The Chronicles of Kyle

Chapter 8

Kyle awoke with a start. He sat up in bed and tried to calm his racing heart. He'd had another nightmare of endlessly falling through the void and all the horrible things he'd seen. When he first arrived at Katolis, he'd have these dreams once in a while, but they had become much more frequent over the past month, and now Kyle had to watch Amaya die almost every night. He tried to convince himself that it was just a dream, and it would go away in time, but it felt too real. It was always the same scene played over and over again in his head: she was riding on her horse away from... something. He didn't even know what to call the enormous monster that seemed to be made from boulders and held together by searing hot lava. The creature let loose a ground-shaking roar and swung a nearly melting chain at Amaya. It struck her so hard that she was knocked off her horse, and she landed motionless beside a boulder with the monstrous figure stepping ever closer to her. Kyle would always wake up in terror at this point, and he knew he didn't want to see how the scenario ended. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to forget about what he saw. "It's just a dream," he told himself. 

He pulled back his blanket and was about to force himself out of bed when he heard a knock at his door. Amaya was standing there looking somber.

"I won't be there for our training tonight," she signed, "something came up."

Kyle's heart sank. He knew it was probably nothing, but he couldn't help but worry.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

"A very important mission."

"What kind of mission?" Kyle asked, trying not to be pushy but desperately wanting confirmation that this quest didn't include anything to do with big, scary lava beasts.

"One that could save thousands of lives."

Kyle's heart skipped a beat. This was beginning to sound more and more ominous. Even if this mission saved thousands of lives, what if it took the only one that really mattered to Kyle?

"Where are you going? When will you be back?" the questions began to spill out of Kyle's mouth.

"I can't tell you everything," Amaya said as she began to turn towards the door.

"Please tell me it's a mission that doesn't involve giant magma titans," Kyle blurted out.

Amaya hesitated. Kyle's eyes widened and fear filled his veins.

"You mean it DOES involve a huge monster that could kill you?" panic was finding its way into his voice, "Amaya, you can't go!"

With a sigh, Amaya turned back around to face Kyle. Her determined expression had not wavered.

"This mission could save our kingdom. They need me."

Kyle stood up, "but don't you remember what I saw?"

"That was just a dream, Kyle." Amaya's eyes narrowed at his hysteria.

"It wasn't just a dream!" his voice wavered as he spoke, "I don't know what it was, but I saw you get hurt. What if you don't come back? What if-"

Kyle's voice broke as tears welled up in his eyes. He hated how emotional he was, but the thought of losing the only person who'd ever cared about him was too much for him to handle. He'd never really had to worry about losing someone before, and he didn't know how to process it.

Amaya's expression softened as she walked into the room. She stopped in front of him. Kyle looked up at her as she smiled sadly.

"I can't abandon the people who need me because of a dream," she said, "but I'll be careful."

Kyle melted into her shoulder as Amaya wrapped her arms around him. He squeezed her tight as he felt a tear roll down his cheek. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't have any family or friends growing up if it hurt this much to lose them.

After several seconds, Amaya pulled away and brushed the tears off Kyle's cheeks. 

"I'll come back," she signed, "I promise."

Kyle nodded sadly. Amaya gave him a reassuring smile and tousled his hair. Kyle sank back down onto his bed in disbelief as she walked away. She was actually going on a mission that could kill her. Kyle had always admired how noble she was and how she always put the safety of others above her own, but right now he hated that about her. Kyle had described to her what he had witnessed countless times, but she was still determined to go. She hadn't seen it for herself. She hadn't had to watch it over and over again every time she slept. He couldn't let her do this, but there was nothing he could do to stop her. He put his head in his hands.

"Maybe I'm being irrational," Kyle thought to himself, "maybe it really was just a dream. She'll go on her mission, save lots of lives, and come back perfectly fine."

As much as he tried to convince himself, the foreboding feeling of danger still remained. Something bad was going to happen tonight. And he had to figure out how to stop it.