𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐁𝐨𝐲 『 𝐒𝐚𝐥 𝐱 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 』

Nightmares

There was fire everywhere.

There seemed to be no end to it. It went on forever engulfing everything in it's path, destroying any living thing that just so happened to meet it'd wrath.

I quickly spun around, the control in my body seemingly disconnected, every movement I tried to make happened just too many minutes too late for me. But, I kept running. Kept trying to find a way out of the labyrinth of flame and blazing light.

"T r a v i s ? " A familiar voice, her voice, called out to me among the twisting flames, seeming so cold; but the comfort from the burning sensation was much too welcome.

My mother stood in front of me, her arms hung loosely beside her, something wasn't right. Her once soft hands, the ones that used to stroke my hair until I fell asleep each night, now charred and unrecognizable. Her curly brown hair now burnt much shorter, and her arms and legs covered in scars. The flames surrounded her, smoke covered her face, hiding it from me. Refusing to give me that comfort, show me her face just one last time.

"Momma!" I tried to run to her, but I couldn't get any closer. Smoke filtered into my lungs, coating the inside with charr and regret. "Momma! I can't... Mom...?"

Dark, twisted tree roots surrounded my feet, crawling up my ankles and legs. They binded me in place as I stared helplessly at my mother. The only one who seems to care for me.

As I watched, the more I focused in on the fire. It was the only thing I could focus on, it was the only thing that mattered. The fire twirled and danced in the moonlight, the red sky only worsening its devilish look. It was almost personified, it was evil, and it burnt just to burn. It wrapped its burning limbs around her, hurting, burning, every moment she was trapped.

And I just stood there as the smoke filled my lungs, and the roots kept traveling up my body, cutting off circulation to my limbs...

"W h y  d i d  y o u  l e t  m e  d i e  T r a v i s ? "

"No, I didn't..." The roots, looking more like limbs than tree now, kept growing. They wrapped around my throat like hands. I tried to fight, tried to struggle, but it was pointless, there was nothing I could do. Nothing other than deny it. Ignore everything. Plead for forgiveness.

"No..." I muttered with my last once of breath. Lungs filled with smoke and ash, and my throat closed off as the pressure weighed down on my bones.

No.

◇

"No! "

Travis shot up in his bed, gasping for air, eyes darting around the room. His heart hurt in his chest, and he felt tears well up in his eyes. He sat there until his heart slowed down. He had dreamt the nightmare hundreds of times now, and he still couldn't get used to it. He hated how it was burned into his memory.

Travis looked down at his hands, they were gripping his blanket and he slowly let go, staring at his shaking palm. His eyes trailed further up his arm, taking in every scratch, scared, or bruise. He stared at them all with contempt; it didn't matter which one were on purpose or the one's his 'father' inflicted in him. Travis took another deep breath as he got out of bed and walked into his bathroom.

He stared in the mirror for a few seconds before looking back into his room at the alarm clock.

11:26 pm

Travis sighed as he turned on the faucet and splashed the cold water onto his face.

Tomorrow was a Saturday. He didn't need to worry about school. He weighed his options, then chose the one he thought would make him feel the best. Travis dried his face off, and made his way back to his room. He scrounged through his closet to find sweatpants and a hoodie. He owned barely any due to Kenneths rule of always looking nice. Hoodies made him look trashy, apparently. He eventually found the clothes he needed. Grey sweatpants and a black hoodie with a small golden cross on the chest. He pulled it on and looked in the mirror.

"Good enough." He muttered, his voice hoarse and tired.

Travis quickly slipled on his socks and shoes before grabbing his phone and putting it in his pocket. He walked over to his window and pulled it up just enough for him to crawl out. His room was on the first floor, so he didn't worry too much for noise. When he felt his feet touch the ground, he turned around and just barely shut his window. He wouldn't be gone for long, he didn't worry.

Travis slowly walked down the pavement, the cold air brushing against his skin every step he took. He never bothered to take his eyes off the ground, he knew where he was going. He had been there hundreds of times.

When he was younger, his mother used to take him out to the park. Then they made a new one, and she...

Travis slowed down a bit. He took a deep breath to clear his head and sped back up.

It didn't matter. Point is, he stopped going, and everyone else did too. Near the beginning, a few people went and covered the slide in graffiti, but when they got in trouble by the cops, they stopped. So, no one was ever there. Especially late at night. Travis thought it was perfect for his casual visits.

Travis pushed himself past the brush and smiled when he saw the old playset. It looked basically the same as when he was a kid. The red roof on the slide structure. The yellow and blue round-about. The bright green swing set. All were faded, dull, but they still kept their color. It made Travis think of Nockfell as a whole, it felt like the longer he was there, the worse it got. He wished to move somewhere else; somewhere big, exciting, away from his father sounded great to him.

Travis stepped over the small rocks and other trash before gripping onto the base of the slide and climbing up. He pushed himself onto the small area above the slides and stretched. He was genuinely surprised it was still so sturdy.

He looked up at the ceiling of the tower and looked at all his tally marks. Then, he grabbed some chalk, made another mark, and sat back down. He stared for another few seconds before sighing. Travis shivered a bit as the cold air brushed his skin; it was getting colder.

He leaned over towards the edge of the platform and looked up at the sky. The black abyss was comforting to him; it sucked in all the light around it as the glowing beauty of the Moon somehow overpowered it. Small stars were barely visible, but they still twinkled with such force and flame you'd expect.

Travis wished he could do something similar. Shine, glow, burn with passion, even when all odds are against him. Even when the cold, harsh environment turns against him.

If he were honest, he wished he was like Sal. He was confident, funny, friendly with everyone...

He was amazing...

Travis felt his face heat up, and he groaned. He slumped down into his hoodie, laying down on the cold metal under him. He focused in on the sky once more.

His father would kill Travis if he knew. He threatened him already, yeah, but Travis would be terrified if he actually found out.

Travis groaned once more, this time more of frustration and annoyance than embarrassment. He closed his eyes for minute, slowly drifting off to sleep, and muttered one final thing.

"One day, I'll get out of here..."