Life and Death are just one heartbeat apart
This is a sequel of my previous story "Seas of Madness - Trees of Sadness"
Spoiler: May contain character death.
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What has happened so far:
After being told about a 'Keeper of a Portal' called Marius by Dungeon Master, the Young Ones were setting off to him right away.
When they had a rest near a forest Hank sent Eric and Bobby into it to get something to eat, hoping to solve the constant arguments between the two boys with this step.
But of course his well-meant plan went completely wrong because they began to argue and split up in the end. Being on his own Bobby discovered a tree and tried some of its fruits; a fatal mistake as the berries were poisonous.
The poison caused a remarkable change of the character, leading to death.
Even Dungeon Master himself couldn't help since this was 'nature's doing' but there was a single cure, though: the water of the 'Sea of Madness'.
They were about to go to this sea when suddenly Venger showed up and kidnapped the Barbarian, forcing them to rescue the young boy from Venger's grip at first.
However, time was working against them because Bobby's condition had already gotten worse when they eventually made it.
After a difficult and long journey they finally reached the sea but there other bad news were awaiting them: they found out from two ghostly creatures - the 'Protectors of the Sea' - that the water wasn't used the way they thought, it wasn't going to help anything at all to simply drink the water or to bath in it.
The poisoning would only be completely over when 'the heart stops beating'; in other words: when Bobby dies.
So they had the horrible choice to let the boy die of the poisoning or to release him from his agony by drowning him.
But no matter how they were going to decide, one thing was certain: they would lose in any case!
After many considerations they have come to a decision.
Sheila was the one to carry this heavy burden and so she did what she had to do: she killed her own little brother...
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1. Lost to the Sea - Your world was not mine
It slowly went quiet around the quite large sea. In the distance some kind of an owl was hooting, greeting the coming night in its way - rather unaware that its call was regarded as a death message on earth for a long time, above all in the Middle Ages.
Apart from that nothing moved, not even the wind.
Once in a while only loud sobs, emerging from the bottom of someone's very soul, were interrupting the silence. They were a sign of deep mourning.
Sheila was crouched beside the lifeless body of her brother and was only sobbing by this time. She had shed all her tears and her screams were faded away but the grief was going to remain, though.
Several minutes had passed since then.
Basically, none of the friends had moved one bit meanwhile. None of them was giving the impression that they wanted to rise again sometime and continue their way in search for a portal out of this realm; even without their youngest member.
You'd almost think that they wanted to sit and wait there forever, abandoning themselves to their sorrow.
If an enemy - especially Venger - had an appearance in these moments, he would have had an easy going with the Young Ones: one dead, the other five as good as. Their resistance as normally expected was broken long ago. There couldn't have been a better situation!
But they were lucky at this point: they didn't have to fear an attack from any foes, at least in this moment.
They were alone; everyone was occupied with his/her own grief.
That's why nobody noticed the faint movement.
A low groaning followed after that before it changed into retching noises.
Sheila was the first of them to be aware of it since those sounds were coming right next to her.
She lifted her head, her eyes widened when she realized where they actually came from.
Bobby's chest was raised and lowered irregularly!
She quickly glanced at his face. His eyes were still closed, though, but they were shifting restlessly behind the lids.
The retching noises were coming from him without any doubt.
"Bobby? Oh my god... Bobby..." Sheila whispered hoarsely.
She laid her arms around him and lifted his body.
And there the completely unimaginable thing happened: the boy presumed dead opened his eyes again!
The girl gasped in shock while staring down at her brother unbelievingly.
"Hank... Hank! HANK!" Her words were raspy but yet loud enough to call the other's attention to the scene.
"What the...?" Eric blurted out while they were staring at the previously lifeless young Barbarian.
Bobby retched again in Sheila's arms.
She instinctively turned her brother over and he threw up into the grass right away.
They, looking both disgusted and fascinated at the same time, watched the kid spitting out a purple coloured liquid.
