My dream was a good dream. I dreamt I was on a flat land, running. I wasn't running to anything, or at least I didn't think I was. I dreamt that I had lived with Father John, and He taught me. I was happy. Happier than I have ever been.
I yawned when I woke, preparing to till the land again, making sure that no weeds would get into the day's crops. Half-awake, I grabbed my sack, my bag, and my sword, and went outside to prepare himself for the day. I reached for the stone hoe nonchalantly and couldn't find it. I felt a sticky substance, something warm. I looked closely at the stained color. Red. There was purple cloth and blood in a path toward the church.
"John?! John?! Where are you?! John!"
No one answered me, not a person in the village. The village was empty, and so was my heart.
"Grey?!"
I approached a body, a very familiar one. It was Mr. Grey. He had a note and a stone hoe in his hand. Mr. Grey's eyes were closed, and he was smiling. I picked up the note and read it to myself aloud.
"Dear Steve,
I know you think I hate you, and I bet you hate me. I've tried protecting you, and I've tried making you into what I had always imagined as a perfect son. Then I thought something. 'Hey, what if he doesn't want to do all of this? Maybe he wants to just be on his own, and do whatever he wants.' I think I was right. I believe I was right too. I see how you look at Father John, and how you almost envy him. I am going to leave the village and leave you in Father John's right. Just know, that I have loved you, even if you aren't really my son.
From,
Mike Grey."
Grief washed over me like a tide in the ocean. I cried and cried, sitting over his body. I mustered all of my strength and continued on through the village. I saw more bodies of familiar faces everywhere. Nothing made sense. How am I still alive? Why did I not realize Mr. Grey cared? And even after I thought of all of those things, I still didn't know where Father John was. He wasn't in the village. It was my goal now, to find John. I had to, for I had no other hope left. I gathered useful things throughout the village that would serve a future purpose. I wiped away my tears and set off, illy prepared. For I didn't know of the terrors outside of safety.
