The loud and constant buzzing of my running alarm rang through my dream. Ground shaking barks joined the buzzing as my eyes began to slowly open. As I became conscious the twin noises became louder, causing me to jump up in fright. The morning sun shone through the window behind me and reflected off of my monitor. I heard the fan still spinning as the light on the monitor shone a bright orange. “Again…” I thought to myself. This was not the first time I’ve fallen asleep at my computer desk, and at this point the desk’s color was beginning to fade. I wiped my mouth and grabbed the towel I kept above the monitor. In slow circles I sluggishly wiped the slobber from my desk
.
Rufus was now walking in circles at this point; tail wagging furiously as he held his tongue out. The old Border collie was always there for me, and since I was living alone he gave me some type of company, or at least made the house seem less empty. I gave him a soft pat on his head. He deserved it; even he knew my alarm wouldn’t have woken me up. I turned around and gazed at the alarm, which was still ringing. I pressed the off button on top of it, making the whole room silent. Upon my observation I noticed the time. 9:05. I was going to be late. I shot up from the old chair and darted into the bathroom, almost tripping as I turned the corner. Rufus followed me; his toy bone held tightly in his mouth. I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face. As the warm water trickled down my cheeks it opened my senses. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I had a lot of work to do before I’d step a foot out of my house.
__________________________
After getting completely dressed and freshly bathed, I stared into the mirror of my room as I fumbled around with my tie. I never knew how to tie one and since I lost my clip on I was stuck spending at least ten minutes trying to make it look decent. I tightened it around my neck and smiled at myself. My clothes were perfectly ironed, the creases were sharp and crisp, my hair was firmly brushed, and not a single spec of lint rested on my shirt or pants. As I fixed my collar I began to walk back out of my room, when out of the corner of my eye I noticed the time. 9:45. “Oh shi-!” I ran out of the room at a blazing speed, almost forgetting to feed Rufus before I left. I swiftly grabbed his food from the shelf and dumped it messily into his food bowl. The food filled it’s half up completely, flooding the small area and dropping into the water side. I paid no attention and felt no need to clean it up; Rufus would eat the ones on the floor before he’d eat the ones in the bowl anyways.
I approached the door and opened it quickly. As I began to walk out I heard a slight whimper. I turned my gaze towards the Border collie who sat in the middle of the floor, staring directly at me. “I’ll be back before you know it!” I tried my best to reassure him, and I even tossed him a treat. He snapped his mouth onto the treat and ate it whole. I smiled and walked outside. I became blinded by the sudden burst of light; the outside brightness completely catching me off guard. In an attempt to save my vision I covered my face with my arm, trying my best to block out the sun. As my eyes adjusted I dug through my pockets, making sure I had what I needed for the day. I removed the small black memory card and quickly placed it back into my pocket. I began to walk down the narrow path of cement just in front of my home. Both sides of the cement path were completely coated with thick blades of grass which carried the morning dew. The smell filled my nostrils as I took deep breath. Today was going to be an amazing day. I got into my car and strapped on my seat belt. I uselessly tempered with the mirrors, not changing it too much from where it was at first. I inserted the key into the ignition and swiftly turned the base. The sound of the revving engine filled me with adrenaline. As the soft purr of the small car began to emit smoke, I licked my teeth and headed towards my destination.
__________________________
The ride was long and frustrating. It was my first time hearing of half the streets I had to take, but luckily I paid over a hundred dollars for some cheap GPS system. The small tablet could get you to where you needed to go, but only after tempering with the destinations. I became a professional at using it, and it took no longer than two minutes to get it started. However, the ride was the part that ate up most of my morning. It took at least half an hour to get there and an extra ten because I was constantly stopping to make sure my GPS wasn’t faulty.
