Darkness…
Oh, no. No, not here. Not on my island, my home. Not again…
I hear a horrible rushing sound, and far off on the horizon is a black mist. The ocean around my island begins to wash away, falling into oblivion. The air grows cold, and the mist I saw on the horizon is rushing up to form a dome over the trees, leaving behind a purple sky and an eerie glow. It stops before it closes off the last of the light from above.
The remaining crystal blue surf turns to dark water, and it begins to creep up into the blackening sands. I want to back away from the tendrils snaking up to wrap around my ankles, but my feet won't move no matter how hard I try.
When I look around, the seaside shack and the trees behind me have turned into black boulders buried in the sand, and the paopu island shoots into the sky to form dark arches across the horizon.
This place again…?
I look up, and the dome closes off the bright sky of the islands, sealing me in this horrible world. Something cold rushes at my back and wraps around my torso and wrists, holding me in place. The dark tendrils that were at my ankles rush up my body, raising goose bumps, and wrap around my chest and squeeze. I open my mouth to scream at the icy pain, but they rush down my throat and strangle me. I can't even breathe, now.
Just as my vision is growing cloudy, hundreds of pairs of glowing yellow eyes appear, and something sharp and cold pierces my chest and wraps around my pounding heart, throwing me into darkness…
--
"Wake up! Jesus, R-"
I sit up with a yell, throwing my blankets off and bumping heads with whoever or whatever is leaning over me. I clutch at my thumping heart with one hand while I brush at my sweat-damp hair with the other.
"Oww…"
I turn, trying to catch my breath. "Sora…?"
He's kneeling next to my pillow and rubbing his forehead. When I say his name, he looks up at me with a worried expression. "God, are you okay?" Sora scoots over next to me and takes my face in his hands, wiping away tears I didn't realize were there. "You were practically screaming in your sleep, Riku."
"I-" I don't expect to choke on a sob when I open my mouth.
"Aw," Sora reaches out and wraps his arms around my bare shoulders. I can hardly protest when he pulls me into him and begins to rock me as if I'm some baby. "Must've been some nightmare, huh?"
I swallow at the lump in my throat and nod, burrowing into Sora's chest and taking up fistfuls of his t-shirt. I listen for a heartbeat and when I hear it, steady and strong beneath my ear, I close my eyes and melt into him.
"But it was just a dream, Riku," Sora threads his fingers through my hair and tucks a loose strand behind my ear. "The darkness is gone, you don't have to worry about it any more." He pulls the blankets up over my shoulders and drapes his arms around me.
I fall asleep again, listening to him live.
--
cornyyy...
