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Xavi was wrenched from sleep with the sound of his own scream dying in his throat, cold sweat pressing at his skin. The dream was coming to him more often now. The Shadowman, with his red eyes boring into his, had tried to take him again. Each dream had bought him closer and this time he had reached out to grab Xavi by the hand. Next time...
Xavi pinched the bridge of his nose, proceeding to rubs his eyes, as if to erase the memory of his nightmare from his eyes. He didn’t want to think about the next time. Repeating his mantra of ‘It’s just a dream’ to calm himself, he padded over to the water basin. Gripping the rim, he squeezed his eyes and braced himself for the coming shock. With a curse, he plunged his head into the icy oblivion of the water, every muscle in his body tensing against the cold.
Once his body’s struggle against the freezing water had subsided, Xavi used the water’s chill to clear his head. It was a dream after all and it couldn’t hurt him. Blowing the air out of his lungs, Xavi watched the bubbles streak past his face then quickly followed them, throwing his head back and taking a deep breath.
The world had changed. Screams tore the air apart. Sounds of battle shook his small hut. Wheeling around, Xavi flailed for his sword which was always... he gaped, and then ran to the space where he always hung his sword. The shock washed over him as he realised that whatever was taking place outside, he was defenceless.
As Xavi placed his hands where his sword should have been, the screams died away. For a moment, the only sound from beyond the hut door was the gentle hiss of the wind ruffling its way through the trees.
A deep and terrible voice bludgeoned the silence as it called out ‘Bring the little one forward’.
After a moment a trembling voice weakly replied ‘Y-you called Tregor?’
‘Little one, is this all of them?’
‘I-I l-lets see...erm...yes yes I think...no wait..Xavi..wheres Xavi, thats his hut over there!’
Xavi reeled and fell back from the door. Stumbling, he lost his footing and fell to the floor. Scrambling he pushed himself into the corner of his hut, desperately looking around for any chance of escape. From outside the hut he heard something shouted in a language he did not understand and immediately the sound of feet began to move towards him.
As Xavi threw his head around, the world changed again. Time seemed to slow and everything outside of his line of vision faded. Xavi’s face slowly contorted itself in a mask of fear and a scream stuck in his throat. Two red eyes peered out of the shadows and bore into his.
Xavi could not hear the sound of boots bearing down on the door to his hut as the shadow slowly formed itself into a human looking from. It stretched its arm out as Xavi pushed himself further and further into the corner. The shadow came closer and closer while Xavi closed his eyes and hugged himself.
The last thing that Xavi heard was a slow, terrifying noise like a whisper saying ‘Sssssaaaavvveee yoooou....’
Xavi pinched the bridge of his nose, proceeding to rubs his eyes, as if to erase the memory of his nightmare from his eyes. He didn’t want to think about the next time. Repeating his mantra of ‘It’s just a dream’ to calm himself, he padded over to the water basin. Gripping the rim, he squeezed his eyes and braced himself for the coming shock. With a curse, he plunged his head into the icy oblivion of the water, every muscle in his body tensing against the cold.
Once his body’s struggle against the freezing water had subsided, Xavi used the water’s chill to clear his head. It was a dream after all and it couldn’t hurt him. Blowing the air out of his lungs, Xavi watched the bubbles streak past his face then quickly followed them, throwing his head back and taking a deep breath.
The world had changed. Screams tore the air apart. Sounds of battle shook his small hut. Wheeling around, Xavi flailed for his sword which was always... he gaped, and then ran to the space where he always hung his sword. The shock washed over him as he realised that whatever was taking place outside, he was defenceless.
As Xavi placed his hands where his sword should have been, the screams died away. For a moment, the only sound from beyond the hut door was the gentle hiss of the wind ruffling its way through the trees.
A deep and terrible voice bludgeoned the silence as it called out ‘Bring the little one forward’.
After a moment a trembling voice weakly replied ‘Y-you called Tregor?’
‘Little one, is this all of them?’
‘I-I l-lets see...erm...yes yes I think...no wait..Xavi..wheres Xavi, thats his hut over there!’
Xavi reeled and fell back from the door. Stumbling, he lost his footing and fell to the floor. Scrambling he pushed himself into the corner of his hut, desperately looking around for any chance of escape. From outside the hut he heard something shouted in a language he did not understand and immediately the sound of feet began to move towards him.
As Xavi threw his head around, the world changed again. Time seemed to slow and everything outside of his line of vision faded. Xavi’s face slowly contorted itself in a mask of fear and a scream stuck in his throat. Two red eyes peered out of the shadows and bore into his.
Xavi could not hear the sound of boots bearing down on the door to his hut as the shadow slowly formed itself into a human looking from. It stretched its arm out as Xavi pushed himself further and further into the corner. The shadow came closer and closer while Xavi closed his eyes and hugged himself.
The last thing that Xavi heard was a slow, terrifying noise like a whisper saying ‘Sssssaaaavvveee yoooou....’