I approached the massive glass tower with my mouth agape. The only metal that was noticeable would be the linings around the huge glass panels. I drove towards a man wearing a traffic guard suit. He waved his hands as if he was telling me to go in a certain direction. I nodded at him and smiled, yet got nothing in return. I drove in the direction he told me to head in, heading under the massive building into some sort of underground parking lot. It was dark under the place, and it was quite massive as well. The lights above only illuminated tiny bits of the huge lot, causing me to clench my eyes in a desperate attempt to find an empty space. I noticed that there were numbers placed on the walls followed by letters. They must be saved spots for the workers. All of the spots that I could see were taken, and at this point I was hoping that I didn’t miss anything important. The numbers began to escalate, and once it reached nine, the letter would switch causing the numbers to start back from one.
I opened my glove compartment and began to dig around for the paper I was sent two days before. I found the envelope and opened the crumbled mass. I took my gaze from in front of me and began to scan the paper, looking for some sort of number. I found my letters all the way at the bottom, etched in pen. “B9…” I said to myself as I gazed upwards, scanning the walls for the code. “B5…B6…B7…B8…” I began to smile as my number came up. “And B9.” I turned into the vacant parking space and relaxed my muscles, taking deep breaths. After taking a couple of moments for myself, I opened my door and walked out into the open. The smell of the crisp air filled my lungs as I took a deep breath. Holding my smile, I walked towards an elevator in the distance. I already knew my room number and floor, so I quickly pressed the key on the elevator wall. “Floor Ten.” Saying it sent chills down my back. I was never a big fan of heights, but hopefully I’d be positioned in the middle of the room. As the elevator rose by nine floors I could feel everything in my stomach fill my throat. I swallowed heavily as the elevator let out a slight ring.
Once the chrome doors began to open I walked out. It felt good to be on sturdy ground. My motion sickness was almost as bad as my fear of heights, and at this point I tried my best to ignore it. The corridor had several doors lining the sides of it, and between each door held pictures of the representatives and such. I didn’t really care for them as I began to feel ridiculously dizzy. I quickly walked to Door number five. As my sweaty palms began to fumble with the bronze knob I could feel my stomach churning. I swiftly opened the door and sped towards the nearest vacant seat I could find. As I sat down I felt a sudden relief leaving my body. The feelings of throwing up and dizziness slowly began to fade away. I took a deep breath and relaxed once again.
“Victor.” The voice sounded more demanding than some sort of question. “Uh…Yeah?” I said in a low yet strong tone. I didn’t want to seem weak. “It’s yes. And I believe you are late.” I stuttered at first, but eventually I found the words to speak. “Yes sir I know that, but if you let me expla-“ “Just,” He interrupted me mid sentence. “Don’t let it happen again.” I could do nothing but nod. Slowly I gazed around the room and noticed all of the other people in the room. Behind the guy talking was a huge massive window. He was telling us some sort of information, but I found it extremely hard to pay attention to such a melancholy voice. I slammed my head onto my table and let out a distressed sigh. This was going to be a long day.
__________________________
I almost fell asleep during the ride home. If it wasn’t for my grumbling stomach, I’m sure I would have crashed in the middle of my snoring. I stopped the car in front of my small house, glad to finally be home. If it wasn’t for the moon, it would have been just as dark as it was in the parking lot. I rested my head onto my steering wheel. I did not want to go back to that horrible place. For my first day being there, it was definitely a place I wouldn’t want to go back to. I opened my door and stood outside of the small car. I stretched desperately and let out a loud yawn.
I dragged my feet with me as I sleepily walked towards my door. As I unlocked and opened my door, I was almost tackled by the old Border collie. I smiled and ducked down to his level, rubbing him all over. He began to bark happily, licking my cheek and face. I laughed and walked into the house reenergized. Rufus followed my every footstep, and as I passed the kitchen I noticed his lack of food. My stomach then began growling. I turned around gazed towards the spoiled dog. “How about some dinner?” Rufus barked happily and wagged his tail. I walked towards the counter and poured some more food into his bowl, this time a lot less sloppily. He quickly reached his food, eating it almost as quickly as I put it in. “Whoa! Calm down Rufus.” I couldn’t help but laugh.
