Feathers and Stones

Chapter 19 (Jay)

Everything is white. No floors, no walls, no ceiling. It's neither cold nor warm. I'm literally standing in the middle of, well, nothing.

What is this?

I look around for something. I'm not sure what I'm looking for. An exit? A person? Any physical object to prove I haven't been consumed by my own insanity?!

Calm down.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

It's all a dream.

"Jay?"

My eyes open to the sound of a voice. A very familiar voice. I slowly turn around to face my old friend. "R-Rowan?" A small smile pokes at my lips as tears start to cloud my eyes. "Is it really you?"

Rowan smiles. The same innocent smile I remember from years ago. His blue eyes sparkle with joy and tears as he looks at me. He looks older than when I last saw him. It makes me wonder if this really is just a dream.

"I've missed you, buddy." he says, "Carson has too. He's been coping well though"

"Rowan, I've missed you too!" I say. I run over and hug him. "It's been so long! You have no idea what I've been through."

"What you've been through? What about me? Do you have any idea how I felt when you left-? He stops himself, "sorry, it's just-"

"Rowan, you have every right to be mad at me for what I've done." I say.

"Jay, I'm not mad." he says. He sighs. "Look, let's just forget about it. How've you been? You getting better at controlling your powers?"

I look away. "About that..."

I notice Rowan's face turn from happy and smiley to panicked. "w-what? You didn't do anything stupid did you?"

"No, no," I say trying to calm him down. I pause. "Well not exactly."

"What did you do?" he asks.

"It's a long story" I say.

"Oh boy" he says sarcastically with a small smile.

I laugh and try to tell my story only to be interrupted by a loud chime. "Huh?"

Rowan's smile goes away. "Why so soon?" he says, "Things were just starting."

I look at him. "What?"

He sighs and looks at me. "I guess this is where we part ways."

"Wait, what?" I say, "No! You can't go! Please, don't go yet!" my eyes burn with tears as I plead. "Rowan, I need you! Please don't leave me!"

Rowan stares at me. He walks over to me and hugs me. "Jay, you know I hate seeing you break down like this." he says, "think of it as not a 'goodbye', but a 'see you later'. Okay?"

I look at him. He smiles at me. I smile back and hug him as tight as I can. He lets out a small grunt then hugs me.

"I'll see you later, Jay." Rowan says, "You can tell me everything then okay?"

I smile and let out a small laugh, "see you later Rowan."

And with that everything fades out.

I groan as I wake on the cold stone floor. My head hurts and my vision is fuzzy. I move my hand to rub my eyes and hear the sound of chains.

"Wha-?" I open my eyes and look at my hands. There are metal chains around my wrists. The chains are connected to the ground in order to keep me here. Wherever here is.