Chapter 5 – Homesick

Abel stirred awake, tired. Numb.

The smell of hot food coursed through his nose.

He opened his eyes, finding himself in a familiar place.

"… Home?"

.

He grasped the sheets of his bed, looking around his room.

"It's all still here – my posters, my stuff…" he took a sigh of relief, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

He got up and opened his dresser to put on some clothes, pulling out a familiar, black-bound book.

"It was all… a bad dream? It was all just a really bad dream!" He giggled in a deep relief, returning the thick tome back to its place.

"I gotta lay off the manga. This stuff's getting to my head." He took a deep breath, looking for his clothes.

A small, grey, egg-shaped stone attached to a necklace laid right where he pulled out his book, catching his eye.

"… That doesn't belong here." He hesitated.

"Abel! Time for food!"

"… Mom? She's back from the hospital?" He opened the door to his room and walked down the hall to the kitchen.

"I… don't remember the hallway being this long. No. I'm just exhausted from my nightmare."

He kept walking.

"I know where I am." He smiled, passing down the hall.

Taking a sigh of relief, Abel continued.

"What an absolutely hellish dream! Emerging into the world of Berserk through a pile of corpses, getting abducted by the Band of the Hawk, then right when I try to escape, I proceed to run headfirst into Griffith and get dragged back to camp, and then-…" He paused.

"Sheesh, I don't want to think of that!" He brushed the cloud of thought aside, refusing to think about it further.

Just then, a blonde-haired girl passed him, heading to the kitchen.

"Sis! I didn't know you were awake!" He gently offered her his hand. She took it.

Down the hall, they perambulated toward the smell of food.

"Oh, what am I going to do today? Maybe I'll grab some ice cream from the store, or maybe spend some time at the beach? I know! I-"

Abel paused, realizing something off about the girl walking beside him.

"… Sis, why are you crying?"

She didn't answer, standing still as Abel watched the tears slide down her face.

"Hey, it's okay! I'm right here. I just had a bad dream, but it's fine-" Abel tried to move forward, but the girl didn't follow.

He noticed the hallway exit seem almost as if it was moving away.

"… Hey, I'm just going to get breakfast. Alright? Everything's going to be fine."

The sister continued sobbing as Abel released her hand. He continued down the hall on his own.

"Everything will be okay. Everything will return to normal… be exactly what it was."

For a moment, Abel forgot who he was talking to.

"Everything's going to be fine." Abel progressed forward.

After what felt like an abnormal amount of time, he entered the kitchen; the cooking stove and oven, the perfectly clean sink, cupboards filled with almost endless dishes for whatever you needed, and lastly, a mighty wood table.

"Heaven on Earth!" Abel's mouth watered from the sight of the fresh food.

The meal smelled irresistibly delicious; cooked chicken, gravy on mashed potatoes, a side of fish and vegetables – far beyond enough to raise Abel's appetite.

"Is it thanksgiving?! This looks amazing! I-" Abel was starving. He couldn't think.

He rushed to take a seat, eager to gorge on the food.

"Nah!" Mom caught him.

"Not until we say grace."

Abel nodded, folding his hands in response.

"Sorry mom. I forgot." Abel smiled.

He looked around, enjoying the pleasant, familiar scene - one Abel never thought he'd ever see again: His brother, sister, and parents were here, in the same kitchen, readying to eat a meal under the same roof.

Everyone had pulled out their chairs and sat around the table, smiling, enjoying each other's company, handing out food to one another.

It looked like after so many years of things just going wrong, everything seemed to finally be returning to normal.

For once, Abel could stop worrying about everything outside his world and finally focus on what was in front of him.

He gently grasped his sister's hand once again.

"Hey, I'm sorry I haven't been a better brother toward you. I should've been there for you when you needed me. Do you forgive me?"

The blonde girl looked towards him, giving a slight smile but no answer. She gently pulled away.

Abel looked across the table and saw his parents, sitting together as they had years ago.

"Mom, Dad. When I got the news about your accident, that you were in the hospital, it sent me into shock. I want to be better, so-…"

Abel waved his hands, no idea how to put his thoughts into words.

They smiled, seeming to somehow understand.

Abel sighed again, smiling.

There was now only one last person at the table to address.

"Cain, my brother." Abel addressed.

"We haven't really gotten along. We've hated each other for a while… But…

"I think it was when you told me that your dream was to be a medical surgeon – that was when our sibling rivalry came to a head."

Abel took a breath.

"I… thought you simply wanted to abandon us for the college life. I didn't believe you.

"When you finally left for med school, your absence made me realize how worthless I was. Instead of going off to do something with my life like you did, I just… stewed in my own self-wallowing."

He paused again, continuing.

"And then… your accident happened. Your hands-… When I heard the news, I felt worse than useless. I felt responsible for… driving you down that path, away from me in the first place."

Abel paused for a moment.

"I want to change that."

He took a deep breath.

"Even though you seem healed, I want to be a better person. I want to be better – not just on your behalf, but for myself. All I ask is that you let me."

He paused again.