After that he gasped for breath and sank back into his sister's arms, completely exhausted.
"Bobby... oh Bobby..." Sheila said happily, hugging her brother tightly. "You... you're alive..."
The last tears were running down her cheeks, but those were tears of joy.
The boy was still too weak to complain about this embarrassing situation. So, he let it happen without any protest; feeling relieved on his part as well.
~.~.~.~
As opposed to Sheila and her turning into a vampire in the 'Forest of the Damned', he knew exactly what had happened in the meantime.
Like Venger had already guessed, in spite of his apparently apathetic-looking condition, he was well aware of everything that happened around him - from his kidnapping to his rescue right up to his 'homicide' - but wasn't able to react to it because of the poisoning.
He had mentally struggled against the malicious effect of the disease at first, though, but was dragged into it deeper and deeper as a result.
So, he was in his right mind when Sheila had drowned him in the sea. And he also knew why she had done it and how difficult it had been for her.
Suddenly he was filled with affection for his sister. Now he regretted not having ever told her how much he loved her despite her persistent overprotection
After he had closed his eyes - forever, as everybody thought at the beginning - he felt leaving his body.
You could imagine his shock when he had to look at his own dead body. An adult wouldn't have coped very well with this sight for sure. How was a 10 year old boy supposed to do so?
And yet he wasn't shocked in the least. He neither was scared nor confused. He just knew that it was 'right'.
Though, a feeling of dismay came over him when he watched his sister and his friends mourning for him. They were so depressed because of him...
"You need not to be concerned about them. They will vanquish their grief some day." somebody spoke to Bobby.
He didn't even wince at the unexpected sound of the voice and also didn't bother to turn around, he already knew who it was.
"Yeah, maybe... but it still hurts to see them like that..." he answered sadly.
"Why certainly! The efforts of your predestinated impossible salvation and the guilt they have taken upon themselves with your alleged death would have been in vain, if this were not the case." The protector stepped beside him.
The two ghostly shapes watched the Young Ones, without being perceived by human eyes.
"Alas, it is time. We need to go now, my boy. Say goodbye to them and come with me. I will lead you to the place where the other 'Deceased Ones of the Sea' are located as well. Do not worry, you will fare well with them there." the keeper remarked, already turning around.
"No, I wanna stay here!" Bobby objected quietly but firmly. "Please..."
"I am sorry, but this is impossible. You cannot sojourn here in the twilight zone. This is only allowed to us protectors, only we are authorized to travel between the different worlds. Your place is destined among the 'Deceased Ones' now. Only there you will find your peace. It would be much too dangerous for you to be here in the twilight zone. There are a few vicious creatures..." the keeper replied and stopped.
"I... I can't leave them. That just ain't right! Please, can I stay here?" the boy turned towards the protector pleadingly.
The keeper shook his head. "Look, the others are already awaiting you to welcome you with pleasure. You will be treated well!"
With that he pointed into the distance where a bright light was shining. You really could spot several figures which gave the appearance of being friendly.
"They will be your family from now on. You must let go of your sister and your friends. If you stay here, they will never be able to get over their mourning. They would sense your presence and they would never let you go and forget you. They still would have the vague hope that you will return to them one day. Do you really want to burden them with that?"
"No, I don't, but..." the Barbarian admitted, glancing at his desperate sister. "I don't wanna leave them. I wanna be with them... Can I?"
"You mean, you want to be back into your body again, Deceased One?"
Bobby nodded. "Is that possible? Oh, please, let me go back. I don't wanna live with the other diseased. I wanna be with my sister and my friends again!"
According to his behavior, the keeper wasn't very pleased about this request altogether.
