All Of Us - Part 1: Summer

Chapter 32 - The Pantry Thief

- Dæor -

I know this one by heart.

Dark shapes on dark backdrop. Hard to tell anything apart, but, sometimes, a dark silhouette detaches itself from the indistinct mass and is backlighted by the moon's trembling shine. Sometimes it's a human figure, wailing its misery into the night. And sometimes it's a monster.

"Day-or !"

Not gonna stick around. Turn on heels and run.

"Day-or !"

And ignore the yells, too. Those cries mute themselves slowly as getting further and further away. Then a howl, bloodcurdling. Running harder. But it's following.

And suddenly in a tunnel, long and dark. Running away, but not to anything.

There is no light at the end of this.

I woke up with a jerk. My feet jerk sideways and then go still. The worst part of this is my breath isn't even labored. The nightmare left me dead silent. I'm too used to it.

My legs slide sideways and hit my bedroom's stone floor soundlessly. I slip out of my bed. All I can bother to do is toss on a sweater before leaving my empty room.

Sliding down the hallway, I'm struck by how silent it is. The only sound is the quiet crackling of the torches. The entire effect is eerie. I cross my arms on my chest to ward off the shadows behind me and shut my eyes. I don't need them - my feet automatically find the training room.

Leather ribbons are wrapped tightly around my knuckles before I really understand what's happening. My leg shifts back and I begin to pummel the punching bag with controlled and precise hits. I lose count after twenty. Everything gets muddled in my head and the colors of the room fade away as the torches flicker out. I'm plunged into complete black, but I don't need the firelight. If anything, lighting them back will only give me fake solace before I go back to the utter darkness of my sleep.

Thoughts begin to swirl through my head. The Isfalt of Heom. Moth. Bo.

The King.

I send off a punch into the dark but my aim is off, and my curled fist hits emptiness. The impact throws me off my feet and I end up on the floor, breathless. I don't know how long I stay there, out of breath and ideas for running away from the monster of my dreams. The rough weaving of the mats press into my uncovered skin. The leather bands tighten across my knuckles. It sort of hurts, but that's alright. Hair halos my face - wait, who am I kidding ? Halos ? "Demons", more like. I am eons away from sainthood. It's when that thought crosses my mind that I taste the salt on my lips. I sit there for a few moments, trying to cry the silence and black and sadness away, till I feel quiet and blue and empty.

"And then Ian just..."

Murmurs make their way to my ears and I gingerly climb to my feet, wiping my tears away. At the entrance of the training cave, I can distinguish two figures in the hallway, but I can't make out their faces.

"Hello ?" I ask tentatively.

I get a scream in response. "What the frick, Dæor ?" someone barks at me. I can't see her, but I know it's Keiti. "You friggin' scared the living daylights outta me !"

"Wait, I think he's in the training room." This second voice surprises me, and I take a few seconds to figure out who it belongs to.

"What are you doing in the dark, D ?" Keiti questions. "Weirdo." I hear a crackling noise, and suddenly one of the room's torches flares back to life. Keiti steps back from it, satisfied. "There," she mutters, before turning back to me. "What'ya doing here at such a late hour ?" I shrugg, faking nonchalance. "Bad dream." A knowing look crosses Keiti's face, but before she can say anything, I notice the girl behind her. Gail.

A knock. "Gail, can I come in ?"

"Sure." Her tone can only be described as icy. I enter.

"We need to talk."

"I agree. We can't keep fighting."

Pause. She starts, realizing that I want her to speak. "Oh- I'm sorry, Dæor. I don't mean what I said at Ah-Knu. I was under pressure and worried, and... I wasn't thinking straight." She looks at me, those green eyes plunged into mine. "Sorry."

I gaze back at her. Her buzzed hair, her sunken face, her chapped lips. She's tired. And she's right. We need to stop fighting. But... Her eyes... I will never be able to see what they hide. Is she ever telling the truth ?

"I forgive you," I say.

"Hey, Gail. Why are you up this late ? You usually go to bed earlier." She doesn't reply, but her gaze can't meet mine.

My gaze flits to Keiti. Her own eyes are focused on the ground and her toe is rubbing the mats on the floor. Her sheepish face. I frown. Think, Dæor. What could they be doing ? "Are you two going outside or something ?" They don't react, at first. All they do is look blankly at me. So when Keiti exclaims "Yeah, that's it," I don't believe her. Hmm... There isn't much past the training room. There's the main cave, the exit, and... the mess hall.

"Keiti, no !" I exclaim. She squirms at the sound of my voice. "Don't tell me that you're the Pantry Thief !" She doesn't meet my gaze nor open her mouth. She's basically confessing. "Ughhh," I groan, burying my face in my palms. For the past month, food has repeatedly gone missing in our huge pantry. Someone dubbed the stealer "the Pantry Thief", and the figure became somewhat notorious. "I never thought it could have been you," I scowl.

"It wasn't just her." Behind Keiti, Gail lifts her eyebrows. "I've been stealing food too."

"Really, girls ?" is my only reply. "How am I going to explain to the rest of them that you two, of all people, are the Pantry Thief ?"

"Well then don't," they reply in unison. Their gazes meet and they giggle at their synchronisation, before Keiti turns back to me. "No, seriously, D. You don't have to." Her eyes go wide and kinda sparkly.

"Don't you dare try to use your puppy-eyes on me." She grins. "Is it working ?"

"No." I bypass them and head towards the exit. "I'm going to bed, but tomorrow, I'm telling everyone."

I hit the floor with a thud that's barely dulled by the mattresses. I try to lift my head only to receive Keiti's elbow in my mouth. She has tackled me to the ground, rather successfully. "You're not going anywhere," she whispers in my ear. "Come on, I need help here," she hollers at Gail. The other girl approaches, and their twin set of hands lift me up. "What- Where are you taking me ?"

Keiti lifts both her eyebrows. "You can't denounce a thief if you are one." And then she winks with both eyes.

They struggle to carry me as laughter rakes my body. "It's... a stupid-ass... plan," I begin to say, but I can't go further. Even if I tried to break free from them, I wouldn't be able to get far. When I get a burst of uncontrollable laughter like this, there's no walking for me. And besides, I think I'd like to stay with them. I haven't laughed like this... in a while.

They dump me on a table and I land on the unforgivingly hard wood with an "oof". Keiti climbs on a bench before unceremoniously sitting on me. "Gail, go get the snacks," she commands. "Be stealthy, and don't be seen." She sounds so serious, it sets me off again. My laughter is so strong that she gets knocked off my chest. Luckily, Gail comes back with the food before I have to try to escape.

"Here !" she grins, before shoving a full slice of tart into my mouth. The jam melts onto my tongue, and I have to close my eyes. It tastes so good.

The two girls laugh at my expression. "See ? Wasn't a stupid plan." I nod in agreement. "Washn't a schtupid plan," I concede, spraying crumbs everywhere. "Ew, D, stop doing that," Keiti giggles. "Eat this instead." She shoves a biscuit in my mouth, and I don't try to stop her. Gail sits next to me and helps herself to some pie, Keiti begins to stuff her face with cake. The food doesn't stop them from chatting and laughing, though, and we go on like that till near daybreak.

It's only as I curl into bed, my consciousness about to slip away, that I realize something.

The darkness is gone.