CHAPTER 37 -THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM- (3)
COLTER HART
I walked down a path, made out of dirt while on the side it had grass and dandelions. The sun was set high, clouds were only separated in small singles. Summer? I thought, looking back down through the horizon where a kid was. The cries of the child made me run, he needs my help. Closer and closer I was from the kid, the clouds seemed to vary. Dark and gloomy.
Thunder roared like a lion in the jungle. One drop of water fell, and then another, until what felt like a storm fell upon us like a veil onto us. I was already in front of the kid, but he seemed similar, like someone I know.
My arm extended to the crying child, “Are you lost?” I asked, “Where are your parents?” I asked a second time, waiting for a response. My body was like the light from a lighthouse, turning to every direction I could to see if there was someone close by or a structure.
Sadly, I couldn’t find anything or anyone. A thoughtless sigh that I let out as I began to wonder why there was a kid here and abandoned in the first place? The more I thought, the more wet I got from the rain, then I realized that the kid might be soaking wet.
My eyes widened when I discovered that the kid wasn’t wet, not a single drop but instead, he was drier than me. There must be a house or a village somewhere here or at least a person, probably his parents, that are clearly concerned for the well-being of their child.
With that decision, I set my right foot in front of me, ready to move, then suddenly I felt a slight force pull my pants. I looked at the thing that pulled my pants realizing that it was the kid, he held my pants tightly as he was sobbing. With his sobbing voice he said, “You must not follow the path. You will not see the ending of your suffering.”
“What do you mean I must not go there,” I signaled with my finger to the path that seemed peaceful. “This path is no–” When I looked again, the path had changed. It was no longer the path that looked normal or peaceful. The life that the path had was gone, instead of dirt the path was made out of cobblestone, while the grass was only dead weed. The dandelions were replaced with swords, stabbed into the ground with helmets covering the hilt.
I took a step back, the shock that had entered me still stunned me. What is going on? The kid! When I turned to the kid he wasn’t there, no, his skeleton was there instead of the living kid.
As I began to process what was happening, a muffled beeping noise echoed in my head. My thoughts couldn’t be finished as the noise became a distraction for me, the muffled noise became louder and louder to the point where I couldn’t contain it. Holding my head with my hands as I heard it, became more painful.
My vision was disoriented to the point where it swirled around the colors and details of the place I was, seconds later only to see the ceiling of my room. As I stared at the ceiling for a minute or two, I noticed that it was once again the alarm that woke me up from these types of dreams.
I covered my eyes with my arm before muttering, “It’s the third time this month.” These types of dreams don't happen regularly, but I’m usually skeptical about them since there is something about nightmares and dreams that could tell the future or something similar to that.
Knowing that was the case, I decided to ignore it and got ready for school.
After a few minutes, I was able to get ready and still had time before heading out. Being a few steps away from the kitchen table, the TV was on and was playing the news. My father–Julian–was always watching the news before heading to work and so was my mother.
“Morning,” I announced, fixing my tie before grabbing breakfast. “”Morning,”” responded both of my parents, “Colter, you seem a little tired. Are you alright?” Asked my mother, walking towards my seat and putting her hand on my forehead.
In her mind I could tell that she knew that I didn’t have a fever–and god permit not–but she still looked worried, I just couldn't tell her about my dreams even if I wanted to. Most of the time when I try to remember the things that happen in my dream it feels like they just disappear before even entering my recollection.
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But I knew I had to do something about it, even if it was a lie or even a sin, I had to tell them that their son was okay and ‘there wasn't a thing to worry about’. Yet there was a knot on my throat, stopping me from saying anything that my heart and mind thought was a sin.
I mastered the courage to lie to the most important and dearest people in this world. Forming a grin that didn’t reach my eyes to speaking in a joyous voice, “I’m fine mother, I swear it.” Amanda only looked at me before changing her facial expression, “If you say it then I won’t bother on it.”
“Honey, the Colter is no longer a boy. He is fourteenth, he should know the differences of love and support. And you young man, you should also know the importances of us caring about you and worrying about our one and only son.” My father jumped in, walking towards the table my mom and I were sitting at. “You got that? No matter how old you are, you will always be our son or like how your mom likes to put it ‘our baby boy’.” He finished with a small laugh.
Nodding to his words we began to eat, but I know I couldn’t eat with this knot in my throat, the tightness that my stomach did when I forced myself to eat. Only showing the two emotions that contradicted my feeling beneath it, Joyous and happiness. Sometimes I even feel that I don’t deserve my parents, they don’t deserve a lying son that doesn’t even want to follow their steps.
Couple of minutes later in the middle of breakfast, the TV that my father was watching was still on. My guilt grew as I took a bite of the food that my mother made, and because of that it made me forget about the TV. The news reporter was talking about something when all of the sudden his voice changed from normal to nervous. “Attention all watchers, Attention all watchers. I have important information about a current uproar in the border of Pleoca. Our reporters state that an upcoming war is to come, this information has been verified by the president of Pleoca, George West The II.”
Seconds later, the video clip of the president talking to the press. President George had a black suit with a black tie, his red hair was short and to the side, along with him was a woman who appeared somewhat familiar to me though I have not met this woman before.
The woman’s blue eyes were what caught my attention the most, like it was just a couple of days before that I had seen those eyes. When I pried my mind, trying to actually remember, knowing that my gut is telling me it’s important, nothing came. I eventually gave up before my parents began to speak, “I wonder what the government has to say about this…” A brief moment of silence came and left, “Let’s just hope that nothing seriously comes out.”
***
(–Legacy Academy–)
“Alright students, clase is over and lunch has begun.” The tired professor announced, closing the learning books he had on his desk and then left.
When professor Xavier left the class it got louder than usual, as it did, I was brought out of my mind from thinking about the news this morning. And from the looks of it, so were the other students that saw the news. Some students complained about the government not doing anything, some just don’t want war to break out. I sympathize with those that don’t want war to break down, after all it is our midway of our freshman year. In a couple of months and we will become sophomores.
I checked my phone to text a certain person, but I came to realize that I didn’t have her contact. I should go tomorrow since we don’t have school. I thought to myself, feeling gazes from both sides. “Who are you looking for?” I began to fight my mind as whether to tell him who I was trying to talk to, “A friend that I know from Pleoca.” I answered Alexis with a wry grin.
“Ho-ho, so you made a friend in the country that we abandoned you in?” butted in the black hair girl. I shot daggers at her as she said that. “Well, you left your leader of the group in a completely foreign country with nothing but what he brought with him. Scavenging for a hotel to stay the night, for hours. It’s not my fault that she was there.”
“She!?” let out Alexis along with a surprised look. Then a sinister voice was heard that brought the students that talk loudly to a shut, instantly. “So you're telling us that you stayed behind in the foreign country just to stay with a girl?” Fearing for my life, I quickly had to explain what had happened that day, from since we got there to when I left.
“W-Why am I here too?!”
“I don’t care Alexis, you too are a boy and you too would’ve done the same.”
Alexis couldn’t do anything but mutter to himself how women are strange creatures, which I kinda agree with.
Larisa gave me an unknown facial expression, crossing her hands and legs, “What are you going to do now?” Now that was a tricky question. Many answers are available but not many seem beneficial. The first one was going there without telling my parents. Second, going with Alexis without telling our parents. Third, going with Larisa without telling our parents.
“‘We’ are going with the fourth option.”