Gone Is The Past
(Friz's Point of View)
I woke with a
start, accidently squeezing Ghast when my body had a spasm. Ghast woke at this,
and I relaxed when I realized where I was. I breathing was heavy, but not
labored. For once in my life, I felt safe. My breathing slowed and Ghast just
lay there, eyes closed, pretending to be asleep or actually trying to go back
to sleep.
"Thank God, it's
over." I sighed. I hugged Ghastillo tighter. "Thank you."
"For what?"
Ghastillo asked, not moving or opening his eyes. "All I did was open a door."
"You did oh so much
more than that, Ghast. You liberated me from my doubts and regrets." I
explained. "I was trapped emotionally by those feelings for the past couple
days."
"Friz?" Ghast
asked. I had closed my eyes to relax. I acknowledge him. "Was I really inside
your head?"
"I'm not so sure
myself." I answered. "I'm just glad you were there." I felt closer to Ghast now
than I ever have before. He's been in my mind and has walked around in there.
He saw me at my worst. He helped me out of the darkness. I could trust him, I
was certain.
(Timler's Point of
View)
I looked around and
eventually was able to slow my heartrate when I remembered where I'd fallen
asleep. I saw Regir next to me and decided to snuggle next to him. He was still
asleep, and I was thankful that we were both okay. I then noticed how tense his
muscles were and thought better of it.
"Regir?" I said.
"Regir. Regir, wake up. Wake up, dude!" I shook him violently. His face was
scrunched in agony. "Regir! Regir!!"
(Regir's Point of
View)
I heard echoes, but
couldn't make out words. It was like listening through several feet of water,
and to top it all off I couldn't see or breathe. The words that had leapt off
that page still traveled through my body. It apparently found something very interesting, but I didn't see what
it did find so interesting. Maybe it was the quantity rather than quality it
searched for. I felt memories forced before my eyes and knowledge thrust into
my head. I couldn't think clearly. It was horrible. I could do nothing as the
runes violated me. The echoes were getting louder, and the voice clearer. It
was Timler's voice. I wasn't abandoned, at least.
Amazing knowledge
flashed before me. The ability to age others to dust. The ability to shrink
them to newborn with a wave of my paw. It was horrifying, what this book was
showing. Soon, I was able to connect the tome with a voice. It was mixed into
all the knowledge. I found the demon holding me, and I resisted him with all my
might, shoving him from my head. The letters receded and I had no time to react
before everything went black.
I jolted awake and
accidentally head-butted Timler. We both winced in pain, rubbing our heads, for
a good few seconds. When Timler realized I had awoken, he tackled me in a hug.
The nuzzling that followed shocked me, but I didn't oppose it. Timler kept
repeating how glad he was I was okay. This had awoken Nick, Gary, and the rest.
When asked what all the commotion was about, Timler explained.
"Regir and I had
the same nightmare. We were in my personal hell, but we beat it! Or so I
thought." He glanced at me. I mentioned how the demon in there was violating my
body and mind, showing me things and making me feel things I didn't want. I
shivered at recollecting the memory.
"How strange."
Julio commented. Fluhr and he looked so tired, that I suspected what had
happened before it did. "We both had a nightmare as well. One of separation
from each other."
(Fluhr's Point of
View)
"Wh-what the hell?"
I wondered aloud. I was in a large expanse of white, but color was quickly
replacing the lack of visual stimulation. I was in a jail of some sort. Bars
surrounded me on three walls with the back wall being part of the one that kept
the building standing. In the cell opposite mine across the hallway stood
Julio, gazing at the window in the back of his cell. I call his name and he
turned towards me, calling mine. "What the hell is going on?" I asked.
"I was gonna ask
the same." Julio said with a sigh. There was a sadness in his voice. I sighed
as well. Suddenly, the floor behind Julio began to open, revealing a pit that
had no bottom. My eyes widened, and so did Julio's. We both yelled each other's
name and pointed behind our companion. We then both turned to see the same fate
that awaited our friend awaited us, as well.
"No, no, no." I
said, repeating the phrase rapidly. I decided to focus on Julio in a panic, and
reached through the bar as far as I could stretch. "Julio!"
"Fluhr!" Julio
replied, reaching as well. The floor kept receding, and fear consumed my heart
as the floor drew closer and closer to Julio's paws. At the last second, by
some miracle, my vision blue-shifted as a sudden burst in speed and change in
form phased me through the bars. Julio did the same, and I saw it. He had
turned into the wind he commanded and slipped right through. I might've done
the same, judging by Julio's reaction to it all.
