The Newbie

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“I have to warn you, your visions will be clear and it will feel very real. The more you refuse to fight, the more you’ll be pulled into it. Of course you do have other options,” Ranger said as I clenched the reins of his horse, my heart racing in my chest.

“What other options?” I asked the dark wanderer.

“You could be my apprentice. I can teach you magic and you could control the Shadow Terrors with your magic. It’s simple actually,” he smiled.

“I wouldn’t salute you,” I said as I remembered my dream.

“It was just a dream,” Ranger said as he flicked his tail on the spur. “I’ve been trying to tell you to stop refusing the lies from your dreams. They’ll torture you more and more each time you refuse. The longer you fight it in your powers, the worse it will get. Your biggest enemy is you.”

I was silent for a bit, and then said, “No one can save you, when your destiny is to die. The only chance you’ll have to live is to become my apprentice.”

There was no response from Ranger. “Well that’s settled, I’m going to go through with it,” I said. I can survive, I’ve got years. I’ve gone through worse.”

I closed my eyes, as I prepared to leap off Ranger’s muscular mount. Think of the good things, I told myself. Think of your family, your friends, your life. Think of getting out of this place and having a place to call home. Not just a place to call home, but possibly a place where you could finally find happiness. I wasn’t going to be some fantasy for the Shadow Terrors to laugh about, or terrorize. I was going to make my own life, no matter what. I was going to get through this and so much more, now. I was going to live and live my dream, not just my nightmares.

I opened the door of the cabin and stepped into the cold snowy forest. “NO!” I yelled as I ran out of the cabin, crying and shaking.

“Come back in here, hurry!” my mother said.

“I won’t. I won’t just accept my destiny as a dream walker. I’m not going to be abused by some fantasy,” I said.

“Now, you must calm down. You must listen to your dreams. They are a gift from God. Surely He wouldn’t want you to give up when the magic is clear. He will help you through the adversity,” my mother said.

“Not when the magic is real,” I said.

I ran off into the forest, not caring where I was going. “I won’t keep running from it. I won’t. I’m not going to be an abused fantasy.”

“A fantasy? Your dreams are real to you. They are going to come true. I’m sure God wouldn’t want you to give up. He never told you it was real, but you think it is,” my mother told me.

“You think that because you’re blind. True dreams are real, and deadly. I’ve been chanting for God to cancel my gift. Just let me be. Why would He want to give it to me if it were true and real?”

“BECAUSE HE WANTED TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU.”

I turned around at the sound of the voice behind me. A beautiful snow white wolf stood before me. A snow white wolf, that turned into a beautiful woman. I was still amazed at what I was seeing, and I stepped back. Ranger was standing there in his human form.

“Listen to your mother, Abigail. Your dreams are true, you will fight the Shadow Terrors, whether you believe it or not. And you better prepare, they’re coming here,” Ranger said and then turned and walked away. I stood there, dumbfounded and watched him disappear into the darkness of the forest.

“You’re supposed to be on my side?” I shouted. “You were sent to deceive me?”

I broke down and cried. The feelings of inadequacy, powerlessness, and uselessness were there, as usual. They were always there and I always felt like no one could truly understand me. I cried, and cried and cried, until I drifted off to sleep. I dreamed of a war, a great war. It was night, as the sky exploded with light and fire.

“It’s time, they have come,” Ranger said.

“What do I do?” I asked as my body trembled.

“You must stop them, or you will die. The evil that wishes to destroy you will continue to destroy the innocent,” Ranger said.

I prepared myself, and turned around and walked into the shadows. As I approached the portal, I turned and looked at my family that was fighting in the war. I was still in my dream phase. I didn’t want to really go through with this. I loved my life and I loved my family. Now it was time to protect my loved ones, and I had to go through with it. I walked into the shadows.

I awoke with a gasp, my body covered in sweat. I was aware, it had all been a dream. I sat up and I looked out the window. It was a sunny winter day and it had been snowing snow the entire time I was out of my body dreaming. Once I waited for my breathing and heart rate to normalize, I got up and went to my bowl of oats. “There’s no way I’m going to eat this, nothing like a bowl of oats,” I said as I looked at my bowl. I’m hungry, but I’ll hold out. I wondered, “What’s going to happen?”

I stood up and I wondered, “Will I get better?” It’s getting better. Or worse, that’s just crazy. But better. I dreamed it. I’m a dream walker. I’m unique. I c

It took a bit of effort, but I finally got the bowl of oats and brought them to my stall. I ate the oats and changed my bedding. I put out some clean bedding, only to have my mother come in and change it immediately. She was caring for her horses herself.