"Well, since your friends have pulled you out of the water again, it stands open for you to return into the mortal world, as a matter of fact. There are two ways open for you: the one to the other 'Deceased Ones' or back into your mortal body. However, this free decision will not be granted to everyone. The ones who stay in water are not supposed to choose. There's only one way for them, and that inevitably leads to one's equals: 'The Deceased Ones'. But the ones who were brought ashore again in a cured condition - as you were - are permitted to decide on one's destination for themselves. That is stated in our 'Laws of the Sea'. And if this is your greatest wish..."
"It is!" Bobby proclaimed emphatically.
The protector sighed. "Each time I wonder why human beings are just not willing to accept things how they are, without questioning them right away and thus wanting to change them. I'm afraid, this is one thing I will never understand. I mean, why for heaven's sake would anyone prefer - by one's own choice, mind you - the hard worldly life to the lightheartedness of the 'Deceased Ones'?"
" 'cause I love them all..." the boy whispered truthfully.
"Oh yes, love... it effects so many things; not only in your world, young Barbarian. Oftentimes, it is the impulse for many actions, as well as the circumstance of your physical death..." the spirit nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Well then, so be it! You will go back into your body." he continued after a short pause. "But keep in mind, with this step the access to the realm of the dead will be denied to you so long as you are about die again. For this reason, I'm asking you now for the last time: are you really inclined to give up your current existence as a spirit, where all the negative feelings like pain, sorrow, hatred, wrath and suffering have no meaning at all, in order to return to the realm you have lived in up to your hour of death?"
The Barbarian nodded, looking determined at the other ghost.
"Close your eyes, then." the protector ordered.
The boy did it without thinking. The keeper touched the child's heart, directly after that Bobby felt something pulling at him. He literally sensed himself slipping back into his own body; noticed the rough ground he was lying on and his wet clothes sticking to his body. An nausea was overcoming him right away. He then started retching...
~.~.~.~
And now here he was; back again among the living, hugged by his sister so firmly as if she never ever wanted to release him again. He remembered how much he had missed her and was glad about his decision.
Happy about that, he returned the hug.
"I'm soo glad you're back! Without you, I wouldn't have been happy ever again. How could I've ever forgiven myself what I've done to you? Oh, please forgive me!" Sheila cried quietly into his ear. She then gently eased their embrace and gazed at him.
He nodded and smiled faintly. "I love you, Sis." he muttered softly as well, carefully ensuring that the other Young Ones didn't hear him.
The rest of their group was gathering around them, sheer disbelief written on their faces.
"Hey, guys." Bobby greeted the others, still a bit weak.
"Gee Bobby, we really thought you were... well..." Presto trailed off.
"Welcome back, short stuff. Long time no see." Eric joked, still a bit shocked.
"Riiight, Eric." the other boy replied with a ghost of a grin.
The poisoning appeared to be completely gone; the cheerfulness has finally returned to him again.
"Yeah, nice to see you again." Hank commented affectionately, smiling relieved at the youngest.
"How is all that even possible? That's a miracle!" Diana was astonished, wiping over her eyes.
"Well, we rather call it 'Nature's Law' than to simply claim it as a 'miracle'." someone announced behind them.
They all turned around and watched the protector, they met earlier at the sea and Bobby then later on as a spirit, approaching them.
"Like we have already tried to explain you, the heart of the poisoned one had to stop beating so that the water can enclose it and purify it of the poison. That's the only way to avoid death by the poison itself. It always has to be done like that.
After that there's the possibility for us to revive the dead person if he or she wishes for it.
But it is, was and always will be that not all poisoned ones are able or are allowed to be back to life again after their recovery, because only very few of them, who even make or have made it this way to the sea at all, came here with friends or relatives.
They did not have anyone to pull them out of the water so that they could be resurrected at seashore again. For most of them, there was nothing else left than to commit suicide. They drowned themselves and remained in the water. This is the reason why they were denied a second chance to live. Thus it is written in our laws. They just stay dead." the keeper explained, being more kindly now than at their first meeting, and stared at the Barbarian.
Bobby nearly blurted out that the protector had explained that to him exactly the same way just a few moments ago.
