Prologue

A little background info, I guess

Prologue

I close my eyes,

Let my mind wander,

I let my mind see what it wants,

Let it see that which isn’t real.

The Labyrinth rising up before me,

Its paths seeming so simple to follow,

So deceiving in their simplicity,

The Labyrinth is a trap for dreamers like me.

I was warned:

Do not go into the Labyrinth.

But I didn’t listen.

I went for an escape,

And found myself ensnared,

Not in dreams,

But in nightmares,

Terrors that would scare any other,

Back the way they came.

The things I saw,

The things I said

To the things I saw.

People would call me crazy,

Would call me insane

And lock me away.

But I am not crazy,

Just different.

Unique.

I see what most cannot see,

Hear what most choose not to hear

And I speak the languages the nightmares know,

The long-dead languages of ancient cities.

Cities that rose to power in many times,

And many places,

And met their end in other times.

Though we call them monsters,

I know the truth.

They aren’t monsters,

Just misunderstood.

They are friends,

Friends who did as I did,

And ventured blindly

Into the forbidden Labyrinth.

The Labyrinth of Dreams.

They went in,

Just like me,

To escape the hell,

They called their lives,

To disappear to a place where they were wanted,

Into the darkness of their minds,

Into worlds of their own creation

To get away from all they feared.

Instead of their own dreams,

The wanderers found the Labyrinth.

They saw it as a refuge,

A place to come and go as they pleased.

So they went in,

But they got lost,

As lost as I am now,

Never to return,

To the world of the living.

They died here,

Their bodies in their beds,

Their deaths mysteries.

They died in here,

In this Labyrinth,

Lost and alone,

Never to be seen by those they love,

Or those who loved them.

Lost in the Labyrinth,

The victims of their own dreams.

The human hunters have become the prey,

Prey to the creatures they feared,

Creatures only their own minds could make.

They did as I did and made contact,

Followed the paths the nightmares made,

Becoming forever trapped within the walls of the Labyrinth.

The Labyrinth of Dreams.

 

                That was the warning my father gave me, and his father gave to him. The difference between my father and me, however, is that I heeded the warning where my father did not. He got lost before he was thirty years old. His mind became trapped in the Labyrinth and his body was just an empty shell without the intelligent mind to guide it. I’m still here, despite my nightly adventures into the Labyrinth. Looking to my father now, the lifeless eyes staring up at me, I felt no pity. I saw his death as a blessing, to him and to those who were forced to care for the empty vessel. Like a boat without a captain, a home without a single occupant, his body withered away. He had returned for just a few seconds before his body gave up, his eyes suddenly ablaze with the presence of thought, and had tried to speak. His voice was a harsh whisper from being unused for over twenty years. What I could hear was simply another warning and a final farewell.

                “Be careful in the Labyrinth. It’s Hell in there. I love you, Son.” Those were his dying words. Words I hadn’t heard in over twenty years, words that made his passing worthwhile. He could’ve said anything, but he decided to tell me he loved me.

Reviews

[TTBoy28]

Wow! The dying words are so powerful! This makes for a great story!

[Matt Fowler]

Such a great start for what is to be an amazing book.

[Alex Vidmar]

Beautiful! can't wait to read more, Kit-Kat!

[Tomislav Petricevic]

I like this! The story seems mysterious and interesting; I can't wait for you to start with the chapters. And the expansion from the poem is good. Be sure to send me read requests.

[Chris]

Its well laid out. Good forethought and followup. Interesting story and good characterization.

[Brittany]

Excellent job with this Becca. I can't wait to read more.

[Brianna Van Zandt]

Thank you