'Is that a corpse?'
'Where am I? How did I get here? I was just laying in bed...'
Silas tried to giggle but he couldn't, since he was under water.
'Right this has to be a dream, I couldn't think of anything else.'
With that thought in mind, he pinched himself.
And to his utter disbelief, he felt pain.
'This couldn't be...'
That wasn't everything about him feeling hurt. Cause his lungs were slowly contracting from the lack of oxygen. Silas started to panick.
'I need... air. But where do I need to swim. Where is the surface?'
Looking around and twisting rapidly, he panicked even more.
'Better question. How do I swim?'
Since there was only one river in the whole region of his birthplace, no one, esspecially children, dared to swim in it and risk infecting everything downstream.
Pressing out the remaining air, tiny bubbles slowly glided into a direction.
'That's my way to breathing! Relax. I still need to follow them somehow. Just do what you have read in books. Form your hands into shovels and pull them down sideways. And the legs... What the heck do I do with my legs?!'
His mind got sluggish with a frightening speep so Silas hastened and just kicked his feet in a fast, but controlled manner. In the beginning, he looked like a worm inside the mouth of a bird but after multiple heartbeats of trial and error, he finally chased the bubbles.
'Come on I can do it!'
That didn't last long though, since his consciousness depleted. His mind was empty, only the will to survive let him stay somewhat able to control his body. As soon as he saw the gray strings get lighter and lighter he outstretched his right hand and tried to grasp it. Exactly at that moment, all power left him, his body untightened, his muscles were now as light as feathers and he drifted into the vast emptieness of grey fluids. The last thing he felt was the water, entering his lungs. It felt somewhat soothing.
'Is that what it feels, to truly rest?'
Everything got black.
***
Silas saw nothing. Felt nothing. Heard nothing. Tasted nothing. Smelled nothing. He couldn't even think. But his consciousness was there. Slowly gliding through the vast emptiness of existence. It felt like an eternity. Or was it just a moment.
Silas didn't know. Suddenly, he felt something. His consciousness linked with some kind of changing matter. If he could look upon the process, he could see a small color full sphere, glistening faintly blue, reaching toward a physical, ever changing sphere of matter, with strings of light. In the beginning it was just one. As soon as it reached the matter, it started to form. The first thing to form was a brain. As soon as it was fully constructed, Silas consciousness was connected to a thinking mind again. Silas was able to think once more. With the second string, his nervous system and blood vessels came into existence. He could feel his heartbeat again. His organs and bones followed, closely pursued by his sense of touch, hearing, taste, smell and sight. Soon, his whole body returned to how it was before. And Silas came to live once more.
***
A lonely voice screamed out in a silent forest.
'Why is it so cold?' Silas thought while opening his eyes.
Coughing out water from his lungs, they drew in air, faster than all of the fluids left them. Making his muscles contract and relax again and again till all of the water was gone. Silas sat up and looked around confused.
He saw dark grey pillars stretching into the sky. A carpet made from dark grey needles below him. He was suddenly very awake. Standing up rapidly, the voice sounded once more, letting a shiver run down Silas' back.
'"Ugh, what is this?! Where the heck am I?! Can't I just sleep in peace?" Silas shouted enraged.
***
After calming down Silas decided to lean on a tree and consider his options.
"So, what to do? What to do?"
Silas thought about following the voice coming out of the forest.
'But to be honest, it would be unbelievably stupid to do something vast right now, so I guess I should get a clear picture of what is happening here first.'
'Where to begin? I was completely mad and went to bed, in order to get a clear head didn't I? Then I was in some kind of vast ocean. Drowning to the death. Then I can kind of remember a loss of something, and gaining it again. But that memory is shrouded in mist, so it won't help me anyhow.
And now I am here. In a random forest I have never seen. It couldn't possibly be worse now, could it.'
"Uhhhh."
Then, a scream sounded in his ears once again.
'After all that happened I can deduce, that I'm probably dreaming right now since I would be dead otherwise. But at the same time that's ruled out because firstly, I can feel pain. And secondly, one doesn't just die in ones dreams... I think. And then there's also this person crying out.'
'Should I help him? Well the cons are, that I don't know him, I might get hurt and don't know my way around this place. The only good thing would be that this person could be able to tell me the way. But still, it's way too dangerous. Why do I need to care that, whoever it is, has problems. I don't know... him? her? And today there happened so many things, I can't bother with another weird event.'
Then he felt a subtle feeling of guilt in his heart. Trying to ignore it he just walked into the other direction, whistling a soothing melody. But then, a subtle thought entered his mind.
'Whoever it is probably has a family. Who am I to let this person have pain. My pain is probably way more deserved than that of this stranger anyway.'
Soon, he stopped, feeling kinda depressed.
'Still, it's probably the only way, to find out what's going on. I'm only doing this for myself. If I don't help him I might die too. Wait, why did I think about someone dying? What an exaggeration.'
He walked toward the person crying out, excelerating with every step.
Silas was soon able to discern the voice better. It was a male, probably between 18 and 25 years old.
'Well, let's hurry then.'
Running faster, he suddenly felt compelled to turn around.
'What a peculiar feeling. I somehow feel drawn to this place, and somehow I feel repelled at the same time.'
Being confused about this sudden contrast of feelings, Silas reached the spot, where the screaming came from. A small clearing opened up. A rotten stench entered his nostrils, causing a sense of dizieness in Silas. If one could see through his eyes, one would see a lake made from grey fluids, slowly being devoured by the nearby moss. A shade stood on the other side, the grey fluid dripping out of it's maw. It was at least 2 meters tall and as black as if drenched in ink. No light could escape it's body, so it looked like a spirit of darkness. Massive claws were coming out of it's also huge paws. Its legs were like the ones of humans, but thrice the size and many times more muscular. Oddly enough, it's eyes were shining with the same flame of rage. Just bigger, vaster. The heat of it's rage was all encompassing. Silas had never seen anything like that inside of the humans. Being a curious person, he wanted to glance deeper into the raging flame.
'It looks so warm, strong... and I'm so cold...'
Then a peculiar thought suddenly rose inside of his mind.
'I want it.'
The monster glanced back at him, directly into his eyes, making his spine shiver. But he held his composure, enchanted by the beautiful color of the monsters eyes. He suddenly felt a warmth, he never felt before. It was as if he was frozen all his life and just now, he was sat near a warming campfire.
"I want it." he repeated out loud.
For some reason, the air around the beast started to ripple. Its eyes widened. The flame growing colder. The shade was backing away, still keeping eye contact. But then it turned and sprinted away rapidly. The heat Silas felt was nearly gone. Trying to grasp it, grip it, keep it, he went one step further.
Just then, a deep groan came from the lake of grey. Taken out of his trance, Silas looked down, seeing something lay in the middle of the puddle. Taking a step back, he held his breath. Cause not just something laid there. Someone laid there. And not just someone. It was someone who had the same face as him. Just a little older and more masculine, more chiseled...
It was his brother Dex.
The silent voice in his head commented mockingly.
'Told you.' That was all it said, and all it needed to say.
Cause then a sudden wave of weakness rolled over him. The blood puddle splashed as he fell straight through the dark mass.