The scene morphed slightly as I walked through the room, turning instead into a windowed room on the ground floor with a big, oddly-shaped pool visible outside, just to the left of the large windows. Outside, thirty or so people (all my age) were milling about, waiting for classes to start. We began to line up, all facing different directions (either North, East, South, or West) depending on our ethnicities and where the correlating countries laid from where we were. I stood facing North, which, I assume, meant I was dreaming of myself in a different place, standing next to an old grade-school friend, Rachel, who I know as distinctly Scottish and English.
After a while, I noticed one of our instructors (a black animal of some sort) became incredibly nervous and kept looking to the direction straight behind me. I don't remember if he communicated it aloud, but I knew he was afraid a group of evil folks were about to attack us, although he couldn't see anything. I knew his premonition was right, and quickly decided to swan dive into the swimming pool in front of me. Before hitting the water, I looked behind me and saw a brood of black-feathered chickens heading toward our group. As I broke the surface of the water in a clean dive, I braced myself for the oncoming attack, knowing only one other person from the hoard knew they were coming. After swimming gracefully through the clean water, I jumped straight out of the pool and began running. Through an iron gate in a hedged wall that surrounded the pool and our classroom, I could feel and hear the attackers behind me.
As I ran through darkly cobbled and tight village streets, I felt an unsure strength course through me. Every street or so, I would reach down between my legs and use a cobblestone to pull and push against (some were jutting out) to help me gain speed. Soon, I lost my pursuers and took a swift right turn into a strangely open yet suffocatingly close set of town homes or wooden blocks. I maneuvered around the maze quickly and quietly and found myself at the bare entrance to a plain room at the far end of the place. Peeking inside, I saw a blonde-haired boy, about fourteen, sitting against the wall asleep, as well as a brave little mouse bedecked in a cap and boots with a sword in his hands. Knowing he was a friend (earlier, I had been running from enemies attempting to eat mice, I now understood, and I think I was a mouse myself now), I stealthily entered the room and followed the brave mouse as he silently beckoned me to follow him. I trailed him up a spiral staircase that led to a small alcove. The room held a large, old church bell inside a narrow, un-paned window.
As we reached the top and looked around, we heard a commotion downstairs and knew the foes had gained on us. I didn't know what to do, and looked to my new chivalrous companion. He pulled something large and limp from a satchel hanging at his side and threw it down the staircase. Peering over, I saw that he had thrown a dead black rat. The band of fat black cats that had been chasing me were entirely distracted by the newfound food, and my friend quickly pushed me past the bell, nodding in encouragement. I jumped through the window (which broke, despite being previously un-glassed) and landed with a pang on a busy city street.
I realized I was in New York, although it didn't look much like the city itself, and the dream changed from a small mouse being pursued to a confused and interested tourist gazing around the streets. I was nearly run over by large cars a number of times as I tried to cross the street, but soon learned to watch the signal lights, and traipsed happily after a family pushing a stroller and coughing unhealthily. A small voice in my ear reminded me of the nature of city life before I woke up.
After a while, I noticed one of our instructors (a black animal of some sort) became incredibly nervous and kept looking to the direction straight behind me. I don't remember if he communicated it aloud, but I knew he was afraid a group of evil folks were about to attack us, although he couldn't see anything. I knew his premonition was right, and quickly decided to swan dive into the swimming pool in front of me. Before hitting the water, I looked behind me and saw a brood of black-feathered chickens heading toward our group. As I broke the surface of the water in a clean dive, I braced myself for the oncoming attack, knowing only one other person from the hoard knew they were coming. After swimming gracefully through the clean water, I jumped straight out of the pool and began running. Through an iron gate in a hedged wall that surrounded the pool and our classroom, I could feel and hear the attackers behind me.
As I ran through darkly cobbled and tight village streets, I felt an unsure strength course through me. Every street or so, I would reach down between my legs and use a cobblestone to pull and push against (some were jutting out) to help me gain speed. Soon, I lost my pursuers and took a swift right turn into a strangely open yet suffocatingly close set of town homes or wooden blocks. I maneuvered around the maze quickly and quietly and found myself at the bare entrance to a plain room at the far end of the place. Peeking inside, I saw a blonde-haired boy, about fourteen, sitting against the wall asleep, as well as a brave little mouse bedecked in a cap and boots with a sword in his hands. Knowing he was a friend (earlier, I had been running from enemies attempting to eat mice, I now understood, and I think I was a mouse myself now), I stealthily entered the room and followed the brave mouse as he silently beckoned me to follow him. I trailed him up a spiral staircase that led to a small alcove. The room held a large, old church bell inside a narrow, un-paned window.
As we reached the top and looked around, we heard a commotion downstairs and knew the foes had gained on us. I didn't know what to do, and looked to my new chivalrous companion. He pulled something large and limp from a satchel hanging at his side and threw it down the staircase. Peering over, I saw that he had thrown a dead black rat. The band of fat black cats that had been chasing me were entirely distracted by the newfound food, and my friend quickly pushed me past the bell, nodding in encouragement. I jumped through the window (which broke, despite being previously un-glassed) and landed with a pang on a busy city street.
I realized I was in New York, although it didn't look much like the city itself, and the dream changed from a small mouse being pursued to a confused and interested tourist gazing around the streets. I was nearly run over by large cars a number of times as I tried to cross the street, but soon learned to watch the signal lights, and traipsed happily after a family pushing a stroller and coughing unhealthily. A small voice in my ear reminded me of the nature of city life before I woke up.
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