I started on a long, icy, natural bridge in a snowstorm. My vision wasn’t too clear, but I could see other natural bridges, at least their outlines. As I ran forward, I saw two figures that were facing me. It was soon revealed that I was on the middle platform of three, and the figures were revealed to be friends from high school.
On the left, was my friend Alex. On the right, my friend Juan. Juan called out to us as we all walked in sync towards an unknown goal.
”We need to get past the barriers, it’s our only shot at finding the reason!”
For whatever reason, we all understood his words. We approached a maze of more natural bridges, this time they were littered with varying sizes of lasers. At the ends of the platforms were man-sized vortexes, swirling uncontrollably but making sounds of a violin. Juan shouted over commands of what bridges to take, as the sound of the vortexes grew louder.
”Daniel, take the left one, Melgar will meet you through the right!” Shouted Juan, pausing for a brief moment, and then gingerly running over the lasers that were at feet level. I blinked and found myself down the path parallel to the one Alex entered through a vortex.
A streak of lightning flashed across the darkened sky, causing our hearts to skip a beat. We all grew nervous and tried to run faster through the mazes. Alex was on the precipice of a platform, obviously a dead end, but was near tipping point as his balance was giving way to the gusts of wind. Juan was getting burned by the lasers as he, almost in a feverish way, tried to find a route to get to Alex in time.
”Keep calm! Avoid the lights and get to an empty spot!” I yelled over the wind, outstretching my hand to them desperately. In that moment, Alex tipped over the edge and fell. Juan slipped on his way to the edge Alex was on and he, too, fell off the side of the platform.
In a last ditch effort, I brought my arms to my sides out, my face distorted in pain as the lasers cut at my feet. And in a harmonic tone, I chant, “Stat sua cuique dies”. My friends rise from the pitfalls of the platforms and stand next to me. They, too, begin chanting, and our chanting follows into a song.
“I was born for this”, composed by Austin Wintory echoed through the land we stood in. Our chanting in harmony made the stormy winds die down, and the lasers diminish. I closed my eyes, and then the next dream began.
I had just gotten word that Lauren has been missing once again. Where she was originally held up in a dilapidated shed, encroached by nature’s grasp where the interior resembled that of a college dorm-room party… she was gone the next day. We had traveled from so far away, from the mediterranean mansion nestled in Mill Valley, through the town of Ghivizzano, and squeezing through the twisting labyrinth of brambles.
However, we were in a different world than expected, seemingly separating us from Lauren by thousands of years. We don’t know how we got here, but we started off inside the remains of a under-construction building in a desolate wasteland. Our only mode of transportation was the pulleys and carts that were hung so haphazardly on the zip lines. And zipped we did, across the confines of this building. Our guide, whom of which was a business man wearing a zoot-suit and had a monocole for both of his eyes waltzed along with us, un-hindered by the desert heat and lack of water.
“Y’see here, this structure once belonged to the company, just as you, and I, and anyone else was. But a sudden drought washed away all of our profits, ya know? Hehe, see how I used the word ‘washed’, when there’s no drop of blue in even a seagull. Do mind the ziplines, they used to carry men with families. I’m not sure if you know extravagance, but there’s an olden city just across the Grasp Sea. Ask the local fisherman how to cross, I’m money out of pockets on this one, feller.”
Then he tipped us his hat and fell inside of it like it were some kind of black hole. We walked through the desert in no time and at a stone platform (with sand between the time-worn cracks). At the middle of the platform was a seagull wearing a king crab for a hat and chewing on a strand of lemongrass. He looked up at me since my companions seemed to have disappeared and talked:
“Horse scotch whips, you ain’t gettin’ crossing with this blue not too easy today. What you gots ta’ do is spread yer arms out and fly jus’ a lil’ above tha’ blue, arright? That way, the gravitational pull won’t be tearin’ ya across the sea and’ you can know what ta’ expect.”
He pointed to a flock of struggling seagulls who were pushing against the wind, only to have a few blown backwards from the force and the others remain exactly in the same place.
“Storm’s a comin’, you best be movin’ soon now.”
I ran at full speed and spread my arms out, jumping off towards the town across the sea and steering myself through the wind currents. From small pillars to towers of water shot through the sea, as if a volcano was creating an island before my eyes. I flew as fast as I could, landing hands first on the smooth cobblestone roads of Ce Ni Gratum. A guy around the age of 22 approached me.
“It’s too late for you to go out and get food. Come inside, I’ve been expecting you.”
He walked at a brisk pace, both of our bodies cramped and slowly being crushed by the overwhelming gravity of the town. He pointed up to the sky.
“The pressure here is 300% stronger than what you’re used to. It gets worse during storms, hence the iron girders in our roofs.”
“They claw at my mind. I can hear them scratching with their little, incessant feet as they run across the old wood. No voice, just movement. Kinetic energy proven to be accurate as a theory and event. Yes, there is one by the dresser, rattling the entire block of wood like a jackhammer pounding the pavement during a summer Christmas.”
