A Series of Traumatic Events

Chapter Five

"Ah, yes! Finally! My newest experiment is ready to be conducted! I just have to make the base, but that'll be easy. I've made it plenty of times before." Varian stated as he moved his goggles over his eyes.

"Ruddiger! G-get out of there buddy! Oh! When I went into town earlier I got you some apples, they're in the basket over there. Why don't you go and eat while I work on this?" Varian suggested.

The raccoon happily bounced away, and Varian turned back to his work. He grabbed two bottles, one contained a liquid labeled "hydrogen peroxide,"and the other had a liquid labeled "vinegar." The label on the vinegar bottle was peeling off, so Varian pressed it back onto the bottle and shrugged it off.

Varian crouched down so he was eye level with the beakers. He slowly poured the vinegar in with the hydrogen peroxide. What this would create was peracetic acid, which was an irritant, so Varian made a mental note to be extra careful. If he came home with another burn, his dad would not be happy.

But this wasn't reacting the way Varian was expecting. There was a powder-like substance that started to form in the beaker, which was definitely not supposed to happen. Varian stood up from his crouched position, but in doing so, he accidentally bumped the table, and in an instant, the beaker exploded and it sent Varian tumbling. He was thrown into a wall which made him shout in pain. He clinged to conciseness as he struggled to stand up.

The explosion was so huge it had made the whole mountain shake. Varian stood up straight and tried to look around. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurry, but after a moment he could make out his surroundings. He looked over to the table he was working at, which was now on fire. The fire was huge, and burning dangerously close to his shelf of chemicals.

He suddenly remembered that Ruddiger was somewhere in this mess, and Varian looked around desperately for his friend.

Varian found Ruddiger underneath a burning table, and he ran over to help him. He was trapped, and terrified. Without thinking, Varain reached under the table and grabbed the raccoon. He cried out when he felt the fire burning his skin, but he had to get Ruddiger out. He successfully saved the animal and held him close. He was scared but otherwise unharmed. Varian scanned the room for a way out, but he couldn't see anything. The stairway that led out had collapsed, and that was the only exit.

Varian was terrified. He had no idea what to do. The fire was starting to spread, but thankfully there wasn't much wooden furniture so it shouldn't burn long. He was only worried about the chemicals.

There was a loud crack sound that came from above Varian. He looked up, only to see a cluster of rocks falling toward him. He didn't even have time to react before it came raining down on top of him.

He immediately knew he had broken multiple bones. He screamed in anguish, his left hand was completely crushed underneath one of the boulders. He was trapped underneath the rocks and had no way out of the collapsing mountain.

He felt pain everywhere. His chest hurt and it was becoming harder and harder to breathe, and his head was throbbing. The smoke burned as it traveled down his throat into his chest, and he started to lose hope. He was just glad Ruddiger has managed to get out of the way in time.

Just about when he thought this was the end, Varian heard a familiar voice. It sounded like...Eugene?  How he got down here, he had no idea. His voice sounded distant, and he struggled to open his eyes and look at him.

Eugene was running toward him, calling his name.

"Eugene..." Varian tried to speak but his voice was weak and gravelly. God, it even hurt to talk.

"Shh, it's okay, kid, I'm gonna get you out of here. Stay with me, do not close your eyes." Eugene responded.

Varian tried his hardest to comply, but it was getting hard. Eugene eventually managed to move the rocks just enough to pull Varian out, and he scooped up the skinny boy with ease.

Varian was struggling to keep his eyes open. He ultimately gave up and fell asleep in Eugene's arms.

-

"Varian! Varian, wake up!"

Varian sat up with a gasp. He was covered in sweat and breathing heavily, hot tears running down his face. His dad was sitting next to him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey...it's okay, son. I'm here. It was just a dream. You're alright, nothing can hurt you here." Quirin quietly said. He squeezed his hand, a small sign of comfort.

Varian started to relax. He looked at his dad a split second before looking away again, starting at the floor.  He hated feeling this way. His dad was probably ashamed to have such a weak son, a son who woke up crying because of a stupid nightmare.

"I'm sorry, dad. I didn't mean to wake you. You should move into another guest room so you can get proper sleep."

Quirin looked dumbfounded. "Varian, you do not need to apologize. You went through something very traumatic, I'd be surprised if you didn't have nightmares. And no, I will not move to another room, I want to stay here with you in case you need me. You are so strong, Varian. I know you can get through this. Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

Varian was shocked. He was not expecting that answer. How could his dad think he was strong? Fresh tears started to stream down his face.

"N-no. I think...I think I just want to try to get back to sleep, i-if I can." He said softly. Quirin nodded and started to walk back over to his couch, before Varian spoke again.

"And Dad?" He said, "Th-thank you. For waking me up, for being here...for everything." He looked at his father affectionately.

"Of course, son. Now try and get some sleep, if you can." He smiled as he layed back down. "Oh, and if you need anything, and I mean anything, do not hesitate to wake me up. Got it?" He added.

"Okay Dad. Thanks." Varian agreed as he laid his head down on the silk pillow.

At first, Varian didn't want to go back to sleep. He was horrified he'd have another nightmare. But, he realized, he didn't have anything to worry about. Not when he had his dad here to protect him.

Slowly he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.