Trail of Dreams

 

Chapter one

 

The rain poured heavily from the clouds.  They struck the ground around the tall old worn out building where dust had settled just inside the windows.  The trees were jagged at the bottom of the building just outside, suffering from the long draught before the storm.  The rain beat down on the soil around creating a thick mud puddle that blocked several parts of the dirt road.  The storm screamed with thunder and lightning piercing the gravel.

                Lori Jackrabbit ran through the rain, covering her head with the small hood of the cloak she wore.  She looked up to see the beach, a distant lighthouse, and a forest.  She began towards cover but the lightning struck again.  A howling breeze came through and Lori glanced up again to see the forest on fire.  The storm was too thick and the fire would surely kill her.  She knelt to the ground and tried to keep warm and whispered a prayer in search of protection.

                She glanced up again to see the old worn building.  It was large with two pillars beside the front door.  A light could be seen inside several windows.  Knowing there was shelter; Lori took a deep breath and hurried towards it.  The rain pounded on her back as she ran.

                Reaching it, she clutched the handles of the door and began pulling for it to open.  It was locked.  She cried for help and pounded on the door but there was no answer.  Lori turned around to hear the ghostly whispers that haunted her in her travels.  As if they were warning her of a fate she would soon see.  Ghostly arms seemed out of the darkness of the night reached out of the shadows towards her.  It was only and illusion of the storm though.  She convinced herself that she was safe.

                The door opened and Lori hurried in.

 

                Lori fell to her knees shivering as the door closed behind her.  An old paw was placed on her shoulder showing her that she was safe.  Looking up, Lori could see a crooked old cat with a cane.  He smiled a warm smile that made Lori feel welcome.  His voice was coarse and rough as he spoke.

                “I say…” he began silently “are you alright?

                “Yes.” Replied Lori.

                Lori stood up and straightened out her cloak.  She removed the hood now that she was free of the storm.

                “Thank you, sir.” Said Lori “I don’t know how to repay you.”

                “Think nothing of it.” Said the old cat with a chuckle “Say, I wrote a book once about a girl like you before.  You match almost the exact description.”

                “I… I see.” Stuttered Lori.

                “What’s your name, young lady?” he asked.

                “Lori.” Answered Lori.

                “I see…” he replied “My name is Gadien.  I own this place here.”

                Lori looked around to see several shelves aligned about with books filling them.  Several novels and fallen books dotted the floors, each holding old stories that were never told or remembered.  Lori could see the forgotten past of this building.

                “What is this place?” asked Lori.

                “A library.” Said Gadien “Rarely anyone visits here since the books are too old and many not know how to read them.”

                “It’s incredible.” Said Lori “So many books could lead back to our forgotten history.”

                “Indeed.” Said Gadien uncertain of something “If you need a place to stay for the night, I have a spare room that you can use.”

                “Thanks.” Said Lori “Is it okay if I can explore this place a little?”

                “Of course it is.” Said Gadien smiling “If you need anything, I’ll be in my chambers.”

                The old cat turned around and began to walk away.  Lori was more interested in what was further down the corridors.  She began walking along the shelves while looking at the titles of books as she passed by them.  She could see what appeared to be the center of the library up ahead.  Before she reached it, a book fell off a high shelf and landed in front of her on the floor.

                Lori knelt down to pick it up.  It had a fine pattern on the front of it with an emblem in the center.  It held a strange symbol of some sort that seemed to show a picture of a moon and several stars.  Lori took a deep breath and blew the heavy coat of dust off the book.  She coughed as she tried to fan away the cloud that it left.  She lifted the cover of the book to the first page.

                Inside, the writing was completely different.  All the letters were strange symbols that she couldn’t read.  She turned a page back to see what was on the back of the cover.  The words were in clear English.

 

Deep within the heart of a hare

Lies a wish or a prayer

 

                The words echoed in her mind.  They seemed to lead her thoughts into a story where she could wish for anything she wanted.  She stopped thinking about it when she began to hear breathing nearby.  The feeling of sadness could be sensed further down the shelves.

                When Lori had reached the center of the library, she looked around to see the surroundings.  The center was a circular clearing that branched out into seven corridors.  Turning around, Lori forgot which one lead back to the front.  A circular glass window was in the ceiling with several decorations.  One seemed to be the picture of a young green female rabbit about the same age as Lori.  Another was a blue-painted picture of a knight.

                Others had decorated the ceiling but Lori drew her attention to the breathing again.  She looked around to see a rabbit walking from around the corner.  He was bluish and wore light steel armor.  However, all his colors including the armor were a transparent teal color.  He was a ghost.

                Lori stepped back as the ghost stepped closer.  He reached out his paw to Lori and began to speak.

                “Kiro?” he asked “ Is that you, my love?”

                “Who are you?” asked Lori with a voice of fear “What do you want?”

                “Kiro?” he asked again taking another step closer “Is that really you?”

                “Who is Kiro?” asked Lori “What are you talking about?”

                “Kiro.” He said again.

                The rabbit began walking faster towards Lori.  Afraid, Lori fell back and covered her eyes.  Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps disappeared.

                Looking up, There was no one around.  Lori stood up and dusted herself off.  She looked down to see that she was still holding the book.  She couldn’t seem to let it go.  She shrugged and continued to explore the library.  However, she soon heard someone running through the corridors.  Turning around she saw a female rabbit racing towards Lori as though she was being chased.

                Stopping, the rabbit fell to her knees in front of Lori and began crying for help.

                “Please!” she pleaded “Help me!  I’m being hunted by guards yet I’ve done nothing wrong.”

                “W-what?” exclaimed Lori “Who are you?”

                “Please help me!” she pleaded again.

                “I don’t know what your talking about!” said Lori “Leave me alone!”

                Lori jumped back against one of the pillars.  Suddenly, guards rushed by and grabbed hold of the girl.  They soon began dragging her down another corridor.  When Lori looked down it, they were gone as if they just vanished.  Lori began to breathe heavily as she wondered what was going on.

                She paused for a second to think.  She closed her eyes and rubbed her head.  She sat down beside the pillar and let her mind figure out what to do next.

                It was as though these happenings were fiction.  Apart of a book or chapter.  However, they all began to frighten Lori for she had never encountered anything this strange before.  Not even her brothers had seen something this strange.

                Then she remembered why she was here.  She was caught in the storm and needed to seek some sort of shelter from the cold rain.  When the heavy drops of rain wore her down, she whispered a prayer for protection.  She asked for courage.