Other Eye

Chapter 4 - Unwanted Guest

Kal slept after his conversation with Reid, and the dream he had was distressing, to say the least.

The place he stood was dark and gloomy, he had a feeling of dread weighing on his shoulders. He usually had this feeling when he... Oh god, it's happening.

He looked down at his hands and the veins in them were popping out, his fingernails sharpened to be sharp as talons. He looked up his arms and the color of them turned red and splotchy, too red to be human. He knew what was going on. Then came the voices.

Come, Kal... Accept us!

You are a monster, always have been, always will be.

Kal sprinted to somewhere, anywhere, and a pond greeted him in the darkness. He gazed upon his reflection.

A hideous, fanged, demon stared straight back at him, the one tainted eye pulsing with bloodlust.

"N-no.... NO!" He punched the water, but the reflection didn't go away.

You can never escape your fate... Doomed to be a prisoner of hell.

"NO!" He screamed, suddenly awake and panting, in a cold sweat.

He found himself on the floor of Reid's room, never ending up leaving, and Reid passed out before he could dismiss him.

"Kal, is everything- Oh my god, are you crying?"

Reid stared at Kal in disbelief, with his expression still etched with sleepiness.

"SHUT UP!" He yelled, and Reid was taken aback.

"I'm sorry, you're right, I should just," Reid stood up, about to walk out of his own room.

"N-no, I didn't mean," Kal squeezed his eyes shut, balling up his dark green hair in his fists. He didn't want to hurt the one person that accepted him.

"Look, you need help. I need help too. Can we just, I don't know, help each other? I'm so fucked up, I just, need someone, ANYONE!" His demeanor changed, and his eye hiding behind his hair flared up, giving off a faint red glow.

Reid was never really sure what to say to people when they are in a time of need, so Reid just stared, and nodded.

"I'll... I'll be there. I don't know you that much at all, but... Everyone deserves a chance, right? I'll help you, no matter the cost. After all, you said you'd help me with my dumbass fear," Reid scratched his head and smiled, "Nobody's really tried a real effort to help except for Tyrone but... You're different from him, in a good way. I felt... Relaxed for once, for the first time in years... Maybe it's because you were there? Maybe we should stick together after all."

Kal looked up at the man spilling his thoughts to him, and really observed him. His teeth, his lips, his nose, his two different eyes twinkling in the faint lamplight. Just by looking at him, he could tell he was an honest, warmhearted person. He had nothing to hide. Maybe that was why he was drawn to him? All he wanted to do right now was protect him.

"Yeah," Kal said, "Maybe we should."

The sun was rising from its slumber as well as the boys talked, and  Kal decided it was time to help Reid.

"Okay, so I'm not very good at this sort of thing, so tell me if I'm doing this wrong, but before we expose you to the outdoors, we need to-"

"No, I want to do it now. I think I'm ready, I already realize I shouldn't fight my panic, and I should work with it. I did some research last night while you were sleeping."

"O-oh... I wasn't gonna say that, but whatever works, uh... Reid, right? I'm bad with names."

"Yeah, you're right!" Reid gave a huge smile, and Kal cocked his head in confusion.

"What are those on your teeth, can I touch them?"

Kal proceeded anyways, shoving a finger into Reid's mouth, feeling his braces.

"Mmph, sftop," Reid tried to get out some words with Kal's fingers in his mouth, and Kal finally removed them.

"Wow, they're really stuck on there!" Kal beamed. "They look really cool!"

Reid had always been insecure about his smile, but with Kal saying that, Reid felt a little bit better about his braced teeth.

Kal and Reid crept out of Reid's room, careful not to wake up his aunt. They then stood in front of the door, Reid looking over nervously at Kal. Kal gave him in return an encouraging smile.

"Okay, I guess I'll go out."

Reid slowly twisted the knob and the light outside blinded him momentarily, and he looked around again. He felt so small, surrounded by the big, terrifying world.

He had never felt so alone.

He was trying to take deep breaths, as he walked out and looked around more.

He heard the birds chirping, looked over at the clouds, the grass, and the houses surrounding him.

And finally, his eyes settled on Kal.

Maybe he wasn't as alone as he thought.

Reid gave him a shaky grin, and a thumbs up. They walked together slowly around, and Reid observed his surroundings even more.

Suddenly, Reid saw Kal's expression change from contentment, to confusion, to pure horror.

The world around him seemed to be going in slow motion as Kal leaped towards Reid's direction and threw Reid to the ground.

"What the fu-" Reid's anger from being thrown to the ground turned to fear when the spot where he was just standing was set on fire and turning the areas around it to ash.

Suddenly, a figure rose from the burning ground. A sculpted face smirked and looked down at both of them.

That face... Looked very similar to Kal's.

Oh my god.

"Hello brother, it's a pleasure to see your face again."