Silence.
“There! Another one! Over by the metal shelves. I can hear them growing louder, but never closer. Never withdrawing from my living box, and always bringing their sound. No more, I can go no more with this. The scratching against old mahogany and sunflower seed shells is more deafening than the midnight airplanes tearing through the clouds.”
Snap.
“Yes! The device has gone off! I must check and see, I must check and see! I must see, yes, see the truth. The truth, no, the visage of a conclusion that has yet to formulate into an effect. Still, there’s no harm in looking. Oh, but if it is true, then why are there sounds? Is it taking the final huffs of air before the crescendoing but silent cheer that silence continues? But wait, what is it that I’m hearing? This isn’t a scratching sound but more of a high pitch. Are you stuck? Are you stuck and are having difficulty getting through?”
Light.
“Let’s see what you’re up to. Oh, so you are stu- ah.. you do have a path to get away. When you see the monster that you’ve disturbed and made rise from the den, then you know terror. Let me just grab this little… yes, this will fix you up quite nicely. You see, it has your favorite things. Nuts, peanut butter, maybe a bit of honey– all you need to do is go in the middle and get it. Here, I’ll set it down by where you exit.”
Wait.
The dog laid atop the cliff, its’ head bowed and seemingly lifeless as its’ gaze encompassed the whole of the Earth. It could see all of it as an entirety– colors, shapes, sizes.
But the dog was still blind.
The cat knelt atop the cloud, its’ unwavering eyes analyzing and pondering the finer tips of the mountain tips. It could see all things moving, be it in flight, through water, or on land.
But the cat was still blind.
The bird perched atop the heavens, a sturdy stare that could see all things living, and soon to halt living. There was no gray area– just objects and beings, both being easy to decipher.
But the bird was still blind.
The Earth hovered in the space, breathing slowly as a vessel for time to pass over it like a blanket over a child. It did not accompany the needs of the alien animals that crept, swam, or walked across the world.
The Earth was never seeing. It was just turning and going about its’ daily business.
I am an experimental being that’s wearing a completely skin-tight white outfit. Today, we were supposed to go to the rocket for our journey to Mars as the role of starseeds. I was accompanied by a few human supervisors that resembled English teachers and a whole slew of cartoonish talking vegetables (Picture Brave Little Toaster cartoony). In celebration of being the first people to go to Mars, we each had our own pod that was ornately decorated in a parade as we were being towed down the street.
“A lot of money is riding on this, so we can’t screw this up”
Said one of the supervisors as I looked around to see the magnificence of the parade. There were giant models of multi-colored animals, space pods that were so pristine that the light seemed to bend around it, and a shower of confetti just billowing through the air.
We eventually exited our pods and walked up large, white flights of stairs that went in a spiraling fashion, up into the rocket platform. The amount of steps were daunting, but nobody was tired. Indeed, we were all adrenaline-driven to reach the rocket, our traveling capsule to take us to the red planet. At the top of the tower was a long, narrow white platform that went on for maybe half a mile to the rocket.
“You go on, I want to look at this”
I said to one of the supervisors and they smiled, escorting the rest of the vegetables to the rocket. I tightened my hairband and folded my arms, taking in the entire scene. A perfectly blue sky, a bright sun hanging up above, and a flat urban city surrounding everything. Next to us was a basketball court on the left, and to the right was medical facilities for supplies. I smiled and unfolded my arms, walking briskly down the path.
Then I slipped.
I fell off the platform– which was suspended roughly 45 in the air, and I felt like I was falling slowly. I caught myself just barely when I landed and stood up right. Some basketball players shouted and pointed to me, exclaiming that I was an alien. Without much thought of how to get to the platform, my feet carried me in a frantic run to the nearest stairwell. The players dropped their basketball and gave chase, and boy did they run fast.
It wasn’t soon that I was cornered, and they were closing in. Noticing that there was a stairwell to the left above me, I jumped about 20 feet up and landed on it. The two players looked to be in a state of confusion and amazement– dumbfounded expressions painted their faces. I sprinted at an alarming rate up the stairs, not knowing how to get back but knowing where to run. Suddenly, I was in a room with all the supervisors and vegetables.
“We came back to find you! It would have been boring otherwise”
Spoke one of the vegetables, whom of which reminded me of Annoying Orange. We started the parade all over again, this time with no confetti, no colorful floats, nothing exciting. Just straight down to business. It was time for us to carry out our mission completely.
Skipping to the rocket, we were sent to our sleeping quarters. They resembled a bedroom from a cabin. Bunk beds, smooth carpet, colorful down feather quilts, and a single lamp hanging from the ceiling. We all piled into our beds and laid down for launch.
“It’s time to leave”
I crossed my arms over my chest and closed my eyes.
