Journey of the soul chapter 63
"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people." -some important dude.
Monitors blinked with different colors, each displaying an array of numbers. Attached to the group of monitors was two long thin wires that connected to the wrists of two different people. The doctor in the room looked up from his notes for a brief moment to muse over his two patients. Their conditions were…interesting to say the least. One had signs of fatigue and a migraine. However, fossil battles are not known to put stress on the mind. Of course, with the patient being a different species there was no real way to tell. He could only hope that her brain functioned similarly to a human and that she would wake up soon. Aside from being unconscious, she showed no signs of physical illness. The boy on the other hand…
The boy hadn't shown any signs of life since being pulled in on a stretcher. His skin was a ghastly pale and his heart rate was a disturbingly slow 48. The doctor was considering putting him on life support, but wanted to properly diagnose him before assuming the worse. Strange thing was, the witness reports had no clue what happened either. They said the girl screamed at the boy and then they both collapsed soon after. No warning, no reason. His heart showed signs of cardiac arrest, but to have your heart stop as a result of being told off? It was incredulous at best. Still, here the two patients were. Any minute now there would be-
"Hunter!" Todd burst into the room quickly followed by Lila. Todd immediately ran to his friend's side while stopped to stare at the two hospital beds with dismay. King Dynal followed through the doorway soon after with Alvis as well. Dynal was much less energized as Todd, but still had a look of concern on his face. Alvis seemed completely unfazed by the scene laid
out in front of him, probably because he couldn't actually see it.
"Your friend should be alright," the doctor reassured Todd, it was his job to make sure visitors don't freak out as well.
"What happened?" Todd managed to say, "I just got a message on my paleopager that Hunter had collapsed."
"I see, are you his family then?" The doctor gestured to Todd, Lila, and Alvis.
"Uh…no, Hunter has no-"
"You bet we are!" Lila shouted, cutting Todd off, "and I want to know why my brother is stuck in a hospital bed!" Todd said nothing and Alvis just smiled. Dynal was too busy looking over Duna to be concerned with the scene next to him.
"Well, the girl suffer from major fatigue and a migraine. She should be waking soon and will be fine as long as she doesn't exert herself mentally. As for the boy, he suffered from cardiac arrest as far as I can tell."
"His heart stopped," Todd explained before
Lila could ask what that meant.
"Yes, but there seems to be more. From the looks of it, there could be some underlying condition at work."
"Will he wake up soon?"
"That is unclear. You all may wait in the room outside if you wish. I assume you will as well." The doctor looked at Dynal, who nodded without looking. The group of four filed out of the patient room and sat down on stiff chairs in the connecting room. The sun was starting to set.
"You're Alvis right?" Todd spoke you after a bit of silence, "you're the one taking care of Lila?"
"Yes, that I am. I don't believe we've formally met. You are Todd, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Hunter has spoken quite highly of you." Alvis remarked.
"Really?"
"Oh yes, he admires your optimism." Todd smiled brightly at that. To know that there was something about HIM that Hunter looks up to…
"Has Hunter…told you anything?" Alvis stared at Todd with a different kind of intensity from behind his shades. Suddenly, Todd became aware of the looks he was getting. Dynal seemed very solemn and Lila…why was she looking at him like a time bomb that might go off?
"Well, that's a pretty open ended question," Todd scratched his chin for a bit, pondering over what Alvis meant, but it was for nothing.
"Never mind, excuse my upfront behavior." At that, Alvis got up from his chair.
"Lila, we must be going." Lila got up, but there was a sadness in her eyes.
"But…Duna and Hunter."
"Will be alright, we can trust the doctor. Now, we should go before it gets past your bedtime."
"It's not THAT late." Lila pouted as she followed Alvis out of the room, stealing one more glance at the door to the patient room before disappearing from sight. Todd shuffles anxiously around Dynal, pretend to read a magazine when instead staring at the dinaurian's complex expression.
"I'm sorry about your daughter." Todd finally said, "I hope she recovers soon."
"Duna is not my daughter," Dynal spoke flatly, like his mind was elsewhere.
"Oh…" the conversation ended there, just as abruptly as it started. Minutes began to pass by, minutes turned into half an hour, which then became a full hour. The moon had come out to replace the sun. Soon, Todd sighed to himself, he would have to leave.
"What do you know about Hunter?" Dynal suddenly spoke after an hour of silence. Todd jumped, he had forgotten that Dynal was there.