I turned around form the hungry dog I opened my refrigerator door. I scanned every inch of the white machine. I found nothing but the requirements to make a sandwich. Not the good kind either, the simple bologna and cheese. I grabbed the materials and began to make the same thing I had been eating for the past couple of days. I let out a depressed sigh and placed the used items back into the refrigerator, slamming it shut. Walking to the table, I stared at the sandwich. If I didn’t puke from the heights or the elevator, this sandwich would do the trick. I sat down at the only chair at the small round table. Rufus approached me, sitting down with his tongue still hanging out. I thought of just sliding the sandwich off of the table and giving it to him, but I was sure he wouldn’t eat it. I grabbed the sandwich and took a small bite of it. I swallowed the small amount I had in my mouth. “Yeah…” I said to myself as I threw the rest of the sandwich into the trash.
Sighing, I got up and removed my clothes. I threw them onto my bed as I approached my closet. I removed some pajamas from the brown closet, slipping them on precisely. I was ready to go fall asleep, and just as I began to slip into my bed, Rufus began clawing at the front door. “At this time of night?” I walked down the hall and grabbed Rufus’ leash from the small counter near the door. I latched it to his collar and opened the door. Rufus dragged me outside in almost an instant, and in a desperate attempt I tried my best to keep up with him. He headed in the same direction we always went in. It’s not like I had a problem walking out at night, but it’s a lot different when you’re with a dog that takes ten minutes to pee. We began walking at a steady pace, stopping every now and then for him to use the bathroom, when all of sudden he stopped in the middle of our route.
I continued to walk as I didn’t notice he had stopped, and I was stopped myself as the leash reached its limit. Rufus stood in his hunting position, both of his ears flicked upwards as he pointed his muzzle in a distant direction. “Come on Rufus, I don’t have time for this.” I began walking again, only to be stopped. Any other time he would have continued to walk with me, noticing my frustration. I decided to play along; he wasn’t going to move until he investigated. I walked next to him and bent down to his ear. “Lead the way.” He slowly began to walk across the street, leading me to whatever he was sensing.
As we began to walk I noticed how he began to speed up as we got closer. We took winding turns, and there was for sure no way could I have known how to get back home, but for some reason something told me to keep going. I hoped to myself that this was worth it. Rufus eventually began running, well trying to run. I held the leash tightly, but as he became more aggravated he lunged forward, removing the leash from my grasp as he took off, barking heavily. I ran after him, screaming his name. ‘I hate this freaking dog…’ I saw him turn a corner, and quickly followed in his exact same path. As I turned the corner I stared down the pathway, revealing a barren area.
Rufus sat at the very corner of the area, barking at purely nothing. Swiftly, I placed the leash around Rufus’ collar and bent down to his ear. “Home.” And just as fast as I spoke Rufus took off. As he began to walk I looked back down the path once again. Out of all the years I’ve been living in this old town I had never seen it before, let alone knew it existed. I shrugged and let allowed my faithful companion to lead me home.
__________________________
I found it extremely hard to sleep that night, and after being led on that worthless adventure, I was sure I’d have been passed out by ten O’clock. I eventually managed to fall asleep, and through my experiences of not dreaming, I’ve realized its advantages. If I ever thought of something before I slept, it’d be easy to remember upon waking up. Now it had disadvantages too. For example, being woken up by your dog the second you shut your eyes and that is exactly what happened to me that night. Luckily, it wasn’t a rude awakening; instead he licked my face constantly. I moved him away from my face and sat up quickly. I stared at the clock which woke me up the morning before; twelve O’ clock. I looked back at Rufus and reached out to pet him.
As my hand neared him, he hopped off of my bed and ran to my room door. I stared at him and got up. “What’s the matter?” He stared at me with anticipation in his eyes. His tongue was not longer hanging out of his mouth from the sight of me, and he held some sort of seriousness. As I removed my blankets, I felt a cold breeze fall over the entire room in almost an instant. 'You should put some clothe on.’ I heard a voice say in my head. “Yeah, a coat would be nice…” I quickly threw on a coat and some pants. The voice seemed to guide me, and whatever it said, I couldn’t help but do it.
