Arc 1 – Lost
Ch. 6 – Nightmare
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This place is nauseating.
The repetition is annoying me.
My stomach won't stop grumbling.
I want to go home...
My head was flooded with thoughts akin to those during the hours of restless walking. It was still uncanny to me how I was able to stay calm after all of the things that happened to me, unnatural even.
The shoes I wore stung my red calluses strongly with every step I took. My knees were mushy as dirt, fatigued. I would fuse myself with the rocky ground below my feet, but I couldn't.
Waves of sweat dampened my clothes, sticking them to my body uncomfortably.
I knew I was fairly weak in comparison to the other kids in my class, but this was surely overkill. I had to take a rest, or I wouldn't be able to take another step forward.
"H-Hey..." I said hoarsely through irregular gasps. "Please... Rest."
The adult wolves stopped and gazed at me. After a good couple of seconds, they sniffed the ground and began to pace towards a dwarf-sized entrance on a wall. If I crouched down I could go through it without any problems. My 13-year-old height sure comes in handy when it needs to, huh? I shook that slightly random remark off of my mind.
Without any choice, I followed them to a rather small leeway of rocks. It had enough space for us to fit and rest, and it seemed safe enough to be unalarmed. Without wasting any more time I plumped down on the rocky floor, not caring about if it hurt or not. My body ached for a good-night(?)'s sleep.
The last thing I saw before dozing off was the wolves nesting together in order to sleep. The little cub was sandwiched between his mother and father, comfortably nuzzling on to the welcoming warmth of his parents.
«—»
"Daddy, daddy!" A child called while bubbling up and down
"What is it, champ?" The father responded happily.
"The Crimson Dragon! He's going to be in the village this entire week. I'm so happy~"
"Oh! You like Beast Knights, Kyel?" He was interested in his son's sudden new enthusiasm.
"Yeah! When I grow up, I wanna become one of them!"
The father answered with a heartfelt smile, content and dazed with the fact that his son began to already show interest in something at the tender age of 7 years old. He was new to this father business, so he wasn't really expecting something like that this early.
"Then, do you wanna see the Crimson Dragon? I'll take ya there!"
"Yay!"
Suddenly, the heartwarming moment between father-son was immediately covered in an infinity of white; a void.
"Dad? Mom? Where am I?" The kid called out with a terror-blue face and mushy legs.
Help..., a grueling voice resounded throughout the empty void, answering him.
"Who said that?"
Help us!, the voice came back but had a tinge of desperation and alarm.
"Please tell me, who said that!"
HELP US!!!, it shrieked, tearing the void as if it was paper.
«—»
"Gah-!"
I woke up from that nightmare. The sweat trickled down on the cold floor as I desperately clutched onto my shirt. My eyes were circles, widened to the max. My usually cool demeanor was flipped upside down; my bones, my skin, my muscles - everything quivered in utter despair.
It has been so long since last I've had that nightmare that I almost forgot that it existed, but I couldn't really forget it; no one would truly forget something like that. No human soul.
The wolves were awake and somewhat wary of my behavior. Their eyes leered at me, but I couldn't really process anything else.
I stood up from the rocky floor and sat on a random boulder while holding the temples of my head, trying to ease up a rising migraine that pierced my head.
My heartbeat was a leashless horse in a vast green field; it was unstable, unrhythmical, savage. To calm me down, nothing could be done. There was no one to comfort me, to make me feel safer.
My mom wasn't here;
My father wasn't here;
My grandpa wasn't here;
There was no one: no friends, no relatives. I felt alone; I was alone.
But a small candle flame warmed me out of the blue.
I felt a tingly, soft and comfortable sensation on my feet as if I was being caressed by a fluffy hug. The little cub nuzzled against me, yelping reassuringly.
With quivery hands, I picked him up and hugged him closely. He kept on comforting me through all of that.
Maybe he's repeating what I did to him? Or something else?
I'm not sure.
But, albeit the circumstances, I am deeply thankful for finding and helping him.
I hope this nightmare can leave me alone. It doesn't matter the mood I am in; calm, sad, happy... Whenever I have that nightmare, I can't help but to curl in a corner and weep.
But one thing reassured me...
I didn't see the whole thing.
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Talentless Beast Knight - An Original Novel
Fantasy» What is talent? « » Can I become like them? « » Is effort enough to defeat talent? « All-powerful, mighty and titanic - Beasts lived and fought with people, providing them with their power. Those that held the strongest power were called 'Beast Kn...
