Both Eyes On the Sky
Dave Creedy cried out and sat up. He was still in his bed and everything was normal. Wiping the sweat from his forehead he forced himself to breath slower. These stupid nightmares were happening more and more often.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep he grabbed a flashlight and started off through the castle. He checked on all the kids to make sure they were asleep and made sure everything was normal.
When he came to one of the rooms he heard a slight whimpering. As he neared the end of the room the whimpering grew louder and he saw it was coming from a little girl huddled on her bed in the corner.
"Oh Katie, what's wrong?" he asked softly, sitting on the little girl's bed and pulling her into his arms.
"I can't sleep, and I can't see the sky," she whimpered.
"Now why can't you sleep?" Creedy asked softly.
"I'm scared," came the feeble reply.
Creedy looked sadly at the little girl in his arms. No child should have to live like this, always afraid to the point where they can't even get to sleep.
"What do we do when we wake, Katie?"
"Keep both eyes on the sky, but Creedy, I can't see the sky!"
"Well, tonight, I don't want you to worry about it."
"But what if one of them comes?"
"They won't. I promise you, Katie, no dragon is going to harm you tonight." Gently Creedy picked up the girl, pulled her blankets down, then put her in bed. He pulled the blankets up around her and gave her a comforting smile.
"Creedy, stay here," the little girl begged.
"Of course I will, Katie," he answered gently. "But I want you to go to sleep now, ok?"
Katie shook her head and closed her eyes, but occasionally she would open one to make sure Creedy was still there. Finally she fell asleep. With an affectionate smile Creedy quietly got up and left.
He had barely left Katie's bedside when a sudden yell rang through the castle. With a sad sigh as he realized where it came from he turned to make sure no one had woken up. A few of the children stirred but all remained asleep, even Katie. With a little nod of relief he turned to go to where the yell had come from.
Turning a corner he ran straight into a dark figure who stumbled and nearly fell. Creedy turned the flashlight on him.
"Jared!"
"Creedy! I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming!" Jared bent down to pick up his flashlight. Creedy laughed.
"What're you doing wandering through the castle in the middle of the night, hm?"
"I could ask the same of you!" Jared burst out with a smile.
Creedy's face turned serious. "Listen Jared, I have to go see how Quinn is doing, all right? I want you to go make sure nobody woke up. I checked that room," Creedy jerked his head toward the room he had just come out of. "I need you to go check the others for me."
Jared nodded his head and turned to go. He paused, then turned back.
"Creedy," he asked softly, "is Quinn all right? He seems to be having lots of nightmares lately."
Creedy sadly nodded his head.
"He'll be all right, Jared. Quinn is a strong man. Don't you worry about it."
Jared nodded his head again and went to check on the other children. With a sigh Creedy began to mount the stairs leading to Quinn's bedroom. Jared was right, Quinn had been having more nightmares lately.
Reaching Quinn's door Creedy slowly opened it. Inside Quinn was sitting on his bed holding his head in his hands. Creedy leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms.
"Hey."
Quinn looked up and over at Creedy.
"Did it happen again?" Creedy asked softly.
"Yeah," Quinn answered. "Yeah it did."
"Your mum?"
"Yeah."
"Well, can I come in?"
Quinn smiled. "Of course, Creedy. Shut the door behind you."
Creedy did as he was told, then walked over and sat down next to Quinn on the bed.
"You know, sometimes Creedy I wonder if I'm doing what's best for these people," Quinn said softly.
"Why would you ever wonder that?" Creedy asked, looking over at his friend.
"Look at them, Creedy. Haven't you seen it? The children can't sleep at night because they're afraid. I'm constantly finding them outside my door in the middle of the night. Haven't you seen that cemetery?" Quinn's voice started to slowly get louder. "I've had to bury hundreds out there but we're still in the same position we were in when we first came to this castle! Spending our whole lives in fear! Have you been blind Creedy? I've said it before, only one species is getting out of this alive and it surely don't look like it's going to be us!"
Creedy flinched at his friends words. They hurt him, cutting deep like a knife, but he said nothing. They sat in silence for some time until Quinn finally spoke again in a much softer voice.
"I'm sorry, Creedy," Quinn began.
"Wait!" Creedy interrupted with a sudden smile. "I want to show you something before you apologize."
With a confused look at his friend Quinn followed Creedy out the door and through the castle. Finally they went through the main door and emerged into the cold night air.
"Creedy it's freezing out here!" Quinn shivered. "What're we doing anyways?"
Creedy turned to his friend with a smile.
"Quinn, what do we do when we wake?"
"What? Creedy look, we can talk about this inside..."
"Oh come on, Quinn! What do we do when we wake? Just tell me!"
Quinn laughed. "I'll never understand you, Creedy."
"I don't care!" Creedy laughed. "Tell me!"
"Keep both eyes on the sky."
"Exactly," Creedy responded with a smile. "Now Quinn, whether you understand it or not, I want you to do exactly that until I tell you to stop. Don't look at me or anything else. Just keep both eyes on the sky."
With a sigh Quinn looked upward into the cold darkness. The stars shown brightly and clearly. Quinn scanned all directions for at least five minutes, with Creedy doing the same.
"All right," Creedy finally whispered. "Now, Quinn, what did you see?"
"Not a single thing. There's absolutely nothing! What are we doing out here Creedy?"
"Quinn, you're blind!" Creedy exclaimed. "Look again."
Looking up at the sky again Quinn shook his head. "There's not a single one of them anywhere!"
"Well I'm not talking about them, Quinn. What do you see in the sky?"
"Stars. That's it. Creedy what..."
"Exactly!" Creedy exclaimed, interrupting Quinn. "Now look at the stars. Don't bother looking for dragons."
Still confused by his friends strange ways Quinn looked into the sky again, this time focusing on the stars there, shining brightly down at him. With a pang of mixed sadness and wonder Quinn realized it had been years, since before his mother died at least, that he had looked into the night sky just to look at the stars. He suddenly remembered how very beautiful the heavenly bodies were. He stood mesmerized by the stars until he forced himself to look back at Creedy who stood smiling at him.
"Creedy, I..." his voice faltered.
"I came up with those rules and taught them to the children for more than one purpose. There is one reason everyone assumes is the only reason I taught them the rules, and that is so they watch for dragons, and that is partly true. But I realize that when you look up at the sky when you wake up you will see the stars. So many things in life are temporary, and nothing is really certain. But the stars are always there, shining down on us. When I look at the stars they give me hope that one day I might be able to look up at the sky and see the stars shining down on me without a dragon's wing darkening them. Or even if I am not able to see it myself, I hope and pray the children that sleep within those walls will be able to see it."
Quinn smiled at his best friend but his smile soon turned to a frown.
"I'm so sorry Creedy for everything I said before. I know you've noticed it. And I know you've buried many loved ones in that cemetery as well. I'm just so worried sometimes about these people. I just want to do what's best for them."
"Hey, you're doing the very best you can," Creedy said, putting a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "And if some other means of protecting them comes along that you think is better, take it."
"My nightmares are getting worse," Quinn whispered. "I keep dreaming about when my mum died. It's like I'm there again. I can see her face, and I can feel his fire."
"Look on the bright side," Creedy said softly. "At least you can see her again."
"What will I ever do if you die before me, Creedy?" Quinn said softly.
"Keep both eyes on the sky, and the stars," Creedy replied. "And hopefully you'll be a little more optimistic."
The two friends smiled at each other and walked back into the castle, but before they went in they both turned and looked at the sky one more time.