Hush

Chapter Nine

Hush dreamed that night. Well, it started out as a dream.

Hush dreamed of his family. His mom, dad, and brother. He dreamed of them all sitting and eating dinner. Rune had his arm around Hush's shoulders and was grinning happily. Halloween was holding her candle in her hands at smiling at it. These were the people that were important to him. He recognized the scene... but someone was missing. There was an empty chair.

Then, the scene shifted. Halloween had dropped her candle and it had gone out. Rune was no longer smiling. They all ran out of the house.

Their houses were on fire. Reds were flitting about everywhere, attacking the Magi and non-Magi alike. The sky was filled with red and the ground was splattered with gold and red.

Hush woke up, panting and covered in cold sweat. He had forgotten to clear his dream-catcher.

He sighed and sat up, rubbing his eyes, He stared across his bedroom at his door. On it was a mirror that he refused to take down. Hush sometimes liked to write things backwards -or try to, at least- and hold them up in front of the mirror to see if he managed to do it properly. He only really did it so that if he needed to write a reversal spell, he could. He also tried writing with his right hand to see if writing backwards would be easier that way. It wasn't.

In the dark, the walls of his room looked black, but they were actually a dark blue. His carpet was a light blue.

He stood up and stumbled over to the mirror. His eyes were glowing softly, the silver illuminated by the moonlight coming through his window. He looked tired, worn down, and paler than usual. His pendant still hung around his neck, cold against his skin.

It was two in the morning. Hush sighed. So much for the rest he needed.

He pulled on a pair of jeans and a belt. He went to the washroom and splashed some tap water on his face, which returned some of the color to it. Hush had just started packing his backpack when he heard a knock on the door. it sounded hesitant, like someone thought he was asleep. Reasonable guess, though he didn't sleep much, even on a regular night.

The door started to open and Hush slowly walked over to it. As he neared it, though, he tripped over a slight dip in the floor and fell forward, cursing himself as he fell through the door and into somebody's arms, thankfully. His cheeks flushed from embarrassment. He looked up and saw that it was Rune. Of course. Who else?

"Hey," Hush whispered as Rune helped him up. Even in the dim light coming from his room, Hush could see that Rune's cheeks were a bright pink. Hush patted his friend's shoulder. "Thanks, but, uh, what are you doing here?" Hush asked, standing properly now and leaning against his door frame.

"I was just, um, coming to see if you were, uh, alright," Rune stammered. Hush saw Rune's eyes quickly scan his body and then return to his face. It was obvious he was flustered. "Why aren't you wear a, uh, shirt?" he asked, green eyes glowing and looking every which way.

"Rune," Hush said, and his friend's eyes immediately locked onto his. "I just woke up," He turned and walked back to his bag, shoving a random assortment of items into it. He looked over his shoulder and called to Rune -who was still standing in the doorway- while forcing things in his bag, "Are you coming in or not?"

Rune started forward and Hush turned back to his bag. He heard the door close. He was going to need his flashlight again, a sweater, maybe an extra set of clothes and a blanket, possibly. Basically everything he brought the first time, except he'd bring one of his stones that he had infused with magic.

Suddenly, warm arms, Rune's arms, wrapped around him, pulling him into Rune's chest. His cheeks warmed a bit, "Hush, Halloween told me what you're planning to do," Rune said, pulling Hush close. "You almost died last time. Why would you risk your life again?" He pressed his face into the slope where Hush's shoulder and neck met. "Don't try to be a hero again... Please, Hush..."

Hush didn't know what to say. He didn't want to go, but he felt like he had to, to make up for what happened last time. He hugged Rune's arm. "I don't want to go," he said quietly. "But that house... It could help us. It might be out only choice. It could be a safe haven for years to come-"

"Hush, it wasn't your fault. Don't try to repay us when you never owed anything," Rune pressed.

"I'm not trying to repay anyone. I just want our kind to be safe." Hush sighed. "I don't want any more deaths to occur, especially if there might be a way I can prevent it."

"Hush," Rune muttered. Something warm and wet fell on Hush's shoulder. a tear. "Well then... If you're going back in, I am too."

"Rune, no," Hush protested.

"Hush, if I hadn't been there you would've died. It obviously doesn't affect me. The house doesn't want me. It didn't try to kill me," Rune stated. It was true, but it could have just been random choosing.

"Rune, I don't want to take any chances-"

"You won't be taking any chances. Honestly, Hush. Don't you get it? You're the real one in danger," Rune said, his voice urgent.

"Why do you think that?" Hush asked, genuinely curious.

"You're the one who destroyed them last time. The reds, they don't forget. They're not coming after us.They're coming after you. They want revenge."

It made sense. The reds were mainly created from revenge-seeking souls, from angry souls. And they had been blown apart by him last time, so why wouldn't they come after him?

"Yeah. That makes sense considering that not all of us attacked them. But they wouldn't only come after me. A lot of us attacked them," Hush argued, nodding. "But the rest of the Magi could still be in danger. I have to do this."

Rune was silent. Hush could hear him breathing, gentle and a bit shaky. Some part of Hush felt like he had to do this, to repay the Magi for the last incident, even though Rune said he didn't have to. Another part of him felt like it was his fault the reds were coming after them. He had blown them apart, some of them staying that way forever.

He sighed, removing Rune's arms from around him. He was going to do this.

Sure, he might die, but others were going to die when the reds attacked. If there was even a slim chance that he could help, he would try.