The Nightmarish Beginning

A life of a writer is never easy, but it's more hard for Rodney Fredrick, who has been for years trying to write a perfect story to put him back to the top. For years, he's have been experiencing writer's block. He writes little every day only for him to throw it away and start over. Perfectionism consumes his life and tries to cope with having little money Writing is his job and what used to be his passion. But the fire is gone and replaced with fear and lack of confidence.

After spending hours wasting paper and ink on his old typewriter, Rodney looks at his clock which is the only noise in his house. It's time for his therapy session. He pays a visit to the best therapist in London, Dr. Albert Corus, who tries to help him cope with his writer's block. He tells Rodney that inspiration and patience is everything when it comes to the craft. But even his solutions to combat his troubles fails Rodney.

Later that night, he goes to his favorite bar, The Salt of London, and drinks his troubles away, only for them to return. He gets help from his Bartender friend Lucius, a gray bearded fellow he knew since he attended college. Thanks to Lucius, he is about to pay rent or in case of emergencies a place to stay and work.

They make it home and Lucius helps him to the couch, and Rodney just laid there face down. Lucius, feeling sad for his friend, leaves a wad of bills on the coffee table and walks out after looking at his place.

Lucius is a true friend.

Rodney opens his eyes and feels dirt on the side of his face. He sits up and rubs the dirt off, and to his surprise he finds a huge di in front of him, effected by age and time. After getting on his feet he looks around and finds himself what seems to be a rain forest, wet and green with sounds of bugs and wild-life going off all around him. He begins to question where he is.

"What is this place? Am I in South America?"

Rodney walks the dirt path behind him and views the beauty as he does. He finds more giant board game pieces and knickknacks stuck in the ground like fossils, giant black knights and checker pieces larger than their usual selves. But this is a dream. Anything can happen.

Rodney approaches a giant lake of the realm, covered by giant lily pads and filled with fish that looked like kites made my children. Giant flies dressed in fancy attire approaches him bowing with their hats, and Rodney returns in kind. The sun pours its nourishing sunshine down upon the lakes, deflecting it back making the lake shine as well. The day is beautiful, and that makes Rodney smile and filled his heart with wonder.

The that feeling did not last long. Clouds rushed and covered the sky banishing the sunlight from existence. The winds have got stronger and blew away the fancy-dressed bees.

To make this day darker, projectiles of fire rained from the sky and engulf the forest and the lakes in flames. Rodney runs back into the forest, hiding from the projectiles turning the forest on fire. He ran deep into the forest, scared by what happened at the lake. Rodney stops to take a breath of air and he thought that he is safe.

But he thought wrong.

He hears a large metallic footsteps behind him. And making his through the trees with its giant rough-bladed axe, a giant knight in red armor spots Rodney and gives out a pernicious giant roar. Rodney takes off in fear after he saw the red knight run towards him. Rodney runs with all his strength ignoring what's behind him. But he can still hear the knight chasing him down like a predator hunting its prey.

Rodney sprints out of the forest but stops at the ledge much to his surprise. He then gazes at the view of the destruction of the forest. He hears screams of people in fear and death, and sounds of monsters and demons extirpating anything that is standing in their way. Rodney's heart began to go heavy at the sight of this.

The knight runs out of the forest surveying Rodney who is distracted by the sight below the cliff. The beastly warrior lunges into the air and waves his axe back behind him, ready to cut Rodney in half. Rodney reacts quickly by jumping off the ledge. The axe landed where Rodney used to be and the force and sheer strength of the knight shatters the cliff, and the knight fell when the ledge went into pieces.

After falling to the lake below, Rodney swam out and makes his escape. Even hearing the knight falling after he kept going. For a while he ran, and after a while he didn't think about where to go. He was just running away to avoid death. But without looking he tripped and landed into the mud. The mud was thick and vicious, and all over his clothes and face. He climbed out of the mud puddle and wiped the mud off his face, and then he opens his eye to a terrifying site. Another red knight just like before is before him looking down on him with his green spirited eyes. This one has dark red color covering part of his breast plate and covering his axe.

Rodney tried to get away but his back ran into iron, and the situation became direr for him. The knight he first encountered manage to catch up to him. Another appeared from the jungle and the next thing he knew he is surrounded by red knights with a murderous agenda. There is no escape.

Knowing this is the end of him, he got down on his knee and waited for any of them to end his life. One of them walked out from the circle approaching over him and he waves his axe into the air. The knight is going to end him.

But something happened. A tear of iron is heard in front of Rodney and sees a giant slash diagonally cut through the red knight that would've executed him. The red knight's eye disappeared from his head and fell into many metal pieces and vanished into dust.

The dust dissipates and a human form shaped like a girl walks through the dust and reveals herself as a girl his age which is twenty. She has brunette hair waving behind her like the most beautiful cloth ever produced and is wearing a blue and white dress and with omega signs stitched to the pockets. And in her hand, a large carving knife big enough to be a murder weapon. She stared at Rodney with her beautiful green eyes. Rodney becomes stupefied from what happened. She walks closer to Rodney and the red knights backed up from her like she's a monster. The girl got close enough to touch Rodney on the nose. And then she says something in the most soft and enchanting voice Rodney ever heard.

