Post by Morgan Payne on Aug 29, 2021 23:58:15 GMT -8
Call Of
The Great Dreamer
Pt 2: The Calling
She was there again. Deep within that watery abyss where she was, somehow, defying the laws of physics. In all honesty, she knew she should have been struggling for air now; her lungs burning and begging for fresh oxygen as she held her breath. She was...she was getting that, however. That was what baffled her the most. Even the tightening of her mouth to keep water from seeping in and flooding her body had relaxed as she looked around her dim lit surroundings. Instinctively, she breathed in and out as if she were on the surface. The only sense she had that told her she was under water was, again, that of her hair floating aimlessly around her. There was also that telltale noise. That soft churning of water against her eardrums like when she submerged herself in the pool at The Castle. Any other noise became distant or muffled. Indistinguishable. Except for one. That voice. There it was again. That distant voice that reached her ears through the aquatic darkness around her. She turned all around, trying to get a sense of its direction before she felt it. That pulling that had drawn her out here in the first place. Perhaps she was stupid to have even answered it. She’d done a lot of stupid shit in life and she’d probably do more after this. Well, not after this, because you’re probably going to die. She shook that thought from her head. No, no. No. You’re not going to die. You haven’t drowned yet, have you? You haven’t been eaten by a shark yet. Oh, that thought. Her eyes widened a bit and she looked around but she probably realized she probably couldn’t see anything that wanted to do her bodily harm if it was there. As it stood, she could only see a few feet in front of her. Still, she felt that urge to press forward. Towards that calling. Towards that voice. So, she did.
Walking through the water, across that oceanic desert was odd. It wasn’t as easy as simply trekking across sand on the beach. She still felt slowed down like she had to push against the pressure of the water, but the pressure was significantly less than she figured it should have been. Again, it felt like she was in the deep end of a pool. She trudged on, following that unknown pull, further and further out. Every once in a while, as she pushed forward, she heard that voice with it. Every few moments. The voice of a woman calling out to her. She almost sounded as if she were in distress. The water in her ears made it difficult to make out what she was saying. Her eyes continued to adjust to the darkness as she kept moving. It was as if the further into the blackness she dared to venture, the more she was rewarded with the gift of sight. Before too long, she could see practically clear as day and her journey seemed less fearsome until it became all the more so within an instant. She stopped when the ground beneath her feet did. That is to say, the ocean around her continued on but the sandy ground beneath her boots stopped just a few feet before her in an incredible drop. A drop into...she didn’t know what. It was as if she’d come to a cliff that, she’d dare say, took her off the edge of the Earth. Below her, below that edge was...blackness. It was too dark to see what lay beneath. No. Nope. This was where she drew the line and that urge to pursue that force became far less than her desire to get the hell out of there. She wasn’t about to take any more chances. Shaking her head, she turned and stepped to begin heading back. If she was somehow, some way, able to walk across this mysterious ocean, she’d walk her ass all the way back to shore and get out there.
“Help me.”
She stopped. She lifted her head and slowly looked back over her shoulder without turning.
“Help me.”
She turned then as she was able to make out that voice she’d been trying to discern again. She could hear it much clearer now. It was, indeed, someone calling out. Calling for help. She walked to that edge again and gazed out ahead of her until she heard it again.
“Help me.”
No. Not from out there. It was coming from below. Below from where she stood. She stepped closer, carefully putting her foot right at the edge as she leaned forward, trying to peer down into the darkness. She risked it, opening her mouth some. She could breathe down there but...could she speak?
“...Hello?”
“Help me!”
