Adam spends nearly all of his time in the dirt, much to the distress of his mother, who's constantly having to scrub him up. But no sooner would he get clean then he would be right back out there digging up the yard. He just loves the idea of finding some lost forgotten treasure and bringing it back into the light of day.
His interest is further piqued that much more when he learns of the great beasts that used to roam the Earth. These giants of nature that littered the planet with their bones buried deep in the ground, just waiting for someone to unearth them. Someone like a certain, little boy with dinosaurs on the brain.
He is thoroughly engrossed in his latest excavation site when he uncovers a large leg bone. At last, this is it! The final piece! He hurries up the ladder, careful not to damage his find, as he hurries to his tent. Inside is laid out an expansive series of tables with all the bones he's collected thus far. With all of the pieces ready, he starts to build the dinosaur.
Piece by piece, they all lock into place like a giant, three dimensional puzzle. Once complete, the skeleton is immediately covered with flesh and skin, bringing the prehistoric animal to life. It rears up, tearing through the tent's confines while giving a mighty roar that shakes the very pillars of the Earth.
Adam should have been terrified, but the sudden display only served to build his excitement. It intensifies all the more when the extinct beast lowers its body, allowing the boy to mount and ride from a place of comfort. The giant lizard sprints forward into the surrounding jungle, taking its passenger for a wild ride.
Suddenly, the beast stops in its tracks and throws its passenger. The boy flies headlong through the air and hits the ground, hard. He quickly recovers and turns about, still in a seated position. His eyes go wide as the oversized predator slowly pads forward as the sky turns black with a swirling motion of powerful wind.
Adam slowly crawls backward, not daring to move too quickly for fear of angering the great lizard. His progress is brought to an immediate halt when he bumps into a tree. There's nowhere left to go. No place he can run to. All he can do is watch as the teeth and claws get closer, thirsting after the tiny morsel that he is.
A sudden flash of white catches his eye and he dedicates a small corner of his eye to observe it. Something is running towards him, just behind the fiendish monster. It's a figure of a woman half white, half black with a white face, and she holds a pole with a loop on the end and a ball of light in the other. She uses the strange tool to snag around the predator's neck and brings it to the ground.
Adam continues to watch, frozen in place, as this new person reaches inside the sharp jaws which she holds open using a single hand and foot. She reaches deep down into its throat and pulls something dark and slimy out of it. She steps on the offending article and it dissipates into the air. After which, the figure releases her snare and lets the beast back up.
The terrible lizard looks up as though waking from a dream and shakes its head several times. The warmth of its feelings exudes from its frame and it skips the best it can to the little boy that is its master. It nuzzles its head against its friend, who accepts the gesture with complete confusion, but burgeoning happiness.
He looks up from the beast, but finds himself alone once again with only his find to keep him company. The figure is gone, vanished with only a trace of glitter as to her even existing. He mounts his dinosaur once again and they run about the jungle, this time with no heel turn, just plain unadulterated fun.
Adam wakes in his bed, but the confusion doesn't leave him, though at this time he doesn't understand why he's so confused. All he can scarcely recall is the white face and the sensation of riding something so massive. To cope with this seeming absence of mind, he simply sits up and lets his brain catch up with the rest of him.
*
The sun is shining with a gentle intensity that allows for sunbathing as well as staying warm in the cool surf. Such is the living paradise for Joanne who is more fish than girl, and who wishes she could shed her humanity and live with the rest of her aquatic brethren in the wild, blue ocean.
Such dreams are considered folly even in this advancing age where medical miracles take place everyday, but people are still given to the old shape and way of things. They turn up their noses even as they mount their motorized chariots, speak into their little boxes that project their voices across the globe, but such things as shedding one's anatomical person or wearing a different one entirely, if even a little while, are impossible to imagine.
Tangent aside, the mermaid in human clothing leaps from the car even before the vehicle comes to a complete stop while her parents rail against such a dangerous, impulsive action. But their daughter is hearing none of their protests as she strips off her daytime attire, to reveal the cute, little bikini she is already wearing in anticipation of wasting no time getting into the cool, clear water.
She zips into the waves and takes to swimming with strong, powerful strokes as she bypasses all the other swimmers and takes to the more treacherous fathoms. She dives down deep as she uses her hands to probe the depths and keep from impacting the floor or spiraling rocks that dapple the bottom.
Such obstacles matter little to the nautical enthusiast who circles around each of them several times before dashing away, back to the surface. She emerges with triumphant flare as she treads the water with muscular legs that allow her to stay above the waves as the sun warms her cold skin.
She turns her head to the power of the radiant beams as she wrings out her long, stringy hair. A mermaid, even a young one, has to be cognizant of the cover that is meant to preserve their dignity, when such concerns are to be considered as the advance of age bestows womanly attributes that many find to be inappropriate.
All at once the sea freezes in place as a terrible frost turns the liquid into a solid, while the sun turns black as sackcloth and crumbles like ash. Joanne fights to free herself, but finds she cannot, against the binding that holds her fast, for this is no normal frost, but a kind that is most unnatural.
