What I had parsed from the little time we spent together, was that she is living in an incredibly toxic environment. As a young adult, I had heard whispers and mention of stories like hers that ended tragically. Prior to working in the nursing home on the wandering dementia unit, I had also covered shifts for the Pediatric ER and Med Surg floors at the local hospital. There, what I had only imagined before as happening in distant lands across the sea or in the worst of neighborhoods, had a brilliant spotlight shone upon one noteworthy event.

A terror which I had never faced having been raised in a loving and stable household, without undue exposure to unreliable family or acquaintances, was revealed to me in great detail. Seeing the aftereffects of a physically and sexually abusive relative or supposed friend, reflected as a mural upon the body of a 9-year-old boy, had left me dry heaving and writhing in fury at the time.

Any child or even adult forced to experience their trust being betrayed and their body and soul being violated to such a degree was unacceptable in any light!

A snarl which had formed on my face at that time in the hospital, in response to that atrocity had now resurfaced with an even greater intensity. The energy inside of me roared with potent threatenings, which further strained something integral yet seemingly distant to me. This was someone that I knew, had spoken with, cared for, and emotionally watched as they were raped. This individual was not free from the carnage of her life after escaping into this virtual world of fantasy, but simply experiencing it in another venue.

Even now, I did not know if she was still being cared for in this virtual world as a victim or if she had already been drawn back to her home in reality, where she may actively be preyed upon by family. She had been bereft of her parents and was living with an abusive aunt and uncle along with a shut-in middle-aged adult cousin. That was not a safe haven. It was a cage monitored by antagonistic wardens.

My hand was pained by the pressure I placed on gripping my staff. Despite my strength, the muted star like sheen of the metal resisted my efforts to transfer my helpless anger upon it.

Stopping outside of the sheltering wall of the apothecary shop, I looked up at the unforgiving heavens as they stirred with dark grey clouds. Night was almost upon us; however, the sunlight had already been blotted out of the sky by the approaching storm. Crosswinds had begun tearing at the trees and pulling away unsecured carts from the marketplace. This freak of weather had come out of nowhere leaving everyone in a panic to secure their properties.

Pushing the doors open to the shop and my current home in this world, I met the eyes of my master as she was putting away the tools of her latest project. Concern radiated from her eyes, and I believe that in this instance, I could even feel the barest trace of her emotion through my talent.

“I heard what happened.” Her voice was soft and forlorn, similar to what I felt. “I’m sorry that you both experienced such.”

I didn’t need her to clarify. I knew she spoke of Lynette and me. Had things gone as planned, I expected that together with my master’s aid, we might have spent a lot of time as we worked to uplift her spirits. We had hoped to make her time in this world become an amazing experience and cherished memory where she could be temporarily free from the oppression of her family. Instead, I was a witness to her continued misfortune.

“I. . . “ My voice cracked and tears threatened to overflow from my eyes. Swallowing a giant knot down to speak again, I continued. “I think I need to be alone for a while.” Turning back around without waiting for her reply, I left the shop and just started walking.

The fierce winds did me good with whisking away my tears before they could truly fall. Shielding my eyes from the worst of it, I tread into the darkening storm of the night . . .

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I honestly didn’t know how much time had passed as I fought against the winds and now rain which pierced downward and sideways, whipping about with the tidal winds and seeking to knock me over with the slightest misstep. My reinforced body however withstood the energies of the storm out of stoic resilience. My feet firmly planted themselves on the weathered path and my core energies rose in delight with the dancing and tearing of the winds and rain. Each streak of lightning across the sky stimulated an echo within my own core. My meandering attempt at a solution to my turbulent thoughts and emotions from today’s events led me back the way I had come, at least to the gate which led to both the outer city and to the falls.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I paused to peer through the onslaught of the wind and rain at the nearby guard shack. I couldn’t see the figures of either of the assigned guards, but my extrasensory spacial ability picked up their presence, telling me they were sheltering in the deepest corner of the station. I hoped that they had adequate cover in there. From prior excursions past their station, I didn’t recall it having much depth or protection to the interior against the elements.

There was nothing to be done for their sake, and honestly a part of me appreciated not being registered for leaving past the city walls after sundown. I carried a deep yearning for anonymity within me as I struggled with my inner thoughts and dark concerns. Too often we as men are expected to remain stoic and silent in the face of trial and adversity. I have come to adapt to some of those expectations and appreciate moments of respite as I find great solace in solitude and dark places.

