I can feel something cold and smooth, wrap around my neck. I try to reach up to touch the living thing but I cannot. It was almost like my hands are glued to my side. I can hardly breath but I am not panicking. It continued to coil around my neck, in a slow tightening manner.

Suddenly as if by magic, a silver shiny mirror appears before me the only thing in this darkness. I glance at myself and my eyes widened. It wasn't the paleness of my skin or the fact that my nails were painted black. It wasn’t my long black colored dress or my blue snake eyes that caught my attention. It was the thing that was coiled around my pale neck.

The snake was flawlessly, beautiful and majestic in every way. Each dark blue scale, dancing in the small light above my head. It’s large yellow eyes, looked angry and dangerous. It was so humongous that I was unsure of how it fit around my neck at all. He was looking into the mirror with me, both of us staring at each other.

“Do you fear me” his voice was deep and it echoed softly. “Do you fear me” I countered back, finding the answer deep within myself. “No” he hissed out in barely a whisper. “Then, I do not you” my reply wasn’t trembling but I knew I should have been. “Do you know where you are” he asked and I glanced around in the utter darkness. “No” I whispered, glancing at his fierce diamond shaped eyes. “I will tell you where you are, Shadow Realm” he hissed and his voice echoed back louder. “Shadow Realm” I whispered and he nodded his head.

“Anything that cannot stand the light, comes here” he tightened around my neck more. “Then why am I here” I felt fear flow into me. “You are here because you failed” I didn’t know a snake could chuckle but he did and it was frightening. “Failed what” I asked, still remembering his eerie laugh. “Failed, at saving Sam” he was stating like it was obvious. “Sam” I whispered, my mind thinking about the little boy we saved. “Yes, that one” he slowly uncoiled from my neck. “But we saved him” my voice becoming frantic. “Oh, yes for now but this is the future” he whispered.

Suddenly be began to tell me of our demise. How Nathair, couldn’t protected us and was slaughtered in his sleep by the Blood Thieves. How they drank his blood and became stronger. How without my fighting skill definded, I was easily slaughter and by time they got to Sam, they were ready. Sam let out a very loud scream and then he was silenced forever.

How the monsters, took over everything and destroyed so much. It was like World Wars all over the entire United States. Destroying so much and making it look like a dead waste land. Burnt and the sky was so grey. How everything was weeping and so many families destroyed.

“This can’t happen, we rescued the boy from the Orphanage” I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. “This is what will happen, should you fail” his voice roared loudly. “No” more tears falling, splashing at my feet like shattering crystals. “Then you had better not fail” he roared before engulfing into flames around me but I did not get burned. “No” I screamed loudly and suddenly collapsed on the floor.

When I lift my hands up they are covered in blood. In fact the whole floor is a sea of blood. It soaking my clothing and the tips of my hair. My eyes wide in horror and surprise. I glance around but it’s just more and more blood. Tears cascade down my face and land with a soft ring onto the pond.

We must not fail!