ooc: The Dream
There were tall, almost identical concrete buildings surrounding him, blocking out the sun. So cold--must be late afternoon, although he doesn't know how he knows that. The sky, from what little he could see, was an angry grey. The place was noisy. He heard the loud sound of cars racing up and down the street. Honks and curses. A baby screaming. A radio left blaring on a windowsill.
He took a step forward, towards the sound of traffic, and it began to rain. Another step and it began to pour.
The rain came down in sheets, chilling him to the bone. He shivered and looked around for some shelter. There. An awning a couple feet from him. He started towards it--and was suddenly pushed aside by a faceless stranger who walked briskly away with an umbrella in hand. Another shove--a lady with an expensive raincoat. She hustled away from him. More people arrived, dozens of them in drab colors, all in rain gear, marching on the sidewalk. They all walked past him. He tried waving at their faces but no one so much as blinked. Then someone's leg tripped him so that he fell onto his knees in the gutter. The pain startled him and he opened his mouth in surprise. Nothing came out.
Nobody noticed.
The noises became louder. Deafening. He winced, tried to block them out with his hands. It was starting to get warmer. Too warm, almost like a burning. He gasped at all the strange sounds that were coming at him, like blasts of hot air.
The stomp of feet. The rush of traffic. Shrill alarm sounds, an endless screeching. A cat yowling. Twisting of metal. Sparks of electricity.
"....be a part of something bigger!"
Voices.
"But Red is the big cheese! Head Honcho! Large and in charge! You get to tell the others what to do, and then they do it!"
He tried to open his eyes and found himself lying face up, staring up at the sky. It was still raining but the clouds were disappearing (how?) and he could see the faint glimmer of stars.
"It is truly the swordsman, and not the sword. Don't you agree?"
Even as he looked up, blinking hard against the rain, he could see that the stars were growing brighter. Hotter.
"You are good."
Closer.
"It'd make me really happy if you would share it with me."
The buildings, the people and the rain melted away as he was lost to the ink black night sky and the hot, pulsing stars that were now racing towards him.
"You can't do this!"
There was nothing now, nothing but him and the bright, burning light. He felt oddly at peace with it. This seemed better than the rain. Even the voices were fading.
"NO!"
Better than being alone.
"Later, buddy."