original

Glass The Fragile Realm

Chương 1: One way

Dreams, funny little things. Usually, when you wake up you can make sense of them. You are a knight in shining armor, or a king watching over his land. Maybe you are even flying as if gravity doesn't exist. In my experience, lucid dreams and nightmares are typical; under normal circumstances, my senses don't fail me. This time...my eyes did.

I was blinded by smoke while alarms were blaring. the loud bleating cry was a shock in the dark and congested streets. There was a pressure of bodies all fleeing from some unknown peril. I was pushing and stumbling, a part of the crowd. there were children crying and parents screaming their names. Behind me, I heard the growls of something guttural and oppressive like a mad hunter. The crowd kept running and I stumbled blindly alongside them, trying my hardest not to be crushed. The smoke and chaos had robbed me of my sense of direction; the crowd of all reason. The loud crumbling of stone caught me off guard; a building falling to rubble to my left. I flinched at the sound and crashed to the ground. I pulled my bruised and battered body from the ground and felt something heavy fly past my head, crashing to the concrete where I was. Shuddering in fear, I heard flames erupt not far from me, casting my surroundings into a stark light for a brief moment. A long enough moment for an outstretched claw to aim right at my throat. It came near me and I started falling back to the ground. It felt further than it should've been, as sharp, jagged claws scraped against my skin. Gasping howls and growls filled my ears, and I steeled myself for the inevitable. I quickly shut and opened my eyes, desperately wanting to see the face of my killer before accepting my demise.

Nothing...nothing? No pain? Instead...

I shot my eyes open and saw my hand outstretched toward the ceiling. The ray of dawn's first light banished the darkness of the city. Drops of sweat clung to my small frame as I sat up, clutching my face and chest. I held the thin fabric of my pajamas in between trembling fingers as I breathed a long shaky breath. There was no beast, no claws at my throat, and no buildings falling around me.

"Was that a dream? What did I just see?!" I tried to pull my thoughts from the visions of terror and looked around my room, trying to find something to anchor my mind. My eyes swept the room and settled on a few select possessions. The locket on my table, a gift from my father before he passed away, the posters my friends and I had bought a year prior, and the set of twin daggers my uncle had given me from his expedition in Rome. My gaze rested on the locket, and I crossed the small room to pick it up. After fiddling with the clasp, I slipped the delicate chain over my head and let it rest against my chest. The cold brass bounced harmlessly against me as I dressed for the day. My mind was so preoccupied, that I barely noticed the train as it crossed the rail outside of our home. I slowly made my way to the kitchen where my mother had started breakfast. I slumped into a chair and greeted my mother half-heartedly.

"Morning Mom."

She looked young except for the thin streak of golden gray that ran along her temple.

"What's wrong Lucky?" my mom's melodic voice rang out as I stared at my plate and poked at the eggs and bacon.

"I just had a bad dream, I'll be fine." I was worried if I told her what I saw, it would just make her worry more than she already does. She sat next to me, gave me a shoulder hug, and ran her fingers through my hair.

"It'll be okay kiddo. I know it might've been pretty scary, but you are a tough boy. You can't let it get you down. Besides, if you don't cheer up, I'll have to cancel that pie." I stared at her in shock, my mouth agape. She laughed at my gawking expression. I gathered myself and sputtered, "Y-You can't do that! You promised you'd make it!"

She kept laughing till she was able to collect herself, "I know, I know. I'll make the pie, but no more sad faces." She explained as she dried her teary eyes. I gave her a determined, albeit forced, expression, "I won't! I swear!" I exclaimed as I gathered my things for school.

Despite my promising her, I couldn't stop thinking about the nightmare on the way to school. The chaos and destruction all felt so real that I couldn't shake this feeling of dread. I had to bear witness to such visceral destruction and slaughter, that it shook me to my core. What was that about and why was I a part of it? I was so lost in thought, that I bumped right into a girl in a bright green cloak. I ended up falling right on my butt. I shook my head and looked up, apologizing to who I ran into…except for the fact I ran into a light post, not a person. I examined the peeling, black-painted post and hoped incessantly that no one saw that. I then heard the sound of familiar laughter and whipped my head around to the source. I found my friend, Helen, laughing at me, seemingly so hard she was nearly keeled over with tears in her eyes.

"That's what you get for ignoring me, Lucy!" She stammered between fits of laughter. I grinned stupidly at her picked myself up from the ground and slugged her in the arm for laughing at me.

"Hey! What was that for, dork?!" she barked.

"That's for not telling the post to get out of my way," I replied with a sneer and snicker. As we waited for the bus to arrive, we talked about future hang-out plans, and the new games that released in the future, among other things.

