Roland opened his eyes slowly, and was once again horrified to realize he was back in the circle of bones with the man in black, Walter O' Dim, Randall Flagg, Richard Fannin, the Ageless Stranger, or as he was called when he himself had set out long ago: Walter Paddick. In these new dreams Roland has been having since starting away from the Way Station yet again, Flagg has no eyes, yet he sees Roland, he has no tongue, yet he taunts Roland.
Roland groaned. Flagg laughed. Roland had a feeling this was no longer even flag he was seeing, but some new entity parading about as him. This could be Dandelo, or Mordred, or the Crimson King, or some new evil, waiting to kill Roland. Ka willing. thought the last gunslinger in the entire Dark Tower.
Flagg was once again wearing his dark robe, which Jake Chambers had once mistaken as a priest's robe. Flagg let out another hearty laugh. "How are you doing today, gunslinger? Well I suppose?" He grinned devilishly. "Because of you, the Tower has fallen. Should you not be rejoicing?" Roland said nothing, praying for the dream to end.
Flagg faked a sad face. "Awww. What's wrong. The wittle baby misses his mommy?" At this Roland looked up and said coldly, "Leave me be, evil spirit, for I shall bear no more of you!" This was followed by silence, and then Flagg laughed.
"You are soulless, gunslinger, for all those around you are dead." Flagg said. "Your Mother is dead, at your hands. Alain is dead, at your hands. Jake is dead, for you let him fall not once, but twice. Once into an abyss and once right into a car!" At this point Roland started saying no, getting louder with each name added to the list. Flagg also got louder as he spoke. "Eddie is dead, and would not be so if not for you. Susannah is dead, because of you. Father Callahan is dead, fighting for you. Stanley Ruiz is dead, because of you. Patrick Danville is dead, because of you. You killed your own son for Gan's sake!"
Now Roland was furious, he stood up and drew his gun, yelling. He fired with his left hand, for his right had been diminished by the lobstosities on a beach not far from this circle of bones. The shot went through Flagg, as usual. "No shots against me, gunslinger! Only misfires!" And then everything went back again.
Roland expected to wake up next by his campfire, but he didn't. Instead he woke up in a place Susannah had not told him of, but he had seen it anyways. He woke up in a jail cell, and was listening to what the others had called a ray-dee-o, which was some kind of sound machine. It was calling out the names of the dead.
"John "Jake" Chambers is dead, hit by van driven by Bryan Smith. O Discordia! Edward Cantor Dean is dead, shot by Pimli Prentiss. O Discordia! Donald Callahan is dead, who shot himself in the head to escape becoming a vampire. O Discordia! Odetta Susannah Dean is dead, killed by Dandelo in the field of roses standing within the Dark Tower. O Discordia! Oy of Mid-World is dead, killed by Mordred Deschain. O Discordia! Mordred Deschain is dead, killed at the hands of his own father. O Discordia! Patrick Danville is dead, killed by The Crimson King. O Discordia! Stephen King is dead, killed by lung cancer. O Discordia! The rose is dead, because North Central Positronics has killed everyone working for the Tet Corporation. O Discordia! The last two beams have fallen, and so has the Dark Tower. O Discordia!" The voices finally stopped. Roland let out a quiet sob, "Make it stop, I'll do anything!" And then, to Roland's horror, he heard a new voice. One with which he would soon become well acquainted.
"Fear not Roland, for even though your Ka-Tet is dead, it is not your last. All things serve the Beams, which serve the Tower. But the Tower has fallen, the only one left is I. And I will set up new dominion. And with the Beams gone, all things must serve a new purpose: Me. Everyone will be serving me now. Even you, gunslinger. For I need someone to help me create order in my new world." This time Roland did open his eyes, and he was awake.
He looked around. He was no longer by a campfire in the woods, but in a dark stone room. He realized he was naked as he looked around the dark room. And then, from the shadows, came that voice, yet again. "Yes, you are truly awake, gunslinger. Now rise, and put on the clothes I left for you."
I didn't take long for Roland to find the dark robe left for him on one of the stone benches. He put on the clothes, and soon found his gunbelt near that. His guns were cleanly polished, and the original ammo that was made for it had been returned to his belt. That was when he realized that his right hand had regained their lost fingers. The fingers that had been put in place of those old ones were made of some golden material, and it burned his hands.
He strapped on his black gunbelt (for yes, it was now black, too) and suddenly came to horrific realization. His memory had split again. One memory had him saving the Dark Tower, and the other had it falling as he watched. He gave out another quiet sob, and then the voice barked at him again, "Silence thy pitiful tears, bondservant, for you have work to do."
Roland felt coldness come over him instantly. "Now, leave this room, and go into the forest. Travel through it until you find the city on the other side. There is a rebellion there. Crush it." Roland was about to refuse, as he had finally regained his senses, when something held his tongue back. With the Beams gone, all things must serve a new purpose: Me. everyone will be serving me now. Even you, gunslinger. And Roland heard something else now. It was like the humming of the rose, but different. This chorus was darker, and it reminded Roland of people screaming.
He left the stone room in sorrow. It was at this moment that he realized he was now in the service of Crimson King, and somehow he had been physically, mentally, and spiritually bound to that service. He walked gloomily into the forest that seemed to match his gloom. He must've been out for a while. Maybe the Dark Tower fell on me, and the whole time the Crimson King was getting his world started, he was putting me together again. This thought caused Roland to let out a cold, icy laugh. It was a laugh that the rebellion would soon come to fear. For it meant death.
Okay, this was just idea I had. Read and review. Hope you liked it!