Observer Protocol Weekly # 2 :: Frosted Fear
Word Limit::
Minimum :: 500
Maximum :: 3,000
Flavor::
On their way to the rendezvous point, the Observer Protocol members are drawn into a deep slumber. Their dreams take them far away into the realm of their subconscious. In this way, three mysterious cupcakes float around in their dreamscape. One wishes their safety and beckons them to consume its delicious mouth watering insides but another cupcake detains them in their mind, trapping them in the endless void of their own fears. A third sits atop by itself, silent and levitating. It is the exit.
The members are trapped in their deepest nightmares made real by their darkest fears. Trapped and alone, they must snake their way across the rooms devoid of happiness and escape. Or stay forever.
Details ::
Your character is in their own dreams and is accompanied by three cupcakes. One is good and when eaten, weakens the force of fear the other treat holds against your character.It will always be by your side but is limited like a real cupcake. Once its gone, the character will have no way of weakening the fears it has to go against. The evil one is out of reach, always floating away and commandeering the world of fear. It weakens every time you pass a room it has created. Once it is defeated the final cupcake swoops in from afar and allows you to eat it. [Or shoves itself into your character's mouth]. Your character then exits and is returned to the world.
The world your character is in is his dreams, in those dreams there are a webway of rooms that spread across. Each room is a fear of your character made real. Your character must get past it in order to defeat the evil cupcake. Each room will be more perilous than the last.
And now without further hindrance of my wall of text, here are this week's entries!
[spoiler=Nightlock's Entry :: DreamCake]Why am I so tired? I thought I had experienced jetlag before, but this… My focus was so tinted, I couldn’t even think of a proper description for this level of fatigue. I was just barely able to work the keycard to get the motel door open. All of my bags were still at my hotel room in Tokyo; the one I was in now was an on-the-fly decision so I wouldn’t pass out on the street.
Stumbling into the room, I had just enough energy to move the covers back on the bed before I fell haphazardly onto the sheets…
***
I swear that my eyes had been closed for no longer than a few seconds before they opened again. I’ve never been known to fall into such a heavy sleep, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. Reaching up with my hands, I rubbed my eyes as I sat up in bed. My eyes kept closed as I yawned and stretched my arms and back, and I began to scoot over to the edge of the bed. I don’t remember this bed being so large… this must be some motel-.
I stopped dead in my tracks as I let my legs dangle off the edge of the mattress. Dangle? Opening my eyes in confusion, I looked down and noticed the distance between the floor and my hanging feet. For a moment I sat and thought, trying to remember the makings of the motel room. Walking in I didn’t look around to familiarize myself with the space, I had immediately went for the bed. But if there was one thing I knew, it was that I was able to get onto the bedding with no problems having to climb into it.
As I looked around the room I felt my jaw open wider and wider. I don’t know how it happened, but I was no longer in a strange motel room. Instead, I found myself gazing at my old dresser and T.V. and each of my pictures and knickknacks. I was in my old room back in Gold Beach.
With a boost of energy, I launched myself off the bed and ran to the closet door mirror. The quick pitter patter of my feet held my attention for a second as I noticed my stride was much too short. Stopping dead in my tracks, I locked eyes with a pajama clad, shorter haired, four foot vision of myself. Wide, shocked blue-gray eyes bored back at me, and before I could question the impossibility of what was happening, my mind immediately brought forth a conclusion that had me awestruck in its fortuity.
Satu’ara Zine… amazing. Could it really be? Did I really develop my future-sight at such a young age to foresee my life in my dreams?
“No, that wasn’t a dream.” A high pitched voice said from behind me. Jumping, I scanned the room through my mirror for its source. “This is a dream. You’re really dreaming now. Right now.” It continued. Looking up, I focused on what looked like a floating cupcake, not too far above my right shoulder. In the mirror’s reflection I could see the incredulous shock form over my face.
A cupcake? What? Did it… is it…talking? “Did you hear me?” Why is a cupcake talking to me? “Hey.” Is that… red velvet?…I like red velvet. “Hey! Listen!”
Turning to look directly at the flying pastry, my eyes furrowed before I asked, “Yeah, I’m listening. How are-” I stopped my quick reply from surprise at hearing the adolescence in my voice. Oh my gods. “What happened? Why am I a kid again?”
