Below the Surface

Chapter 2 - Awake

Castin opened his eyes and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness of his room. He found it strangely odd that his mother didn't have a fire outside going. She always did, and the glow of  the flames always lit up his room.

Castin stretched, listening to his body crack. He stopped instantly and jerked backwards onto his back; a pain escaped from his chest. He clutched the center of his chest, gasping for air and the pain became unbearable. Memories of Poney, the woods, the annoincement from the lady, and the arrow piercing through his chest came flooding back and the memory hearing Poney's scream resonate throughout the forest was almost as unbearable as the pain in his chest.

Just as quickly as the pain had came, it was gone. Castin laid on his bed panting and near tears. He wiped his eye and struggled to stay calm. He swung himself quickly out of bed and scrambled downstairs. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table looking outside, but turned quickly when she hears footsteps. Castin lunged into her arms, hugging her tightly.

He cried into her shoulder. Although Castin was taller than his mother, his mother pictured him as her little boy who would wrap his arms around her waist and cry into her stomach. She hugged Castin and placed her chin on his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, Cast. I'm here." She whispered. She held Castin in her arms, her stomach turning with each thought that ran through her mind. Castin pulled away from her and sat down in a chair.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I don't know. I can't remember much, except for getting hit with an arrow." Castin said. "My chest hurts."

"Castin, honey. I have something to tell you." His mother said. Castin looked up at her with a questioning face and suspicious eyes. "Honey,  you've been in a coma for 5 and a half years."

Castin still questioned her. "What? That's ridiculous Cathy." He said, instantly wondering why he called his mother by her first name.

"Go look in the mirror, Castin. You've grown."

Castin sighed and trudged to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. He froze and stared at the near grown boy that looked back at Castin. His hair was dark and had a defined jaw line. His eyes were large and his body had most certainly grown bigger.

He rushed back into the kitchen and stared down his mother. "What happened to me?"

"Well, that day that you were shot through the chest, a girl brought you home and told me what happened. I kept you safe and took care of you. I kept praying and hoping you'd wake up."

"Where's Maggie?" Castin asked.

"She's in bed sleeping." Cathy said. Castin looked towards her room. "Can I?"

Cathy nodded. Castin walked into his little sister's room. He flipped on the light, pausing when he heard her stirring in her sleep. Castin sat down on her bed and lightly shook her. Maggie opened her eyes; taking a moment to realize who was waking her.

"What do you want?" Maggie asked, still half asleep. Her eyes opened wider and she realized that Castin was awake. She dove into his arms, hugging him. She buried her head into his arm and started crying.

As Castin looked at her, he realized that if he was asleep for 5 years, his sister would now be 12 years old. She had certainly grown into a young lady. Her body was bigger and more female like than Castin had remembered. Her hair was long and turned more of a dark brown color than from the blonde color it was when she was younger.

"I thought you'd never wake up. I thought I'd lost my big brother forever." Maggie said.

"I'm here to stay. I promise." Castin said. He let go of Maggie and said, "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"