A Jammer's Dream, Book 3: Greatness is Earned - Part 3
“Oh boy, I am going to report this to Faber! Sneaking around at night!” I turn around as Karant, Brent and Jalar laugh together.
“Cup, why don’t you go to your girlfriend for protection? I’m sure she’ll protect you from us!” Jalar laughs at me.
“I am not going to deal with you guys again. Leave me, right now,” I demand with a growl in my low voice.
“Why don’t you make us?” Karant chuckles loudly. Nova pounces onto Karant, but he easily throws her off.
“Alright, Cup, I was kidding around with you when you defeated me at training,” I hear Jalar spit out.
“I doubt that!” I grunt.
“Just listen to me. Karant has a plan. We’ve kidnapped your father, and if you say anything about us doing this, we’ll kill him,” Jalar laughs loudly. Brent begins laughing too.
“So get out of here. We won’t tell just because you won’t tell on us. Isn’t that right, Cup?” Karant shoves me towards Nova, who is lying on the ground, groaning. Then the three leave us.
“Come on, Nova,” I get her up off the ground.
“I can’t believe they’re doing that. That’s pure evil!” Nova screams.
“I know, I know…” a tear flows down my cheek. What are we going to do about them?
Nova and I continue walking down the clearing. The moonlight is bright and we’re still on the quest to find answers.
“Cup? Nova?” I hear a small voice ask as the two of us journey through the clearing. From behind a bush, I can see a pair of glowing eyes staring at us. I freeze in my spot as the moonlight shines on my fur. I thought only Nova and I would be awake at this hour.
“Who is it?” Nova sprints extremely fast behind the bush. I can hear some scuffling, and I race to where she is. Behind it, Nova has Keenen pinned down.
“Keenen!” I gasp.
“Where have you been? I feel like you, Mincero, Sinsar and Dawn have all just forgotten about us,” Nova spits out angrily.
“No, we haven’t. And we have a good reason for our disappearance,” Keenen quickly responds.
“Well, what is it?” I demand an answer.
“We’ve been exploring this place. When looking through the caves, there was a crystal filled cave. We stood on top of a tall rock and some weird things happened,” explains Keenen with confusion flooding his thoughts.
The crystal cave! I already told Nova about it. She understands when I glare at her.
“Keenen, we have to get there. Now,” I tell him. He nods.
As we race out of the clearing and onto a muddy path, the moonlight shines our way. As we arrive in the narrow crack in the cave, I see blazing light up ahead. We finally enter the cavern full of crystals.
“Cup, Nova! Keenen!” I can hear Dawn, the large, mysterious rhinoceros shut our names. It’s good to see him again. Standing beside him are Mincero and Sinsar.
“Guys, sleep on top of that rock,” Sinsar immediately demands Nova and I. We both do it, understanding almost everything. How do these four know about this?
Mincero, Sinsar, Keenen and Dawn all begin to sleep on the ground. Nova and I quickly fall asleep in the glowing crystal cave. Blackness covers my mind, and I am now in the world of dreams.
“Hello?” I ask in the darkness. Nothing else is happening except for me standing in some pitch black lace.
Then I remember what the directions are. I have to think about them. I start thinking about each animal sleeping in the crystal cave. I first think about Nova, then Keenen, Sinsar, Mincero and Dawn…
Then they pop out out of nowhere. Nova and I sit on top of the large crystal, while the others surround us, staring around.
“Welcome to the dream world,” Dawn growls loud enough for everyone to here. He rarely speaks, so this is pretty surprising.
“I’ve been here four times in my entire life, and I don’t have many more times to visit it before I die,” Dawn guarantees.
Mincero, Sinsar and Keenen seem to understand what is making Dawn talk suddenly. I can tell by their expressions. However, I do not understand what is going on with these four.
“I know you two are confused,” Dawn chuckles a little. Nova and I look at each other, trying to read minds.
