I decided to go for a walk to try and see what the limits of the dream were. It was around eight in the evening, the sun was starting to set, making it the perfect time to go for a walk. Since if this wasn't a dream anyone that knew me that saw me with Hachiko, the setting sun could confuse them into thinking that I was someone else. But just in case I decided to walk in the more secluded part of town. Where there were fewer light sources, the only thing to illuminate the streets was the soft glow of moonlight.
But even with the lack of light I didn't have any difficulties seeing where I was going. Since Hachiko glow was allowing me to see a about a meter ahead. At first, I was worried about people being able to see him, lighting up like a glow stick. But after the first few cars and people passed, they didn't pay me any mind about my radioactive dog.
Except for one rude guy who went off on me about how I needed a leash for Hachiko and that if he ran at him and tried to bite him it wouldn't be his fault if he kicked Hachiko. To which I responded by telling him that. “He was well trained, and wouldn't hurt a fly.” During the whole five-minute argument, the man never once acknowledged the glow. After that I decided to go walk in the woods since even if people couldn't see Hachiko's glow I don't think I could handle any more people just in general. I continued walking deeper and deeper into the woods, all the while keeping my eye out for any objects or animals that glowed in the same way Hachiko did. Unfortunately, after maybe ten or so minutes I didn't see anything like Hachiko’s glow.
And what's worse is I was lost. I had been so focused on looking for any sign of magic that I forgot to look where I was going. I searched around for any kind of landmark I could use to ground myself and figure out where I was. Eventually I stumbled onto a small clearing with a tree that me and Guams used to joke was haunted. That's when I realized where I was. I was lost but now looking at that old birch tree I knew exactly where I was.
In the center of the clearing was a thick birch tree that split at the top forming five distinct parts which all rose high into the sky except for one. The tallest of the five branches had rotten and a large chunk had fallen to the ground, with its withered swing seat broken in two. The four intact branches all had swings of their own. Two were close together but the rot had overtaken half of each seat. One was much farther from the rest, the wood being used for the swing was much older than the rest. The last one stood strong, the wear of time had its effect with small holes and chunks missing here and there but still it remained. There was also a small cartoon flame that if I remember correctly Tyrone carved into it. But despites its many damages it was still in much better condition than all the rest.
We called the tree the “Lightning Star”. After the worst lightning storm Birchville ever had. I remember the day clearly, it was four years ago on Father's Day. I remember crying into my pillow late at night since my dad was on the other side of the world. I was thankful the sound of my crying was drowned out by the rumbling of a large storm. As thunder crashed and the skies roared, a massive bolt of lightning struck the tree creating the small clearing and causing the tree to become as distorted as it is today. I couldn't help but reminisce on the days that we enjoyed spending time there.
I remembered the effort it took to be able to set up that old swing. I made the seats in the workshop. Brad bought the rope. Tyrone had found the tree in the first place. Guams climbed each branch of the tree and Antonio told him how to tie it. It was a team effort and one of my favorite memories that has unfortunately been muddied by their betrayal. I clenched my fists in anger, and once again felt the fresh wounds of fire and steel. I ignored the pain as the pain in my heart was a thousand times stronger. My train of thought was broken by the faint sound of footsteps. I slowly turned my head and I saw a person's face illuminated by the green glow of Hachiko. It was Brad. I looked at him, slowly backing away, being extremely careful not to make a sound but all the same staring daggers at him.
“Well, if it isn't the devil himself” I muttered, as I looked at Brad and wearing his bright red letterman jacket, ripped jeans and a horrified expression on his face. Wait his face? I stopped walking, keeping my eyes trained on him as I saw an expression, I never thought possible for him. What could only be described as absolute fear. It looked as if he hadn't slept in days and although the green light didn't make it very clear, the strain in his eyes made it look like he had been crying.
I continued to watch as he walked towards the old Lightning Star, waiting to see if he would notice me or not. He walked to the Lightning Star and stopped, just looked up at it with a melancholy expression, like he wanted to do or say something. I wondered if he was thinking about the same moments I was.
It was hard to see him like this. He used be the heart of the group and now he looked so depressed. And although there was very little love for him in me, the small amount I did have for him compelled me to say something, reach out, say or do anything.
“No” I whispered, “If I let anyone in, I'll get hurt. It will happen as soon as I lower my guard.” Steeling my resolve, I backed away to leaving him alone with his thoughts and transgressions. “CRACK!” I froze and looked down to see I had stepped on a branch the sound echoing out. I looked at where Brad was, to see him looking in my direction but not me. He he seemed to be looking past me, as if seeing something that wasn't there. I turned around only to see nothing. He whispered something so quietly, that there was no indication of him saying anything other than the gentle motion of his lips.
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I continued to creep backwards, being careful not to do anything that could alert him to my presence. Keeping my eyes locked on him, I saw a look of terror on Brad’s face. He ran in the opposite direction, away from me, running faster and faster, faster than I ever saw him run before, even in his football games. He kept on running until he was no more than a speck in the tree line.
