Status: Taking it easy but still going.

Not So Hollo

Take me back

After dragging that small bit of limp flesh indoors, I prepared to lay him down onto the couch which was unfortunately tipped over with its cushions gutted in sad little lumps. I righted the couch and arranged as much of the cushion fluff I could gather into a moderately normal shape. "You better not be roughed up too bad. You hear? ... Pfft, of course you don't!..... Gaaah!", I had finally hefted his body onto the couch with many frustrated grunts and curses. I sat down on the area I had cleared to coax Runt off of my sweaty neck. It was getting warmer with the Lady's rays chasing the whispering fog and clouds away. Runt had relaxed now that there was only one unfamiliar human scent. I untangled his sharp claws and his twining tail from my neck. Rubbing at my claw scored neck I said to Runt and offered my hand, "Hey now, come 'ere boy". Runt complained in a small whine but untangled himself despite his discomfort.

I looked towards the boy, Dare. "Now what am I going to do about you?" Runt crawled along the floor on uneasy legs. His claws weren't accustomed to the smooth terrain of time polished wood. Although he was preoccupied with learning to walk again, Runt stayed far away from Dare. I went to the broken down door to repair it for privacy, but I quickly found out that I was no carpenter. I settled for laying the door on its hinges and leaning it upon the door frame loosely. 'Leave the boy here. He's nothing but trouble, you know? He probably deserved to have his daddy taken away', the voice startled me from my relaxed pose kneeling by Dare. I didn't feel it approach like the sniveling dog it was. Usually I could feel the black of its consciousness seep into my mind in a cloudy and venomous way. I felt the smallest pang of fear that it was getting a little too active being around the first city I've seen in weeks. It was time for me to depart for today, but I had promised myself and Dare that I would help. At least get him cleaned up and make sure he isn't seriously injured.

'You know what? I've been listening to your harping all day. Zip it! I don't care about what you think you little devil!' I retorted this in what I hoped to be a commanding voice. 'Leave the boy. You've helped the undeserving wench. Go and kill the bad men! You know they'll only hurt more people.' I rolled my eyes at its last comment, 'Yeah, yeah. And so will you if you get your way. Go away and let real people live their lives how they want to'.

Dare had a nasty cut on the back of his head that leaked a distinct and deep red onto the beige cushion of the couch. I stood up and looked around the mess the Patrollers had made. A broken chair, overturned table and variety of knickknacks in various stages of damage. That was rude of them. The man had not put up a fight and he had been crippled for Lady's sake! I saw Runt scratching at the floor boards near a narrow hallway. "Where's a rag or some type of cloth around here? Dammit." I walked around the sparse furniture and deteriorating house. Walking down the hallway I found only a small room furnished with two sleeping pallets, a short dresser and an almost threadbare and nondescript rug. Across from the living room was a dining room. It was basically one room just split by a couch and the overturned table and chairs. "Shortest tour ever, huh Runt?" Runt was playing with a bit of fluff that apparently decided to wage war. It was in the dining room that I found some rags and water. I pumped water into the washing basin and wet two rags and kept a few others dry. 'I feel like a babysitter or maybe a nurse. Ha! That's ridiculous!' I continued over to where Dare lay composed although a little pale. I was just thinking to myself when the voice interrupted rudely, 'You are NOT like the nurse! She was bad. Terrible. Evil. They all were. All of them. The nurse. The Demons. The FIRE!' I was shocked that the voice would be so passionate about nurses. I blinked a few times before answering, 'What are you talking about? I'm just helping Dare get better'. The voice continued, 'They all got the punishments they deserved though. I made sure of that. Hahaha. YES! I did. Didn't I? DIDN'T I?!' I had never heard it laugh, let alone laugh so coldly and manically.

'Who the in the realm of the Lady are you talking ab-', I didn't get to finish that thought because of the sudden overwhelming pain in my head. This was no ordinary headache. This was sharp and deliberate. A buzzing sound was accompanied by the impeding darkness that threatened to cloud my vision. "W-what's h-h-happening?", My teeth were clenched tightly enough to make my jaw cramp furiously. It felt as if my eyes threated to roll out of my head from the pressure I felt behind them. I fell to the ground clenching my head. My eyes were strained open. I would not faint. I would not let it consume me. Not here. Please not here. Darkness crowded into my vision like clotted ink. It spilled and slunk into my eyes in a downpour of thick horrendous rain. But I was still semi-conscious. I was sure of it. Either that or I had finally died.

Out of the darkness I spotted a small dot of light in the far distance. I tried to draw myself to it but I found that I could not move. I felt bound. I was bound. I struggled defiantly. Uselessly. The bindings did not budge. My heart sped up to catch up with my panicked thoughts. There was no voice to comment. I struggled in vain, but struggled none the less. I opened my mouth to say something. Anything. The only sound that I heard was the monotonous buzzing and the small exhale of breath from forgetting to breathe. My body was enflamed with a fire that burned through my blood. It coursed through my veins creating a map that was meant to be unreadable. What was happening to me?

Meanwhile, the dot of light grew and grew until it was almost upon me. As it came closer, the temperature surrounding by burning body dropped as if I had climbed the tallest mountain on this planet, naked. I felt as vulnerable as if I had exposed my throat to a live Feral. Fear helped to build even more pyres within by body. I could not process what was going on, my pain was so great. The clear white light changed slowly from a faint peach to pink then a rapid slash of crimson followed the seemingly mellow colors. They weren't just colors. They were images. The buzzing grew louder, the red brighter, the fire hotter. I could not scream or move. My senses were overloaded with the intensity of the images that were shown for the briefest moments. The first VE I had killed, a glowing box, a white room, a red room, pictures flashed so rapidly that I was not able to grasp but a handful and suddenly it stopped on one picture, a boy. Was he a memory? Why would they return after all this time? How did they return? The buzzing stopped abruptly. The fire disintegrated. There was something important about this boy. I had to find out. He is familiar, I know it. Something-my body was wretched violently out of the vivid, dreamlike state."NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!", my body jerked and twitched wildly as I struggled against invisible bonds, then I opened my eyes with a quick snap. With unfocused eyes and a throbbing head I blinked.

I was staring straight into the face of the boy I had seen in my dream state. The same boy. "Who are you?"
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Awesome! I finished another chapter but I'm still hungry for comments so feed the poor! Hopefully this chapter will add a little excitement to the somewhat boring chapter I wrote previously. I'm open for suggestions for anything. Maybe you could help me design some super monster or just a weird type of creature. I am also open for juicy ideas or conflicts you'd like to see later on. :)

-AJ