The Adventures of Llyle(Part 3: Nightmares Abound)

Llyle the human and Lizzie the fae girl pelted down the hill towards Port Town, their breaths becoming ragged from the exertion, the sounds of destruction and screaming growing louder. After a few minutes of sprinting, they entered the town. They kept running, heading to the docks, though Llyle was just following his friend.

 

The friends entered the docks, and there they were. A group of huge, dark monsters with red, smouldering eyes. Some were shaped like spiders and others like snakes, one of which was just sweeping its tail through a building. They ducked behind the nearest building, catching their breath.

     

“What are those things?” Llyle managed to gasp out when he could breathe semi-normally again.

 

“Nightmares. Corrupt dreams that form in the dark depths of the river and crawl out, but nobody is sure why they attack our towns.” Lizzie gasped back.

 

The young boy looked at his friend, took a few more breaths before edging towards the corner and peeked around it. He looked just in time to see a snake-like Nightmare chasing a fae man, his skin green, out from behind a ruined building. The Nightmare struck at him, the men dodged, but the Nightmare’s open mouth passed through the man’s arm. He tumbled. The fae man saw his arm had turned black. The black started spreading, consuming him. The fae man screamed as the corruption spread over his entire body, and then he faded away, his screams lingering until there was nothing left of him.

     

Llyle suddenly regretted his curiosity. The Nightmare turned towards him, its inky tongue flicking. He ducked back behind the corner before it could see him, his face a mask of terror. “Well? What did you see, Llyle?” she asked him in a hushed tone, more from terror than anything else.

 

He stammered, then swallowed and took a deep breath to calm himself. It didn’t help much. “I saw a guy disappear...but I thought you can’t die here or get hurt....” he finally whispered. It seemed that even a paradise like Avalon had dangers too.

 

“He was consumed by the Nightmare’s corruption, Llyle.” Lizzie told him softly, sounding calmer than he did, but only just.

 

“We have to do something, Lizzie!” Llyle said after a few seconds.

 

“There’s nothing we can do about them. We have to wait until they fade away.”

 

“Go hide, Lizzie. I have to help somehow, even if it’s just to help those people get away!” and with that he ran, leaving Lizzie watching after him in shock. She didn’t know what to do, so she ran up towards the tunnel mouth her and her friend had walked through not long before.

 

As soon as Llyle rounded the corner, he started screaming as loud as he could, picked up bits of rock and wood and threw them at the Nightmares to get their attention. It worked. All five of the Nightmares attacking Port Town turned to face the boy, their eyes glowing brightly.

 

They all raced towards him. He ran to the right, hoping to hide behind some rubble, but the Nightmares easily cut him off, two spider-like ones clambering over and around the rubble with ease. He was surrounded, and he looked at each of the monsters before him.

     

A snake-like Nightmare lunged at him first. Llyle put up his arms feebly to defend himself and closed his eyes in fear. I can’t fade away. I can’t! I have to get home! The Nightmare’s mouth loomed over him to engulf him and corrupt his being, but before any part of its mouth or tongue could touch him, a light blazed through his pocket. It tore through the Nightmare’s head, then its neck. The rest of its body flopped to the ground before fading. Just then, another faded away on its own.

     

Llyle lowered his arms and opened his eyes as the nightmares faded. He saw his body was bathed in bright, pale blue light. He looked around, still terror stricken, at the Nightmares that were left. They’d backed away from the edge of the light. For a moment he was confused, and backed away through the opening the faded Nightmares had left. The others edged closer, waiting for the light to fade. The boy’s scared thoughts wandered, to where Lizzie had run to. The light faded and the Nightmares moved closer.

     

“I said you won’t get me!” he screamed defiantly when they began to advance and the blue light pulsed brightly, forcing the inky monsters back. Suddenly it clicked. The star. Llyle took the bright shining star out of his pocket, his eyes never leaving the dark creatures. One spider-type backed away and left. The others stayed. He lifted the star, glanced at it, the tightened his grip on it. He then lifted the solid ball of light as high as he could and screamed “I WILL GO HOME!”

     

His little sister’s star shone impossibly brighter, engulfing Llyle’s body is light and flooding over the Nightmares, tearing their bodies apart as it shown right through them. The light faded and it was just him, breathing hard, standing in rubble as if he was just playing with a shiny rock and had not been about to be killed by shadowy things.

     

He sighed in relief, glad his journey wasn’t over. A scream reached his ears. His eyes went wide. Lizzie. Llyle ran back the way he’d come, following the screams. He found her, backed into corner where two ruined building were joined. Slowly edging closer was the spider Nightmare.

     

“Leave her alone!” he shouted, and ran towards the two. The Nightmare reared up to strike, but Llyle was in its way first, and the star he held was already pulsing. The monster crumpled as the pulsing blue light passed through it, tearing shreds of darkness off it, destroying it.

     

The light faded, and he turned grinning to Lizzie. “And you said there’s nothing we can do! Silly.” He said and hugged a scared Lizzie tightly. They stood there for some time while Lizzie calmed down, and eventually hugged him when she was no longer out of her mind with terror.

 

“Are you two alright?” called a male voice, which came from a young fae man with light blue skin that was running towards them.

 

Llyle let go of his friend and turned so they could both face the man. “We’re alright now.” he told him, though his voice was now shaky.

 

“It seems the Nightmares faded early. We’re lucky today” he said, but it was obvious he was quite shaken himself even though he was trying to look calm.

 

“My friend, Llyle, somehow destroyed one and forced it to fade…” Lizzie said softly, indicating the boy.

 

The man looked at him in disbelief. Recognition dawned on him. “You’re the nut who ran out screaming at those monsters! What about the others?”

 

“I only got rid of most of them. One faded on its own. Is something the matter?” he said in a voice mixed with pride and concern.

 

“You’re both coming with me. There’s coming you need to meet.” He told them matter-of-factly, took their hands and led them off through the ruined docks of Port Town. “Your name is Llyle?” he asked the human boy, who nodded in reply. “It seems his wait is over then.” the man mumbled cryptically and didn’t stop, taking the friends towards the edge of the town and the beginning of a thick, creepy-looking forest.