For a start, it burns as though the substance within is comprised of acid, though she was certain that tepid water is all that touched her skin, only a moment ago. But such matters are of little concern when the entirety of the mass of the sun slips through the atmosphere and collects in great heaps across the world.
Whole mountains are constructed within moments and sculpted into towering fingers of obsidian that loom above her with eyes that burn right through her. The girl feels herself collapse from within the restriction of her imprisonment and though she fights, there seems nothing she can do to stop what is happening.
All at once she hears the loudest zipper of her life unzip, and the sound is so jarring that she nearly forgets her plight entirely. She turns in the direction of the noise and sees a figure of black and white skate out upon the ice and every stride kicks up a ribbon of frosty, glittery wind that whips about while an object of light lie in her hand.
The woman, as the shape would entail, skates on and with concentric circles she closes the distance between them. The giants are not amused as they construct hammers from their material which they then use to slam the solid surface, but the frozen water is so thick it only cracks.
The woman is beyond nimble with her leaps and spins, taking her just outside of the striking zone, so close she can reach out and touch her adversaries. Try as they might, and oh do they try, they are unable to catch the fairy on ice who uses a sparkling blade which materializes from sparkling dust to cut away the little girl's prison.
All at once the trapped swimmer finds herself on solid ground with her imprisonment melting away and in its place a glorious costume of many colors. She is given long boots with skates at the bottom and twin blades to accompany the task at hand, which is to join the woman in fighting back against the giants.
The sun begins to burn again as the power of the goliaths' is extinguished and there is still much left of the burning ball of fire to warm and light the world. All the while, the twin warriors continue their dance upon the slick, solid surface till the final cut is given and the last of the powerful adversaries returns to their imprisonment in the spherical inferno.
Joanne feels a hand on her shoulder even as she puffs to regain her breath. She turns about to find the woman looking upon her as the taller figure dissipates into the air and for the first time she notices the cracked mask she wears. She cranes her neck ever so slightly and gives a kiss to the creamy white face, specifically focusing on the largest crack.
All at once, the ice is no more and she slips beneath its surface as she continues to watch as the glittering particles form a tiny vortex that flies away and vanishes into the ether. She watches from her place, her imprisonment of flesh, to see where exactly it goes. And this she notes, never to be forgotten.
She awakens in her bed, but she is not distressed over the content of her dream which she is quite of the understanding is all it was. There are none to worry over her screaming, for there are no screams to be concerned with, only a lingering curiosity remains, that of the mask which will forever be etched upon her memory.
*
Daniel Boy, for that is his first and middle name, was named for a song, the favorite of his mother's and his dreaming is most disturbing. He walks naked on a path that is ringed about by an innumerable host of dark cloaked figures who chant for every step he takes into the uncertainty of his destiny.
"Daniel Boy, of little joy," they recite and clap their hands to a solemn beat. "Always find, no one to mind. Will he be, together seen, or will the pain so plain remain in frame till none are sane?"
He looks about with wild eyes that fight to gain an understanding beyond that which is evidently the destination he is meant to follow, that of a cave in the shape of a skull. It grins upon him with hollow eyes that see for all of eternity and impart such knowledge as can be bestowed upon to the little boy, come to call.
He enters the cave and the devout and devoted close up the exit behind him with their numerous persons, but do not approach or even breach the edifice. No hand is placed upon him, nor weight bestowed and yet, he feels the compulsion to fall upon his knees and stay there, even as the hard, rock floor cuts at his skin and causes him distress.
All at once a green fire ignites upon his hands and consumes his flesh with intense energy as the child's screams rise to the cavernous ceiling and fill the enclosure. The flame sprouts upon him and chews away at the naked body till it rings about it entirely and there is little else to be seen at this time.
All at once, a portal of glitter opens up and through steps forth a woman, a figure of black and white, wearing a cracked mask. She dashes forth with a crude club which she uses to brandish against the collected acolytes who surrender their bodies to the blunt force rather than even try to avoid the slow swings while in her other was a spherical piece of light.
"What are you doing?!" a strong voice erupts from all around as darkness envelopes everything till there is nothing else left.
The woman turns around and stares with great intensity upon the skeletal figure which is all that is left of the boy.
"Speak!" he commands and points an accusatory finger her way.
The woman feels the soft knot behind her head give way and the mask slip from her face. She is quick to catch it before it has a chance to hit the floor, revealing Mable in her common attire.
"Speak!" Daniel Boy repeats the command and stares with even greater intensity.
"Who are you?" is all Mable can ask as she fights against a heavy weight pressing down on her from above.
"You already know my name," Daniel Boy asserts and tilts his skull. "What you really want to know is what I am."
Without another word spoken, Mable knows that he requires she ask aloud. "What are you?" is her utterance and she feels as though she is speaking more to herself and the figure slowly changes to reflect that.
"I only respond to that which is spoken aloud," Daniel Boy, now May Bell, instructs her as though she hesitated before smoothing her dress. "What I am is a dreamer fully realized."
Mable is taken aback and finds not the words to form a query.