“Let me tell you this. The most bravest animals can only visit the dream world. It’s super hard to get into, and there are only special places where you can. You can visit, the past, present and future in this place. You just have to think about it. But Cup and Nova- that’s why it’s so, so dangerous. You can change anything that occurs in this universe,” Dawn stares at us with an extremely serious expression. I gulp.
“It’s nothing to mess around with, and I am telling you that. I know that you are seeking answers, but you should not. Any change to these- well, these times- will affect the world,” warns Dawn.
“It is known by few. We wanted you to know about it. Mira herself uses it to view our futures. She sends us warnings and messages based on the dream world. You can go into the past and view spirits. You can even bring them back to life. If you go to the time right before they die, you can wait for their death. Then, in the dream world you can see their spirit. Just get the spirit’s attention and it will talk normally to you. You can bring it back to life by thinking about it when you travel back to the base, where the pitch blackness is, and then by waking up,” Dawn explains.
“How do you wake up from this place?” I ask.
“Just think about waking up. Yes, thinking about two things at one time may be difficult, but in the dream world, anything is possible,” Dawn finishes.
“Well, I’m going to bring Padanda back to life,” I smile at the words that Nova says.
“No, Nova. It is much more difficult than that. You have to travel through so much time, you will get lost. There’s only been a few animals to ever come to this place, explore a large chunk of it, and make it back out alive,” Dawn replies immediately.
“But… but…” Nova begins to argue.
“I’m warning you! Mira does not like any animals travelling through time. She only uses it to view the future. She can only view one part of the future at a time, otherwise she’ll likely get stuck in it. Faber just got lucky when he stayed in the past for so long. There are always passageways invisible to the shadows of every figure in time. He had to travel through these passages in each different time to go farther into the past. Now, he couldn’t wish to awaken at any time. To awaken, you must be in the base area, which was that pitch black spot, or in a present place of the world, which is where we are now; The present doesn’t affect anything, as long as you don’t mess with the inhabitants of it. When thinking about each time period, it’ll take you to the latest part of past, the present, and the earliest part of the future. Different passageways will shut down at their own will at random times, so if you get stuck in a time period, you’ll sleep until you die. There would be no other way out of the dream world,” Dawn explains.
“So, let me get this straight. You can enter the dream world by finding a dream to reality entrance, and this crystal cave is one. You’ll be taken to the base area, and you can think about the past, present or future. In the past, it’ll take you to the latest second of it, in the future, you’ll be taken to the earliest second ofi tt. And the present is just to present. If you want to travel farther into the past or future, there are more passages hidden in that time period that’ll take you farther back into the past, or further into the future. You can bring something with you into reality by thinking about it as you travel back to the base, and when you wake up. You can also think about two things when travelling, because there are many possibilities in the dream world. But if you stay too long, some of the passageways will close randomly at their own will, and there will never be a way for you to get back to reality. You will sleep until you die,” I finish.
“That’s exactly right, Cup,” Dawn, Mincero, Sinsar and Keenen all say together.
“Dawn, how do you know all of this?” I ask out loud, and Nova nods, wondering the same exact thing.
“Let me explain this part,” Sinsar interrupts before Dawn can say anything.
“A very long time ago- before you two were born- Liza had found out about the dream world by Mira. She had been ordered to choose fifteen young animals to travel into the dream world to search for Zios. The entrance to it was in the woods by Liza’s den. It was a hole leading into the ground, and in there, crystals were scattered everywhere to sleep on. Today it’s covered up with mud, and forgotten by everyone. Anyways, ss three, along with Rapicik, were all chosen. All fifteen of us entered the Dream World, searching for answers. But none of us knew how dangerous it was- not even Mira. She had only just found out about it. We went through many of the passageways, going through the past, and it took us weeks. We still weren’t finding any answers, but just learning about the past and the Dream World itself. But then we all could hear a warning from Lia, just barely making it into our minds. Liza could send messages through minds, but it was hard in the Dream World. We all knew what it meant, though: to get out of there. So we traveled back through the passageways as quickly as possible and back to the Base. Once we woke up, only six of the fifteen animals had made it out alive. We barely made it through the last passageways when they were about to close. We then figured they all close at their own, random times. This is how we know so much about the Dream World,” Sinsar finishes his long sentence.
