#dream 1

Dream 1 | Entry 1: The Beast in The Red Place

There’s a place in the swamp caged within a forest of tall tupelo and cypress trees, and covered in dense moss and vegitation, a structure way out of its time sits decaying in the murky waters.

The locals were not creative about the name as it eventually got called, “The Red Place” because of its distinguishable red top that could be seen clearly from afar even through the dense swamp forest. It was one of the most noticable details that daring travelers would take note of when they told their stories to their stary-eyed children, filling their head with wonder and curiousity.

Despite its decaying walls, the one thing that drew people to it was the fact that it had everything, from different types of food never seen before - some placed in cylinders of metal or covered in a half-hard material that was sometimes flexible like paper or incredibly thin and see through sheet, to smoothly manufactured tools, so pristine and perfectly crafted - no blacksmith alive could ever make replicate such.

The Red Place was more known for its numerous healing remedies that healed every sickness known to man. It rivaled the knowledge of the shaman and the medicinal experts of their communities. Either in the form of sweet or bitter liquid or an edible pebble, they made the deadliest illnesses disappear within days. Of course, there were the priests and deeply religious people who thought these were made by witches. Most abstained from using them, but they did not deny the miracles it made.

One magical aspect of the place was that items would appear again even after they were emptied from the shelves the day prior. And they always appeared clean, fresh, like they were just made. No one was seen to have brought these items in to restore the shelves. They just appeared again. This attracted attention from more travelers, until eventually other kingdoms from lands far away grew an interest to The Red Place. Everyone suddenly wanted everything that The Red Place could provide. 

Many were sent, from small groups of peasant travelers, to large chivalries of knights. The Red Place was constantly exhausted of its supplies for many months. Until one day groups of people never came back to their families nor knights to their kingdoms. 

News of a great guardian now roamed The Red Place - the Beast. Those who were lucky enough to survive the Beast described it as a towering creature covered in fur with thin limbs and broad hunched shoulders. It was a monster with a wolf skull for a face and a matted black mane as a crown on its head, cascading down to its chest and belly, making the already large creature appear more intimidating. Its teeth were long and sharp just as the spikes on its visible spine. Its hands were huge enough to crush a horse’s skull and its claws sharp enough to slice through the thick trunks of the swamp trees. Yet, none of these physical features were harmful, for the most dangerous part of the Beast was its touch.

The Beast did not maul its victims nor devoured them and bathed in their blood. The Beast instead would chase down its prey with a feral scream. Arms stretched out, running full speed at the intruder before taking the victim’s head into its large hand. Victims were told to have screamed in terror before abruptly stopping, then the very physical being of the person would disappear, taken by the Beast. Moments later, their head would gently phase through its large hands and claws they would stand still before wandering off into the Red Place.

In the brief moment when an unfortunate victim is in the process of losing their physical form in the Beast’s claws, is the only opportunity to escape the Beast. 

These ghosts were the same people as they were when they had their physical bodies, but they were different in a sense. Whatever previous clothing they had was gone and it was replaced with those that resembled more the several clothing items found in some rooms of the Red Place or the illustrations found around the structure, and these outfits varied in boldness, color, and style. It was like they belonged with the Red Place. 

Years have passed since the appearance of the Beast, crowds of ghosts now wandered the Red Place aimlessly, phasing through each other and floating up the numerous black stairs and exploring the many rooms. Their stares were empty but their mouths moved as if they were stuck in a never ending convesation. Often their words were unintelligible - random words strung together with no meaning, but sometimes they formed sentences that made sense. Like the occassional greeting or conversations that people didn’t quite understand the meaning to. They had odd speech patterns. Some were absurd, sometimes downright repulsive with vulgar language.

“Hey, you taking the bus home?”

“I’m getting a new phone but all this shit is way to fucking expensive.”

“I’m kinda in the mood for sushi right now.”

“... that movie was shit, man. The original is always better.”