- MartinOfRedwall
- |
- Exalted Member
http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link =BWU_072310
Made it into the update!
Warning: Incoming Long Read
It was the begging of a new semester. I was the same age as when I had the dream, but the era seemed to be about 100 years in the future. I was to venture to a new school where I would live for the time I spent studying there.
I walked up to the magneti-train station. There were swarms of people all around me. It was difficult to hold my place and take a glance around to see if there was anyone I recognized. I clutched to my ticket as I stepped onto a car along with the masses.
Once I was inside, I looked down at my seat number. 435. The cars had three groups of booths and tables to sit in on one side with a window to look out of for each group. The other side was just the red, carpeted walkway to get by. Every other car had door to exit. I looked at where I was on the train, next to seat 230. I walked down to the other end of train, glancing at the people walking past me once again in hopes of seeing someone I recognized.
When I finally reached the end of train, I noticed that 435 was the very last booth. It was filled. The people in the booth stopped their conversation and just looked at me. I looked back at them questioningly. Their faces turned to disgust when they started to glare at me. As I started to turn and walk away, they went back to conversing. Since my seat was filled, I thought that maybe I could find an empty booth seeing as nobody was trying to find a booth anymore.
As I was walking down to other end of the train, I noticed that the booths had been served lunch, fancy, exquisite dishes you would find in a restaurant. 400. 350. 300. No booths open. 250. 200. 150. No booths open. I started to feel worried that some extra people had gotten onto the train, and I would be thrown off for not having a place. 100. 50. Zer... Booth 0 was open. I thought it was peculiar seeing as each booth held four people and booth 0 would have been the first one to fill up, logically.
I sat down in the booth and waited to be served a meal. No one appeared. After a period of time I decided to just wait until the train arrived to it's destination and looked out the window. The train was on a bridge over the ocean. I was able to see the rest of the train in both directions because the bridge turned ever so slightly. I looked to see where the bridge headed, but nothing appeared beyond the horizon. Suddenly, a rocky island was in view, standing tall against the waves with vegetation on top. I watched as it moved closer and closer.
When we arrived, I stepped off the train once again looking for anyone familiar, just in case I hadn't seen them when entering the train or missed their face in a booth. I recognized none that I saw. When everyone exited the train, there was no sign of the school in sight. The station was in a cove though, so seeing the majority of the island was impossible.
Everyone was was being told by "directors" to take the road to get to the school. Their voices lowered as they told us that not all of us would make it. No one thought much of this. I started along the road which seemed to have been hollowed out of the side of the island as it slowly ascended around and up. It was made of rock on three sides: the floor, the ceiling, and the wall to my right. On my left, nothing but the ocean and the train leaving could be seen. Everyone walked in pulses of groups. I found myself walking alone though.
The road made a sudden right turn into the heart of the island and everyone realized what the directors had meant. Wooden scaffolding reached from the edge of the road all the way up to the top of the fissure we were in. The cavern was dark with a reddish glow. Lava waited for those who fell below. If one were to look up, they would see a small opening to which the scaffolding reach blue light penetrating the darkness about 10 stories up. The road had widened at this point from 20 people wide to roughly 200 people. This was reasonable width for over 1500 people. The scaffolding was just as wide, but it split into 12 different sections where only one person could climb it at a time.
As I started my ascent, I realized how few people were actually going to make it. Screams could be heard as bodies lost their grip or slipped. As I was ascending I could see why so many fell. Wooden planks of the scaffolding would give way if too much pressure was applied. A plank fell under my foot and I pulled myself up. I was straining myself just to make it half way up. After what seemed to be a few hellish seconds, 2 hours of climbing had actually passed as I ascended in an adrenaline rush of determination and fear.
Once I made it out the fissure, I arrived at large pool party celebrating all the "survivors", the aura of festivity enhanced by the evening orange sky of sunset. The number of those who made it turned out to be less than 300. I was glad now that I recognized no one dear to me, but I still felt lonely seeing as I would spend years here without knowing anyone. I found a table, set down my belongings, and went to grab some food from a buffet set up.
When I returned, I saw sitting in the only other chair at the table I had set my belongings a girl with long black hair, emerald green eyes, an aqua one piece swim suit, and a towel around her waist. She waited until I sat down before she spoke. She pointed at one of my things, a black pendant. It was a pendant I had meant to give to a girl I loved 3 years ago, but never came through with doing. The girl had moved away the day before I had planned to tell her how I felt.
The girl in the chair opposite of me pointed at my pendant and said softly, "I like your necklace." She smiled at me, stood up, and walked away. I was too surprised to say anything back. I looked down at the pendant and realized that she was the same girl from before. When I turned around to find her, she was nowhere to be seen.
I woke up.