Till The End Of Time

The first thing I noticed through the heavy veil of black nothingness was a dull aching in my chest. I lay there for a good who knows how long just listening to the crickets chirp outside. It must be after nightfall. Of course it would be. This made me want to open my eyes and see anyway, and as I did I realized just how much of my body really hurt.

Oh, it wasn't just my chest. It..it was everywhere! I bit my lip. A cloth was wrapped around my forehead, and it didn't take me very long to figure out why. My knees, they had to be broken. Moving my legs just a tad was too much for me. The fingers on both of my hands- I bent them gently as I tried to relieve the cramped feeling. Not only was my head pounding, but my whole body seemed to be pulsing with pain. What in the name of Bob had I done to myself?! I moaned from all my aching wounds and a shadow stirred in the corner of the room.

How could I not have noticed the deep and steady breaths of a sleeping creature by the window? It had been there the whole time and I'd just now realized it. As the shadow turned over in its corner, other thoughts floated to the surface of my drowsy mind. Where was I? How could I possibly drag myself to shelter and not remember it? Who or what was the creature? Was it an animal? If so, the silent alarm going off in my head was keeping me pinned beneath the bed sheets. It couldn't be a person? Maybe a better look would answer my questions...

"Oh!" My hand clutched my side and my shoulders hunched in pain. I curled in on myself. "Stupid! Stupid!" I cursed myself for trying to sit up. Apparently all of this had woken the shadow; they gave a small gasp and stood straight up before making their way over to me. My eyes were squinted shut. I didn't want to move from my position because of the fear that I would feel it even worse again. Large hands gently wrapped around me and pushed me back down against the pillows. I winced in pain and the hands left my arms. I heard footsteps walk across a wooden floor, pause, and then come back to me. I still didn't want to open my eyes agin, but I heard a masculine voice above me saying "Here" and placing two pills into my one open hand. I looked at the two tablets and popped them into my mouth; the shadowy figure pressed a cold glass to my chapped lips and water trickled down my throat. It felt so nice, and it made me feel just a bit better. I took greedy gulps and whoever was holding the glass waited patiently. When every last drop was gone, the glass disappeared and I heard it being set down on a bedside table. There was a small noise from the same direction and a tiny flame lit up a portion of the room. I watched the flame as it lit the wick of a candle and the room became brighter. The flame didn't hold my attention as long as it would have, though; I was more interested in the man standing three feet away.

He looked tall, at least from where I was laying, and had a lithe form. His hair was a light golden-brown color and was slightly curly as it reached the corner of his jaw. His face was unshaven and he looked exhausted. He sighed. "Are you alright?" I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I just watched him as he kneeled beside the bed and examined me. His fingers touched my left knee; I gritted my teeth and grabbed his hand. His eyes met mine and I was amazed at how the candle light made the hazel irises smolder. "It hurts here?" he asked. I nodded. "And here?" I bit my lip and nodded again. "Okay, how about he-" I whimpered when he touched the sensitive spot on my left shoulder. "That's what I thought," he mumbled to himself and stood up. "The medicine should take away some of the pain, and..you should probably get some more rest." His brow furrowed and he scratched the back of his head. The way he looked at this moment was young- younger than I thought.

I decided to say something. "What happened?" The young man looked over at me.

"Well, apparently you got into a horrible accident and you nearly died. Wrapped yourself 'round a tree. Your heart stopped beating for about a minute and a half, but," he rubbed his eyes and looked at the ceiling. "I saved you." He stood for a moment, like he was reliving the moment within his head. He laughed a short hollow laugh. "Someone must have been watching over us..."

I looked down at my lap. "Yeah..." After a few silent moments, I thought of a few more questions. "Who are you?"

The young man smiled and pulled a rocking chair from the corner over by the bed. Once he sat down, he held out his hand. Hesitantly, I held out my own hand, and he wrapped it softly in his. The corner of my mouth turned up at the sight of it. "I'm Robin," he said.

"Robin," I repeated quietly to myself. I smiled weakly. "I'm Juliette."

I could have sworn I saw his eyes twinkle when he heard that. "Where're you from, Juliette?"

"Virginia. You?"

"Well," he said sitting back and running his fingers through his hair, "originally, I'm from a little town outside of London. But, I moved to New York so I could live with my Gran. My parents- they weren't around much, and I'd just made the decision to leave when I was sixteen."

I nodded slowly. "Oh. Well...Do you know where, erm, everyone else is?"

He laughed. "Ev-everyone else?" he asked, amused. He looked up at the ceiling, then back at me. "I haven't seen a single person until I saved you a day and a half ago."

My heart sunk considerably low at this information. "No one?" I asked in a quiet, meek voice.

He shook his head sadly. "I dunno what happened, but I'm heading back to New York. You'll come with me, right?"

I didn't know what to say. "Sure, I mean- Well, I'd rather be with you than nobody."

Robin gave me an odd look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Confused, I stared at him for a moment. "Oh! Oh, um, no. I just meant.."

"Don't worry. I was kidding." And he stood up. "Now rest up, alright? You need to heal quickly; it's getting colder and colder out there you know," he told me, gesturing towards the frosty window. "And we need to get moving soon."

After that we'd both exchanged awkward 'goodnights' and blown out the candle. And after that? I pulled the bed sheets over me and tried to fall asleep despite the sudden hush that had fallen through the night.

*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*

Now, I was in a place somewhere far away. My silk dress was hanging limply from my body and I shivered. My feet, they were bare. Everything echoed and spun around me. Tall trees surrounded me for miles, and a thick mysterious fog swirled in the air around me. It was so cold! It must have been the dead of winter, and I had not a single thing to keep me warm. The fallen leaves were limp beneath my feet and made no noise. The only sound was that of my breathing, which grew quicker each moment with my rising fear. And then whispers. They filled the air, the treetops, my ears.

A laugh. One belonging to a child. Come this way. Come this way. I turned slowly and saw glowing blue eyes. They were so bright, and so beautiful on the face of a tiny little boy. Who was this boy?

Follow me.

And I did.