Quest

Chapter 10

I had a dream about my mother. Or rather, I had a memory of my mom that played in place of a dream. It was just a little different, though. My favorite day growing up. It was probably my favorite ever, but I hadn't thought it through that far.

There was a swamp behind our house. Well, not behind, it was a little bit diagonal and in later years I realized that it wasn't actually our property either. That didn't matter much. Cindy and I had built up a small fort over the swamp with a few of the neighborhood girls. That was when people liked me... before growing up got to my head. Anyways, we're all playing down there and I fell into the swamp on accident. My wand flew off in one direction and I was pretty well and stuck in there. Cindy and the others looked at me in shock, petrified and unsure as to how they were going to help me out. To make matters worse, my mom called out "Where are you girls?" and they all went scattering. Fucking great.

My mom came into the swamp, saw me stuck in several feet of mud. The first thing she did was laugh, but it wasn't a mean laugh. It was a laugh because my own clumsiness was so incredible and unbelievable. The next thing she did was hop right in with me. The mud wasn't deep enough to trap her, so she was able to grab me out.

"I'm in it with you, Eve," she grinned and me and laughed again, louder now.

I couldn't help it, I joined it. We both laughed for the longest time, then trudged out of the swamp and went right down to Cone Shack. I loved that day. I think it was when I learned how to simply be myself, no one else. It didn't matter who ran away, if I was right or wrong, none of it. I just needed to be there for people and laugh at myself. That's all I needed.

I dreamed that my arm was missing, gone. I grabbed at something, but I couldn't reach because their was nothing there. Only searing pain and blackness.

I dreamed that there was a loud knocking. Metal on wood, maybe. No, something hard. Rocks against wood. A constant, hard, forceful knocking. I could see the soundwaves, feel the knocking inside of me...

I opened my eyes suddenly. I hadn't dreamed it at all, classic cliché, I was in our motel room, alone, and there was a knocking somewhere outside. A distant knocking.

I gathered myself a bit and looked away. I was disoriented, hungover, again. I hoped Terra still had more of that magical hangover juice, because I was going to need it. The knocking grew a little closer, like it was happening on a different door now.

The pain in my arm came on suddenly and without warning. "FUCK!" I shouted and looked over to it. My right arm was bruised and bloody, mangled and out of shape. Broken. "What the-?" I managed, but the pain was too intense. I groaned, and steadied my breathing. What had happened? The orc, behind the bar. He had grabbed me, broken my arm. Fuck, that needed to be taken care of.

I laid back and closed my eyes, managing the intense pain as best I could. Rough night. I could hardly remember what had happened, but at least I hadn't blacked out. Maybe it was finally time to let someone else drive, so I could sleep in the car until we got to a hospital so a healer could do me up.

The knocking stopped, then suddenly began again on our door. Fuck. I clamored up out of the bed. I had fallen asleep on top of the sheets and was still in my shoes and clothes and they were sticky with night sweat. My mouth tasted bad, I hadn't brushed my teeth. I reached around for my wand, so I could zap my mouth clean, and do something about my arm pain, but it wasn't within my grasp. Whatever.

I went to the bathroom, holding my arm out as best I could, and grabbed a towel. Using my free hand and teeth, I wrapped it around my body, securing my arm in place. It immediately felt better than it had. Not good in any sense, but better. Phew.