“I remember everything like it was yesterday,” Mincero gasps.
Keenen sits in the corner, feeling weird. His face twitches as an awkward silence floods the crystal cave.
“We’re leaving,” Nova blurts out. Everyone else nods, and we all start thinking about waking up. It happens immediately, and we’re back in the crystal cave, but this time, it’s in real life.
None of us say a word as we exit the glowing crystal cave and back out onto the muddy path. Dawn is now spreading across the land and a dim sunlight helps us make it back to the bush dens. Nova and I settle down next to each other, ready to get whatever sleep we can in the time remaining.
“Hello, Cup?” I can hear a raspy, male voice shout my name. I rub my eyes, awakening in the bright morning sun.
“Who is there?” I ask, squinting through the bush dens. I can make out a figure standing by the entrance. Wait- no. There are two figures.
“I am Marr,” the voice explains in a short sentence.
My eyesight finally adjusts and I can see a young cheetah and a young lion standing side by side. They both look about my age.
They both trot to my side and I get up.
“We’ve both been assigned to train with you today. And trust me, this training day will be fun,” Marr, who is the cheetah, laughs.
“Oh, and I am Nymin,” the male lion suddenly lifts up his head, seemingly getting away from his thoughts.
“Cup, none of the other animals from Jamaa need training except for you. At first I thought you didn’t want it. But then I realized you will save Jamaa, and for the sake of that place, you need training. Today we’re going to help you fight Karant, Jalar and Brent,” Marr explains.
“And trust me, we’re going to defeat them,” Nymin laughs.
“I also heard that Faber, Rapicik, and Roland will be observing us,” Marr grunts.
“Well, they’ll get their surprise when we destroy our opponents,” Marr chuckles with Nymin.
“Marr, Nymin, that’s already obvious,” I point out. Marr and Nymin both laugh when they realize I am with them.
“We have to go now. I heard from Rapicik that Faber set up a small arena in the clearing. It might be fun proving to everyone that we’re not weak,” Nymin gets up, and dust off his fur. Nova is still sleeping.
“Hold on, guys,” I ask for them to wait as they get near the entrance. They turn around, waiting patiently for me.
“Nova, wake up!” I whisper into her ear. She wakes up quickly and smiles.
“I’m about to have a battle for training. Do you want to watch?” I invite her.
“Sure,” she nods, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She gets up and follows me to the entrance where Marr and Nymin are still waiting. As we exit the bush dens, I can see Rocky out of the corner of my eye scowling.
As we get near the battle arena, my heart drops. There’s literally everyone in one Two surrounding it, and our three opponents are already waiting inside of it. Jagged, sharp Rocks form the border around it. Faber, Rapicik, Roland and… Katira?
Katira sits by the other three on a large rock, just staring into the arena. What is she doing watching us?
Nova takes a seat in an open area by the jagged rocks. She sits next to Keenen, Dawn, Mincero and Sinsar. My father, Zikah, isn’t present. And I know exactly why.
“Alright, everyone, be quiet. It is time for the battle to begin. I will count down once every opponent gets in the arena,” Faber announces with authority in his stern voice.
The blazing sun of noon bites my fur as I enter. Everyone stares at us, ready for the battle. I know not to kill, but I seriously hate these three. And they hate me, too. Oh well. This time I have animals to back me up.
“The battle will begin in three… two… one!” Faber shrieks, and claps his large paws together. All six of us immediately throw ourselves at each other.
I go for Jalar. I pounce on him, knocking him over. I pin him down, but then I realize I haven’t secured every spot. He scratches me with his hind legs, and I jump off, screeching with pain. He then scratches my chest and blood purrs out. I gasp for air, and I can see the surprise on everyone’s faces. The injury looks like it is horrible. I can see the other three opponents laughing, and Marr and Nymin staring at my terrible wound in surprise.