"What was that?" I
asked, staring at nothing in particular. I couldn't believe what I just did.
Suddenly my vision changed and I was awake, still staring out the window. Timler
was absolutely livid about Regir waking up and my reflex thought was that I
hoped this wouldn't become a regular thing.
As I explained the
dream to them, I stopped at the phasing thing. I hesitated and said, "We then
did something...amazing."
"And what was that?" asked Feir. The
Fallenoak twins leaned forward in anticipation.
I searched my mind
for the most accurate words to describe it. "We...became ethereal, for lack of a
better word. My vision was tinted blue and I felt weightless, and then I just
slipped right through the bars."
"I felt and saw the
same the things. And we have a better time describing it 'as we became the
wind.' After all, we witness the other doing it." Julio said with a tired
expression on his face. My expression was more bewildered and wondrous. The
others were enthralled as I described what it felt like, but Julio was finished
explaining things and fell asleep against the window sill.
(Friz's Point of View)
"Hey, Ghast." I
said. He made a noise to acknowledge me. "What's your full opinion of me?"
"That's...hard to
explain." Ghast admitted. "Although..." he held the word out for a length of time
as he sat up. I follow his motions. "...I will say it's much different than my
first impression of you, which was big and scary." He was speaking as much like
a child as he looked. His posture was more or less childish, if that's
measurable, and his tail swayed as he spoke, showing that he felt no discomfort
in the fact the he was wearing a rather wet diaper. I found that I didn't
either, and only now noticed that I had wet again in my slumber. "I'd say that
my opinion of you is like this. I trust you more than I've ever trusted another
human being. No matter what you've done, the worst of which I've seen, and no
matter what you say, I will always feel like I can trust you with all of my
troubles. I can't say that for very many other people. Including my late
brother." He spoke with such certainty that I had trouble doubting him. I'm not
sure of the reason, but I found myself a little uncomfortable at the fact that
I felt the same about him. I've never been able to disclose my deepest regrets
to my mother or brother, and they never did the same back. I said this to him. "I'm
glad to hear that, actually." Ghastillo replied, "I'm not sure what I'd have
felt if you didn't trust me as much as I trusted you."
"Well, all I can
say is I'm glad we met." I replied, smiling. We then hugged a brotherly hug
spontaneously. Neither of us gave any hints. It wasn't planned. We just hugged.
I thought about how I could get used to feeling this way. Love. A love that
makes me sure that I don't have to fully protect him. That he can take care of
himself, and I can focus on enjoying his company rather than spending my time
making sure his company will be there to enjoy. I suggested we go change to
prevent a rash, and Ghast had no objections. We walked into the bedroom amidst
a vibrant story being told by the Fallenoaks about when they were still in the
arena. I was able to keep an ear out as I changed both Ghast and myself in the
bathroom. It was after this that it occurred to me how much you have to trust
someone to let them change your diaper when you're an age past the expected age
of wetting oneself. I mentioned this to Ghast, and he just said that it felt
normal. A raised eyebrow from me evoked the explanation that he wet himself
well into his ninth year and stopped near the beginning of the tenth year of
his life. I nodded in understanding and helped him to his feet. I washed my
paws before exiting the bathroom to a peculiar sentence.
"And we were all
three there at once inside my own head!" Gary was saying. He was explaining a
nightmare that he, Feir, and Nick all shared. Apparently every other pair in
our group had a nightmare with their companion, so this was a normal sentence
apart from Gary's involvement. The story consisted of Nick's former master, the
GhoulCaller, coming back with friends. Gary's persuasion had kept the
lesser-minded ones at bay while Feir's fire and Nick's righteous light smote
various corruptors. Gary then added suspense as he described their almost
getting run over.
(Gary's Point of View)
There were so many.
A demon carrying a whip here. One holding a flail of skulls there. And so many
undead that I had trouble seeing the space between them. My confidence was
beginning to falter as my voice became insufficient in keeping the ghouls back.
Panic reached my chest, and my heart began to race. It reached my throat as a
ghoul touched me and I screamed at it in shock. A force came from my vocal
chords and blasted its brains out. I then had the idea to scream as loud as I
could in a single direction, slowly turning. I found that my breath capacity
was amazing, my voice could raze through many a demon, and my vocal chords didn't
seem to tire from this. When I felt I had gone in a complete circle, a shield
of light was protecting Nick and Feir had stayed away from the line of fire. My
voice was powerful, that's for sure. I awoke soon after that...