"You have encountered many dreamers in your mission, yes I know of it," May Bell speaks at length on matters she should not know and crosses the distance between them. "But they are merely dreaming and have not the control necessary to shape the dream. Such is not the case with me." She circles around her. "I can make it rain." Water falls from the sky. "I can make it bright." The sun appears out of nowhere. "I can make the grass sprout." A lush carpet of green appears at their feet. "I can…" She looks to the only other occupant. "I think you see my point."
Mable is at a complete loss. She knows not how to proceed further.
"Has the cat your tongue?" May Bell chides her as she dances about in a maddening display. "No, I can see deep into your mind." She gives a final flourish as she takes hold of the woman's face and draws it near despite the impossibility of her shorter stature, causing the adult to drop to a knee and hold on to her mask that much tighter. "This.." The little girl snatches the prize despite the powerful lock the hands had around it. "This is the power of your friend's final gift to you, and through which you are able to control, to a degree, the dreams of others which you visit. In that you have me at a disadvantage, for my power is limited outside of my own."
A look of horror spreads across Mable's face. "You don't mean to rob me of it," she utters with sheer terror and being powerless once again in the dreamscape and her eyes go wide. "You can't mean to, I must-"
May Bell laughs. "You must fulfill your mission of vengeance. Yes, I know of that too. But you know what is truly funny?" she completes the thought and wipes away the tear from her eye as she lifts the object in question above her head. "If I were to smash it…" She tightens her grip.
"No! Please, no!" Mable begs as she drop to both knees and extends her hands in supplication. "She is all I have left from that time. The only thing that truly brings me joy. I just…"
May Bell chuckles. "Do you know what is truly funny?" she propositions her as she relaxes her arm and lowers the mask. "A keepsake it may be, and powerful too, but it is no better than a crutch. It will help you to walk surely, when your leg is lame, but continual usage will create a dependence and you will never become any stronger." She hands the prize back.
Mable hugs it to her bosom and gives it a kiss. "What if I am satisfied with how strong I have become, and do not seek to increase said strength?" she poses the question and looks to the bestower of that which already belonged to her. In other words, a kindly thief.
May Bell giggles. "Then you have chosen wisely," she speaks in such a manner that it cannot be determined if it were a positive or negative statement.
Mable looks to her younger self. "Can we, can we, return to who we are?" she puts forth her query and holds her mask just a little tighter to her side.
May Bell gives a nod and vanishes as Daniel Boy takes his proper place. "This is my form," he identifies himself and holds his hands in display of his person. "No glitz, no glamor, just me. But you on the other hand, have yet to find the means to speak when wearing the mask, and you haven't the power to control dreams without it. So, for the moment, I will keep control so that you don't have to." A flourish of his hand and they are now surrounded by a small conference room of ancient construction, complete with flickering torches.
Mable looks around her as she is lost to the architecture.
"Go on," Daniel encourages her as he takes a seat. "Sit yourself down and ask those burning questions. First though, one of mine. You see, there is a locked box in your mind that I was not able to access. I could only look around it, but the lock is strong and would not let me through. So I ask you, why are you now Mable and not May Bell?"
The woman obliges and lowers her head. "The loss of Liza, my friend, was a terrible trauma to me," she spills her secret and looks to the cracks on the mask as tears slip from her eyes. "I, I, I could not go back to who I once was, the child I had been. I had to change, to grow up before my time and so I altered my name, that I might still honor my previous one." She laughs a bit. "People always get the spelling wrong, E-L instead of L-E. I tell them, I'm from the south and that's how we spell it." A hollow wind spills about the chamber. "Can I ask you one now?" The boy nods. "How is it that such a young boy as yourself, or am I mistaken, has such a knowledge for older things?"
Daniel laughs. "You are not mistaken," he assures her and leans forward. "I am truly just a boy. But a boy for whom modern conventions have never stood ground with. From the moment a book was put in my hand and the words discernable to me, I have…" He laughs again. "No, none of that is true. I'm just a boy, like any other, and my interests are dictated by my own wants. Why I should choose the older things to latch on to, is a riddle beyond my ability to answer. I simply am who I am. And it was among the Greeks that I found the pieces for the machine that is my mind to become master of my dreams. I could go further into detail, but I feel you know much of what I know, you just lack the resolve to make it happen." He looks upward. "Besides which you have spent your time and the sun is rising. Don't forget what happened the last time you neglected to leave before the sun's arrival."
Mable means to continue, if only for a little while longer, but finds herself being pulled away.
"Nothing so trivial as a power that does not know the limits of its abilities, be they short or long," Daniel waxes philosophical and looks to his person. "Now then, on to the matter at hand.
The scene returns to that of the cave with flesh immolating and dripping from his bones as he screams to the high heavens, a pain that is his pleasure. The people, those that had been accosted, rise from the ground as their bodies fight to compensate for the destruction wrought upon them.
"Hail Sir Daniel!" the people cry as they place armor on his person while his jaw drops off and his left eye falls from its socket, now an empty hole while he gives a kind of grin. "Hail the protector of Gallowmere!"