As the digital numbers on the alarm clock reached 12:00pm the irritating buzzer screamed to wake its owner. Eric slammed a fist down next to the clock, shaking the particle board night stand. Fingers reached around to find the button and silence the terrible noise. His hand found the clock, fiddling to find the snooze button. He groaned from under the covers “oh come on!” Eric grasped the clock in its entirety and threw it across the room, power cord trailing behind it. However, the backup battery increased the longevity of the shrieking buzz. Eric pulled the covers from his face, squinting at the light. The previous night’s drinking was not kind to him today. He slinked out of bed; head pounding he staggered towards the clock.
“He has awoken!” an unfamiliar voice cried out. Eric rubbed his eyes and saw his room filled with strange robbed figures. He jumped back, startled and grabbed a metal baseball bat he kept near his bed. There were seven of them. All were about the same height, varying only slightly. They towered above Eric, almost eight feet tall. Each wore a solid black tattered robe. The material seemed to almost crawl along the floor, pulling the person inside of the robes. None of them had their arms or feet showing. They each wore an identical mask: a reflective smooth dome with no features, perfectly mirroring their surroundings.
“Two, stop that shrieking beast!” One of the robbed figures called out. One of the others rushed to the alarm clock and bent down, its reflective mask almost touching it. It spoke in a similar, but slightly higher pitched voice. “Whoever created these things should be melted!” A beam of light came forth from its mask, engulfing the alarm clock. The buzzing soon stopped as it disintegrated to a pile of black ash and a scorch mark on the floor. “Hrmm, thought it would melt” Eric let out a sigh of relief “Thank god, this is just a dream.” He set the bat down and crawled into bed. “If you don’t mind I don’t feel like having any complicated dreams tonight. Tomorrow’s Sunday and I want to be lazy.” The seven robbed figures stood puzzled until one spoke out in a deep, booming voice that shook the room: “We are the Council of Seven and you Eric Barlow of 753 Oak Avenue Apartment B7 have been chosen!” Eric waved a hand in the air, burring himself deeper into the pillow. “Not interested dream people.” Silence fell over the group.
“Are you suuuure he is the one? Maybe you should check the book again Three?” one of them spoke in a young, energetic voice. The one known as Three retorted “Do not question the Tome of Names One! This Eric Barlow is indeed the chosen!” Three pulled the covers off of Eric. Eric Barlow of 753 Oak Avenue Apartment B7, prepare yourself!” Eric sighed, grabbing the covers back and holding them tight. “I said no complicated dreams tonight!” With a flash of light, the covers were gone. The reflective dome mask of the elderly voiced one changed. No longer did it reflect Eric and his room, but showed images of a chaos filled wasteland.
The trees were barren and twisted, lava seeped from the ground to quickly cool into rock and hills. The elderly voiced one spoke as the images in his mask changed. “You Eric Barlow of 753 Oak Avenue Apartment B7 have been chosen by the Tome of Names to carry a great responsibility. We are the Council of Seven, here to guide you on your path!” Now that Eric’s attention had been gotten, the images in the mask disappeared, returning to its normal reflections. Eric sat up in his bed. “Ok, I will play along, stupid dream. What exactly have I been chosen for?” Another of the Seven, not quite as elderly sounding as the previous barked out “For great responsibility!” The rest of the robed figures nodded in agreement. Eric spoke through a facepalm. “I got that part, but specifics. What am I supposed to do?” After what seemed like a lifetime of silence the one called Three spoke. “Well, the Tome of Names does not tell us what, only whom and where they are. Seven, do you remember the task at hand?” The most elderly voiced one grumbled to himself before speaking. “Well, it has been so long, it is hard to remember. The youngest voiced one chimed in “Great gramps, this entire trip was pointless!” Another moved in front of the one that just spoke. “Keep it down One or I will feed you to Four!” One scoffed “Four, that nutjob, he doesn’t even talk, do you Four?” The robbed figure referred to as Four stood silent, staring at the ceiling. In his mask were images of blue skies and clouds. The Council of Seven broke into full argument about the importance of their journey, the Tome of Names, and a variety of other subjects. When it got to the topic of which pizza topping was the best Eric had enough.
“You all are morons, and this is a stupid dream, get out!” The Council of Seven grew silent, save for the one known as Five. “Mortal, our minds have experienced the very creation of the universe, small details do not matter. What we know is the time has come for one to be chosen. This only happens in times of dire importance. The Tome of Names has chosen you, the ‘why’ shall reveal itself when necessary. The reward for taking on this unknown responsibility is great power.”
Eric yawned, laying back down, staring at the ceiling. “No thanks, I don’t accept your oh so generous offer”. All seven figured surrounded the bed, looking down upon him. The one known as Six spoke “Silly mortal, you don’t have a choice”. With that light spewed forth from their masks encasing Eric. Various images cycled through their mask’s surface and seeping into the light that poured from them. Images of badlands, swamps, forests, cities, monsters, wars, what seemed like heaven and hell all engulfing Eric. His mind on fire he screamed. He couldn’t move, the light trapped him, pushing him down against his bed. He couldn’t hold on anymore and was blinded.
Eric lay there, eyes closed and motionless. Paralyzed, he couldn’t even breath could still hear as his life slowly slipped away. The council member called One laughed. “Yeah, we over did it, deep fried his brain.” Three sighed “Mayhaps there were some pages stuck together in the Tome of Names.” The eldest, Seven grumped “Well no worries, we shall consult the Tome and find another, hopefully the next will be able to handle it all.” Two chimed in “Ham & Pineapple are still the best toppings”. Shuffling and back to arguing about nonsense the Council of Seven left except for Four. Four stared down at Eric, the reflection in his mask changing to a still heart, slowly starting to beat before picking up to a normal pace. Eric gasped and sat up; somehow he knew this number Four had helped him. Four leaned down so that he was face to face with Eric. The image on his mask changed to an old abandoned hotel located on the edge of downtown. Four quickly turned and left to join the others. Eric laid back down. “Man I hate dreams”.
When Eric awoke he felt more refreshed than ever. Not even a trace of hangover from the previous night’s activities. He rolled over to check his alarm clock, but it was not there. He looked around his room and saw the scorch mark on his floor where Two blasted the clock to dust. He sat there for a long time, trying to collect his thoughts and remember everything from the night before. Eric tried to rationalize what had happened and what could of happened to his clock. He sat pondering for the longest time before finally muttering a single word. “shit…”
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