4. Farren
Farren
M y body felt weightless, free as the winds that often guided me on the toughest decisions regarding my survival. My spirit, now one with the breeze, flowed high over trees, mountains, and plains. Across the vast span of land and wilderness, I flew with no apparent destination in mind.
All too soon, my carefree flight was brought to an end as I closed in on a thick patch of wood that appeared to emanate a foreboding darkness. With all my might, I tried to pull my spirit up and away from those shadows, to no avail.
Closer and closer, I was pulled into tighter and tighter circles around the woods until I found myself able to peek through gaps in the shadows and saw a small town, cold and abandoned, in the center. Something about the town pulled even stronger at my heart.
The wind picked up, collecting enough forest detritus that it blocked my vision for a moment before it cleared. In its place stood a continental map of the United States with several locations circled.
One of the circles appeared to be in the northwestern most corner of the map, while several others were placed along the eastern coast. Near the top on the east side, just below the top circle was a bright yellow star that I just knew in my gut was the location of the unsettling woods.
With a start, I bolted upright and placed a hand over my racing heart in an effort to ease the rapid pounding in my chest.
“Ugh, what was that dream?” I muttered as I swung my legs over the edge of the hotel bed. With shaky steps, I walked towards the window and pulled back the curtain enough to see the night sky.
I gasped as I caught sight of the state of the moon. In place of the usual brilliant yellow-white orb, it was caught in the grasp of the claws of a blood moon that appeared larger than I’d ever seen it before.
Something about its brilliance told me it was responsible for such a strange dream. And my gut told me I needed to find the town in the star.
I pulled out my map and a pencil and placed circles over the corresponding locations from my dream.
It looked like the closest place to start would be the northwest stop since I was only just a short distance away.