“What was that about?” I whispered to myself, chalking the whole thing to either him not having any sleep or just weird dream logic. I decided to keep going for a little while longer, then head back home. Since I didn’t want to run into Brad immediately after I left the forest. I thought to myself, choosing to ignore the fact that the strongest guy I knew had just ran away from the sound of a twig breaking.
As I continued deeper into the woods, I started to see the faint glow of dark orange. “Magic!” I said, in shock. “I thought I was the only one who could use magic?” I approached the glow and noticed just how much bigger this glow was compared to Hachiko’s. Where Hachiko’s glow was maybe a meter at most, this one looked like it could stretch ten. “Assuming the size of the light is an indication of how strong the magic is, then it's probably best for me to keep my distance, in case there's a reason the only place you see magic is in tv or movies.”
I headed into the denser parts of the woods to avoid being spotted. With Hachiko trailing behind, I noticed how his green light was being drowned out by the orange hue. As we quietly approached, we were careful not to make the same mistake as we did with Brad. After a few more minutes of sneaking, I heard several voices. Not wanting to be spotted, I stood still behind one of the bigger trees in the area. I grabbed the golem book from underneath my shirt and started to flip through it trying to find the section on command words.
“Hachiko go over there where you can hear and see the voices,” I commanded. Hachiko obeyed and began walking towards the voices. He carefully maneuvered around the trees, making sure to only step on the soft ground to not alert them of his presence.
As he continued to walk, I found the page with the spell. I whispered it out loud hoping the distance between me and Hachiko wouldn't affect the spell’s effectiveness.
“Aspectum ultra aspectum." I immediately saw a green line appear in the center of my vision. The left side was replaced by a view I assumed was Hachiko’s. Based on the much shorter perspective and the green hue everything that on the left side of my vision had. It was an odd experience, like I was looking through one of those fancy night vision goggles the kind that you see on TV.
As I started to adjust to the new experience, Hachiko reached the source of the light. In the center of the orange there were three familiar faces. Tyrone, Antonio and Guams, who all looked normal. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was Tyrone who was holding on to the same bag and weird leather book he had yesterday. Hachiko walked just close enough, so I was able to see and listen to them without them spotting us. Oddly enough, much like how I could only see the left half of Hachiko's vision, I could only hear through his left ear.
“So, we're all in agreement, at eleven thirty we'll rob the convenience store on Bark Avenue?” Confirmed Guams.
“Right, and we are all going to wear plague doctor masks to conceal our identities,” explained Tyrone as he pulled out three masks from his bag for emphasis.
“And we won't be hurting anyone right? I get that they wouldn't stand a chance but that doesn't mean we should.”
“Oh my god Antonio yes we won't be hurting anyone that's why we're robbing a store instead of a bank get with the program already.”
“Good, good,” Antonio taking no offense to Guams normal nonsense just sighed before turning to Tyrone. “Hey were you able to get Brad to join because he really should be here for this conversation?” Antonio pointed out looking around for any sign of him looking in Hachiko's direction more than a couple times.
“No, he got cold feet and said he didn't want any part of this. He looked so scared, it was hilarious!” Tyrone laughed with a wicked smile I never believed possible for him, it seemed like it stretched beyond normal proproteins before returning to normal.
“Wait, hold on if he knows we were behind the fire, then shouldn't we be worried he might say something?” Guams asked his voice getting louder and hands more expressive.
“No, don't worry Guams,” Tyrone mocked finding his worry laughable. “One, I made sure that he wouldn't say anything and two, who would ever believe him if he say anything.”
“Yeah, I guess you're right Ty. I mean who would ever believe we could do this,” Guams said as he raised his arms causing pieces of the earth around him to start to rise and start to spin around the trio.
“EXACTLY AND WITH THESE POWERS WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE WANT WITH NO ONE WHO COULD POSSIBLY STOP US! I WILL BE KING OF THE NEW WORLD WITH YOU TO AS MY KNIGHTS!” Cried Tyrone in a fit of maniacal laughter, at times didn't sound like him.
“HELL, YEAH! LET’S GIVE IT OUR ALL” Screamed Guams as he turned to Antonio. “What's wrong with you? Aren't you pumped? We have the opportunity to do anything we could dream of! Doesn't that excite you, Antonio?”
Antonio jolted upright, “Sorry I was thinking about something else. But yeah, with these powers, the possibilities are freaking endless!” It was at this moment I realized something. Antonio was looking directly into Hachiko's eyes. I froze, not sure what to do. I did the only thing I could think to do... Run.
“Revertere ad me eqyym meum" I whispered shakily. My vision immediately went back to normal, and I started to run, now understanding why Brad did the same. As I made my way through the forest a small green wisp of light no bigger than a quarter flew next to me. Recognizing it as Hachiko I grabbed it, putting the shrunken version of him in my pocket. I don't remember how long I ran. All I know is that I did eventually reach home, maybe around ten or ten thirty. Hard to say. All I remember is running to bed hoping… no praying, that what I had just seen was all just a bad dream, no, a nightmare, a horrible nightmare.