Traitor

Justin the Punch Bag

I had the dream again.

The dream I got when I first hatched Caedmon all that time ago.

It started off back at one of my foster parent's houses- the weird guy who collected dead animals. I was squatting, clutching my bloody knee and crying like the little kid I was. He told me to get up. I wailed that I had been hurt. He had only sighed. "Justin, you got to suck it up and be a man. Like your father was, you want to be like your father right?"

"I don't know who my father is!" I wailed. "I hate him!"

He had leaned forwards so fast I had sucked wind. The burn of his hand against my cheek momentarily shocked me into silence. "Your father was one of the greatest soldiers this country ever had- don't you dare disrespect him..." the rest of his words faded as I found myself in a dark room, the lights flickering. It seemed like someone had shot out half the lights with a machine gun- bullet holes speckled the bland white walls. Before me, someone sat in a chair, spotlight directed on his body and a bag over his head. I crept closer, feeling my heart thud heavily on my ribcage. My fingers reached out for the bag. Who was it? I remembered this from last time. It had to be someone....

This time Caedmon didn't stop me and I was able to grab the bag and yank it off with shaky hands.

I was staring at a teenager with messy black hair, big ears, and heavy dark brows over bright violet eyes. He stared at me accusingly. "You're a traitor. That's all you were and that's all you will ever be. You know what traitors get?"

"Wh-what?" I stuttered to my imprisoned self.

He smirked. "You'll see. This is where our story ends," His eyes narrowed as he seemed to stare into my soul.

Suddenly the hallway melted into a scene, then another, then another, flashing like fireworks in my mind's eye. I choked, my heart ramming against my chest as if it wanted to escape. Stumbling backwards my raw voice rose from my lungs with hoarse energy. "Caedmon, wake me up!"

Just like before, it suddenly stopped.

I was once again kneeling in a mountain of debris. The silly S-11 sign was all that was recognizable about the place. It had been torn to bits, some parts were still burning, smoke filtering to the sky. I could spot some bodies in the wreckage, beautiful dragon scales covered in dust, the flashy Rider uniform bright against the grime. Caedmon lay in front of me. I had my hands on his side, my fingers coated scarlet in his blood. "Caedmon?" My voice was shaking.

He gazed up at me with those big purple eyes. "It doesn't have to end like this." Was his chilling last words before he breathed his last.

I woke up with a start, breathing heavily as Caedmon shot up at the same time, seeming to have a similar nightmare. "Wh-wha?"

"That dream... it was too... too real." I panted. "What is it? Some sort of vision?"

Caedmon made a little nervous "Meep", lowering his head, his paws covering his face.

That dream haunted me all morning. I poked my hashbrowns noncommittally while Caedmon pigged out below the table. He seemed to shake off the dream far easier than I could.

I could feel Blaize staring at me all through breakfast but I managed to ignore it. I could tell he hated me more now than ever. Probably because I beat feet.

As Aly chatted with Darius during breakfast, Zach and Terral were watching Tokyo Ghoul. Zach had his headphones on and was using Terral's eyes to 'see' the screen. Alasie was out hunting. Jesse was making a nasty egg protein shake. It was like I'd never attempted to run away.