the moment we shared laughter together, the time when they forgave me and saved my life in the end. This is the memory of my past that was supposed to be gone after becoming…this. But, this time, the past is back in full force. A new and horrifying experience from the past that will haunt me forever.
I was about to kill them.
Realization hit me like a bolt of lightning; there was no reason for what I did. I killed these kids, sure they were attacking me first, but they were afraid and scared of their environment. They were not the monsters that I should be running from, I was.
I knelt on the ground as tears of blood flow on my demonic face, realizing how wrong I had been. The innocence of these two, the purest of human emotions that shines brightly, are what made me realize what I become.
Let them attack me, punch my face or anything worse. I should be dead, I deserved to be dead. The fact that I am still alive; it’s a mistake. But they are not attacking me, why are they not attacking me? Is it because they are afraid of me? That explains why, right?
“Are you Adam?”
Freezing from my spot, I could not believe what I just heard. Did one of them speak?
Raising my teary face, I noticed a peculiar detail of their eyes that caused me to stopped abruptly. It is their eyes; filled with humanity of their former selves, whatever I did; it appears like something clicked and brought them back to who they previously were.
I cannot speak, not in this form.
So I nodded, slowly and pitifully. Despite them still burning and feeling the flame slowly engulfing my whole body, it appears they were unbothered by it. In a flash of lightning, they embraced me; hugging me tightly. These two…even when I left them from that village long ago, these siblings forgiven me for what I did to them. They gave me an opportunity to return home—to help me move forward.
Hugging them, we all cried like children in our sorrows, holding each other, remembering the past. All the while, I looked out towards the dark skies. A single star twinkling in the night. I stare at it, wishing for that bright light to shine upon the world and wipe the darkness away from it.
Our cries were not the only thing that was heard; from the far reaches of the burning horizon, a cry of distress and alarm was heard. At the same time, the sounds of thunder roared and shook the earth. Soon after, the clouds above us began to rage and burning rain like never.
The most terrifying thing was not the sudden change of weather, it was Lilith herself; standing just in front of me with an expression I never knew that I would see with my very own eyes.
She was angry, furious, enraged.
And I know why.