But he changed his mind just in time.
He didn't want to tell anyone about it and worry the others with his experience as a ghost. No one should ever get to know about it! He swore that to himself in this very moment. That's why he kept silent.
They then heard a bleat and even before anyone could react, Uni leaped into Bobby's arms, licking over his face joyfully.
"Uni!" the boy called out with both surprise and delight and snuggled up to his little friend. "Aw, did you miss me as much as I did?"
Her answer came as another bleat.
Sheila watched the two youngest with a smile. Hank placed a hand on her shoulder, she quickly turned around to him, still smiling.
"Um, is it really over now?" the Magician inquired, slightly worried about a possible negative reply.
"Yes, the poisoning is gone. Your young friend is completely cured again. His body has ejected the poison, his heart was purified." the keeper confirmed, pointing at the vomit.
"So, there's no way for him to suffer a relapse or something along these lines?"
"No, at least as long as he does not eat from the berries again..."
"Well, we're gonna take care of that, now more than ever!" the leader stated sternly but yet with a touch of leniency.
The young Barbarian hung his head. That certainly meant he won't be allowed to go anywhere without at least one 'custodian' for quite a while. Only because of such dumb berries! He sighed audibly.
"Oh well, if you'd listened to me, we would have stayed in this small 'hicksville'. So, all of this wouldn't have happened in the first place." the Cavalier chimed in.
He has regained his usual sarcastic nature, after it was clear to everyone that Bobby was healed thoroughly.
"Eric." the Ranger shot a warning glance at the other boy, which clearly signified that he shouldn't start that again.
After all, this whole mess was due to Eric for the main part, somehow. If he hadn't argued with Bobby in the forest, the kid perhaps wouldn't ever have found this tree. But now it was too late for that and it didn't help at all to second-guess the Cavalier. Bobby was fine again and nothing else matters at the moment.
However, it was not wise to give Eric space to chatter in order to possibly raise another argument with that.
"Why, ain't I right? We'd have had a quite comfortable place to sleep at least. But nah, our tour guide had to show up again, talking us into a new exciting travel! Oh, if I ever get ahold of this Little Red Riding Hood..."
"Eric!"Hank's warning got harsher.
"Well, I think Eric's right, um sort of." Diana began but was cut short in mid-sentence by the Cavalier. "Great, just stab another kni- ohhh, nevermind."
"Should have waited a sec with your rant, eh?" the Acrobat, obviously amused by the other youth's puzzled face, winked at Eric. "Dungeon Master should have been honest, instead of lying to us! No matter how you look at it, Hank, but that's a fact."
The leader shook his head. "Do you think we still would have taken on this long journey so full of hope if Dungeon Master had told us plainly that the only question is in which way Bobby was going to die in the end? If he'd make it clear right at the beginning that the water will help only if we're gonna drown Bobby?"
"I'd have gone this way in any case!" Sheila proclaimed, exceedingly determined. "Even the realization that the result might not turn out as desired couldn't have stopped me as well. I'd do anything for my brother and also for my friends, since you all are the most important thing left to me in this miserable realm, something that still reminds me of home. The only reason for me to keep going..." she trailed off.
The other Young Ones hadn't expected so much honesty. They looked at the girl surprised.
"Well, maybe it would have been much easier for me if I had known that there wasn't any hope instead of coming here and then get to know that it was in vain after all... it wouldn't have been so... unexpected..." Presto pointed out.
"Though I don't think that it really would have been easier for us if we had known, it doesn't matter anymore. Bobby's safe and sound again. This is basically more than I've expected until recently. We came this way to heal him and that's just what we did even though it didn't look like that at first. He's alive; that's all that counts, right?" the Ranger turned towards the reunited group.
One by one they nodded their approvals.
"That's why we also can focus on our original plan again: Marius, the keeper of the portal."
"Do you really wanna go to see this Marius now? After all we've gone through recently?" the Cavalier inquired, not quite delighted.