'Now, why don’t you follow Rufus?’ I smiled at the dog and began to follow him. “Lead the way.” Rufus got up and walked towards the door, his tail no longer wagging. As I left my room I stared at the clock once again. I expected the time to at least be three or five minutes past midnight, yet it still stood the same. I walked out of my room and stared down the hall. Rufus sat front of the door blindly. ‘Why don’t you open the door for him?’ I shrugged and walked towards the door, opening it and walking out with him. At this point, it began to seem too real to be a dream, and for some reason I didn’t want to believe it. Something told me I’d be waking up soon. I continued to follow the Border collie as he took similar routes to the ones he took earlier on our bathroom walk.
The soft patting of my shoes hitting the ground mixed with his constant panting. I continued to follow him none the less, although he seemed as if nothing would take him off track from his destination. As Rufus turned the same corner as earlier, I didn’t expect anything but the same thing I saw earlier. When I turned the corner however, something entirely different stood in the vacant area. An enormous tunnel stood placed in the vacant pathway. My mouth fell at the sight of the huge structure. Rufus walked to the mouth of the tunnel and stopped in front of the shadow. He didn’t take a single step inside, which frightened me. The tunnel was big enough to at least allow a massive steam train to pass by without any problem at all. I approached the massive tunnel and stared into the darkness. I couldn’t feel anything coming from within. No wind, no noises, just darkness. ‘Go on’ the voice became winged and fading. ‘Don’t be scared…’ As the voice spoke, I couldn’t stop myself from walking into the massive tunnel.
As the darkness began to engulf me, my vision became useless. I proceeded to walk down the tunnel, never looking back at Rufus. Then I began to think of him, and it caused me to snap out of my trance. I held my feet firmly in place so I wouldn’t lose direction. I turned around and stared down the tunnel, only seeing a dark void. I removed my feet from their firm position and turned completely around. I began to clench my eyelids, trying to catch a glimpse of him. ‘Come….’ The voice said again, this time coming from behind me instead of inside my head. I turned to, where I thought was around, and began to walk forwards. I began to walk, eventually hitting the side of the tunnel. If I hadn’t kept my arms out, I would have ran into the wall face first. ‘This way…You’re almost there…’ The voice said as it spoke in a low tone.
I looked towards where the voice came from and began to walk towards it, keeping my finger tips running along the side of the wall. I was completely focused until a red light came from the side of the wall I touched. As I turned towards it, I noticed that the red light came from some sort of carving that began to glow as I came near it. The red light ran in a curve, meeting at a single point, where twin green lights began to etch two shapes. It seemed to be some sort of apple carving. As I stared at the carving, I tried my best to stay on route. As I began to pass the carving, its glow began to fade. And as its glow disappeared, another began to light up. Pink lights began to fill into its crevice, creating twin wings around a sky blue center. It resembled some sort of butterfly. I passed up the glowing lights, it slowly fading just as the last. Next, where blue and yellow lights leading up to blue and yellow balloon-like shapes. Then blue lights in the shape of diamond, and what followed was some sort of white cloud with rainbow colored lights meeting at the end to make some type of thunder bolt.
I could barely believe my eyes. I mean, even though I thought it was a dream, the colors were just beautiful. I wasn’t sure how long I was walking, and I didn’t really care either. I continued to walk as another light began to appear. This one, for some reason, was flickering on and off. It was a Pink colored star surrounded by white specs, or that’s at least what I could make out of it. As I began to pass the last carving, a blinding light appeared in front of my face. I covered my eyes with my arm, trying my best to allow them to steadily adjust. I stared into the white light as it began to grab hold my mind, as if it was some type of spell. I began to take a few more steps as the ground beneath me turned into fresh soil.
I could easily smell the scent of the wilderness. The sweet smell of tree sap and pine trees began to fill my nose. I eventually became relaxed by the pleasant smells; allowing whatever spell was casted on me to take over. The light became extremely bright as I neared it, completely engulfing the exit of the tunnel. As I slowly reached out to touch the light, I heard a slight voice speak to me. ‘Welcome to Equestria…’ As my hand touched the white light, it seemed to explode in my face, blurring my vision and numbing my senses. I fell completely submissive to the light and allowed it to pull me into its world.
__________________________