《Dreams Recounted》#38 | In a Small Castle on a Hill
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I am walking along a path dug into the cliff side of a rocky wall on an island. The wall is made up of hexagonal columns lined up against each other. I am gazing out into the ocean, looking at another island not far from where I am.
This other island is made up of two small landmasses, also made up of hexagonal columns. The larger of the two landmasses houses a castle built to integrate smoothly into the island with a drawbridge connecting it to the other island directly in front of it.
I desire to get to the castle for unknown reasons. I walk around the side of the island and peak through a collection of rocks inwards to the centre of the island. Instead of seeing the rest of the island I instead see the castle island I looked at previously.
Surrounding and inside the island is an abundance of outcroppings and rocks sticking out of the water. The rocks are jagged and darkly coloured compared to the pale colour of the rest of the island.
I turn back and retrace my steps, walking back to a dirt pathway with a scattering of trees. The ground is still stone though.
I meet up with a group of others who all equally want to get into the castle. We all can't go together since we don't have enough oxygen canisters for everyone. To decide who goes and who stays we hold a competition. The competition rules are we have to go around the dirt pathway until meeting back at the camp.
I finish the lap third but I am told that I have lost to another guy. Asking where he is they point to someone just coming around the corner, walking at a sedate pace. I am confused and wonder why I lost to someone slower than me but shrug and accept it.
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We set up the group of four people that will be going on the expedition and set them off towards the castle. The small canisters of oxygen are kept by our feet and the expedition will be supplied by a rubber tube that runs along the ground and into masks.
They had gone off on their own a while ago so we started getting bored. Someone in the group with me puts the end of an in use canister in their mouth for some reason, maybe a joke? I warn him that doing that could end unfortunately and is probably dangerous.
Just as I finish saying that, the individual that is connected to the canister breathes out. Because the canister has no where to release the excess gas it explodes, sending shrapnel and the brains of the jokester flying through the air.
This explosion of gore and gasses causes a storm to surge in the area, raining down muddy water and blood in unrealistic amounts. We collectively take cover inside a car off to the side.
We wait a very long time for the storm to pass but it never does. We are all incredibly thirsty but we can't drink the rainwater because of how filthy it is. I take a look outside the window to take stock of the area and a few meters away, a wooden cart sways where there was none before the storm.
The wooden cart is missing two wheels on opposite corners causing it to fill up with water, tip over to the other side due to the weight and creating a *tok* sound. The water then flows out through a hole in the side before it rocks back to its other side. This pattern continues until it melts into sludge.
We decided to leave the safety of the car because if we didn't we would die from dehydration. Hiking along the dirt pathway we encountered a stall that wasn't there before. The stall has a plastic divider along its front counter, and behind the counter stands three pale triplets and a red skinned, suit-wearing demon known as The Devil.
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I look to the right on a small shelf for a drink. They have a variety of drinks for sale but one look at the price tag shows that they are horribly overpriced, a single bottle of water costing seventy dollars.
I get annoyed and call the triplets fat and that the prices are way too high. I exclaim that I would rather dehydrate than buy their shit. I turn around to leave but before I take my first step The Devil calls out to me.
Turning around to face him he holds out a bottle of water to me and says it’s free of charge. I take the bottle hesitantly and leave for the rest of the group. Meeting up with the rest of the group I say I was wrong about them and that they are actually really nice. Still overpriced though.
We continue walking along the path, our umbrellas crumbling with each step and this time come across a grouping of tents and people. The people are surrounding a huge white tent in the centre demanding for something.
To me they give off the impression of being scammed so I inform the rest of my group that we should probably avoid them. They agree and we enter the forest to go around them and re-enter the path after we pass them.
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