Dead Inside

50.

"Grass!" Galaxy Steve laid in the fresh green grass laying around him. "Beautiful grass! I missed it." 

"Galaxy Steve," Portal Steve said. "We don't have time for this!"

"At least let us rest," Alex told him. "We're all exhausted. If this rainforest is as dangerous as you say, we need all the energy we can get."

Portal Steve groaned, grasping his hair in his hands. "This is ridiculous! We need to leave now."

Green Steve set a hand on his shoulder and motioned his hands when Portal Steve looked over at him. Sabre still didn't understand what he was saying, but he knew Green Steve was telling Portal Steve something important from the strong look in his eyes. 

"Fine," Portal Steve muttered. "But we leave before sunset. If Bright Steve really is going to the rainforest, he'll be there by tomorrow morning."

*   *   * 

"No!" Emburn yelled out into the night, the silence broken. She was tied with thick chains around the trunk of a large, tall tree, the chains digging into her arms and legs, her tail wrapped around her legs. "No, stop it! Leave him alone!"

Forest Steve was there, a jagged dagger clutched in one hand and the other clutched a young man's throat tightly, pressing him against the thick trunk of a tree. The young man had extremely shimmering silver and bright celeste hair, bright celeste clothes covered his body, all of which was stained with icky thick mud and the salty crimson liquid of blood. 

"Is this who Portal Steve has been talking about?" Forest Steve muttered softly in an annoying way. He chuckled. "Hilarious. So puny, so weak."

"He's stronger than you'll ever be!" Emburn yelled at him, tears beginning to slip down her checks. "I know his secret, and he could destroy you if he wanted to. Just, leave him alone!"

Forest Steve faced her, a smirk on his face. "I know his little secret, as well, you pup. The one that had been hidden from him for years?" He turned back to to the young boy, still speaking to Emburn in a quiet, mocking voice. "Yes, I know that one. Everyone knows about it, except for him."

"Rainbow Steve doesn't know it, either," Emburn said through clenched teeth, the front of her hair hanging down in front of her. "And it's for his own good."

"His own good?" Forest Steve echoed louder than before, startling Emburn. He laughed. "Your joking! He'll be dead before he finds out."

"No!" Emburn struggled to free herself. "You can't! You can't do that to him! Please, let him go."

"Oh, I can," Forest Steve tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand. "And I will." He raised the dagger and flung it at the young boy, throwing drops of blood to the ground. He let the boy go and instantly he collapsed to the grassy ground, his throat slitted and his eyes closed; he was dead. Emburn froze, her eyes wide with shock. Tears streamed down her checks as she screamed the boys name in grief and pain.

"Bright Steve!"

Sabre woke with a jolt, the nightmare repeating itself in his mind. His heart was pounding in his chest, but at the same time he was quite confused. The other dream he had was when Emburn had turned to the darkness, why was she a good now? And why was Forest Steve in it, killing Bright Steve? Sabre froze. Bright Steve had been killed in his dream, and Sabre had been killed in the other nightmare. He didn't know if he was right, but he knew these weren't just any everyday nightmares. 

"Up!" Portal Steve commanded, taking Sabre by surprise. "Come on, you had your rest. Let's get going!"

The group were now on their feet without argument. They had rested well, most taking naps while others sitting quietly in the shade. Sabre had fallen asleep, unaware of how tired he had been. Before long, they were off, in the direction of the rainforest Portal Steve had told them about. As they followed Portal Steve, Sabre couldn't help but think about his nightmare, thinking of it in the order it had been in and repeating it in his head. If this was no normal nightmare, what could it have been? What was going on? Sabre then knew what it was.

He was having visions of the future.