ADRIA'S POV.
I was going down effortlessly, plunging down the tree I had climbed with much effort, and falling to a sure death. My heart was flying as it had left whatever it always sat on and there was that helpless feeling I hated. I shook my legs and arms, screaming and trying to hold onto something but I only got hit by numerous branches bouncing off them until I reached branch which had no other branch underneath it.
It meant nothing was going to break my fall.
I kept on going down and down at the speed of lightning and finally, I hit the ground with a scream.
My breath was seized, and slowly I began to let it go, wondering if I had injured my nerves or they had all died, because I couldn't feel a single thing. It had been a painless fall.
I gasped in relief, and waited to see if I was going to feel the pain again but it didn't come. It seemed ridiculous. I could feel tired, exhausted, breathless, and sore but I couldn't feel pain? Just then, I felt something wet, and managed to lift an arm. I touched it and brought it to my face—blood.
I was bleeding, and then the creature in the hooded cloak came down the tree soundlessly, jumping and stepping onto each branch carefully.
Fear crawled over my body like the long, bony fingers of a hag, and it snatched at my heart. Immediately it stepped down, it didn't hesitate to come to me.
So it could disappear and reappear as it liked, so it had fooled me by walking as fast as it could and pretending it didn't want me climbing up the tree? Why had it let me climb before appearing to me? It could have just disappeared and reappeared in front of me.
Why had it let me go through the horrible feeling of falling? I squinted my eyes, trying to avoid the sand which the wind was blowing from getting into my eyes, but I didn't need to, the sand flew in, but I didn't feel any pain in my eye.
I watched the hooded creature walk towards me, and the wind blew at its cloak, making it seem like a villain from a movie.
Slowly, it bent to stare at me when it had come to stand next to me but all I could see within its hood was darkness.
"Got ya." It said in its distorted voice, and my lips tightened and my brows knitted together.
"Do your worst!" I spat at it, and I could feel its hesitation at first. It had not expected me to lash out at it with such force, determination and intensity.
"Worst?" It asked.
"No matter what you say, this is my subconscious. See? I don't feel pain. In the real world, falling like this from a tree as large as that is going get you a smashed back and then a coffin, but I'm fine. It appears I'm bleeding but that's just to scare me right? You want me to think I'm bleeding and dying but you forget I can't feel pain. Go on, strangle me, hit me with a knife! You look like something with dark powers, try summoning my life or something. Hit me with a stone! Bury me! I said, do your worst! Don't just stare at me with your faceless shit you call a face!" I shouted, suddenly gaining confidence, and then I raised myself off the floor.
"Alright. You heard me. She told me to face my nightmares. You're a nightmare. You're mine—my nightmare. I am facing you without fear. Remember you asked why nightmares are called nightmares. That's because they're not safe right? Well, I will ask you a question. What is a nightmare without fear?" I asked, and it didn't move. A little smile crept up on my face although a little doubt began to seep in as it refused to move. I had expected to be freed from the nightmare immediately I faced it and let it know I wasn't scared, but nothing was happening, until all of a sudden, it looked up at me, still with the darkness shrouding its face.
"A dream." It replied. That was right. A nightmare without fear was nothing but a dream, and then it began to fade. The turbulent wind that had riled up my heart so much, finally dropped and the flying sound it had been carrying, dropped to the ground.
Everything went still and light began to shine in the dark land. I fell to the sand, breathing heavily as a bright smile came to my lips, followed by my tears.
What had it all been about? Why had I been forced to go through all those things? What would have happened if I had been too scared to face it? What if I hadn't figured out that me feeling no pain from the fall meant feeling no pain from him.
I began to sob as the light became brighter and brighter by the second.
Where else was I going to? This was the last task. Was I going home or somewhere even more tricky? Then the light got too bright for me to stare out so I closed my eyes and placed an arm over it.
It got dark again, and I opened my eyes, wondering if it was all going to begin again, but instead, I met myself in my room.
I looked around. It was indeed my room, and my friends were by my side.
"Adria!" Tommy called. He was the first to see me, then the others turned to me.
"Oh my God! Adria!" Stacie exclaimed, tucking her hair behind her ear hastily, as she came to kneel next to my head.
"Are you fine?" Daniel asked, and they all looked at me with worry.
I closed my eyes, hoping that it wasn't another dream, hoping desperately that they were really my friends and not just dream monsters.
And soon enough, I realized it was still a dream for a hand that suddenly gripped my foot hard.