"That's a broad question," why was everyone asking about Hunter?
"I apologize, but I would like to know your relationship with him."
"Well, Hunter and I grew up in the same town, but in two different parts so we never met each other until a few weeks before the cup started. We hung out for a while, but Hunter was a lot angrier back then. Slowly, he got better and now he's the way he is today. But now…I don't know. Hunter's always been prone to depression, but usually I can pull him out of it."
"You two seem like very good friends."
"You mean when he actually has time for me," Todd didn't say this out loud. Where did that come from?
"Honestly, he's more like a brother." At that point, the conversation was interrupted when Duna burst out of the patient room.
"Duna! Are you alright?" Dynal immediately got out of his chair. Duna said nothing, she walked over to a water fountain and splashed the water on her face for a minute.
"Dynal," she spoke in a dark tone, "I am ready to leave this island."
"Are you certain Duna?" Dynal seemed apprehensive.
"Yes, Rosie and Mr. Richmond have already left and the only reason I was in this tournament was because of Rosie. There is no reason for us to stay."
"Are you sure there is no reason for staying?"
"None whatsoever." Dynal stopped protesting at that, even Todd could tell that the statement held more weight than he would ever know. Duna left the room after that and didn't come back.
"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you formally Todd." Dynal outstretched a hand, "May your future be bright."
"Thanks," Todd shook hands with the dinaurian king.
"Although, there is one more thing I must say to you before I take my leave. Dynal walked to the same door Duna left through and turned to face Todd one last time.
"Look after Hunter, you might be all he has left." With that, Dynal left. The words made no sense at first. Hunter's got plenty of great things going in his life. A semi-final spot in the cup, some of the strongest vivosaurs Todd has ever seen, and friends…friends…exactly how many friends does Hunter have? He knew that he and Lila were his friends, but is that all? The words began to fit into place.
…..
"So, here we are again," the voice echoed not only throughout the endless starry sky, but all through Hunter's brain as well. The first words he's heard In all his time here and they were from a shadowy figure planning to kill him.
"Tell me, what brings you here this time?" The figure taunted.
"Go to hell."
"That bad, eh? Well, I suppose I shouldn't complain about you making this easier for me. The figure reached his hand up and drew a star to his palm. And then another, and another. The orb of light was now the size of the figures hand as it tossed it up and down like a baseball.
"Imagine being trapped with a murderous freak." The figure laugh, its voice had no sound, it was just thoughts echoing in Hunter's head, "then again, I suppose it shouldn't be hard for you to imagine."
"Shouldn't be for you either," Hunter chuckled, then laughed louder and louder until his ribs began to hurt and he was about to cry.
"What's so funny? There's no one here who cares enough to save you this time."
"Good. I don't want them to." Hunter shrieked as Soulflame roared to life. He could feel a number of emotions surging through him. He was stuck in a world of his own creation, some sort of nightmare fueled lucid dream.
That means he won't have to feel bad about killing someone.
"A little reckless, are we?" The figure cocked their arm back, "don't you know what happens when you do that?"
"Yeah, YOU DIE." Hunter launched himself forward, covering half the length of the dark pillar in seconds. The figure hurled the orb, which exploded into a cascade of blue fire. Hunter ran right through the flames, his eye burning brighter than any of them. The figure jumped backwards and called more stars to him. They took a different form this time: a rushing jet of water. Hunter stopped moving as the cascade shot towards him and held out his hands.
"RRRAAAAAAAAGHH!" Blue flames erupted from His wrists and turned the water into a shroud of steam. Both he and the figure were gone from each other's view.
"Why even bother fighting?" Hunter's eyes darted wildly as he saw movements in the vapor, "you know there's nothing left for you in that world."
"Shut up." Hunter's hand flew to his back. This time, it hit the smooth handle of his foldax. Hunter swing the makeshift weapon, clearing the steam around him just enough to see the figure moving towards him with another orb of light in tow. Hunter jumped away just as the orb became a small tornado that cleared away the rest of the mist. The figure lunged forward and reached out its hand towards Hunter's neck. He instinctively swung his foldax and batted away the hand before charging forward himself and knocking the figure to the ground. They quickly got back up again and tried to reach out towards the stars, but Hunter jumped and tackled them before they could. The two rolled on the ground furiously, attempting to force the other underneath themselves to gain an advantage. Hunter felt hands close around his neck and choke him. He let out a strangled yell as flames once again exploded forth from his wrists. He felt the hand's grip lessen and seized the opportunity to grab his foldax from the floor and press it against the figure, pinning them to the ground. If they lifted their hands up again, Hunter would push down on the metal which was dangerously close to crushing their neck.
