It felt familiar somehow. Yet I can never recall being in a battlefield like this. It looked like some kind of abandoned industrial area. Half demolished storage trailers were strewn about like broken toys. Even in the afternoon sun, I couldn't decipher any of the graffiti sprayed along the buildings and trailers. I just kept crunching the gravel under my boots as I walked along.
There was a dry, chalky scent in the air. I couldn't place it. And the stillness was more than a little eerie. I soon came upon a charred and battered parking garage with a concrete spiral staircase. It was either up or down from there. Something compelled me to go down.
The further I went, the harder it became to see. My footsteps echoed sharply against the walls. So much so that I almost missed the sounds of steps from further up ahead. Eager to see who else might be here, I dashed down as fast as I could.
I stopped upon seeing a ghostly silhouette. I could've sworn I caught a glimpse of white armor, a helmet that was almost crown shaped, and the snakelike pattern of a barbed chain before it vanished in the darkness.
I didn't know where the gun came from, but it was grasped tightly in my hand. A small, snub nosed handgun. As I walked down the last couple of steps I was met with a few sharp cracks accompanied by sparks flashing in the darkness, momentarily revealing who was shooting at me. Nobody I knew. But considering the bits of pulverized concrete flying off the wall a few inches from my face, I guess they meant trouble.
My arm came up. Three shots were met with three flashes as my rounds impacted on my assailants bodies. Whatever this dream was, it wasn't realistic. That, and I had a feeling they were going to "respawn" any second, so I raced into the shadows to get away.
I stopped cold when the place lit up. I had to shield my eyes for a moment, but when they adjusted to the light, I found myself in a hallway of what looked to be a hotel. The dark mahogany paneling on the walls matched the thick carpet, though the art deco lamps placed evenly along the length of the hall felt a little out of place. But not as much as myself.
I walked a few steps down, just looking around at nothing. A crackle of a doorknob caught my ear, and a black mass slid out of the door up ahead to my left. It was followed by another figure in white armor, this one looking more like a samurai or knight. It shouted something to whatever was cloaked in black, which took off down the hall as the "knight" ran up to me.
It swung a punch which I was able to deflect before giving a swift kick, knocking it away. It then drew what I immediately recognized as a needle gun and opened fire. I crouched low and shielded myself with my left arm, but it ran after it's companion after that first barrage. I got up to chase, but the needles sticking out from the wall caught my attention.
They were slender white blades with stylized pommels. I grasped the first three at the top and pulled them out of the wall. Chess pieces. A queen, a king, and a knight. They were white as well, which was in keeping with the theme I was seeing so far. I reached back and tucked them into my belt before taking up my gun and giving chase.
I caught up to them at the lobby. It was sumptuously decorated, and as ostentatious as to be tacky. But the overstuffed chairs and ornate coffee tables made for decent cover as the knight opened up with the needle gun once again. I ducked low, and aimed for his boots under a chair. A few shots had him rolling to the side, and he fired once more from a different angle. I took another shot that barely nicked his shoulder plate before my weapon clicked empty. Just as his did.
I drew one of the blades from my belt and lunged. My best chance to finish this was to thrust it between his plates, but he wouldn't give me a chance, parrying with his gauntlets. When I had an opening, I gave him a sidekick that sent him falling back over a chair. That was when I pounced, thrusting the needle up against his throat. And held it there.
The black figure he was protecting came up. It was a woman in a black dress and cloak, complete with a hood and veil that covered everything except her dark eyes. As I stood there, posed to kill her guardian, she just stared at me. She didn't say a word, nor did she make any other move other than to blink when needed.
When I opened my eyes, I felt a sore stiffness in my neck. I knew it wouldn't last too long, but I would probably be feeling it for most of the day. And I was still wondering what was up with that particular dream. The first portion almost felt like a level in a shooter, probably Half-life 2. The second half in the hotel could've been something I've seen in Thief II, or a fan mission. As to the knight and his masked companion, I've no idea what they were about. I just know that, the next time I'm playing chess, I'll be thinking about dark eyes and white knights.
