Dark shadow

Photo by David Werbrouck on Unsplash

He and his Shadow

August 17, 2021: This dream seemed to follow the life of a young man who was the son of affluent parents. His mother was Japanese, while his father was an Icelandic native. I'm not sure why that was important, but I wrote it down in my notes and decided to keep it. 

Anywho, the young man found himself wandering through a big facility in the middle of a large and abandoned facility. He walked alone through the wide halls of the facility as if searching for somebody, anybody. He would soon learn that his present state of isolation was a gift that should have been cherished while it lasted.

As the young man turned into another empty hall, the silhouette of a person caught my attention. I could see them, and he hadn't yet. They stood silently watching him from down the hall, their body veiled in shadow despite the presence of a light fixture hanging directly above their head.

As the young man turned around, the shadowy figure darted forward and crossed the distance between them in seconds. The young man was not only caught off guard, but he was nearly subdued by his attacker. To his horror, regardless of the light around them, the figure remained pitch black with long claws and no discernible features. 

With ferocity, it bit into his arm and attempted to pull it off. The young man responded in kind, biting the shadow's arm and pulling it off. This allowed him to get free, but it was only a minor inconvenience as white bone, muscle tissue, and flesh emerged from the wound before being cloaked in thick darkness just like the rest of this monster. A new arm had grown in its place almost instantly. 

Utilizing the space between them, the young man lept, flying up and out of the facility and into the night. The facility was surrounded by a wintery desert; the color scheme was a soothing array of blue and purple hues under a moonlit night with patches of snow here and there.

Flying through the cool of the night, the young man began looking for a safe place to land, all the while avoiding the softly lit villages that he soared over. As inviting as they appeared, the town's quiet and empty veneer was just like the facility from before, which was discomforting. These towns could have been a trap. A disturbing thought as he passed over town after town, separated from each other, but each one easily similar to the last and just as lonely.

After finally deciding to just pick a place to land, I stepped into another facility wherein I met my brother. As we approached each other, we were suddenly aware that we had company. We were surrounded by soldiers in white armor with guns aimed at us. Though outnumbered, we knew that staying was worse than dying and drew weapons of our own. With a single knife and handgun, we tore through the group of soldiers, stabbing some, punching others, shooting others, and kicking others. All of this taking place in the dark of this new facility.

There was a sense of security here. Other people, and even though they wanted to kill us, at least they were human. This security wouldn't last long. In the midst of the battle turning in our favor, a shadow broke away from the group. In an instant, he was pinned down by the shadow, the creature's face than opening like that of a snake, revealing row upon row of long sharp teeth. 

The battle around me had gone quiet, and I seemed to be alone with this monster once again. With everything I had, I pushed to keep it from sinking its teeth into me, but my strength was fading. I don't remember anything after this, only loneliness and this monster.

It's interesting how when we fight with depression or other such inner demons, it can feel so lonely regardless of whether you're truly physically alone.