“Sunshine, who are you talking to in there?” A very familiar voice rang out from the hall outside my door. Turning my head, I watched as my Dad walked in, clad in his suit and tie. He watched me with fond curiosity before continuing. “Did you finally start creating your own imaginary friends? I thought you said you were too old to do kid things like that.”
No. He’s really here? Really? Feeling the tears form at the edge of my lashes, I ran to him and jumped, knowing I would be caught in his arms like I always used to. “Daddy!” I chokingly exclaimed.
“Hey, now. What’s the matter, I was only teasing. I’m sorry, sweetie.” He said sincerely. I had missed him terribly, and now that he was here I never wanted to let him go. I held onto him for as long as I could, when finally he said, “I love you, Sunshine. Now, I have to go visit Gran for a couple days, so you’ve got to take care of Mom for me. OK?”
Stilling, I leaned back from our embrace to take in his suit. Jerking my head to the wall, I looked over at the calendar and searched for the day’s date. I felt my heart shoot straight down into my stomach as soon as I found it. Oh gods. It’s today, it’s gonna happen today… My breathing began to speed to a point where I was nearly hyperventilating, and I shot pleading eyes to him. “Dad! You can’t go. Stay here please. Please! Don’t go!” My mind pleaded with all its might, telling him that he couldn’t go. That if he left right now he would die.
But as if he hadn’t received my thoughts, he smiled and said, “It’s OK, Electra. I’ll see you in a couple days.” Turning in place, he walked out my door and straight down the hall.
“No!” I shot forward and turned to the left, following after him. But as soon as I passed the doorway of my room, I could see him already at the front door. What? But the front door is downstairs… I stopped momentarily to figure out how the door had moved, but started forward again when he reached for the handle. “Dad! DAD! DON’T GO! DADDY, NO!” Over and over I cried aloud as I ran after him, but it was like he couldn’t hear me or wasn’t listening. I sprinted as fast as I could but something wasn’t right. The further I ran, the harder I pushed myself, the further from the door I seemed to be getting. In fact, the hall began to stretch and stretch ahead of me, continuing to get longer with each step.
“Hey!” I heard over my shoulder. I ignored it and continued on. Faster. I have to go faster. I’ll never make it. Please, don‘t go! Dad! Don’t die!
“Listen!” Suddenly, the floating cupcake from earlier came into view, directly ahead of me, and charged straight at my head. It was a soft and painless crash, but it accomplished its purpose. I finally stopped, heaving and gasping for breath, and turned to the cupcake.
“Why can’t he hear me?! He’s gonna die! Doesn’t he know that he’ll die?!” I was yelling at the dessert.
“Listen, OK.” It said. After a moment’s pause, as if the cake was testing if I would interrupt, it continued. “You’re dreaming right now. Right now. This is a dream. You’ve been locked into a dream world that summons your fears and nightmares and plummets you into them. You were lucky I was able to get here before it was too late and you were stuck here for all eternity.”
I was slowly shaking my head at the cupcake, hearing the words but not understanding the importance. “Lucky that you’re here? But you’re just a cupcake! How will that save my dad?”
“I’m not here to save your dad, silly. I’m here to bring you back to the real world. I’ll help you beat the faux-cake and return to normal.”
“What? What in the world are you talking about? Faux-cake?”
“Yes. That’s who brought you here. He’s a muffin trying to be a cupcake, and uses the nightmares of the living as its icing.”
“… what?”
“Quickly, or we’ll lose your dad.” It said. Looking back at the door, I saw that he was halfway through it.
“Why is he moving so slow?” I asked. Now that I knew I was dreaming, the heartache of losing him again wasn’t so overwhelming, and I was much more calm.
“Because I’m here. If I wasn’t, he would have been long gone by now, and you would have been stuck here. Now, you could run as fast as you can to try and get there before the door closes, or you can take a bite of me and I can help you with my magic. But be warned, this isn’t the only room that will feed off your fears, there are two more, and if used sparingly, you might be able to get two bites out of me to help you in those rooms. Which will you decide?”
Looking at the hallway’s current length, I took a step and watched it stretch again. Every step was getting me no closer than I was. “Why do I need to get to the door?”
The cupcake sighed and said “You’re not listening. If that door closes and you’re still here, then you’ll be trapped. Forever.” Did this thing just sigh at me?
