Broken World

This was a strange dream I had not to long ago. No copyright infringement intended with the mentions of different copyrighted, well anything. They just show up in my dreams, so, sorry.

     We lived quietly in the dusty, red mountains. The sky was constantly filled with ash and smoke from the nearby volcano. I'd never liked the gloom. It was depressing, and left me feeling like I was missing something. We lived on a small rise about halfway down the volcano's slope. Long ago the whole area had been one large go kart track, but the volcano had exploded, and we had moved in since. Remnants of the track led all the way up to the volcano's crater, leading in through the side.
     I wandered the landscape, longing for something. I couldn't tell what, but I knew I was missing something. I kicked a stone on the edge of the dusty track, and sat down on the edge of the cliff. I could see the village. I could just make out each of my friends messing around near the entrance to the underground caverns. Nicky sat on a rock, running her fingers through her sandy, crimped hair. Carson was climbing the large rock pillar and jumping off. I could see his yellow hair clearly, despite the sand and dust. Patrick stood nearby, laughing and occasionally brushing dust out of his fabulous black hair. Even from so far I could see him glancing over at Nicky every chance he got. I sighed. They were definitely a height match. They were both really short. I was short, too, but, Patrick... He...
     I get up, instinctively picking up some sand in my fist. I let it dribble out. It feels good, like something from a life before... What was I thinking? I had always lived here, always been in this little village on the mountainside. There wasn't anything else. Was there?
     Overhead a loud engine roars. I turn, startled. A huge helicopter, followed by several small planes, whoosh by close to the cliff side. I begin running back down the track. I'd only ever seen aircraft once before, and that was when my friend Christina's dad fixed up the city's heritage collection. This couldn't be good. They were much newer and much shinier than the city's, and that meant they had to come from somewhere else. Somewhere that wasn't supposed to know we existed.
     I reach the town just as several men get off the helicopter. They approach the growing crowd. My father, the mayor, steps forward.
     "What do you want?" he says. His stern face has always intimidated me when he was angry, but it didn't affect the men.
     "We want the Golden Mushroom, and the girl who keeps it."
     I swallow hard. I had found the Golden Mushroom at the top of the volcano, right where the race track went inside the tunnel to the crater. It was said that it could power a go kart for millenia, and was worth more than all the jewels in the world. I was very young at the time, and thought it was just a normal mushroom, so I ate it. It left a gold mark on the back of my neck, and according to the books in the library, wasn't gone, just part of me.
     "Or what?" my father says.
     "Or," the man continues, "we take it by force. The mushroom doesn't disappear when its keeper does."
     Patrick is the first to respond. He sprints over in front of me, guarding me with his arms. Nicky, Carson, Christina, and my younger sister, Cassandra, follow. I facepalm. The men hadn't known I was the one with the mushroom before, and now, they did.
     "You'll have to go through us first!" Patrick yells.
     "So be it," the man shrugs, "We'll return when the dust settles."
     He snaps his fingers. Three large time bombs are tossed off of the three small airplanes. The man boards the helicopter and takes off. And, the panic sets in. People run every which way, shouting. Evacuate! Disarm it! No, bury it! No you twit, that would cause an eruption! Will somebody just get rid of that thing?! I slump to the ground. My friends turn, seeing the trouble I'm in.
     My father quiets the crowd, shooting his pistol and saying, "I've looked at them, and they can't be disarmed! If we bury them we'll still get blown sky high, and there's no time to evacuate! We only have one helicopter and two one-man planes, and 500 people that need to get out in less than an hour. Our only option, send the bomb to the top of the volcano, and drop it in. It won't cause an eruption if it's not deep. So, we put them in our aircraft and fly them up there. Yes? Good let's get moving!"
     People immediately start moving. They pull out the planes and the helicopter and quickly put the bombs inside. I immediately feel my heart wrench. Patrick is the only person in the village who can pilot the helicopter. His dad, the only other person, died six months before. It was only him. And there's no way that the aircraft can make it to the top and drop the bombs in in time. At least, not the heli.
     I inwardly sob. I can't even go with him. I can't fly a plane. But... wait... in my head, something stirs. Something from another life. Something from a life I never had. I remember. Deep in my head are the instincts, left behind by something I never did.
     I rush to my father. Patrick stands nearby, discussing with him.
     "There's no one to fly the planes, sir. Will's arm is broken, and Charlie got a really bad burn on his hands yesterday."
     "I'll fly one!" I cut in. My father looks at me, worried and puzzled.
     "You can't fly a plane. Even if you could, the Golden Mushroom would be lost. And I can't lose you."
     "He's right, Skia," Patrick cuts in, "You can't fly."
     "I don't know how I can, but I can see the controls in my head. I can feel myself doing it before. And I can see Cass doing it too. I remember. I don't know when, but I remember."
     Cass walks up as well, adding to my argument. My father argues, Patrick even more fierce. But we wear them down. The village is more important than us.
     Ten minutes until detonation. We've gotten everything together. But, as I think through it, even the planes won't make it. It's the end. There's nothing I can do to fix it. The three of us are dead no matter which way you turn it. But, there is one thing I can do...
     I go to Patrick. He's standing next to the helicopter, looking up at the volcano. It's spewing reddish black smoke, lighting the sky like a sunset. Whatever a sunset is.
     "Patrick," I say, "I know this is the end. And I know you know it too." He nods, turning his sad eyes to me. I step forward and continue, "I know how you planned to marry Nicky, and to live long and happy. And I so wish that could be. Because all I want is for you to be happy." He shakes his head slowly, a small tear creeping down his cheek.
     "But," my voice begins to wobble, "I want you to know..." I reach my hand out, brushing my fingers along his cheek and into the lush, black hair on the back of his head. His eyes fill with tears, and so do mine. I pull his face close to mine, and our lips touch. He pulls me closer, running his hand through my dark, thick curly hair. We pull away.
     "I love you," I say.
     "I have always loved you," he replies.
     A spark shoots through my nerves. I remember. This isn't my world. This isn't our world. None of this is real. I fall to the ground, shaking.
     "Skia!" Patrick starts. Fear fills his eyes.
     "I-I remember..." I say, "I remember everything. The blue sky, the green grass, the trees, the rivers, the snow... I remember the music and the laughter and the dancing."
     He stares deep into my eyes, pure concern on his face.
     "And," I say, "I remember you, too. You were there. You and Nicky and Carson... and Christina and Cassandra and my father... Everyone was there. There wasn't any dust or smoke, or fear or loss or confusion. It's still out there. We can go back!" I jump to my feet with excitement. This poor existence we had wasn't everything! We had whole lives filled with joy and energy and love! This wasn't the end!
     "Skia," he begins, "You- you know there's no such thing as a blue sky. We've lived here all our-"
     I kiss him again, pulling him into a deep embrace. He jolts back, eyes widening.
     "You remember too!" I say, grabbing his hands.
     He rubs his head, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. He looks back at me, and begins to smile.
     "We don't have to die!"
     We kiss again. Light fills the world, and everything vanishes.
     We hear the sound of birds. Birds long lost.

Author's Note

Truth about this is, it was just a dream. I barely know my friends Carson and Nicole, and I certainly do not "love" Patrick. He's fun and all, but just not my type. So, it was a really weird dream, especially with the Mario Kart tidbits. I tried to describe it as best I could without the strange time-jump aspects, but, here you go.