Dead Inside

34.

Sabre blinked groggily awake. Last night was restless and Sabre didn't want to get out of bed; or, at least, his makeshift bed. The friends had spent the night at his house and they were all forced to share the main room- since there was no other room for them. Sabre sat up and yawned, stretching his arms above him. He barely got any sleep, the nightmares he had haunted him throughout the night. First, his death. Then, turning to dust just as Emburn explained. But the one that frightened him the most was the one he had been thinking about the most; StarLord. He had dreamed that StarLord killed every last one of his friends until all their spirits were trapped in the Dead Lands, so Sabre had grabbed a knife and murdered him in his sleep. It sent a shiver up his spine remembering the nightmare, and he pushed the thought away. Today was the fourth day of the week, he had three more to go. He wanted to spend those days without StarLord when his friends are safe and they didn't have to worry about Forest Steve. 

"Good morning, friends!" StarLord said when everyone was up and ready to start the day. Sabre stopped himself from groaning out loud. "What are we going to do today?"

"Let's start off with breakfast," Galaxy Steve said. "My stomach might start eating itself, soon. Anyone up for pufferfish and sandwiches?"

"Um," Rainbow Steve mumbled. "No thanks, Galaxy Steve. I think I'm up for pancakes or toast."

"Oatmeal?" Blue Steve asked. 

"I sort of want scrambled eggs," Alex said. "And toast sounds good, too."

"I got an idea!" Galaxy Steve exclaimed. "How about puffer-pan-toatmeal with a side of scrambled sandwiches and eggs?"

"Ew!" Everyone else exclaimed back in reply before breaking into laughter.

Sabre let them argue about what they want for breakfast and thought back to the time when Forest Steve showed himself unto them. Could it be true that StarLOrd and Forest Steve were the same person? No, of course not. His friends trust StarLord, so should he. But how could he? The nightmare came back when he asked those questions to himself. He swallowed, what if-

"Alright, fine," Galaxy Steve spoke, breaking Sabre from his thoughts. "Sabre, is it okay if we have pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast?"

"Sure," Sabre thought he heard a hint of fear in his voice and hoped no one noticed it, too. "I'll go start cooking. Rainbow Steve, would you like to help me?"

"Sure," Rainbow Steve replied. The two went into the kitchen while the others began to clean the makeshift beds. As Sabre pulled out the pancake mix, a carton of eggs and bag of bacon, Rainbow Steve grabbed the rest of the supplies.  

"So, what's wrong?" Rainbow Steve asked.

"What do you mean?" Sabre asked, turning back to him. 

"I mean you've been acting strange this morning," Rainbow Steve told him. "Is it StarLord still?"

Sabre sighed. "I had a nightmare last night, that's all."

"Oh," Rainbow Steve said. "Well, that's okay. But let's just wait for a while and see what StarLord does. If he is someone we shouldn't trust, I give you my full permission to fight him off. If not, let's leave him be. Okay?"

Sabre nodded. I'm only doing it for my friends... But as much as he tried to forget it, the nightmare kept coming back.