“OK, OK. I guess… are you a red velvet cake?”
“Yes I am. I’m purposely made to be one of your favorites.”
“Why aren’t you chocolate? That’s my favorite.” I guess no matter how mature my brain is; as long as I’m in a kid’s body my mind will wander.
“Your favorite flavor is the flavor of the exit cupcake. I saw it on your dad. He has it. You have to get it from him and eat it so you can leave the dream and return to normal.”
Seriously?
“So will you run, or eat me? Quickly!”
“Alright, I’ll take a bite of you! You will help me, right? This isn’t a trick?” I asked as I reached up to catch it.
The cupcake landed on my outstretched hand and actually helped me get it to my mouth quicker. “Yes.”
Use it sparingly. It was small in size, if I wanted to I could eat it in one bite, but that wouldn’t help me now. I still needed this bizarre cake’s help. Placing half of the cupcake in my mouth, I took a bite and began to chew… it’s good. I swallowed and looked to the door. Starting slowly and picking up speed, the hall began to shrink back towards me, like someone had released one end of a pulled spring.
But I could see my dad at the door was moving quicker too. He now had majority of his body through it, and at the speed the hall was moving at I wouldn’t make it. “Run, quick!” Said the half eaten cupcake.
“I know!” I yelled back as I had already launched myself forward. Moving as fast as my short legs could take me, I lunged for the door. Sliding on the knees of my pajama bottoms, I made it just in time to shove my arm into the crack of the door before it closed, and kept my body’s trajectory away from slamming the door on my arm.
“You did it! Yay!” Exclaimed the cake.
Yay? Just how old… well, it is a cupcake… that’s kind of like… a baby cake, I guess. Getting up off the floor, I threw open the door and stepped through. Almost immediately, my depth perception shot upward from the ground. Confused and stumbled, I fell onto my extended hands to cushion the fall.
“There! The door to the next room. The next fear is through there. That’s where the exit-cake is. But first we need to beat this room and this fear, are you ready?” The cupcake said. “Hey, you’re big now.”
I looked up at the door across the room as I stood. Examining my body once I was upright, I realized that the cake was right. I was back into my adult body. “OK, then let’s get through this room already.” I said. I was getting annoyed that I was inhabited by these baked foods, and I wanted this over as soon as possible. “Let’s go-” I took a step forward and noticed what this room’s fear was. I was on a platform by the door I used to get here with a similar platform by the room’s exit, on the parallel wall to the first. Only in between the two platforms was twenty five yards of a straight drop to what looked to be a spiked floor.
I immediately jumped backward, pushing my back against the door. The pain in my chest had already started, and my breathing had picked up once again. Dammit!
“Oooooh, you’re afraid of heights? Hm, that poses a problem. You won’t be able to get across if you can’t conquer this fear.” It floated in front of me as I frantically reached for my ambrosia… only to find it gone. “No, the faux-cake won’t give you an easy way out. You need to move fast. Eat the last of me. I’ll help you. But after this, I’ll be gone. So remember, eat the exit-cake and you go home.” The cupcake moved closer to my face and hovered. My breathing was heavy, and I shut my eyes to block the scene. Taking as deep breaths as I could, I opened my mouth and waited for the guardian to feed itself to me. “Good luck.” was the last thing it said before I greedily chewed it.
In only a few moments, my equilibrium returned and my breathing steadied. Opening my eyes, I watched the bottom floor move up rapidly until it replaced the gap in the room and leveled the floor into one walk-able space.
Moving to the last door, I took a deep breath in preparation and turned the knob. Walking through it, I found myself outside by rocky terrain with distant mountains. Heavy winds combed through my hair, and when I turned to face the door I stepped through, I found it gone. And in it’s place was a very, very familiar cliff edge. Oh, no.
Just at that moment, a gust of wind pushed at my back. The Dragon. Without having to turn around I knew immediately where I was and what was going to happen next. Or at least I thought I did.
A black taloned hand gripped at my neck and lifted me off the ground. Spinning me to face the figure, I came nose to nose with the black dragon of my nightmares. And just like before, he slowly shifted shapes, and shrunk down to its human form. Slowly I was able to recognize its new face, its hair, his eyes… It took the shape of my father.
“Don’t worry SunshineR