Chasing Forever: Jacob's Story

"In The Legion.."

 

 I close my eyes, taking a deep breath and preparing myself to tell my friends about my time in the Legion. "Things were so much different than any of us thought they would be. We all assumed, or at least hoped, that we'd be taken care of. Or at least that they wouldn't just sit back and watch us all die.." I start quietly, keeping my eyes closed. "I think we all had this hope they would treat us like we mattered.. Like we meant something."

 I pause and for a second its completely silent except for the sound of the fire cracking and their breaths. Rose breaks the silence first. "Did they..?"

 I open my eyes and look around at them. "No." I say. "They did the exact opposite. They sat there and they watched them die one by one.. They watched us suffer from the cold and starve when meat was scarce the first winter.. They forbade burials so we had to line the dead up in the trees at the edge of the kingdom and home that the animals left them in peace so we could sneak out to bury them."

 Nichola covers her mouth with her hand, staring at me in shock and I can feel Chyenne's eyes on me too. I'd left the horror out of the letters and I can tell that she's worried about how I'm dealing with what I've been through.

 "The first to die was Anthony," I say quietly, closing my eyes. In my head I remember him the morning before he'd died from exposure. His eyes had been bright and he'd been smiling and laughing along with Ezekiel during the run around the kingdom borders. "He was a vampire from Ezekiel's clan."

 "How did he die..?" Mike asks.

 "Exposure," I say, turning and glancing around at my friends. "We'd found him one morning when we got back from breakfast. When the Kingsmen told us we couldn't bury him I think that was when most of us realized how alone we really were."

 "Wait, I thought you and Ezekiel served in the castle as the kings trainers?" Mike says, glancing at Chyenne. "That's what you wrote to Chy."

 I nod. "We were called to a former dinner at the castle towards the end of the first winter." I say, quietly. "And we served in the castle everyday after. But we still were sent to train with the others once and a while.. We still helped bury the fallen."

 Nich nods. "Jake.."

 I blink tears out of my eyes. "It wasn't something to revere." I say, coughing to clear the tears out of my voice. "It was full of death.. It was awful.."

 "J, stop..." Chyenne says, touching my arm and forcing me to look at her. "You don't have to finish."

 "You guys deserve to know.." I say quietly.

 "I said stop." She says. "You don't need to talk about this right now. Eventually maybe, but not right now."

 I nod and stare into the fire thinking. "Okay.."

 What did you do to the others if you couldn't bury them?  Sae asks through the link.

  We burned them.

 Oh..

 Yeah.

 "Hey, do you wanna get home?" Chy asks, concern in her voice. "You must be tired."

  I nod. "Yes."

 We stand and she takes my hand reassuringly, silently reminding me that she's there and I slowly relax. I'm home. I'm safe. Nothing is going to happen to me.

 We get home and Chyenne leads me to my room, pulling me to a stop next to my bed. "You don't ever have to finish that, J." She says quietly. "I promise you."

 I nod. "I'm tired.."

 We lay down and this time I'm the one laying on her. Her hands are in my hair and she starts humming quietly to me, helping ease me into sleep. "I love you..." I whisper just before I pass out.

 "I love you too, J."