Fablehaven Oneshots

just so I know you're alive

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Set after
Keys to the Demon Prison
(No Dragonwatch)
⟢ Kendra & Seth ⟣
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Nightmares plague the siblings after Zyzzx.

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Trigger Warnings:
Nightmares, Death, Derealization

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"You can finally rest."

Agad's last words to the siblings before they left that demon island were so simple. And at first, that simplicity was true.

That first time Seth slept afterward had been on a plane. He had been completely passed out—no dreams, no jostling, no waking up.

Now, as Seth stared at the attic's popcorn ceiling, that simplicity seemed so out of reach.

Ickiness slipped down his spine and his muscles stayed taut even as he tried to melt into the bedsheets. The glow of the digital clock resting on the siblings' nightstand taunted him with every blink.

Every minute added more desperation to his endeavor but his body and mind stayed awake. He felt like screaming.

He glanced over at Kendra, but he saw nothing but rumpled sheets. Urgency flooded his veins and he ran over to her bed. A small vial of green liquid spilled out over her sheets, but he could see her hair peeking out on the floor next to the bed.

Calmer now, he walked over to the side and his heart shot up to his throat.

There she was, deathly and bloody, with her arms crossed over her chest. Painted lips unnaturally smiled and her eyes shot open. With unnatural speed, she shot up and grabbed his throat.

Sitting up in bed, Seth panted. He glanced over at Kendra's bed, and there she was, safe and sound.

Keeping his gasp down, he rushed to the bathroom and emptied his stomach.

He did not go back to sleep that night.

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Worries and anxieties filled his thoughts as the time for bed grew closer. His sluggish movements grew jittery as thoughts of what waited for him dug their claws into his mind.

If he wasn't so wrapped up in his own thoughts, maybe he would've noticed Kendra's matching dark circles.

If the adults weren't so wrapped up in post-war preserve negotiation, maybe they would have cared about their charges.

But both musings were fictional, and the terror and unease slowly crawling up his veins like a saline drip wasn't.

Random scratches blemished the popcorn ceiling and Seth's eyes slowly became unfocused as his thoughts spiraled into what-ifs. Poisoned realities of death, demons, and guilt clouded his mind and eyes until he wasn't aware of his room anymore.

Thick bars stood in front of him and water dripped from the corner of his cell. The Living Mirage. He's been here before.

Footfalls fit for a giant shook the cell's flimsy cot as Graulas stepped into view. The low lighting made Seth squint to make out the scales of the beast.

"I have to thank you, Seth. You're the dumbest human I've met in a while." Seth's retort died in his throat as his body refused to move. "I've already killed your family. I just wish you could've seen their faces when I told them what you'd done."