Lucid

Of course my nightmare starts with something as cliché as running through the woods.

But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the fact that I've been having this same lucid dream for the past seven years of my life.

I take a deep breath and jump just in time over a wide ridge, exactly where I thought it would be, I know where everything is, I've become familiar with this place , seven years has given me enough time to explore this hell of mine.

I know that this forest never ends,

I know that my safety is not ensured until I get to the wall

The wall is this giant concrete structure rising from the ground at least three hundred metres ahead,it stretches as far as the forest, I don't know what's behind it though, I've never reached it, no matter how fast I run or what strategies I use.

The only other thing I don't know is who I'm running from, I don't see my attacker when I look back, somehow in all my years of running, and even a few odd days where I personally set out to see my enemy's face, I've never seen him.

I don't know what makes me feel like it's a he, maybe it's the foreboding chill I feel, when he is nearby

Somehow, I always know when I'm about to be caught.

Tonight I feel the chill a lot more earlier than its supposed to come, but I also feel something else, the air around me is charged and the wind seems to whisper my name as I sprint past.

And then I feel it, an overwhelming sense of relief as I finally get to the wall and begin the climb,

however my relief is short lived when something clamps around my ankle

I shudder at the feel of the cold but familiar hands and thrash around struggling to free myself.

My efforts are futile and I get thrown of the wall,

My back slams into the floor, and although the surface is cushioned with earth and grass, it doesn't feel any less painful.

I was right about one thing though, tonight is different, but not for the reasons I expected

With my back on the floor and the fight gone out of my body, I get a spectacular view of the stars, and it's more beautiful than anything I've ever seen

But more importantly I see my attacker's face looming over me,

I see the frayed edges of the black hood around his head and I see his slim build

I guess my saying "seeing his face" is somewhat incorrect as he has no face, I'm staring into an abyss, a hollow darkness where his face should be and for the first time in a long time, I feel truly afraid

I feel the icy fingers of fear and petrification climb up my spine

My attacker is none other than "The Phantom of Kandrea", this revelation is in itself my greatest fear, I lie there paralyzed as he reaches towards me with gloved hands...

And then something amazing happens

....I finally wake up.