Dream of the Beast

The earth shook beneath my feet, I could feel the power of it, the force. The world itself seemed to have been shaken. I rose into the air, lifted by giant pale arms that had no source. I watched below as cities crumbled, as fires spread, as screams and shouts became deafening. The sound mixed with another, a terrifying voice that filled me with awe and fear.

A man stood beside me, as tall as a Skyscraper. The arms lifted me to his height. I could see him in his entirety now. There was no hair to be found on his body, his skin glowed a dark purple. He wore a grey cloak that hung onto his thin frame. Great massive tentacles appeared from his cloak where a man's legs would have been.

He held a book in his hands, it was covered in what appeared to be skin but then it moved and writhed, revealing that human-like figures were sewn into it, crying in a haunting chorus of "HALLELUJAH! HE IS RISEN! HALLELUJAH!"

Whether they cried out in joy, fear, pleasure or pain was impossible to tell.

The great being opened its eyes, revealing pure light within. In a voice that could not be understood but could not be mistaken it spoke

"The Whore Of Babylon Will Ride In On Her Beast, Drunk On The Blood Of Saints And Martyrs"

The words filled me with a fear that I had never known. It caused me to shake and recoil as best I could in the arms that held me above the world.

A Darkness covered me, looking up I saw the Sun blackening in a way that I would never have been able to imagine on my own. It was not as though something was covering it, rather it was as though the flames themselves had changed from the brilliant light of fire to a dark black that resembled the hide of a beast.

The Moon rose, sharing the sky with the now blackened sun. It began to bleed, it was breathtaking in its horror. The pale white was covered in a swath of rushing crimson, dripping off of it. A rain of blood fell onto the world below. As it fell onto me the voices cried out even louder, the hands lifted higher until I was laying in them, bathing in the warm red rain.

Where once they had sparkled in the beautiful night sky, the stars began to fall. They fell with the rain, adding fire to blood. I was moved once more. Now I looked at the stars that had fallen. Many had crushed cities and towns, spread fires around them of green and purple.

Out of some of these fallen stars I watched massive spiders, spreading like a plague from within. They covered entire cities and forests, so massive they rivaled the largest creatures on earth. They feasted on the people they found rejoicing and reveling in the act.

As my sight blurred from tears that flowed freely from my own fear I was once more lifted. Now watching the sky I saw the clouds part, the skies folding in on themselves like pages rolling together.

The mountains screamed in a language their own, they screamed as they began to move. Some fell, crushing everything below them, others slid across the land. I saw waves crash upon the land, drowning the desert as Islands rushed to shore. It was as though there was some great terror in the water that the ground itself was unwilling to face.

The being with the book of flesh spoke again,

"Leviathan the twisted serpent; the dragon who lives in the sea."

Then a massive creature rose from the depths, causing waves to crash upon the shore, drowning the coast. It started to march towards the land, causing disaster and destruction with every step.

I began to fall, looking at the hands that had dropped me I saw they now held seven trumpets. As the trumpets were blown, I fell. I fell faster and faster, screaming down to the horrors below.

Bolting up, I found myself in my own bed. I was drenched in sweat and shaking as though I was cold. My breath was coming in gasps and for a moment I feared I would start hyperventilating.

I was no stranger to nightmares, but I had never had one so vivid, so... real. Letting out a groan I rolled out of bed and decided I needed a quick shower. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get back to sleep but I had to try. After all, I still had school the next morning.