What’s happening? Where am I? This is… a memory?

I remember!

A world full of beauty.

As the sun rose over the beautiful landscapes, the trees danced to the rhythm of the winds.

Like a heavenly dream, I see a wooden cottage. It wasn’t that big but cozy enough to house a small family.

Is this, home? —the year and time I can’t remember.

 The cottage sits on the far side of town, surrounded by all sorts of plants. Seems I loved Trees.

I wake up to the sweet melodies of birds and the smooth, soft feel of a bed.

I’d forgotten how it feels to sleep, on a bed.

I hear a voice… no two, distant.

I look out the window to find the voice of the little girl. She’s dancing in the Meadows, giggling. She looks nine. Another girl, a little older joins in chasing after her.

I can’t help but faint a smile when she catches up to her. They fall on the soft grass rolling around and then resuming the chase. The long golden hair of the oldest and the shoulder length brunette hair of the little, raced behind them.

Are they family?

MY sisters?

I'd like to think they were.

I dash out of the room, into the hall.

There they sat, an average built, white male probably in his forties and a black haired, dark skinned woman with a curvy outline in her late thirties on the couch smooching away over the sounds of their own laughter as they flirted to each other… My parents, I remember. But I can’t see their faces, it just looks hazy.

That bright day becomes taint, when the voice of Andrea... —Hmph, hmph, Andrea? I remember her name— screamed the name of the littlest...

“Maay!!?”.

I run out the house, through the yard and stop towering before a kneeling Andrea who continuously calls out for fallen May, trying to wake her up.

I blink a few times to make sure I wasn’t just seeing anything. I still can’t see their faces.

“Nate!” Dad calls out a name...

A name? I have a name!!! It doesn’t feel like it’s mine, though.

Andrea cranes her neck to look at me. She has May to her chest, out cold.

Something feels different, odd, a heavy burden. The feeling of helplessness, no, something darker.

Gravity around me is increasing, my legs feel wobbly. The ground is getting closer. It’s weighing me down to my knees. Thud... My knees slam into the hard dirt, my arms reaching out to grab her but only catching air. What’s this? What’s happening? Tears run down my cheek.

Andrea dashes away with May in her arms. Hesitant and wishing it wasn’t so I look up and I see dad shut the door to the truck and walk around to the driver’s seat.

Since the truck is a passenger pick up Andrea leaves May with mom in the front and dashes to the back.

 

On top speed, we hit the road.

I’m in the back with Andrea. Mom has May in her embrace sitting by dad in the front.

We speed by a sign reading “5 miles to——.” I look to the passing cars and trees to distract myself from the ongoing trauma.

I take a look at Andrea and she’s still whispering May’s name trying to coax herself. I see dad occasionally looking at mom, worried.

I shut out my thoughts just for a moment and look back at the street, staring into the dissipating horizon, everything feels like a blur.

I’m drifting.

 

The whole family is at the table eating, laughing and smiling at each other.

I always pictured myself in a happy family; I guess it must have been true, we were happy.

We bow our heads and share grace.

“Thanks for the food.”

I turn looking at Andrea when I hear a whisper in the room.

 “Nate.”

Something called to me.

It sounded so ominous, like the voices of a thousand angry souls calling to me.

Her lips move and the name is whispered again but this time it’s her voice. “Nate.”

Wait! That is my name! Nate…

“Pass me the salad”.

I reach out in front of me and grab the bowl. I stretch the bowl out to her and when she takes out her hand to grab it, her hand starts dripping red on the table—blood.

Suddenly the room goes dark. Lights flickering.

Fear takes hold of me. I hear the voices call my name once more, so eerie, so creepy and when I look at my family they are soaked, dripping blood, they are now figures of blood themselves.

The walls begin to shrink, cracks born in every corner, trickles and waterfalls of blood run down the wooden walls.

Heaviness starts to build up in the room. So eerie.

What in the actual hell is happening?

Suddenly I wasn’t at the table anymore, rather standing in the center of the room which seems to have no furniture.

I’m scared, so scared.

My breath slowly starts to freeze when the wall’s surface started to rise and sink, like faces are trying to escape from behind the walls.

I’m so freaking terrified!

That’s when I see it—my heart is beating so fast that it’s starting to hurt—a black blurry figure emerging from the wall. It’s twice my height, bloodshot eyes which pierced into your soul.

Crap, crap, crap. The room feels ice cold and this heaviness—I can’t move—restricted me from moving a single muscle. Why can’t I feel my limbs? I’m absolutely terrified.

With every flicker of the light the humanoid black mass moves drawing closer to me without taking a step.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die… I don’t want to die.

Before I knew it, mere feet away from me without so much as a footstep it race at me.

“Aaaaaahh”… Everything goes black.

I… I think just I peed my pants.

 

I come out of the trance, sweating, trying to catch my breath.

My eyes were wide open, but I plunged into a dream, a trance?

“Where… am I?”

