The Weird Dreams

'There seems to be even more people now.' The number of shadows Ethan saw had increased from the previous day.

Ethan suspected that these were people as he was a similar mass of darkness. They all resembled people, all with distinct shapes. None of their features were recognisable though.

The first time he started having these dreams, there were only a few hundred to a thousand shadows. Now, there were so many shadows that his field of view was entirely covered by them.

They were all standing on clouds with a blue sky all around them. Ethan thought this was what heaven looked like. Despite the complete emptiness, Ethan felt more alive here than anywhere else in reality.

But covering a significant portion of the sky was one massive shadow that loomed over everything. It wasn't human-shaped and had two massive hands extending from its body. Each of the hands had claws on them

Because of its size, neither its face nor legs could be seen from where they were standing.

Ethan on an instinctive level knew he couldn't defy that being. He felt no pressure from that being but simultaneously felt that it an extremely powerful.

Ethan didn't have the urge to worship nor fear the being. Ethan's emotions were akin to confusion. Maybe it was the fact that Ethan couldn't comprehend what that being was. 

"Everyone is now here. In 24 hours, it will commence." Suddenly the being spoke. It was the first time Ethan had ever heard the being speak.

He didn't just hear the words. The words resonated with his very soul. It was a message he wouldn't be allowed to forget.

Ethan suddenly woke up after the message, covered in cold sweat.

"Again? The same dream? And what was the last message all about anyways?" Ethan complained as he got up from bed. 

He ran his hand through his messy hair and went to the bathroom to freshen up. It was 7:30 in the morning and he had to get to school. 

After getting ready and eating breakfast, he looked at the empty house as he left to get to school. Ethan figured that his mother had already gone to work.

Ethan found the school boring as usual. The bullies still picked on the nerds, forcing them to do their homework, while the teacher stood by without saying a thing.

These bullies were guys who caused the bathroom to smell weird as they spent most of their time vaping there. Though Ethan wasn't small by any means, he was very skinny and weak for his age, making him a perfect target for bullies.

Yet they never did so. There was an incident a couple of years ago where a group of bullies ganged to beat Ethan up.

Because Ethan was much weaker than them, he stood no chance. Luckily he saw a metal pipe on the floor as he was knocked down.

Using that weapon, he beat them all half to death, causing him to become an object of fear since then. Everyone stayed away from him.

Ethan was ranked number one in the entire school to be the person most likely to bring a gun to school. He became the stereotypical quiet kid of the class.

Nobody talked with him or involved themselves with him. Ethan didn't mind the situation. He was glad he didn't have to interact with people. He was content with coasting through school, being alone.

Finishing up the school without much happening, he arrived back home. Sitting on a chair, lying her head on the small table was his mother passed out drunk.

"Drinking already?" Ethan sighed as he went to grab a blanket. This was a nearly daily occurrence. He placed a blanket on her and left to go to his room.

Ethan didn't blame her for drinking so much. She had suffered a lot. Ethan had overheard that she was a victim of a rape incident that cause her to become pregnant.

In a sense, Ethan was an unwanted child. Though she didn't abuse Ethan, but didn't shower him with love either. 

Ethan's mother was to last all these years with her parent's support. But, after they passed away, it had only been the two of them.

If she wasn't working, she would probably be drinking.

Ethan supported his mother with his part-time job as a plugin developer for various people. He modified various games which earned him a decent sum of money.

He quickly finished his homework in an hour and then checked his messages. Unfortunately for him, none of his clients requested any plugins, so he finished coding the plugin that someone asked for previously.

By dinnertime, he finished testing the plugin before sending it to his client. Ethan hoped he would get extra since he delivered it a week before the deadline.

After warming dinner from the fridge and eating, he hopped back on his computer and chatted with his clients. They were the only interactions he had with others besides his mother.

By the time Ethan was finished, it was 1:00 in the morning, so he went to bed, with the message that the shadowy being said at the back of his mind.