"Wake up."

Rodney wakes up and fall over from the couch. After that a huge headache speared into Rodney's skull like a bullet and he grunted from the pain. He got up from the ground and he makes his way to his typewriter. And somehow he starts typing words. Then he starts typing sentences, and then typing paragraphs. Paragraphs that show and do not tell, full of words that became a scene you see in plays or movies. The words became something that Rodney struggled to make when he had writer's block. Now it's like it never existed. Rodney is doing what he always tried to do for so long. Rodney's writing a story.

The story was about the dream he had last knight, about a beautiful woman who became a knight and fought against the demonic horde that tried to take the land. The story was filled with action and fantasy, full of compassion and imagination. Rodney never even took a break.

He spent hours and hours on the story and didn't know he missed his therapy session that after noon. When the sun started to set on London, he was finished. Five full pages of his dream put on paper and ready to be read. The next day he revised it and wrote it again. After that he wrote it again and again and again until the final version became complete. After reading his final work, he smiled and teared up. His lifelong dream came true.

Now he just need to get to an editor.

Few days have passed since he published his story in a literary magazine. The person in charge was pleased with his work and cannot wait to see more. The story made this month's issue a most sold in years, and Rodney was pleased with that. But most importantly he was pleased with what he had made. He never got tired from the thought of it.

He continued writing after that, scribbling down ideas in his journal and making up notes for future stories. He just can't stop smiling and be can't stop smiling.

The next day the sun makes the snow on the ground twinkle with light. Rodney, after spending a whole day writing inside his new home, decides to get out and enjoy himself. He locks the doors and leaves the porch.

"Hello, Rodney." Just when Rodney closed the gate behind him, he turned to the sound of a woman and sees Ms. Darcey in her huge white coat. Despite her age she looks very beautiful and young. Her hair is tied into a bun at the back of her head and she smile her ruby red lips at Rodney.

"How's your writing process coming along?" She asked Rodney.

"Fine, Ms. Darcey." Rodney replied staring at her coat. "Nice coat"

"Why thank you. I just bought this a week ago."

"By the looks of it you bought the finest one yet."

She admired that comment but as much as Rodney more.

"If you're not busy right now, I was wondering if you would like to come into my house for the day. I make a very fine pot of tea."

Before he could answer that question, something behind Ms. Darcey caught his eye. And it got him questioning his thoughts and his sights.

In her black and white dress and scruffy black hair is the same girl Rodney encountered in his dreams. And she still has those green eyes that astonished her with magic.

"Rodney?" Rodney did not answer again but instead see the girl walk away into town.

"Sorry, Ms. Darcey. Not today." Rodney just left her following the girl that gave him the confidence to write.

The next few blocks he followed her through crowds of people in the market place. And whenever she turned to look, he hid somewhere that he cannot be seen. And then he continued to follow her. He had been doing this most of his day, trying to work up the nerve to speak to her. When he has finally come up with an idea, she turned a corner and he speed up his steps to catch. Just when he was about to call her when he turned, a wooden board slapped him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground on his backside. The next thing he sees is the girl holding up a plank of wood with an angry expression on her face.

"that outta teach you, ruffian!" The girl said to Rodney. "Now get away before this gets any worse!"

"No wait, please!" Rodney said to her with his hands up. "I don't mean any trouble! I was just following you around, trying to-"

Before he could finish that sentence, the girl waves the board in the air and swings it at Rodney, but Rodney rolls over to dodge it. Rodney then gets back on his feet.

"Please miss, let me finish my sentence! It's not what you-"

She just kept swinging it at Rodney only to miss him. Then Rodney grabs the board after she swing it at his side. "Would you just let me speak, you ditzy little-"

Rodney then felt a kick in the crotch when he wasn't looking, and he fell over with his hands covering his private parts that are in pain.

"You were my inspiration…" Rodney quietly spoke while on the ground.

That caught the girl's attention halting her from using the board. "What?"

"The story in the magazine." Rodney spoke again. "The tale about the warrior who fought against the hordes of monster…you were my inspiration."

The girl then recognizes Rodney. "You're the author from the magazine?"

"Yes. That's right. I've been meaning to talk to you but you kicked me in the place where the sun does not shine."

The girl helps Rodney up from his knees. "I'm so sorry for what happened. I thought you were a stalker."

"I'm a gentleman and an author, miss." Rodney answered her assumption. "You had me confused with someone who would hurt you, but I would never do that."

"Then why were you stalking me?"

"Because when I saw you, I was captivated by your beauty. Your green eyes, the smile you make with your lips. That is what inspired me to write. It's because of you, I started to write again. All because you came into my dreams so many nights ago."

Disbelief took over her face. Rodney saw it and continued with his story. "I know it's a coincidence, but I wish it's not. I want to write something beautiful and you gave me it. So, I wonder if we could talk. start small. I really think that you are the most beautiful vibrant person I ever met."

She smirked her lips. "You're not saying this just to get me into bed with you, right?"

"Of course not." Rodney answered and smiled at her.

Seeing that smile, the girl accepts his offer. "Alice. Alice Liddell."

"Rodney Fredrick." He greeted by and shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Lidddell."

End of Chapter 1