It's Not Reality, That's For sure...

The boy came to in a heavily wooded area. He sat up with a gasp.

He looked around the forest for a sign of... something, anything. The sky, the voice said. The boy looked up, seeing smoke rising up from the area directly in front of him. He stood and turned to run away from the fire. A wildfire was sure to kill him.

Turn around. Go towards it.

The boy turned around, but didn't approach the smoke. "That doesn't make sense."

I'm there.

The statement was made in monotone, but the boy found, without his understanding, it filled him with joy. Joy like he was sure he'd never known. He ran towards the smoke, stumbling over roots and rocks in the darkness. Synthetic light quickly began to brighten the area, making the travel easier.

He crossed the tree line to find himself in the middle of a city. That couldn't be right. What was such a thick forest doing so close to such a big city. He turned to look back at the array of trees, but they were gone. They had been replaced with more city terrain. He turned back to the scene he'd been approaching.

The source of the smoke was somewhere off in the distance, but the boy knew the figures before him was his real goal. He could see three humanoid figures huddled close together in a crater in the pavement. He couldn't make out any of their faces, so he jogged closer.

He grabbed the shoulder of one of the figures whose back was turned to him. When he tried to turn the figure, his fingers went right through the dark shape. All of the darkened figures suddenly melted, like wax, or tar. They pooled at the base of the crater, and the boy found himself stepping back cautiously.

Suddenly, the dark liquid formed a towering beast. As frightening as its multitude of eyes and legs were, the boy couldn't help but find the beast familiar. This made it no less scary, and he turned to run. He could hear a tremor-inducing roar from behind before the figure pursued him like a sentient wave of the ocean. It came down on him and consumed him. The boy lost all sensation once again.