But I don’t feel pain. The only emotion I feel is anger.
“You’re going to die, you loser! You will never save Jamaa! You are too weak!” I can hear Jalar laughing very hardly with his friends.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Nova jumping over from the jagged rocks and heading towards me. She must’ve came over to help me, and give me medical attention.
“Everyone, this fight is-” Faber begins to end to fight, but I shriek loudly in a purely disgruntled tone of voice.
“I am not going down!” I scream again, holding my wounded chest with my left paw. I can hear the audience gasp as I charge very fast towards Jalar. He dodges me, then jumps onto my back. I toss him off with my sudden strength caused by adrenaline.
“You won’t defeat me!” Jalar laughs as he quickly recovers and pounces onto me. He bites me on the back, causing tons of more blood to pour out. I shriek in sudden pain. I can see Faber and Rapicik beginning to hop down from the tall rocks to help me. But I ignore them. I try to scratch him with my hind paws, but he’s already secured the pin on me. He laughs a little, and I catch him off guard. I bite him super quickly, clamping down on his snout. He whimpers in pain, but I bite down harder. He finally gets out of the grip, but his snout if completely covered in fresh blood and I laugh out loud. I get off the ground, and I can see that Nova, Marr and Nymin are holding Karant and Brent back. Faber is still rushing towards us, but he’s still a little while away. This arena basically covers the whole clearing currently.
I pounce onto Jalar again, biting down on his back. He tries to toss me off, but my bite is holding him down. He then just barely swipes his left claw down my side, and I stagger off of him. He sprints towards me, but I am as ready as ever. I remember every move Faber taught me. I dance around, and this is how I dodge him. He then tries to claw me in in different spots, but each time he misses when I’m moving quickly. Then I pounce on him from out of nowhere and pin him down. I then secure every part of my pin, and I stare directly into his face.
“Goodbye, Jalar,” I say out loud in the most normal voice possible.
His eyes get large and round as I bite down on his bare neck. Blood squirts out in many directions, but the gruesome scene doesn’t bother me at all. Jalar struggles beneath my grip, but I bite down as hard as my teeth will let me. I am taking all of my anger out on this snob. He deserves to die.
The struggling finally stops and Jalar’s body go limp. His eyes roll into the back of his head. I jump off of the corpse and grin widely for everyone to see me. Now I do have attention. There is no fighting. Nobody is arguing. Everybody is staring at me. Faber stops where he is, spotting me over Jalar’s dead body.
Then I look at my paws. They’re covered in blood. I have just killed a fellow wolf. What have I done? I gasp as I realize my mistake. But wait- he deserved it. He’s done many bad things to me. He was going to kill my father!
The bright, afternoon sun now turns into a cloudy, gray sky. Everyone looks like they are frozen in time as they stare at what I’ve done. I am now in the same situation as I was during training. But this time I have killed.
“Come on, Cup, let’s go back to the dens,” I can hear Nova speak, interrupting the silence.
I nod, then go over to where she is. Brent, Karant, Marr and Nymin are just standing there, staring at the dead body of Jalar.
As we walk past Faber, I can tell I am in huge trouble by the look in his eye. I then begin to speed walk out of the arena, silently following Nova and over the jagged rocks. The gray sky make my mind fill with many, many thoughts. I have alot to do. I need to enter the Dream World. I need to speak with Faber. He probably already knows it, too, by the look on my face. But I also need to speak with Archie. Maybe i can find out if the older Archie was his grandfather.
Nova and I enter the bush dens. Rocky is sleeping by the wall.
“Nova, was what I did- well… was it wrong?” I ask in a whisper voice.
“Not in my opinion. I think he definitely deserved it,” Nova replies.
“Thanks, Nova,” I force a smile.
“And by the way, we are going to the Dream World tonight.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Nova wonders with memories flooding back into her mind.
“Once again, as ever.”
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