I look up and around to see a few rows of empty silver and blue seats some feet away from me. I’m unfamiliar with where I find myself.

An all white room, tiled and a marble L-shaped reception desk. It takes me a minute to finally realize: we had made it to the hospital.

We are in the waiting area sitting on the long sliver and blue chair to the wall.

I quickly look beside me.

Andrea’s quiet, sad, her face locking on to each nurse and doctor which made their way through the room. They all have no faces.

Her face quickly turns to give me a look then back to the passing workers.

How the hell did I get here? I don’t remember. I look at dad and ask:

“How, when did we get here?”

“You mean you don’t remember? You walked in… Well, I guess everything happened so fast, took a toll on you”

Flop… Flop… The sounds on slippers walking the tiled floor close by gave hint on someone’s presence. I turn and see a nurse; by the looks of her outline she must be beautiful, in a light blue uniform. Her middle parted light-brown long hair, laid behind her ear held together in a single braid.

“They’re still in the ICU, the Doctor will be out shortly.”

They?

Speaking of they; mom is nowhere near. Where is she?

Then it hit me. In my minutes of black out, mom must have gone in to keep May company. But dad tells me otherwise.

He had May in his hands when we came in, as we cut across the waiting room towards the counter, and we heard a thud he turned: mom had suddenly collapsed. Yet I only stood, frozen, my eyes blank and my face pale.

 

It’s been two hours since the nurse came for us and not a single news…

A doctor’s heading our way… Yeah, he must be our doctor…

We stand up to him when he draws closer.

“Mr. Deon…?”

“Yes?”

“I—” Hesitant to say in front of us, “Come with me.” he takes dad aside.

I see them whispering to each other.

Dad becomes sad and overwhelmed, totally devastated, so much so he grabbed hold of the doctor’s color. The doctor though remained calm, comforting dad. As much as I try to make out what they spoke about, I can’t but rather feed upon their gestures.

A hand, a bit cold wraps around my arm. I look to my left and see Andrea tightly clinging on to my arm.

“Are they going to be okay?”

Looking at the facts and the emotions let out, it was undeniable that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

I look back at her… and I lied.

“They’re okay. Just tired, I suppose… Don’t worry. I’m sure they’re okay.” with a smile on my face.

The doctor leaves dad. He walks back to us to tell us what had happened… His eyes—they are non-existent but I feel like I know the expression and look he has—speaks for him even before he can muster the words.

Dad’s face slowly races down to my side as he forces—I know there is: a smile on his face. I follow his line of sight and saw what made him hesitate, Andrea.

I take a knee,

“Why don’t you go get yourself something from the cafeteria” I reached into my pocket and took out what seems to be paper, a bill, and hand it to her. She nods and moves “Get something for us too.” The moment she left, dad spoke.

I was glad at first when he mentioned all test proved there was nothing wrong with them, but...

My eyes shot open, I felt like my heart shattered, the news jolted through my system making me feel sluggish as he relayed the gruesome news.

Dad said, in the doctor’s own words:

“Mom and May’s were practically dead. Physically they were fit, no signs of any trauma but their vitals were so faint. They had no clue what was going on and the doctors could do nothing but rather let nature take its course as the body was still deteriorating.”

What is causing this? Even the doctors themselves were oblivious of the cause?

My eyes water up. This was no time to be a man. What is happening to mom and May?

Overwhelmed with emotions he excuses himself and left for the washroom…

“Nate?”

Andrea’s soft voice calls to me from behind.

Crap, how long has she been standing there? Did she hear dad?

 I quickly wipe my eyes and turn to her with a smile.

“Hey” There was a little croak in my voice.

Even without a face she looks disheartened, her eyes are tearing up.

Wait, I see something… the outline of her face. Slowly her face emerges out…

Wow, she’s so beautiful. My little sister really is so beautiful.

Her light yellow-green eyes, even though they were sad, you could still get lost in them.

She loses her balance about falling and I quickly dive taking a knee and catch her, tightly hugging her. I feel her tears soak into my dress as she cried.

“Nothing will happen to Mom and May, I swear.”

Huh… What’s happening? Everything is going dark…

 

I had a family? Nate, huh? I have a name.

 

○●○

 

He fell, out cold.

Allora had her hands to her chest afraid for the life of the two.

“Go check him out, Kobar”

Afaghis said to the Faun.

“What, why me?”

“You knocked him out so you go check”

“Help me out here, Kqeef”

Kqeef dismissively shrugs.

“Damn you!”

The muscular faun walked towards Nate tightening his muscles not to show his fear. He was scared that Nate might pounce on him.

He got on a knee to have a closer look.

“Is he dead?” Asked Kqeef.

“Why bother if he is, we get to claim the bounty anyway.” Afaghis retorted.

Kobar turned to the others... “He’s out” … Then back at Nate.

“Predictable.”

No matter how much of skilled fighter one was, it was the same and it got them through many situations…

Suddenly Nate’s eyes violently opened, turned black instantly, his hand jerk-grabbed the neck of the faun.