Fear and Desire

This is the vivid reoccurence of The Badlands with bonus features! *shudders* Seriously... I hate maggots.

I awoke in the dream, aching and my body feeling so heavy, on cold, dry earth covered in red dust. When I sit up my spine makes a sick xylophone crack. Oddly enough, it feels really good, it seems to alleviate a pressure in my head and that heavy feeling goes away. I look around while stretching my arms. The landscape is barren but occasionally dotted with the charcoal-coloured husk of a tree. My neck is tugged gently forward and that's when I notice the red ribbon around my throat. It's woven into my skin, right around my neck, and then out before me it stretches for what looks like forever. I can't quite see how far it really goes, even if my eyesight was extraordinary, because it disappears into the mist ahead. I admire it floating for a moment before I stand. My legs are a little wobbly and I almost laugh at myself until a shiver runs right up my spine. It's an electric sensation, my hair stands on end and my breath catches in my throat. I turn around in time to see the creepy freaky damnable thing jump at me. It weighs a ton and I can't breathe. Its huge maw, a mess of razorsharp teeth like a shark with dental problems, snaps at my throat. I'm not sure how I'm holding it off, my arms are quaking and I struggle beneath the mass of gooey charcoal flesh. For a second it stops and stares at me with sickly yellow eyes, that second seems to last a lifetime. Digging its claws into my shoulder and the ground beside me, it raises its head and starts to tremble. I push myself away from it and at the same time the ribbon around my neck gives a mighty pull. I manage to squirm from underneath it and back away far enough before it vomits a weird green bile all over. The puddle of ooze sizzles and eats away at the very earth.

I'm on my feet and running before I know what's going on. The thing roars, shrieks, makes this weird snorting noise before bolting after me. The ribbon around my neck gives a few pleading tugs and I adjust my course to follow it. Somehow, I'm outrunning that monster and I eventually collapse to my knees in exhaustion. I try to catch my breath but that ribbon keeps tugging on me, more and more urgently. I look up and all those charcoal things I thought were trees are actually more of those freaky monsters. They shine their teeth, growl like chainsaws, and slowly start stalking towards me. The ribbon is pulling me towards them but the better part of me is saying I should run back the way I came. I know if I run back, I'll just have to keep running, I know there's nothing back there. I take a deep breath and hope to hell I'm faster than they are. I run in the direction of the ribbon, dodging claws and snapping maws, a few of them catch my flesh. I keep running unabated despite the burning sensation of the wounds. I narrowly avoid more of that gross green bile. I just keep running towards that blanket of mist where the ribbon disappears but I never seem to get close to it.

My eyes widen - I can see the chasm up ahead. One of those things pounces out of nowhere and it's right on my tail snarling and spitting all the way. No question - I jump. The fall is a sick rush but I look up and see that the monster isn't going to follow. I look down just in time to see where I'm landing - a sea of peeled oranges. I sink a little, it's squishy and sticky and the smell is very definitely oranges. I half-swim, half-bob, to the other side and try to climb up the cliff. The ribbon tugs at me a little. I'm halfway out of the pool of oranges when a foothold and handhold give out and I fall back in. The sensation is very different... still squishy... but not oranges. When I feel the semi-liquid mass around me start to wiggle and bite at me with little mouths... it's not oranges. I try so hard not to scream until I breach the surface and when I do, I shriek. I try to swim through the sea of maggots and wriggling worms and roaches and all manner of creepy freaking crawlies. I make it to the cliff again and desperately try to climb up. It takes a few tries but I manage to get out and the cliff face begins to slope. I finally get to a little edge and I collapse. I can feel those bugs crawling all over me and I scream again. I look up and see the slope before me... I didn't notice this mountain before. When I look down, I can still see all the maggots and junk squirming around. It almost looks like waves in a sea. I shudder. The ribbon gives me a small tug, almost reassuring. Yup, can't fall back down there.

Almost on cue, the ledge I'm sitting on gives way and I find myself running up that hill... in place. The ground beneath is unstable, like thick mud, and it crumbles almost as quickly as my foot sets down on it. I'm running, I'm jumping, trying everything to find some solid ground, to even gain some ground, to avoid falling back down there. I take a chance and jump to what looks like solid ground...

Then I wake up, falling off my bed but I managed not to hit the floor this morning. I was so tangled in my blankets it caught me like a hammock. I've had dreams of that red ribbon around my throat before. I've had dreams of that barren landscape and those monsters chasing me. I've never had them both together before. Maybe fear and desire? Try and try, right? Ha.