Chapter Nine

Alex saw himself running in a pitch-black environment, similar to his previous dreams. He was pacing aimlessly and perspiring a lot, due to the terrifying sight he saw.

He stopped running, after he thought that his pursuer had dissipated and stopped chasing him. 

"That was extremely close." He said, heavily panting.

He was still trying to catch up his breath, when he heard a swift footstep coming from where he was racing from. 

His heart beat faster than it was before, so, he turned to face the direction in which the pursuit was coming from and started to move backwards. 

He stopped moving after he stopped hearing the footsteps, and pondered why it stopped. He thought it had ceased pursuing him, and sighed in relief. 

He noticed someone was behind him due to the shadow behind his, and slowly turned back to see what it was. 

He winced as soon as he recognized the appearance he had been running from. He attempted to move back, but tripped, as it got closer to him.

He has never witnessed the unsettling appearance, since he had started experiencing the weird dream.  

He has grown accustomed to the dream and the spook woman who does show up in it, but this specific one frightened him more than the others had.

"Who are you? And where am I?" He cried out and questioned.

"Do you have a death wish?" It asked him.

"Death wish?! No, I do not have one." He replied in confusion. 

"Disembark on this journey if such is the case. Dangers await you here."

"Dangers?! What do you mean?" He replied, still in the falling position and used his hands to drag his body on the floor, so he could be distant from it. 

He found it difficult to know if the person was a male or female, due to the person's voice. 

The old woman who usually appears in his dreams, appeared in his front, while he was still wondering who it was. He noticed her presence by the shadow he saw, while crawling with his hands. 

He peeked by turning his neck in her direction, to be sure if his his supposition was correct. 

He knelt down at her front, after confirming that his assumption was right. 

"Save me, please. I have no idea who this is or what it is talking about." He rubbed his palms together and begged.

"We await  you. You are the only one who could give us a winning chance in our lost wars."

He screamed in confusion, "What the fuck are you talking about?!" because the elderly woman had never told him about any battle, since she has been showing up in his dreams. 

"Fighting a conflict, which you will ultimately lose, is merely a waste of time. Return, and don't even consider coming back again." The other apparition said. 

The last statement lingered and echoed in his head, which made him scream "leave me alone!" in frustration. 

He screamed it also, as he woke up. 

"Alex! What happened? He became calm after his mother asked him.

"Are you good, son?" His father asked him also, just like his mother did, but did not turn to face him.

He said that, as he peered in the rear-view mirror. 

He took the earphone out of his ear, before he responded. 

"Yes, I am. I just had the same dream again, but-" 

"But what?" His mother interjected, before he could finish speaking. 

The dream is a little weird compared to others I've had." He clarified.

"How? What do you mean by that?" His dad enquired.

"Someone I didn't know, or that I've encountered in the dream before, mentioned that I was waging a lost war and even urged me to disembark from this journey." He explained. 

"What do you mean?!" His father screamed, but looked back to make an eye contact with Alex. 

They were on a two-way road when it happened. A car was at the front of their car on the right hand side, while a truck was coming from the opposite direction of theirs. 

He was distracted while driving by looking behind him, so he was unaware that the car in front of them, had trafficated to indicate its intention to turn into the alley that the signal indicated.

If he had been aware of the situation, he would have slowed his speed, but was called to notice by Alex's alarm. 

"Dad!" Alex yelled and pointed forward, alerting his dad of the situation. 

His father swiftly turned to the front and attempted to cross to the walkway-side of the road. Unfortunately, by the time he realised it, it was too late for him to drift successfully. 

He couldn't get to press the break early since he lost control of the vehicle, which resulted in the car, accelerating towards a tree.