Adventures With a Reincarnated Bush 26 Foreboding Nightmare

Every version of Laurel was different. They are laughing, crying, and cursing. Some were struggling like her, others gave in sinking to the bottom. There were even a few who took the situation in stride, rising above the waves.

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At Laurel's bed, Mellisa desperately hugs her writhing daughter. Her daughter hadn't been doing well recently, spending more and more time in bed. Every so often the young girl would writhe in pain clutching her head as if to keep it from exploding. Blood had even begun to seep from her ears and nose during these episodes. "She's all I have please," Mellisa cries hopelessly, as tears stream from her bloodshot eyes.

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Each wave smashes Laurel into another one of her selves. The scared girl is then flung into another reality. In the current reality, she's clutching a sword while desperately fighting some unknown man. "Why must you stand in our way?" She asks the man as she deflects another blow. The dark, towering figure in front of her only scowls at her. Laurels muscles felt like they were on fire. The fatigue weighs her down, slowing her reaction. She saw the sword of the man growing large as it thrusts towards her throat.

Ding, ding, a small bell rings in her ears. Right before the sword struck home, Laurel feels her self bluntly shoved to the side. She quickly looks at who had saved her. Where she once stood, an older Franklin replaced her with a sword skewering his chest. "Franklin!" She screams as she fades from this reality. The last thing she views is Franklin smiling at her.

Now back in the ocean, her tears join this horrible ocean. "Let me go! I did nothing wrong." She yells, trembling in fear. To the right, she hears her own voice scream "Forgive me I didn't mean to." To her left, she saw a slightly older version of her self-yell at the air in rage. "Do you know who I am? When I get out of here, you'll be sorry." All around, she hears herself say all different manner of things.

"What is going on? Is this real?" Laurel mumbles as she felt like she would soon break. Suddenly, she feels a pain in her shoulder. She looks over in that direction, to see her own face was there mirroring her surprise.

Reality once again shifts, this time she's playing with a baby girl, who seems to have only just been born. The world seems bright as they sit next to a bush on the hill. A bull sits sulking off to the side. She smiles at the funny scene, never had she thought that their guardian spirit could be so cute. "It's good that you can still smile. I hope you can hang in there." Laurel heard someone say in her mind as the reality once again shifts away from her.

In the ocean, this process of reality shifting seems to have no end. When would she wake up from this nightmare she shudders. Laurel's mind was now numb as the world swirls. "Maybe it's better to just sink?" She whispers as her aching muscles gave out from the ever-shifting waves.

Without hope, Laurel fades away. The sunlight playing on the oceans causing a shimmering beauty. All around, other hers also fade away ceasing to exist.

Deng, Ding, bing, bong! Thunderous bells ring, shaking the ocean into becoming even more turbulent. A whirlpool forms, sending Laurel, who no longer has the power or will to resist, crashing into one more her. The world shimmers as she changes reality.

She looks at her hands, she's much older in this reality. In fact, she'd never been this old before. Every shift would fill her with the feeling of the her there. Even though the her in the ocean was exhausted beyond belief, the her now was still full of vitality.

All around her were enemies. She'd been cut off from their own forces due to a mistake. In the distance, Laurel glances with panic. While she was filled with the most recent thoughts and intent of the her she took over. She is still a young girl, in reality, it was hard for her to stay calm in such circumstances.

In the distance, she saw flags fluttering. They had a turtle with an emerald embedded in it. She knew her only hope was to reach those flags.

With that resolve, she began to cut through the men and women before her. They curse and holler as she seems to flow like water in between them. They are powerful, but she is always one step ahead. She didn't know the moves she was utilizing nor could her mind understand the power she uses. It seems to become like smoke in her brain instantly disappearing before she could grasp it.

In the sky, it felt like a god was watching over her. When she took a chance to glance, up there was a large bush in the sky. This bush, she felt was the same as the one on the hill. Now it is besieged by countless enemies. It pierces them with it's roots and slashes them with it's leaves. Still, they blast back at the bush with equal vigor. The branches crack, and bark scatters as the battle intensifies. Each hit made her heart shutter with deep pain.

No matter how fast or desperately she fought, the flags only recede from her. "Just get out of my way!" Laurel screams in anguish, slashing a man in half. Soon, even this body was exhausted as well. Her techniques grew sluggish, and she soon sustains injuries all over her body. Cuts and bruises now cover the pure white skin the her in this reality has.

In the sky, the bush also seems to be running out of steam. A loud crack could be heard across the battlefield. The bush slowly broke apart, falling towards the ground.

"NO, John!" Laurel screams, with an agony that seems to flow from deep within her. Tears stream down her face as snot ripples out of her nose. Her whole world felt shattered. Her legs would carry her no longer, and she soon fell to her knees.

Chimes filled the world as if to summon gods and demons to this world. Out of the darkness, a woman appears clad it turquoise armor, slaughtering her way over. "Laurel! Don't give into the darkness." She yells scooping her up into her arms and fleeing towards the flags. "But John, he, he," Laurel mumbles while clutching this unknown woman. "You think that old bastard would go down that easily?" The brave woman laughs. She then pokes Laurels nose. "Don't you think you've scared those back home enough? It's time to wake up."

Chapter end