With my brain throbbing against my skull as I pressed my sweaty hand against the cold wall, a heavy sigh came in from the endless nightmares that seemed almost entirely likely to come.

Celie’s sobs echoed in my ears, bouncing off every inch of my skull.

The moment made my vision spin, and my stomach urged itself to spill the bread I ate the day before.

I advised Celie to step away from the body, in which she hesitated but gave in.

The old lady’s skin mottled with purple and blue patches as she laid breathlessly on the ground.

My other hand reached towards my chest and twisted my tunic.

My heart hadn’t given out, yet.

I snatched Celie’s bag sitting in the corner of the house and then grabbed Celie’s arm, yanking it, and made a quick haste out of the house.

The streets filled with a frigid mist and howls of cries.

Almost as if I had seen this very scene before, a few corpses littered the dirt road.

Some people mourned over the corpses. Some people stood still, fixed on the bodies as they grew pale.

I was sure of it…

“What have I done…” Celie questioned, who’s innocent eyes became strained and hollow.

I advised her to cover her mouth with cloth as we paced through the streets, keeping safe distance from the townspeople.

Yelps and retches filled the gray, misty town.

“Get out of the way!” Shouted a man who pushed us to the ground and ran further ahead.

My dizziness had strayed enough for me to finally embrace Celie, who stiffened immediately.

But I wasn’t the only one embracing, as a hand reached and grabbed around my ankle.

To my surprise, it was an elven woman who was turning purple.

Although she couldn’t speak, her mouth attempting to form words was calling for my help.

Her lifeless face struck what was left of my heart, and so I turned away, kicking her hand off and setting off into the air as both Celie and I squinted to the drizzle hitting our face.

“What’re you doing!?” cried Celie

“Escaping!”

“But what about her? What about the people?”

The void of humanity in my face, if there were any still there, grew larger.

“They’re already dead! We’re just lucky enough to have survived!”

Celie grew more stiff in my arms the more I tried to reason with her.

Our stomachs turned and twisted harder, craving for food and relief.

We arrived at the front of another town shortly after the incident.

Celie sat on a rock, rocking herself back and forth, feeling at her slightly pink forehead.

I leaned against a tall, thick, isolated, dark brown tree.

There were no words to be said.

Although I wished for quiet since I met Celie (which Celie clearly didn’t understand), I wanted to fill the silence, making the situation less tense if I could.

“Celie, are you alright?”

…

No response.

I asked again, in which I finally had a response, except it wasn’t what I had hoped for.

“What’s wrong with you?” She refused to look at me and shook her head.

Those words resonated in my head, and I seemingly made the silence more harsh.

I’ve witnessed 2 towns being brought to ruins. I’ve witnessed families being torn apart. I’ve witnessed my disconnection with myself in each dilemma. All of this in just 2 years.

I slid down the tree and took a seat, closing my eyes and hoping to rest my pains.

‘This is your learning lesson.’ said a familiar voice.

I opened my eyes to find myself in a familiar darkness.

Earl?

‘Yes, this is Earl.’

I haven’t heard from you in 2 years… I could’ve used your help, you know.

‘Grow up, Alaric. Learn to take initiative by yourself. Only then will you become strong enough.’

Strong enough?

‘You’ll understand soon enough.’

I felt something grab at my heart, reeling me upwards and back into consciousness.

“Wake up! How could you sleep after all of this? You’re the worst…” Celie bit her lip, her eyes peering into mine.

“I’m sorry.” I said, waving her to step back so I could stand. “This is all my fault. I knew that the wolf was sick yet I let you take it in.”

I didn’t expect to receive forgiveness from Celie, in which I didn’t, but I did receive a hard blow across my face, leaving a red mark of a small hand on my cheek.

“Celie-”

“You’re an idiot! It’s my fault too!”

“But you didn’t know-”

“Still! I should’ve known better… so stop putting this all on yourself!” Celie punched my arm lightly.

I gave out an empty chuckle.

“I’ve never seen you act so mature before.”

“Shut up.” I received another blow on my arm from Celie, but this time it gave me a throbbing ache.

After 3 days of traveling, we reached a city built in the shadow of mountains that seemed as if it touched the clouds. The backdrop of rich fields of crops and towns complemented the round city’s beauty.

Smooth stone masonry surrounded the city.

Large flags, emblazoned with a golden flying owl, fluttered in the wind.

“This is it! This is Webb City!”

Our gazes locked onto the city, only averting after our paths were suddenly intercepted by 4 four men in cloaks.

The ground beneath us shook, and a cage of stone began forming around us.

I swiftly embraced Celie, who unsheathed her broadswords and thrusted into the air, flying further into the forest.

*whiiiz*

*pheww*

Stone projectiles flew past us as I did my best to evade every one of them.

*whiiz*

*splat*

“AGHH!” I cried as Celie and I plunged downward.

Celie shouted, crying for help.

Just before we hit the ground beneath us, I managed to slow us down before our falls were broken by tree branches.

After breaking through the weak branches and leaves stuffing our mouths and shirts, we fell onto a steep grass hill.

I tried standing up, but I found myself rolling downwards, catching small glimpses of Celie rolling down with me.

Suddenly, we went back to falling as the light dimmed and green disappeared the more we plunged.

“Oof!” I gasped as all the chaos finally came to an abrupt end.

My neck’s painful throbs grew more severe as I turned my head to Celie who was knocked out.

Soon, I too would black out as my attempt to reach out to her failed.