Don't Go

Connor

I used to write things. Poetry and stuff. Sometimes it'd get published in a newspaper. Occasionally someone would want to commission me. It didn't happen very often, but when it did, it felt good. We will get back home. I was writing a story- it was going better than any of my other big projects ever had. Paying attention in those few English classes really did some good for me, that's what Faé says.

I shove my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. It's frigid, but I still can't figure out if we're far underground or high in the sky. Maybe that's why they don't care about deceased people. We're so far underground that we may as well already be buried alive. I shrug it off. We stop again, and I have to fight the urge to sit down. This time the door opens, and relief floods over me. I can hear them push Faé in with a soft thump, then shove me in after him. The door closes behind me and I waste no time in ripping the blindfold off my face.

I only look around briefly before dropping down to the ground and moving closer to Faé. The cut on his face is bleeding again. I gently reach over and pull the blindfold off his eyes. He blinks a few times then looks up at me. A small, weak smile appears on his face for a quick moment, though his eyes, as always, give everything away. He starts trying to heave himself up into a sitting position, and it takes me a moment before I help him up. He leans against me and sighs softly.

I'll always be here for you,
Just like you always are for me.
It's the least I can do,
Being here for you.

Faé is quiet. He always is. But something about this silence is unusual.

“Hey, little buddy… you okay?” He's always been my little buddy, and I can't function without my little buddy.

He doesn't respond for a lengthy minute. “Y-yeah. I'm good.” His voice is unsteady, and nearly inaudible.

“You don't sound good,” I mutter and run my fingers through Faé’s hair. It's not as soft as it usually is, but that's just what dirt does. My hair probably isn't much better.

He shrugs lightly and messes with one of my hoodie strings. I watch as he messily wraps it around his pointer finger, then lets it fall away. He picks it up again and messes with it more. I take this time as an opportunity to survey our new room. It's lighter in here, as if there's a skylight. But there isn't. It's just gray light coming from- I don't know. Other than that, the room is completely bare. It's clean. No cobwebs, no stench, no nothing. We're out of place in this room.

A few drops of blood from Faé’s face are on the ground. He's seen it too. I can feel him tense up against me. It's impossible to say what's going through his mind right now. Not even my most wild guess would be right. All I know for sure is that he's desperate to go home. So am I.

It won't be much longer until we return,
And I'll stop wasting my precious time with you.
I've been scared, I trust you know why,
But I'll stop fooling around now, because I've realized just how much I love you.