The Summoning ~Sleep Token FF~

~11~

I groaned softly as I started to wake up from my dreadful nap. Anytime I had the nightmare, it worsened my sleep, even if it was 'good' sleep. I rubbed my eyes as I slowly opened them; the sun shined brightly onto my face, making me close my eyes quickly. "Of course," I grumbled quietly as I sat there waiting for me to get the courage to open my eyes again.

Once they were finally open and I wasn't blinded, I looked around, hoping to see III nearby to ask him if we made it. But to my surprise, he was nowhere to be seen. I let out a small huff as I sat there waiting.

Finally giving up on that idea, I got up, stretching and yawning again. I started walking around, hoping he was hiding somewhere, but still no sign of him. I heard faint voices in the distance; they didn't sound familiar, but I could be too far away.

I finally got close enough to see the men talking among each other. I peered around a tree, hoping they wouldn't spot me; looking at them, I got an odd feeling in my stomach. I didn't know these guys; maybe they knew each other.

As I thought about going up to them to see if they knew them, the conversation brought me out of my thoughts. "How bad did you guys hurt him?" one of them asked the other two in front of him. My eyes grew big; they hurt someone. It couldn't have been III. He told me he would protect me.

My heart started to feel funny, nothing that I had felt before. I shook my head and tried not to think about it. I tried to listen to the conversation, but it got hushed. Sighing quietly, I looked around, trying to figure out what to do.

I started feeling sick like I did last night, but this time it was worse. My brain began getting fuzzy as I stared at the tree before me, getting nauseous. Before I could think I was running off in a random direction, I heard yelling behind me, but I couldn't make out what they said as I kept running.

As I got further away from the group, I started to feel better. It was odd how it changed that quickly. "What is going on?" I asked myself as I kept running; it was almost like I was on autopilot and couldn't figure out how to control my body.

I heard faint yelling in the direction I was heading; just as I heard it, the wind picked up, and the leaves started flowing in the direction I was running. Then a thought hit me: what if they took me, and III was protecting me? Sighing at the idea, I shook my head.

Could it be true? Yeah, but I don't think so. As I was deep in thought, I heard the yelling getting louder and louder. "YOU LET THEM TAKE HER?!?!" a voice yelled at whatever it was talking to. A loud groan was heard. "I tried," the other cried weakly back.

"Hello?" I yelled out hoping someone would hear me, but nothing was said back. I sighed as I slowed, trying to stop myself, but my feet had other plans. I was fighting a mental battle with my body; it didn't want to listen.

Finally, everything started to listen as I slowed down; I saw a figure in the distance. It was white and black. All I could see was someone in the middle of this forest. "HEY!" I yelled out to the figure, and it stopped and turned in my direction.

That's when I noticed who it was: "Vessel?" I said quietly as I started running towards the figure. "Jade!" he said as he got closer, a large smile spread across my face as I ran to him. Before I reached him, I tripped over an imaginary root and fell into him.

"Sorry!" I said as I tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn't let me. "Where were you?" he questioned tilting my face up so he could see if I was hurt. "Your friends carried me off somewhere! Not sure where, but they were talking about how they hurt someone," I said, looking at him.

He tensed up and looked past me "they're not friends. III is cut up badly and losing a lot of blood," he said as he continued to look past me. I pushed past him and ran in the direction he ran from, my mind began getting cloudy as I franticly looked for him.

"Where is he??" I questioned and heard a slight groan behind me. Turning towards the sound, I saw him lying there. Gasping at the sight, I quickly walked over and knelt beside him. "Oh...III I am so sorry!" My voice sounded shaky as I stared at the masked man lying there holding his side.

He took his free hand and placed it on my thigh, squeezing it slightly, "I'm glad you're okay," he said as he turned his attention back to the sky. I ripped my shirt off and tore it into a few pieces, stretching the details.

I sat him up enough so I could wrap the shirt pieces around him to try and stop the bleeding. "You're going to be okay, I promise," I said to him as I kissed his head like he did mine. I felt horrible that I thought he didn't protect me. How could I be so blind?