Tales of Raiveirn: Leon

Chapter 6

They continued walking until they saw an open field, Leon began to speak up. "So, Badger... what was your family like?"
Badger's eyes widened for a moment, and then he looked to the ground. "I can't tell you."

"But why?"

"Because I... don't worry about it. I don't want to talk about them." Badger walked off, leaving Leon standing there. He watched the large cat walk away from him, shaking his head. "Why is he so secretive about everything?" Leon wondered, walking faster to keep up with him.
As they continued their trek, Leon realized something was different about the area. It seemed as though the ground was more of a path, and the trees had become thinner. The area seemed brighter, and more open. Leon looked around to see if he could spot where his home would be, but there was nothing. Badger looked back at him, scoffing. "You're not seeing anything. Your home is much farther than you think it is."

Leon stared at him, blinking slowly. "How do you know?"

"I'm not telling you. Now keep up." Badger started to run forward, his long strides letting him leave Leon behind.

"What the hell, Badger?!" He shouted, following him as fast as he could. Leon wanted to keep asking him more questions, but Badger never gave him the opportunity.

Leon soon lost him in the distance, he didn't know where to go. He stopped, trying to think about where to go next. He was confused about how far he had traveled, it seemed as though he had been walking for hours and hours. He wasn't used to walking this far, and he didn't think he'd be able to keep it up for too long. He blinked, seeing a silhouette of his sister in the darkness. He shook his head quickly, and she faded away.

He thought for a while, knowing that he needed to keep walking. Leon eventually decided to walk toward where he had last seen Badger. He assumed that if he followed the path, he'd find him. As he walked, he began to hear voices. Leon stopped and looked around, seeing that there was no one else there.
He listened for a while before he heard a voice. "Come on, Leon... come save her." The voice was new to him, but it sounded vaguely like his father... like a relative. He listened to the voice, beginning to follow it. It led him off the path and into the trees, and it sounded so familiar to him, as though he was hearing a memory.
Leon kept walking forward before he felt the earth drop beneath him. He yelped and fell backward, looking to see what had happened. Leon's eyes widened as he saw a large hole in the ground, leading into the depths. He crawled forward and peered into it, his eyes adjusting and allowing him to see in the darkness. He recognized this hole, he and Lana had explored years before... the memory hurt to think about.

He remembered Lana going down the hole first, and then him following. He remembered the darkness, the sounds of bugs, and the cold air. He remembered getting lost in the darkness, unable to find his way back out. It terrified him, he could remember how much he cried. Lana would come for him though, comforting him and leading him through the dark, something he wished she could do now. He crawled closer to the edge, his stomach sinking as he thought about falling. He stepped forward, his foot touching the edge of the hole. He heard his heart beating loudly, the memory was so close to him. He remembered his father yelling at him, begging him not to go. Leon shook his head and stepped forward again, he didn't want to hear that voice anymore.

"Leon, I need you to come save me." Lana's voice rang in his ears... he thought he was hearing things.

He stepped back, letting out a heavy breath. "I can't do that... not yet." He whispered to himself, stepping forward and jumping into the hole. The air rushed past him as he fell, Leon closed his eyes tightly as he fell deeper. He hit the ground and felt a pain shoot up his body, Leon groaned and got up. The darkness was all around him, he could see nothing at all. The ground was soft, muddy, and damp. He didn't know which direction to go in, so he just walked forward. He could hear something up ahead, something calling for him. "Leon... It hurts." He could hear his mother, his heart ached at the sound of her voice. "Leon... I'm bleeding... I don't want to die." She screamed, Leon wanted to run to her, to save her. He kept walking forward, wanting to see her, but he didn't see a thing.