Continuing past the safer confines of the city, I turned left on the path to the falls. I felt a sort of poetic drive to throw myself into the likely fatal path of the young kraken which served as an ambiguous protector of the falls and city. I felt a deep need to pit myself against an impossible foe or adversity in order to stimulate my will. My lackluster results as I failed in my position as a self-appointed protector for Lynette, was a catalyst to an already overburdened soul. Something needed to change. . .

I needed to change.

Back in the forest, I had been impotently suffering under the onslaught of lustful and deplorable emotions while lying there stunned from a likely scull fracture. All the while, an innocent girl suffered from the vile attentions of three rapists and a voyeur a mere few feet from me. In the midst of struggling against this atrocity, I felt the undefined edges of some limiter in some distant place, begin to fracture.

Although the catalytic event was thankfully stopped early, I was disappointed in the stunting of my own potential transformation into something more. For Lynette’s sake, however, I was grateful that she was saved before her assault could progress further to the worst of outcomes.

It is unfortunate that almost exclusively, the greatest of growth and change is predicated upon atrocities that have already occurred or that were already in the making. It is frequently when we are suffering the most or deeply witnessing the suffering of others that our potential explodes.

At this moment, I desperately clung to that sensation from then until now, seeking to build upon its intensity in a fashion where I might be the only one to suffer as I sought to break this barrier which seemingly held me constrained.

In this moment of time, everything felt impossibly real and ready as a stage for my challenge against the heavens and fate itself. My failures as a brother to my sister, my greatly reduced communication with my parents who too likely still suffered from the absence of their only other child, and my inability to find a real and true outlet to nurture my gift in reality, had each been wearing on me for far too long.

I felt like a faulty vessel, inadequate and ill-suited to carry the burden and beauty of the gifted sensations I could feel in real life as well as here in this realm. I needed to change while proving myself worthy of said change before I disappeared into the darkness of obscurity and fell again to my solitary and slothful vices. I feared of forever being delegated to a life of mediocrity and drudgery, when I had been able to taste of the exquisiteness of the powers welling within me. I needed this moment in time!

Reaching the viewing platform to the falls, my eyes reflexively took on a glowing hue triggering my enhanced night vision. The might of the kraken and its many limbs showed as a darker contrast against the mist of the falls and sheets of rain tossed about by the wind. It appeared to be engaged in battle with something that could not be seen from my position.

To be honest, I had been concerned that its presence would not provide enough impetus and aid in catalyzing my personal evolution. Having seen the way that my two masters had dealt with it before, had near fatally jaded my view of its capabilities.

Yet here it was clashing against an adversary, and together they were making an uproar that was only faintly drowned out by the storm beating down upon them. With the sheer presence of violence roiling off of their clash, I suddenly felt far more vulnerable than I had when first witnessing its violent yet impotent battle with Monroe and Victoria. Alone and without their restraining presence to counter its overwhelming aura, I realized this creature was not something that could be treated as a sparring partner or even an opponent for someone at my level.

I had thought I was gaining a fairer understanding of my Masters’ strength from all of what I had seen before, but even now, my prior views were undergoing another world-shattering revelation of the absolute gap in their and my strength. The chaotic emotions which pounded at me through my empathic ability were grinding heavily upon my heart.

‘Yes, this should be enough!’ I cried in my mind, not allowing myself to turn back despite such vicious ambiance.

Pushing my way forward towards the handrail amidst the squall of the storm, I was resisted by more than just wind, rain, and the terrifying feeling of impending death. There was a palpable presence, acting much like gravity, released by the Kraken which hindered my steps. I had honestly never felt such a thing before in my life. It was hard to describe, but if I had to put it into words, it was like a molasses of unbridled bestial killing intent, getting progressively more difficult and thicker to pass through as I struggled forward.

Gritting my teeth and thrusting my staff in front of me before planting it firmly into the ground, I pressed forward. . .

Some relief filled me as a noticeable weakening of the resistance formed at the front. Gazing in curiosity at my staff, I performed a quick test by swinging it to the side. Immediately I felt the pressure redouble from that of before, rending me near immobile.

With great effort, I returned the staff to its position in front of me, once again feeling a weakening in the resistance.

Wonder filled me as I realized it wasn’t just my imagination. It felt as if a small wake was formed within that previously impassible sea of threatened carnage. With the metal shaft as the parting force, I was able to continue treading forward.

Despite this minor relief, the pressure continued to mount and grated heavily upon my will. My jaws ached as my teeth ground into each other amidst my resolution. THIS was the adversity which I sought! THIS was the challenge from which I could be changed!