An Equilibrium of Light and Darkness

Chapter II - A friend midst the darkness -

Chapter II – A friend amidst the darkness –

Gallendalin just laid there, bleeding, his face growing paler and paler by the second while he was unconscious.

                A seeming millennia passed until Gallendalin’s consciousness found its voice again and he was able to think

                ‘Am I dead?’ he thought, ‘No, I can’t be dead, my destiny could not have been to leave that place of hell, only to be cut down by the devil of society. No, I think that I’m alive, but how?’

                He tried to open his eyes but his eyelids refused to obey his commands. And then he realised: He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to open his eyes for fear that he might open them to see that cruel, sneering face leaning over him, for Gallendalin now feared society, for he now knew the depth of their hate for him, he decided to treat everyone with fear and suspicion until they proved to him that they could be trusted.

                Upon experimentation, Gallendalin felt power rush back into his limbs as he moved them; wriggling his toes and fingers. Now confident that he was alive and could move in the yellowy-red world he could see behind his eyelids, he decided to sit up, propping himself up on his arm but as soon as he did so, searing pain surged through his veins, pulsing through his body and his arms started to tremble, unable to support his weight under the pain.

                He heard a shuffling sound… It sounded like someone rising from a chair nearby.

                Just before his arms gave way and collapsed, Gallendalin felt a large, callused hand hold him in the small of the back, and another cradle his head.

                Gallendalin froze, becoming completely rigid out of fear. The hands held his weight and the pain was replaced with adrenalin.

                Who was this person?

                Did they mean him harm?

                Where was he?

                All of these questions flashed through Gallendalin’s head before a steady, calm voice spoke.

                “Steady there,” said the voice slowly, cautiously, “don’t rush yourself, it will come in time.”

                Gallendalin remained rigid, thinking frantically. He could not open his eyes, but the man’s… Man’s?... Yes, it was a sounded like a man’s voice, though Gallendalin wasn’t sure… but the man’s voice calm and concerned. This only slightly reassured Gallendalin and he allowed his muscles to relax, not because he now trusted the man, but he thought it would be hard to run with limbs unmoving. The man would have to do far more than be reassuring to earn Gallendalin’s trust.

                Gallendalin realised then, that he was on top of something soft, no longer by the side of the road. This man, so it would seem, had saved Gallendalin’s life, and, so, Gallendalin decided that this man was not to be feared, but by no means was he to be trusted, mot yet at least.

                And with that, his muscles decided to fail him completely and he collapsed. The man’s callused hands guiding his body back down onto the soft piece of furniture.

                “How are you feeling?” The man asked.

                “Depends,” Gallendalin replied warily.