"So that's how it it huh?" They laughed, a fitting end I guess."
"Who even are you? Tell me!" Hunter's finger threatened to pull the trigger on the handle. If the blades of the foldax snapped into position now, they would strike a vital area.
"Why would I tell you that? You couldn't say it, why should I?" If there was anything holding Hunter back, there wasn't anymore. He shrieked as he jammed his foot into where the figure's stomach would be and raised the foldax above his head. The blades snapped into position and Hunter gave the figure one last devilish grin before swinging.
"STOP!" Hunter froze in place. Did he know that voice? No, he didn't. Did he?
"Put it down Hunter." There it was again. It was kind of annoying, getting in his way. Hunter turned his attention back to the figure beneath. Or rather, the lack of a figure beneath as they had disappeared.
"Come back here and fight you coward!" Hunter screamed.
"Coward? COWARD?!" The other voice was louder now,
"I don't care who the hell you're talking to, the only coward here is you. For weeks I told you, 'just tell her the truth' did you listen? NO! You kept on treating me like some sort of walking joke!" Everything started to come back to Hunter. What was he thinking? Real or not, He was about to kill someone. Murder was an actual conscious thought in his head. One by one, the stars began to fade out, leaving only the black void of the subconscious.
"Spinax, I-"
"DON'T YOU DARE. I'm not done yet. I've gone through hell and back with you kid and I like to think I've been pretty damn patient since we got here. BUT NO, it's always someone else's fault. You can't admit that the real reason you're hiding is because you just don't want to face the world. Well guess what?! You can grow a pair and face the world alone for a change!"
"Please…don't go."
"NO, I'm tired of this Hunter. I tried to help, but if you're gonna wall down that path, you can do it by yourself. I'm out." Just like that, he felt the link between him and Spinax snap. No connection, no nothing.
He was truly alone.
….
Todd shifted under the sheets of his bed, facing the ceiling with an expressionless face. It was getting close to midnight now, he would have to fall asleep sooner or later. Todd flopped his pillow over and pressed the back of his head to the cooler side in an attempt to sleep. No dice, he couldn't get that image of Hunter In a hospital bed out of his mind. That was a surreal thought for sure. Hunter Elwood, easily blazing through any fossil battle Todd had seen him in with ease crippled in a hospital.
"Why do you care?" A small demon on his shoulder spoke, "he's getting what he deserves for ruining your dreams." Todd quickly shook that thought from his mind. He needed to be happy and supportive, he needed to be there for Hunter.
"Like how no one's been there for you." The voice spoken again. Todd rolled over and stared at the wall with a frown. Even the quiet silence being uninterrupted by Hunter's snoring was unsettling.
Suddenly, Todd heard something slid across the floor before knocking into the dresser. He sat up to see a black object near the base of the bed. He could hear footsteps getting quieter as they moved down the hall. Todd jumped out of the top bunk and landed on the floor with a soft thud. He picked up the black object. Part of it was a panel that slid backwards to reveal several Dino medals. Todd instantly recognized the Aeros, Tricera, and Giga Spinax. It was Hunter's holder.
But why would he slide it under the door and not come in himself? Hunter almost never left his medal holder at the lodge when he was going somewhere. Where would he have to go so late at night that he couldn't bring his Dino medals? Dynal's words echoed in Todd's mind.
"All he has left…..oh." Todd raced out the door, heading in the same direction down the hall that the footsteps were. He came to the end of the hall and saw that the door to the stairwell was ajar. With a strong sense of dread, Todd went towards the stairs and started climbing them two at a time. It was insane to think what he was thinking, but he'd rather be wrong than right in this case. Todd eventually went up to the door leading to the roof. He threw open the door and ran a couple steps before stopping.
Hunter was standing on the roof too. He was at the very edge with his feet half off the edge entirely. He was staring straight up, at a field of stars.
"Hunter?" Todd called, "…what are you doing?" There was no answer for a long time.
"Just…looking at the stars." Hunter spoke in a flat voice that didn't sound like him.
"Are…are you okay?" Hunter turned to face Todd and in the moonlight, Todd could see a small smile a tears shining as they rolled down his face.
"I'm fine."
