NaNoWriMo - Chapter Twenty One

'Where is this?' Eddie asked. 'It's outside the Nacropolis. You must be careful,' replied the voice. Eddie found himself standing in what appeared to be a dry creek bed. On either side were steep slopes, but not too steep that he couldn't climb out of it. There were a lot of trees on either side of the creek bed. Not one of them had leaves, and the ground was very dark and bleak. A strange light shone white from above. Once again, it did not seem to have any source at all. Not a moon, nor a sun in the sky. Just light, as if indirect onto the face of where ever Eddie was standing. 'We must move. They may be coming for us.' 'The demons?' Eddie asked the voice. 'Yes.' 'Which way do I go? If I am outside the Nacropolis, where can I go which is safe?' 'There is a cave nearby, or we can go to the old temple.' 'What's the old temple? Are we safe there?' 'The old temple are the ruins on top of a nearby hill. The cave is closer.' 'Which is safer? Can we make it to the temple?' 'I don't know. We must move.' Eddie started to climb one of the steep embankments. He did not know why, but he instinctively knew the path needed to get to the cave and the temple. He was not sure he could make the temple on this trip. He would try for the cave. The cave was full of magical scrolls. He had no idea why he knew that. He just did. He had to make it to the scrolls. Maybe there was one there that would help him to bring Jim or another ally into this war against demons. He was not sure why, but he believed he could defeat the demons if someone else was with him. Someone to help fight them. The embankment was black and sticky. The dirt, just clung to his hands and fingers. He was slowly getting covered in the dirt as he climbed. 'Have I been here before?' he asked the voice. 'Yes, you have been to the temple before, and the cave. You have been all over the dream scape.' 'That explains why I know where I am going.' He knew that somewhere above him was the path. The path lead to the cave and temple in one direction and the Nacropolis in the other. Somehow, he knew at the end of the path, the very end lay the other city. The city where the souls of the unjudged were. They were the ones who had not faced judgement just yet. The demons ruled it and guarded it. A plan formed in his head. If he could sneak into the city of the unjudged, then maybe, just maybe he could save Slim's soul. 'I would not risk it Eddie.' 'What?' Eddie knew the voice knew his thoughts. Somehow, he found himself playing dumb anyway. 'Do not risk going to the City of Souls. You will not come out of it if you enter.' 'I might. If I can find a way in, then I can get out the same way.' 'No, Eddie. All who enter do not return. They enter and then they wait for judgement. You cannot enter.' 'Yes, but I haven't died yet. I can enter and come out, and I cannot be judged, because I haven't died.' 'You might die while in the city. You are just making the demons job easier.' 'I need to help Slim though. I need to get in there and get him out.' 'You cannot do it Eddie. If you enter you will not come out. The demons will see to that.' 'I survived the demons axe.' 'Of course you did. It does not mean you will come out of the City of Souls alive. They will trap you in there and you will await judgement.' 'But I'm not dead. I can't be judged yet.' 'Must we argue over this. You will do what you want anyway. In the meantime, you cannot go to the City of Souls tonight. We must make it to the cave. You have to get something.' 'It's a scroll I need isn't it. I need a scroll.' 'Maybe. Or maybe you need the talisman. The talisman is there too.' 'Maybe I can take what i need. If I have the talisman and the right scrolls, I can go into the City of Souls and save Slim.' 'Maybe. Or maybe you will just get caught and be judged.' Eddie was onto the path. In the distance he could hear the sound of dogs. He knew they were chasing him. They were the dogs of hell. They had chased him many times before. Many times down this very path. He ran. He ran as fast as he could, because he had been on this exact part of the path before and he knew the way. He remembered the exact same chase time, and time before. Like a dream through a forest in the night ... it was the start of a song, or a poem he had once read. Like a dream ... it was about being chased through a forest of trees. The tress had no leaves. It was cold. It was night. To the left of the path was a cliff, or a wall. Something long, white and he was unable to get over it. Like the song, he came upon that very part of the wall. It was a wall. Some of it was bleached or washed white. White all over. It ran next to the path, and on the other side was a form of safety. If he could get over the wall, he would be safe. Only because he knew the demons could not cross the wall. Maybe the wall was magic. Eddie was not sure. He just knew the demons never could cross the wall, and the wall had always been there as long as Eddie remembered. The wall was solid and unclimbable. At the end though, was where the wall crossed the path, and the path went into the cave. The cave was full of scrolls. Wisdom, intelligence, and more. it was all in the cave, and once in the cave, he knew the dogs could not see him. Though they had chased him into the cave before, they ran straight past him, as though they thought he had ran through the cave. For some reason, the dogs were blind to him in the cave. The inside of the cave was bright white. It glowed. The whole thing glowed, and everything was clear as daylight. He still was not at the cave though. The cave was a long way away. He had to make it along the path, and the path became very narrow and difficult to see. It was almost non-existent in some parts, but Eddie knew the way. Through the trees. So many dead trees. Through the trees, though it lightly snowed, just like in that song. The song mentioned the snow, but he could not remember the words. The only thing he remembered was the first line and the feeling of the song. Run, like a dream, through a forest in the night ... What was the next line? It all gave him clues. It all hinted at what he needed to do. He was lucky he could remember which way to go, otherwise he would need the song. The song spoke to him. Maybe the voice knew the song. Maybe he should ask the voice. He had to get to the cave, it was only a short distance ahead and the path was becoming more discernible on the ground now. Run, like a dream ...