The Door

Chapter 2

On the edge of the quiet ocean, water lapped peacefully over the boy's legs, shaking him from his unconsciousness. The bright sun pierced in his eyes, as he tried to escape the confinement of the soft warm sleep. He moaned. His head throbbed. A sharp piercing whine flowed throughout his ears. He clumsily got up, the sand grabbing at his legs, pulling him downwards. He fought desperately to stay afoot. He looked around, at the quiet word around him.

An ocean was on one side of him. That was probably where he had washed up from Kamere. He gasped and desperately fumbled through his sweatshirt pockets.

"No no no!" He groaned in frustration. His mind flickered to when he had snuck his knife under his pillow that morning, trying to hide it from his parents view. His eyes widened again, as he clawed at his neck. He sighed in relief when he felt the bead necklace that sat on his collarbone. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth that it always brought him. He took a deep breath.

"Let your necklace guide you," He whispered. "And you shall never faulter. Remember you are capable and worthy, and you can do all things, no matter seeming how impossible. Suffering is the gold of life,"

He sighed, squinting his eyes from the sun. There was no point waiting around for some answers. He would have to go out and find them himself. He began to crawl/walk through the sand, trying to keep his footing and desperately failing. It was like a baby horse walking for the first time....in quicksand.

His throat was like sandpaper. Every swallow just reminded him of his increasing thirst. He flicked the sweat off his face as he shook like a dog. The seconds stretched to minutes, and the minutes stretched to hours.

The blazing sun beat down on his back. He was desperately searching for some fresh water. He looked around him once more. Nothing. He had lost sight of the ocean a while ago, even though he had been walking on the coastline. After hours of endless stumbling, he began to feel faint, as his thirst overcame him.

The world spun under his feet. His eyes watered, as he fought to keep conscious. The sand rippled like ocean waves. He dryly licked his crusty lips.

His body began to topple over, as he increasingly lost control of his limbs. Spots appeared in the sky, as he tried to regain his balance. His stomach lurched as the ground moved, as he unwillingly crawled towards the sand. His hand slipped. He got a mouthful of gritty sand, and he used his remaining strength to try to spit it out. The world started to go dim as the spots grew brighter. He weakly wrapped his arms around his knees, trying to protect himself. He proceeded to give in to unconsciousness, and everything went pitch black.

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His eyelids felt like dumbbells as he tried to flicker them open. A rush of fear shot through him. Someone was watching him. He could feel it. His eyes were barely functioning, but he squinting them looking into the distance. A dark figure loomed over the sand, its shadow in the evening sun stretching out until what looked like forever.
Everett brushed the sand that had been swept up on his face with a heavy arm. He still felt like death but was suddenly rejuvenated. His thirst had gone down, but the unbearable hunger gnawed at him as if he hadn't eaten for days. It might have been days for all he knew.

The strange figure walked towards him, causing him to summon up all of his strength and try to get to his feet. The world was still colorless and dim and white spots were scattered everywhere he looked. The figure got closer and closer until Everett could hear his footsteps crunching the sand.