Nightmares

NIGHTMARES ARE OFTEN built with the bricks of reality. I could not escape from either bad dreams or bad reality. An ominous stillness came over the camp, and Blade sensed something in the air, though he knew not what. It was nearly dawn, not quite time for the soldiers to awaken, and he started for the opening of the tent. “Stay here and stay quiet. I’ll be back as soon as I know what’s going on outside, Blade had whispered to Sazz." The muscles in his jaw contracted. From the moment he’d opened the tent flap and seen the body of his friend on the ground, his throat tightened, but he refused to let fear rule him. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I put my hand on Rick’s chest, and I felt his ragged, broken body shuddering in death like a trapped animal. His soul knew that it was incomplete, and that it was caged inside a dying vessel.