Short Story based on my dream:

A dark, underground subway platform, its floors lined with equally distant squares of bricks that had dirt and plants in them, their heights reaching up to that of my waist. Not a very practical design, but they did give a touch of colour to the otherwise black and grey area.

I walked beside Zhao Tian Yu on the narrow walkway, a group of our peers following from behind. We were making small talk to pass the time in the dimly lit platform.

"How many watches do you have?" He asked, in our shared mother tongue that was Mandarin.

My brows wrinkled as I tried to recount the number. "Hmm, two I guess? But only one of them is functioning." He nodded his head at my reply and we continued walking, to where exactly was a mystery to me.

I didn't notice when he started to increase his pace until it was too late. In the span of a few minutes, Zhao Tian Yu went from walking by my side to running at full speed into the part of the platform that wasn't lit at all, leaving me behind without any sort of explanation as to his sudden behaviour whatsoever.

As shocked as I was, I quickly regained my senses and started to chase after him, my feet soon aching from the speed I was going. 

"Zhao Tian Yu! Zhao Tian Yu!" I yelled over and over again, in the hopes that he'd stop in his tracks, my energy depleting as I continued to do so. He however, kept on running ahead at the same speed, if not faster, as if my incessant screaming was either not loud enough to reach his ears, or not enough to make him snap out of whatever trance he was in. 

I watched helplessly as the darkness began to consume his tiny, advancing figure like a hungry monster devouring its first catch of the day and silently cursed myself for not being able to run any faster than I was, for it seemed as though I wasn't going to make it, wasn't going to save him from getting eaten. Eyes watery, hair messy, I fought against the urge to stop and pushed forward.

It didn't take long before he was completely out of my sight, much to my horror. I stopped dead in my tracks, unable to process the thought that he was gone. My sanity was slowly slipping away as I frantically tried to think of ways to get him back.

Just then, I heard a cry. "The wolf is coming!"

I snapped out of my thoughts and turned around to face the group of people who had trailed behind us in the beginning. Each and every one of them looked frightened upon hearing those words being uttered. Their loud chats quickly turned into quiet whispers, but instead of walking to safety, they simply stood in place, making me wonder if these people weren't as afraid as they seemed to be. 

My curiosity was satisfied when out of nowhere, a tiger appeared on the platform. Yes, a tiger. Its presence brought upon a calming effect to everybody which was evident by the loosened expressions on their faces. Well, everybody except me that is, for that friend of mine was still missing and a part of me told me that something awful was going to happen. No wonder they weren't scared of this "wolf" though, because a tiger was there to protect them.

The tiger roamed the platform aimlessly, the "wolf" nowhere in sight just yet. Was there even a wolf? Or was it just another case of "the boy who cried wolf"? I was agitated. My best friend was missing yet this "wolf" comes and jumbles up my thoughts even more, as if they weren't jumbled enough in the first place. 

Suddenly, I spotted 2 figures running towards us. A human figure and an animal one to be exact. The human was running at a lightning speed, making it almost impossible for me to get a good glimpse of his or her face. The animal's speed was no slower than the human's, the distance between them growing shorter with each second.

My heart leapt out of my chest when I was finally able to discern the human's face. It was none other than my missing best friend - Zhao Tian Yu, and the animal that was pursuing him was the wolf itself. 

Before I could do anything though, the wolf pounced onto him, bringing him to his knees and sank its teeth into him. I froze, not knowing how to react to the situation. A brave soul tried to pry the wolf off of him by putting his arms around its body and pulling it, but the bloody animal just wouldn't let go. Even as Zhao Tian Yu himself kept struggling to break free with a pained look, the wolf stuck to him like glue, refusing to give up on its prey.

The blood trickling down his arm was enough to trigger something within me. An overwhelming feeling of anger soon replaced that of despair, and forthwith I chanted what seemed to be a spell in a foreign language. It felt like I was being possessed at the spur of the moment.

The next thing I knew, we were back to seconds before the wolf's attack happened. When the wolf was about to make its move, I hurriedly pointed my wand - which origins were not of my knowledge - at it. Instantly, the brave soul from before body slammed the wolf and 
subdued it just before it could get to Zhao Tian Yu as the latter came to a halt, his knees giving way the moment he stopped. A few people came to his aid, lifting his head up to let him breathe more easily as well as checking on his condition.

I observed him from afar, the light shining down on his face making it clear for me to see, not wanting to go over just yet. The guilt from almost losing him was eating away at me from the inside. What if I hadn't been lucky? Would he be... dead? Was I really that useless of a friend?

And where was the tiger when you needed it anyway?

Closing my eyes, I decided it was my turn to be ingested by the monster.

The monster that was darkness.




Author's note: Wow, this took me 2 and a half hours to write.

I feel like my writing hasn't improved much since high school, which kinda bums me out...

Like I keep repeating words, for example "as" and "as if".

And I can't connect sentences properly.

And I suck at describing things. 

But hey, this was an interesting dream. It'd be a shame not to pen it down just because I lacked the skills to do so.

Till the next post,

Bye!