"Why not? Now more than ever, I'd say. What other bad things are supposed to be there for us now? We've just cheated death, in fact." Diana grinned.
"Oh brother, I give up! Very likely, I'll never see the day in this life when everyone agrees with me..." Eric sighed exaggeratedly. "So, when do we set off?"
"Right now, preferably. But there's no point in doing so since it's getting dark. Maybe we should better stay here tonight." Hank suggested.
The keeper cleared his throat. The Young Ones turned around to face him.
"There's a small village nearby, as well an inn perchance still hosting you at this time. It is estimated to reach it in half an hour since it is located not far from here. You ought to get there in time before nightfall, if you hurry up."
"Uh, ok. Thanks." Hank uttered and addressed his friends. "Ok, guys, let's hurry up now so that we arrive at this place before it's getting too dark to see anything."
"Do you think you're able to walk that far already, Bobby?" Sheila asked with concern.
"Sure, I'm ok." he replied, getting up a bit too quickly, which resulted in a slight dizziness.
"Maybe we should stay here yet..." the girl considered aloud.
"I'm gonna make it, Sheila." her brother assured her.
Even though she wasn't quite convinced about that, she didn't say another word but put her Cloak over him instead so that he won't catch a cold in his wet clothes.
"Ok, let's go." the leader told them and pulled an arrow from his Bow to light their way.
"I dare not to say 'until we meet again' in this case as another return would signify no good. Thus we rather do not want to bid you welcome here at the sea ever again. However, we wish you all the best... Fare thee well!" the protector stated, creating the feeble impression that he was actually glad to cast them off at last.
"Yeah, we also wouldn't be very pleased of being forced to come back here... Thank you very much for your help!" the Ranger admitted, waving goodbye to the keeper.
The others followed their leader and turned away, leaving the 'Sea of Madness' behind which had brought them both good and evil.
A/N:
Well, here it finally is: the long ago promised sequel of 'Seas of Madness', although more than 6 years later than actually expected...
As you've all probably already noticed, English isn't my native language. There's a high chance that the grammar isn't always right, as well as the comma placement.
Here in Germany we love to put commas nearly everywhere ;)
So, if you find any mistakes please feel free to point them out!
At first I had the quite dark concept of Bobby staying dead and the others coping with it more or less (despite the fact that he is my favorite character).
Surely it would have been interesting to see how they were going to take their loss.
But one year after posting the last chapter of 'Seas' my granny suddenly died and writing stories faded into background since I then had to take care of my beloved grandpa (who had dementia at that time) - until he died too in October 2012.
It was then when I remembered the promise to continue a sequel, though it took another two years to finally finish it halfway ('halfway' 'cause I don't have the final chapter ready yet but there's something you could call an end to this story after all and there's already stuff for a sequel to this sequel in my head but I don't want to put it here but rather into a separate story. I still have to draw the line from the 'end' of this story to the beginning of the above mentioned 'sequel', though, but I wanted to post this story even so now... no matter if there's an actual ending ready or not!)
Well, I could have written my own grief into the story, at least it would have been quite genuine :/ But I didn't want that direction anymore so I decided to rewrite the story completely where Bobby's going to be resurrected.
Sorry to those who had hoped to see what the other Yound Ones will do after his death - especially to you, Rana Kane & D.B. Cooper - I kind of feel like I've disappointed you for not keeping up the not-so-happy-ending after all by resurrecting Bobby... even though I personally prefer stories with a darker tone as well!
Honestly, I couldn't stand him being dead from now on, there was too much 'real death' around me to also write about it.
Besides who else am I going to write arguing with Eric so passionately when the youngest has passed away ? ;)
But... does this also automatically mean that really everything is ok?
So, let's see if there will be something like an happy end after all!
However I hope you'll like & enjoy it - and that they aren't OOC, after all!
Thanks for reading :)
and a Happy New Year to you!