“So, we’re not going to talk about last night?” Nelia mumbled as she stepped out of the barracks, where Cassius rested against the crates.
“No.” Cassius kept staring forward at the sun with a lollipop in his mouth. He clacked it against his teeth as he pulled it out. “It’s interesting.”
She stared at the back of his head with half-lidded eyes, “What is?”
“The sun looks hot.”
“Well, it is hot.”
“Why do you think that?”
“The books said so, didn’t they?”
The corner of Cassius’ lips sprouted up momentarily, “Those little kid’s books. They showed us dragons and fairies and said we could be whatever we wanted to be.” He put the lollipop back in his mouth, and the corner of his eyes peeked at the glossy, colossal dome that was Aeternum. It loomed in the center of the barren land, its end nowhere in sight. He felt it glare at him. “Why would they tell us the truth about a giant circle in the sky?”
“Are you saying the sun isn’t hot?” Nelia drew her eyebrows together as she rested against the doorframe.
“No, not necessarily…” He groaned and shuffled in place, thinking of something to say. He didn’t normally talk to people like this, even before the accident.
“...It’s cold here—” Cassius sighed, “the sun looks hot, but it’s cold here.”
“Well, it’s probably because it’s so far away, we can’t feel it.”
He rested his chin on his knees, “Then why…is it here?”
Nelia clung to her arm and remained silent. The wind was still and everything seemed to stop, even the sun rising past the distant trees.
“Breakfast will be ready soon,” Nelia seemed to force out of her mouth, “and Grace is cooking, so it should be good. Do you like omelets?” She tried to let out a chuckle to lighten the mood.
“I eat what there is,” Cassius responded blankly. It’s all I’ve eaten for months, he thought.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Nelia asked again. She’s not supposed to ask again.
I won’t even respond this time.
“...Sorry.”
----------------------------------------
Half an hour later, Cassius heard footsteps on the dry ground behind him. He didn’t bother to look and kept staring at the sun.
“If you keep looking at the sun, you’ll go blind,” a familiar voice said, perhaps the one from last night. He failed to notice how husky and apathetic was then.
“I’ll go blind then.”
The girl reached her hand out in front of his face and pointed to his hand. He glanced at it with furrowed brows.
A buzz came from her mouth with her hands crossed into an X. She held out her hand again with a shaking gesture, "Ding, ding, ding!"
Cassius grimaced, What is up with her? Nevertheless, his hand moved from its comfort to shake her hand.
“Grace, it’s nice to meet you, Cassius. You never introduced yourself to all of us. Might I ask why?”
Cassius furrowed his brows and settled back down. “It doesn’t matter to me.” Grace sat down next to him, revealing the plate of omelet.
“And why’s that?”
“Because.”
“Because what?” She took a bite of the omelet and whispered blankly, “Oh, that’s better than I thought.” Cassius narrowed his eyes on her in an attempt to study what her vacant expression could be hiding. “Anyway, it seems you’ve been experiencing that for a while now. Do you remember any of the other times?”
“No, but I know they happened. I stop dreaming sooner or later.”
“Those are not just dreams, Cass. That’s real life.” Grace turned to look at Cassius’ eyes, which turned to the sun again. “Is that what keeps you grounded? The sun?”
“...Let’s stop talking about the sun.”
“Alright then. You want some eggs?” She nudged the plate closer to him. He looked at it from the corner of his eye, before quietly grabbing the fork. “It’s fine, I didn’t touch the other one. By the way, Recon should be returning soon so make sure to greet them on their way.” Grace stood up and walked back into the barracks.
They’re all trying to get into my head. It’s obvious, but they can try all they like. Won’t. Happen. Cassius’ brows furrowed as he took a bite of the omelet. He felt his cheeks warm up as he chewed with a frown on his face. He refused to enjoy the food. She’s different than the others, though. He pondered on why that might be for a while.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
She’s just nonchalant.
In the distance, two figures made their way through the edge of the forest, one with a sword and shield, and the other with a giant mace dragging behind them. Cassius squinted to look at the one with the mace. Is that a kid? He can’t be taller than 5’3. How the hell is he carrying that thing around?
The boy noticed his staring and waved at him, “Hey! You’re that one guy! The one that never goes inside? Those boxes aren’t cramping your back yet?” As they got closer to him, he looked away and dug into the crate behind him without looking, in search of a juice box. Chips, soda, candy...Oh there it is. His neck was bent at an angle which would definitely show others, specifically the two approaching, that he was not interested in a conversation.
“Cassius, right?” Valerio yelled over the grinding of the boy’s mace along the ground. “God damn, kid. Can it get any louder? I can barely hear myself.” Cassius sighed and turned towards them reluctantly, sipping on the juice box.
“My bad, gosh.“ The boy mumbled and looked down at Cassius, “Anyway, we’re back from recon. Must’ve been a while since anyone’s done that here, huh?”
Cassius looked up at him, occasionally glancing down at the mace, which should be impossible for even him to carry. His curiosity grew and slipped between his sucking lips, “How are you…carrying that around?”
The boy pepped up and lifted the mace with one hand relatively easily. “Well, I might not look it, but I’m real strong! I’m so ripped under this armor too.”
His lightweight armor clinked as he began flexing his muscles, which Cassius could not see. Cassius judged him with half-closed eyes. Very believable.
“I don’t know either, man. It’s the phial thingy, I think. He’s got one of those, or something.” Valerio shrugged and looked away with a stingy face—then started mumbling, “First day here and he’s already so extra…”
“You weren’t there at induction?" Cassius asked the boy with a raised brow.
