The knight in front of me slowly reanimated as his ears began to register the growing panic around him. Dropping the notebook on the ground, he looked towards the shouting lady, and further beyond that to what they were pointing to. My head followed as well, concerned about how dangerous this fire could really be.
The knight's voice rose a pitch when he finally acknowledged the fire. "Everyone!" He shouted over the crowd. "Don't panic! There's still time before the flames climb the wall. Everyone here start grabbing buckets of water while we wait for more knights to arrive!"
The knight then turned toward my way. "The three up front, I need you to help me open the side gate nearby so everyone else can bring the water." He turned back around. "Follow me."
Follow me...
I heard it again. A quiet voice, hissing at me. That was just my mind processing the knight's words right? Then again, something about the sudden fire began creeping me out, as if it were a bad omen. I could feel a bead of sweat form on the edge of my forehead. My body slowly started running cold as I followed the steps of the knight.
We all swiftly made our way over to a small gate, hidden along the side of the wall. I say small, but the door was still about ten feet tall, locked by some wood planks. No wonder the knight wanted some help.
"Alright, you two move the planks out of the way, and you, take the wheel over here and help me pull the gate up." The knight pointed at me as the others briskly walked toward the planks. I followed the knight's lead and placed my hands around a large wheel off to the side, ready to pull open the gate.
As I began to pull as I started smelling the smoke reaching around from the top of the wall. Slowly, the gate glided up, revealing the hot flames in the woods beyond. Visions of that day flashed back in my mind. My fear steadily building itself up deep inside. The fire that took my brother, and the fire out in the woods, they felt eerily similar.
"The water! Hurry!" The knight beckoned other workers over, as his voice started leaking panic.
Bucket after bucket made their way out through the gate and onto the fire, but the flames just swallowed the water up. I stood back as I watched the knight desperately try to keep the flames at bay, resorting to bringing out his weapon. I watched as he stopped for a moment, calling out a name.
"Silvercut"
A faint glow shined from his hand as a weapon emerged, a curved sword with a magnificent blade that shined so bright I almost had to turn away. The knight grabbed the hilt and sliced through the air, aiming in front of the fire. Shooting out from the end of the blade were small metal spikes that punctured the ground, creating a mini barrier, keeping the fire back.
But it wasn't enough. The flames quickly circled around the knight's embarrassing barricade and continued onward. He frantically swept his sword back and forth, making more spikes, however as he did so his sword grew dimmer and eventually his energy was ate up. His efforts were useless.
I felt kind of bad, but here I was, doing nothing. I couldn't even move. Was I really so terrified of fire?
Follow me...
The flames whisked away. What remained was a scorched path that led deep into the forest. No lingering embers floated about and the half-burned trees remained half-burnt.
Silence. Not one body around me moved. The air felt stale and the world fell static. What happened? How could the fire suddenly vanish? My eyes couldn't comprehend how such a large fire could just disappear. But then, I heard the whoosh of the flames beside my ear.
I quickly turned around, expecting to see the flames again. Instead, burnt trees filled my line of sight. Darkness braided its way through the trunks, and a musty mist floated above the charcoal-esque ground. As I looked around more and more, I finally caught up to what my eyes were seeing. The town had disappeared. I had disappeared.
I twirled around again, hoping to see the people who were standing by my side just moments ago, but all I found were more trees. I kept spinning. I felt my breath quicken and the bead of sweat from earlier had dripped off my face and splashed onto the burnt ground.
Where am I?
Nothing but dark woods stretched out for an eternity. A chill ran through the air as I looked up and down. The sky was filled with stars, but in a pattern that wasn't familiar to me, while the ground crunched beneath my footsteps like dense snow. A narrow path stretched out in front of me, snaking its way through the dense trees.
I felt my heart pound inside my chest at slow pace, as if my chest had morphed into a large drum, where the sound echoed around me and began suffocating my ears. My breathing settled as I noted my surroundings.
Follow me...
I heard it again. That voice. It was ten times clearer now, and I realized that the voice inside my head wasn't a hallucination. It felt real, as if something wanted me to hear it.
Suddenly, a spark of light gleamed deep inside the never-ending forest at the farthest end of the path ahead. My foot took a step forward independently as if my body was being dragged along towards the light.
Aleo! Aleo! Can you hear me? Aleo!
The memories came flooding back along my walk. My mind seemed to disconnect itself as I watched my dream unfold again. The fire felt stronger and my tears stung more than ever as I reached out for Devonte. My vision was filled with the horrifying scene, as if I was actually reliving that day.
Dev!
My own voice called out inside my head and I saw Dev tumble through the rubble and flames. His body looked older and covered in ash.
Aleo!
A wall of flame erupted around his body and a sudden darkness fell over me. I had passed out. That's where my dream ends.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!
The scream of a man rang out through my mind. The sound of pure pain and agony ripped my mind apart. Darkness still covered my eyes as if I were blind. The smell of smoke and the sound of terror being the only things I could make out.
This pain will build strength my child.
A deep booming voice washed away the screams. Its sound carried cold authority. Each sound whisked away as if it were a faint memory I could hardly remember. The screams ended short relative to how painful they sounded, while this new voice wanted to speak again, but was cut off.
What is he?
My brother spoke, however his voice was rough. I could hear him almost cough in the middle of his sentence. Then I saw him. My vision slowly formed again, however blurry and incomplete, but I saw him. Dev was kneeling down on one leg, his whole body tired and ashy. His clothes were burned, and a light mist surrounded his lower half.
Follow me... responded the mystery voice.
I tried looking around behind me in what felt like the direction of the voice, but nothing but darkness was there. Slowly, the trees started coming back into view, and as I turned around, my brother faded away, his lips mouthing one last phrase.
Follow me...
It was his voice who had called out to me. The soft pained chorus of Dev's voice had played within my mind.
I'm here Aleo...
My mind returned to my body and I could feel my eyes move once again as I tried to look around for my brother. A wave of urgency filled my heart, and my eyes flared just from the thought of being able to see my brother again. But all I met were the surrounding trees, which formed in a dark, gloomy circle around where I stood.
Follow me...
My head and body jolted back to the voice and in front of me emerged a small ball of fire, floating above the ground and mist, just an arm's reach away. The flames pulsed out towards me, the sparks floating just an inch away from my body, desperate to connect with me.
Aleo... My brother's voice rang out from the flame. Follow me...