The Dream

She clutched her chest gasping for air. White light enveloped everything, and she couldn't see anything around her. Panicking, she began grasping around her. The girl's fingers brushed the air as she tried to find anything. The light dropped into pitch darkness, followed quickly by excruciating pain. It felt as if every fiber of their being was being torn to pieces. She closed her eyes, screaming into the darkness. Then, just as soon as it had started, it stopped. Suddenly she was in the middle of a dense forest. A cool breeze ran across her skin, and she took a deep breath. The crisp smells of the night filled her nose and made her feel calmer. Having no idea what was happening, where she was, or why she was in this forest, all the girl knew was nothing around her was making a sound. The trees shook with the breeze overhead but did not make a single sound. Concern spread across her face, and she began to walk forward, not knowing what else to do. After walking for just a few moments, it felt like she had been walking for days. The silence of the forest began to grow overbearing. The cool night breeze that was once calming became chilling to the bones. The forest seemed to be sapping everything from her as she continued forward.

Part of her wanted to give in and lie on the forest floor, but a part of the girl, deep down, knew that stopping would be her end. She had no desire to give in to the end. The girl then suddenly froze. She spotted a light through the trees. Was it another person? Her feet carried her faster than she had ever moved, and she burst through the trees to find the light. That's when she saw it. The moon was massive in the sky, larger than what should have been possible. It was as if the moon was resting on the Earth, illuminating everything around it.

The girl stepped towards the moon in awe of the sight before her. Everything became still around her, and she found herself unable to move. That was when she heard the first sound in a long time. A booming crack rang out around the area, and the Earth split open in front of the moon. Darkness rose from the break in the earth to reveal a creature that seemed to be made of fur, fangs, and the very ground it clawed its way from. Mud flowed from its mouth as it let out a howl. The creature resembled a wolf with two main differences. First, the wolf was, in fact, enormous. It was at least six feet tall while on all fours. The girl shuttered at the thought of it charging her on its hind legs. Then, giving her head a shake, she looked at the other difference. Two long horns jutted from the wolf's muzzle and forehead. The creature seemed to have the body of a wolf with the defense of a rhinoceros. That's when the beast turned to look at her. The wolf creature was suddenly right in her face, and the girl realized it was not mud falling from the wolf's mouth. The stench of blood filled her nostrils. The creature let out a growl and lunged at her throat before she could even react. With that, she sat straight up in bed, gasping for air. She felt her throat, trying to find her injuries but found nothing. She flopped back into bed with a sigh of relief. It had just been a dream.

"Maxine. You doing okay in there?" a voice called out from behind her bedroom door.

"Yes, everything's fine," Max replied, "just had a nightmare."

"Okay, well, keep it down." the voice muttered in annoyance, followed by feet shuffling away.

Max let out a small groan and rubbed her face. She closed her eyes, trying to remember the dream, but it escaped her mind. With a sigh, Max tried to fall back to sleep. After a while, she drifted into a sound slumber without even realizing it. No dreams came to Maxine for the rest of the night, none that Max could remember when she woke up that morning. She rolled out of bed with a groan and went to the bathroom. With a grumble, Max stood in front of the mirror, rubbing her eyes. Her short crimson hair was messy after tossing and turning in bed all night. After she stopped rubbing her eyes, for the briefest second, she thought she saw a mark on her neck. Max touched her neck to make sure nothing was there. She felt nothing under her fingers, but something in the back of her mind told her that she should feel lucky nothing was there.