Evidently she’d been heard because the voice calling out sounded more desperate than before. She listened further as the voice was now weeping. Sobbing. Her stomach twisted into a knot as she listened. There was something...familiar. It was on the verge of unnerving as she continued to listen, looking around again. What are you looking around for? There’s nobody else down here that’s gonna help her. You gotta go. You have to go. She swallowed that lump in her throat and steeled herself. One thing was certain, at least: she wouldn’t plummet like a rock in the sky to her death. She hoped not, anyway. Things didn’t exactly make sense here. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. Someone needs you. You got this. She stepped forward...and dove down. Thankfully, no, she didn’t continue to defy physics and suddenly plummet like a rock. She began to slowly sink as one would expect, off of that edge and into the blackness where that voice called out to her. She turned herself in the water, facing her new destination, fearful as she was and began to swim; propelling herself through the water. Down, down, down she went deeper into the sea where she had been so forcefully pressed into by that monstrous wave that capsized - no - completely decimated her boat. Her boat that just mysteriously appeared on the shore of that beach when she began to doubt the ability to answer the calling. It was like the powers that be were intent on her making this journey. Come hell or high water. Or...deep water, in this case. Ha ha, real funny. She continued to swim down into that darkness, occasionally looking over her shoulder where, again, the light from above grew dimmer and dimmer until she was completely in the dark again. Only for a moment, this time, however. No sooner than the light above her faded out, another light suddenly appeared in the distance beneath her. She frowned, curiously as she swam towards it; that sobbing cry for help continued to reach her ears. It was getting louder now as the light got brighter. As she got closer. She kicked her feet and waved her arms, swimming harder and faster towards it. She knew she was getting close, even though the light didn’t seem to be coming from any particular source. It was just...there. It got brighter and bigger as she got closer until the blinding brightness filled her vision. Still she swam closer to it, squinting her eyes. The roar of water in her ears began to get louder as she began to feel a force pulling on her. So strong, in fact, it pulled her out of her rhythm and she was no longer swimming but rather just being sucked down like she was in a vacuum. She began to toss and turn through the water as the pressure pulled her continuously. Oh no! No, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! She feared the worse as she squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for whatever she felt the worse was. A quick death perhaps. A quick death that never came. All that did come was the ceasing of the light as she felt it no longer against her eyelids. She opened her eyes again and gazed around her as she floated weightlessly in the water.
A city. She was floating within what looked like a city or, what once had been. It looked...how would one even describe it? Ancient. An ancient, ruined city, made of stone from the looks of it. She looked around, turning to take in her surroundings. The place was absolutely massive. Was she in the center of it? Everywhere around her, she saw roads and walkways, towers and buildings.
“Help me!”
That voice again. She turned and swam down, venturing towards the city floor beneath her. Once more, once her feet hit the bottom, it was almost effortless to stay grounded. It was like the laws of science in her world did not apply here. Her world. It felt funny even thinking that but...this wasn’t her world. No way. She felt that in her gut. She listened for that voice again, looking all around her. Was she alone here? She saw no...inhabitants, to put it a certain way. Who occupied this city or did anyone occupy it at all?
“Hello!”
“Help me, please!”
There it was. It was coming from ahead of her. She pressed forward, moving down the path she’d come to stand on. The voice continued to call out to her. She swore she’d heard it from somewhere before. She pushed on as fast as she could through the water until she found herself defying physics entirely. Soon she was running. Flat out running, underwater. A full on sprint as if she was on a track on land. Faster and faster she ran, trying to find the source of the voice.
“I’m comin’! Where are you?!”
“Morgan? Help me!”
She stopped, suddenly. That voice. It knew her name. It knew her name, just as well as she suddenly knew who the voice belonged to. She stood in confusion, her jaw slowly dropping as the realization of who was calling to her suddenly hit her in the gut like a straight shot.
“...Danni?!”
2:27 AM EST
Monday, August 30th
Asheville, NC
“The Castle”
Morgan shot up in bed just like she had before: panting out of breath, in a cold sweat. She looked around, realizing she was in her room. Just another dream. She wiped her hand down her face, clearing the layer of sweat and swung her feet down onto the floor. She reached down and pulled out the drawer to her nightstand, for the bottle of Jack she kept there. With a bit of anxiousness in her movements, she twisted off the cap, pressed her lips over the mouth of the bottle and tipped it back for a long pull. Morgan brought the bottle down with a sigh. She rested the bottle on her leg and closed her eyes. Just another dream, she repeated in her mind. She took another drink, capped the bottle and tucked it away.
“Morggy?”
She turned and looked back towards the soft, concerned voice to find Lily sitting up in bed with the sheets up around her chest. Her wife’s innocent doe like eyes watching her curiously. A hint of worry in them.
“You okay?”
“I’m a’ight, faerie.”
Well, she was telling half the truth anyway. She could tell Lily wasn’t fully buying it, though. She had a way of knowing when something was wrong. Morgan offered a small smile and reached out to take her hand. Lily accepted and Morgan kissed the woman’s knuckles.
“Go back to bed, baby.”
She grabbed her cigarettes and lit one, dragging heavily on it as she stood up off of her bed, walking to her window. Morgan stared out her window at the moonlit forest as thoughts raced through her head. She didn’t hear Lily crawl out of bed or even approach from behind her. She only felt her arms slip around her waist and her head rest against her back between her shoulders. Morgan managed a small smile as she dragged on her Newport and rested a hand on one of the woman’s arms. She kept telling herself it was just a dream, even though…. What did it mean? What did any of it mean? And why was she hearing the voice of her friend, Danielle Deballion, crying out to her?
To Be Continued….