“Uh, nope. Shouldn’t you know that? You were there, weren’t you?” He let the mace’s head drop to the ground with a heavy thud. A dirty, white paper fell from his pocket from the impact. Cassius tracked its meander through the air. His mind narrowed itself, all that existed in front of him was that paper. Finally landing from its flight, the paper unfolded on the ground. Four translucent wings, two feathery antennae, and a long body. It was an accurate drawing of a moth—a ghost moth. Cassius’ lungs filled with panicked air. He backed up, hitting the crates with his head. Everything snapped back into view.
“Woah, you alright?” The boy leaned toward him, then looked at the paper, “Oh, this thing. Yeah I—“ Cassius felt his blood pump faster through his body. He crawled desperately to the paper and held it up to the boy.
“Where did you find this?!” The yell demanded him. Valerio turned around, his eyebrow was raised in confusion.
“What’s wrong with it? I found it—I found it during reco—“
“Where?!” Cassius’ voice cracked from the yell and spit flew from his mouth. The boy backed away from his crazed face. Lacking any words, he pointed out to the further eastern part of the forest. Cassius immediately got up, his eyes locked on the direction, and ran inside the barracks.
“What the fuck…” a distant Valerio whispers behind him.
Nelia was inside, sitting with some other younger girls when she saw him storm in, “Hey, Cas—“At the moment he was there, he had already disappeared into the arms room. Nelia got up to follow him but swiftly bumped into him at the door of the room. In mere moments, he adorned himself in the lightweight armor and was equipped with a club sporting sharp blades along its sides. He stormed outside, his lips twisted and his eyes were wide. He passed the boy and began running across the barren field.
“Wait!” He heard from behind, “Wait, Cassius!”
His mind was too fogged to do more than hear their voices, his chest weighed him down, but he had to keep going. He ran through the bushes. Leaves blurred past him. And as he kept running, his entire body began stinging with hot pain. His eyes searched manically, but innumerous thoughts and sensations were bouncing in his skull. Then he stopped. Lungs fought to keep air. It was completely quiet aside from his wheezes.
“Fuck…” He tried to clutch his stomach over the armor and failed. A deep retch came from his throat, and everything around him returned. Before he knew it, the vomit rushed from his mouth as he fell to his knees. Drawing in deep breaths, Cassius spluttered the rest of the waste from his mouth. He scanned his surroundings. The leaves were darker here, the sky was shrouded by the treetops. Something reeked, aside from his vomit. The same typical bugs screeched, but there was something else: a soft grunt. Cassius clutched his club and stood up. Aberrō? Is it an Aberrō? He turned his back and saw a boar’s head emerging from the bushes. Its snout wriggled on the soil then turned to point at Cassius. His lungs stopped as he swung the club, striking it in the head. A high-pitched squeal rang in his ears as the boar tumbled on the ground, a chunk of its head cracked open and pouring blood. Cassius began breathing again, then looked at the corpse leaking crimson blood. His eyes narrowed on its rough, loose tongue as it exhausted the rest of the oxygen in its lungs.
Aberrō...aren’t supposed to have red blood...
Cassius suddenly realized where he was. His eyes widened and searched for a way back. The trees and leaves were too dense, like a void surrounding him. I’m in the second Zone. I can’t stay here—I have to find a way back.
In each direction he looked, Cassius felt the shadows watching him Their gazes pierced his back, making his hair stand on end. He moved cautiously through the dark, cold forest. The only sound he could hear was leaves rustling beneath his feet—yet he swore something else was there. The veins in his hand bulged as it tightened around the club. In the distance, a beam of light was falling from a gap in the forest ceiling. He hurried his pace hoping to find a way out. The area was flat with flowers growing on the bed of grass. Underneath the dirt, a rusted metal poked out from the ground. A slew of thoughts and possibilities ran through Cassius’ mind, removing any caution he had as he knelt to wipe the dirt away. There laid a long, slender piece of metal—like the armor on a finger. Cassius looked at his own. They’re identical. He processed what this meant and dug more dirt away from the metal. There was only one thing it could be, yet he avoided that thought. It could be just some unearthed ore, or something left in the dirt long ago. Then a chunk of the soil came loose, and with it, the stench of old death. The rotten air traveled through his body from his lungs, he shivered and held his nose shut. I can’t–
He retched again and turned away. I don’t want to know. God…
He rested his head on the grass and ran his fingers through the hair under his helmet, “I don’t want to know…” The soft caress of his head turned into a rough squeeze. Stop, stop, stop. Tears began welling up behind his shut eyelids. Stop! Memories dug into his head like venomous fangs. They wouldn’t stop at his command, and the fangs were deep. Cassius raised his fist and knocked it against his helmet. Again, and again, he struck himself.
Then his fist stopped, strained against a powerful grip.
“Cassius,” the strong voice and grip beside him likely belonged to that boy. Cassius relaxed his arms and dropped them to the ground, his head still throbbed, but the pain was subsiding.
“You should stop. This isn't good for you.” His voice was concerned, but confused.
Cassius' lungs heaved air in and out. He laid there for what felt like hours, coating the rotten smell with the dirt on his face. “We have to go, Cassius. This place isn’t safe.” Cassius opened his eyes. With his head lifted, he looked up at the trees surrounding them. A sloppy carving of one particular tree stood out among them.
Four translucent wings, two feathery antennae, and a long body.