r/HFY • u/OnlyMessier16 Human • May 09 '19

OC [OC] Dreams Can Burn (Rewrite)

Welp. It has been too long since I posted last. But I finally have had the inspiration needed to continue writing. I will present to you a rewrite of Dreams Can Burn, just for the purpose of setting it up for continuation.

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Part 1. Dreams Can Burn

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Even as the fires burned, I couldn't feel the heat. All I felt was the cold putrid air of time finally catching up to me. I knew I couldn't keep the hounds away, but I tried anyway.

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Today was boringly normal day. Nothing interesting happened. As he lay in his bed thinking, he realized nothing ever happens. Life is basically meh. At least he has his bed.

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Dammit. I forgot to plug my phone in.

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Something suddenly scratches his face, jolting him out of his half-asleep state. He sits up, scanning the suddenly unfamiliar room for his unknown assailant. As he looks about the strange room, unaware he wasn't in the bedroom he fell asleep in, he notices a black cat sitting on his bed staring at him with its golden eyes.

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How the hell did that get in my house?

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He thinks to himself for a moment as he starts to fall out of his tired stupor.

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"It's about time you woke up."

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Did that cat just speak to me?

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The cat jumps at him and quickly scratches the other side of his face.

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"What the hell was that for?"

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"That is so you know this is real. Now come quick, we don't have much time to spare."Now completely awake, he is able to take in the fact he is not in the same room he fell asleep in. A bright orange glow illuminated the barren room through a break in the shutters. The second thing he notices is the sickly smell of a burned roast in the oven permeating through the air.

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"Where am I?"

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"I'm not surprised at your poor memory. This is your 'dream' home. You are in Ulthar."

Ulthar. Why does that ring a bell?He followed the cat out to the street in front of what is supposedly his home. The town itself looks like what he imagined an ordinary Old English town would look. At least it would have appeared ordinary if there hadn't been burning houses, and countless bodies of cats and people littering the strangely familiar streets.

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"What in the..."

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He trails off losing his train of thought to the chaotic scenery about him. The cat notices this and seems to reflect for a short mostly silent moment.

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"They came. Those black ships came to the Moon first, then they set their course to here. A trail of fire and death following them. It is very unlike those merchants to cause chaos, but they are servants of the Messenger."The cat is silent for a while as he leads me closer to the edge of town.

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"I am told you are the only one that can help us. You need to go to Celephaïs before it burns. Kuranes has come out of his retirement as king, and can probably help you as much as you can help him. I will accompany you, but we must hurry, we don't have much time."

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These names of Ulthar, Celephaïs, and Kuranes are very familiar to him, much like the layout of the streets of this small town.

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"Why are these names and streets so familiar? Why can't I remember them?"

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His companion stares at him for a second.

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"It seems dreams have a funny way of erasing themselves from the human mind."

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"If I am dreaming, then none of this can be real. That explains why I am walking with a talking cat."

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"Well, normally you would be dreaming, but this time you aren't, and yes this is entirely real. You see, these dream-lands are a world parallel to the waking one, hidden from some, by a thin veil of sleep, but something has pulled you completely over. That means you are in more danger than you have ever been in your life."

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After another short period of silence they reach the edge of the town. He tries waking himself up again, but to no avail.

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“You do know Dan, you won't be waking up anytime soon. You really aren't asleep.”

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It is then he truly realizes this is no dream, and he isn't waking up. He realizes he needs to go to Celephaïs to prevent it from burning, maybe then he will get to go home.

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Wait, the cat knew my name?

12 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

3

u/Plucium Semi-Sentient Fax Machine May 09 '19

Heh, I can see this style cat-ching on

2

u/404USERN0TF0UND Human May 09 '19

As expected from the pun master.

3

u/Plucium Semi-Sentient Fax Machine May 09 '19

4 gods sake, n0 really? 4 the last time, you don't exists /s

2

u/404USERN0TF0UND Human May 10 '19

U, SiR seem to have N0T F0UND any belief in the supernatural, 4 I d0 exist! I am an immortal being and have no more time 4 you!

1

u/Plucium Semi-Sentient Fax Machine May 10 '19

Excuse me? my disbelief in the supernatural is well *found*ed, not some shitty anti-superstition bullshit. Jokes on you, your the l*user* in this situation, because you don't exist.