Chapter 21: Whalefall
Marcus dreamt he was a squirrel.
Not some awakened animal, or that he was shape-shifted into it, but simply a regular squirrel going about its life as any other member of its kind. He lived in an old woodpecker hole, spending his time feeding on acorns and tree sap and running away from predators.
Life was simple as a squirrel. He lived alone and did not need to deal with any sort of society and rules. His life contained plenty of fear and frustration, but he did not worry about what the future would bring and lived in the eternal present, tackling problems as they came and following his instincts. Sometimes, when the times were good and he found more food than he could eat, he hid nuts in various tree holes for later, but his memory was fuzzy and he forgot his hiding places often.
He was a young squirrel, full of life and vigor, and times were good. Perhaps too good. One day, his belly full and his mind dulled by the warm sunlight streaming down from the skies, he was inattentive to his surroundings and he realized too late there was a fox sneaking up at him. He fled towards the nearest tree with all the speed he could muster, his heart pounding with pure terror… but he was too slow.
Massive jaws filled with dagger-like teeth closed around him and everything suddenly went dark.
“Teacher! Teacher!” Renatus shouted at him, shaking him awake. “Wake up!”
Marcus hurriedly climbed up to his feet, his heart pounding and his breath quickened and panicked, and quickly took note of the situation around him. His three students were gathered around him, giving him worried looks, but they appeared to be unharmed. He winced in pain. His head hurt, and getting up to his feet so quickly only made that worse, causing waves of pain to echo inside his skull. It actually took him a few seconds to realize where they were and what they had been doing, as his mind was still lingering on the strange and vivid dream he had.
“What happened?” he demanded.
“You were having a nightmare,” Agron said simply. “I told Renatus to leave you alone, but he insisted we should wake you up.”