"Hey, how's your mom doing, Lucy?" Helen asked quizzically.

"She's doing good. Told me she's gonna make her pie tonight. You wanna come by for some?" I inquired. Helen lit up with excitement.

"No way, for real?! Hecks yeah, I'll be there! Your mom makes the best pies, I won't miss it for anything!" She squealed.

Soon after, the bus arrived and we took our unofficially designated spots and lazily waited for it to pull up to the school. As I stared at the top of the bus in my spot, my mind wandered again. Who was that girl? Did Helen see her? How did she vanish into thin air? I'm not seeing things, am I? My nightmare, combined with this encounter, plagued my thoughts even as Helen and I stepped out of the bus and went to class; if she had been talking to me, I hadn't heard her.

Even as I sat down and took notes during the lecture, my mind continued to drift between the oddities of my morning. I hadn't noticed Helen fall asleep at her desk next to me and I hadn't heard…my name being called?

"Lucius?" I jolted as I looked up to see Ms. Anya's sharp green eyes on me.

"Uh…yes ma'am?" I stuttered as I shot up to attention.

"Since you've been paying so much attention, would you happen to know the name of the Greek personification of nightmares?" She asked expectantly. I paused for a moment, clearing my throat.

"Epiales?" I strained while bracing myself.

"Correct, at ease." She praised and turned back to the lecture. I quickly sat down and tried to pay more attention instead of wandering again. I glanced over to Helen, finally seeing her snoozing. Before I could tap her awake, Ms. Anya asked another question.

"Do any of you know the name of the Greek personification of dreams?" She inquired, scanning the class for a student to answer. She narrowed her eyes and furrowed a brow when she saw Helen.

"Helen Apolliya!" Ms. Anya's strong voice somehow didn't stir a reaction from Helen, who was now drooling on her desk. I turned to my friend with concern and gently shook her shoulder to no avail.

"It doesn't look like she's waking up, ma'am. I'm sorry." I apologized, worry laced in my words. Ms. Anya rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed, her frustration ebbing.

"Fine. Helen will have a detention after school then." She said curtly, "Does anyone know the answer? Who is the Greek persona of dreams?" When she inquired the second time, I watched students raise their hands fast. She called out one of my peers, a boy with jet-black hair, who quickly shot to his feet.

"Onieros, ma'am!" He exclaimed confidently.

"Correct. Thank you, Caesar." Ms. Anya nodded and ushered him to sit back down.

The rest of the class thankfully went by smoothly before the bell rang and everyone scrambled to get to their next classes. After I got up and packed my stuff, I got next to Helen and tried again to wake her up. I shook her more vigorously, and I groaned lightly when it, again, failed. As I pondered for a moment, a stroke of genius came to mind. I knelt next to her and whispered in a mischievous tone, "You better wake up before I eat all of the pie on my own." Before I could back away, Helen smacked me in the face with her forearm and I fell on my butt, almost hitting my desk behind me. She shot up in a panic, her eyes darting around before she saw me on the floor.

"You better not try that Lucy, or I swear I'll-"

"What? Punch me again?" I cut her off as I got up, snickering mischievously. She narrowed her eyes at me and punched my arm after I got up. We glared at one another for a moment before we both fell into fits of giggles.

We stood in the classroom for a moment as the last few students left and Helen spoke up again.

"Did I sleep through class?" She muttered, genuinely confused as I nodded.

"What's going on dude? You've never done that before." I must have looked quite worried because Helen's gold eyes appeared upset.

"I…I didn't sleep well at all. I had a gnarly nightmare last night and…" her voice trailed off when she saw my face; I felt my blood run cold as she said this, "Hey…you good Lucius?" She asked as she reached out to touch my arm. I hadn't heard her say anything after that as vivid images appeared in my mind. The nightmare I had replayed itself in my mind, only now I saw more than I did before. I saw the destruction, the fire, all the panicked people, and…

"Lucy!" Helen shook my shoulders as I blinked a few times, my breath catching in my throat. I had not realized I was holding my breath until I met her eyes with my own. I took a shaky breath and shook my head.

"S-Sorry. Uh…yeah, I'm fine. But hey, I had a crazy nightmare too. Maybe we-"

"Oh shoot, Lucy, we gotta go! We're gonna be late!" She cut me off, hurriedly grabbed her stuff, and dragged me out the classroom door. I wasn't able to gather my bearings or let my mind wander as we rushed down the halls. The rest of the day was thankfully uneventful, except for when my mind wandered throughout the day. There was a part of me that felt like Helen was hiding something from me. If I had known then what I know now…things would have been so different.