"I want to be better… for my family!"

Silence.

"Here!" The family abruptly raised their glasses and cheered; their demeanor abnormal from what Abel remembered.

"… I-… wasn't expecting that, but sure whatever." He shrugged it off, again refusing to think of it.

"I'm just relieved to be home, and not…-" Abel noticed his brother sitting in silence, just staring at him like a statue.

"… Cain?"

Abel's older brother put on a… "strange smile"… saying nothing.

"… Cain, were you in my room?"

"I swear, that wasn't on his neck three seconds ago."

Nothing.

Abel stared at his brother's newfound necklace, never taking his eyes away from the familiar, grey, egg-shaped stone.

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*

Abel nearly jumped out of his seat.

"I'll get it-"

"No, mom, it's fine! Just stay next to dad. I'll get it."

Abel walked over and opened the oak door, greeted by-

"Zombie, get up."

*SLAM!*

Abel locked the door, then barred it with his body.

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*

"Zombie, it's time to eat. You're going to die if you don't get up."

Rickert's voice called out again. Despite being separated by a barricaded door, he could hear him clear as day.

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*

Abel stared at the table where everyone was just sitting not even a moment ago.

The picture – the perfect picture of his family sitting around the table; his siblings and his parents, sitting at the table, ready to eat…

"…No."

The table started bleeding.

"NO!" Abel screamed at the top of his chest as the unspoken, invading thought pierced him.

"I am home! This is real! I am home!"

The wallpaper started slowly peeling back, bleeding.

"I AM HOME! THIS IS REAL! I AM HOME!"

As the walls slowly rotted away, underneath lay many familiar red faces.

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*

"NO!" Abel screamed again.

"I AM HOME! I AM HOME! I AM HOME!"

*CRASH*

Abel felt the door fall out from behind him. He turned around and was greeted with the view of a lake of blood reflecting the light of a black sun off its surface as bones washed ashore at his feet.

"Stop… STOP! MY DREAM! MY PLACE! MY HOME!" The house, taken into a form of dust rose into the clouds, then returned in the form of a red rain.

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*

The house was gone, the door was gone, yet throughout it all, only one thing didn't change.

"Zombie, it's time to eat. Get up!"

Abel stared at the black sun, frozen.

"I-…" Abel grabbed the sides of his head.

"I… was… OUT! I WAS OUT!" Abel kicked and screamed fruitlessly.

"I WAS OUT! I WAS OUT! I WAS OUT!"

Silence.

"Zombie! Get up, or we'll dump a bucket of water on you."

Abel fell to his knees. In his hand, he caressed a bloodstained family photo; damaged, but recognizable.

Zombie awoke.

. . .

The time is Sunset.

Zombie took his plate, only to freeze in place, zoning out.

The meal was cooked chicken, gravy on mashed potatoes, a side of fish and vegetables.
It took him a moment to snap out of it.

He grabbed a tin cup of water and looked for a seat.

...

"Psst! Zombie. Over here." Rickert waved from his spot next to Pippin and Judeau.

Zombie looked at the plate again, blinking as he moved to sit across from the gang.

He looked around at the other hawks. Everyone seemed merry and with company.

Many had already finished their meal and were sharing stories. Some rolled dice. Most simply enjoyed each others' fellowship.

Zombie played with his food, arranging it to exactly how it looked in his nightmare-dream as the hawks talked amongst themselves.

His mind drifted to Griffith and his "Egg of the King", then Zombie's mind went back to the nightmare, recalling a familiar specific detail.

"… No." He tried to shake it off.

"It's… it's all just a bad dream. I'll wake up again. I'll be home again."

"Hey Zombie, how's your leg?"

He snapped his attention to Judeau.

"Do you feel any pain?" He rephrased the question.

Zombie answered, shaking his head.

The group resumed their meal, talking and enjoying each others company.

Zombie tried to focus on the meal and what the hawks were talking about.

"… I'm never going home, am I?"

He fidgeted.

A dream it was, but he could still feel the bloody photograph in his hands; the image fresh in his head.

"I just hope they're okay. That's enough for me."

He took a swig of water.

"I just got to get away from the hawks... Somehow."

From the corner of his eye, he swore he saw some sort of animal disappear into the darkness of nightfall behind a thicket, snapping his attention.

"Zombie. What's up?"

"I swore the thing had antlers!" He didn't point. Just scanned the area, looking for the outline of some sort of deer or quadruped animal.

"We're too far into friendly territory for any reasonable ambushes, but I'll notify the sentries just in case." The hawk up and left.

"I swear to God, I saw something." Zombie peered into the darkness again, waiting.

Nothing.

Zombie eventually finished his meal.

. . .

Of all the chapters to get stuck in development hell, this one was never the one I would've expected to have gotten caught. I guess I wanted to play my hand too early, but caught myself.

Anyways, yea. I was going to have this done sooner, but then I caught the bug going around that took me out for a few days and it was enough to drain the energy out of me that would've otherwise went into here. If anyone finds a mistake (spelling/grammar error, confusing sentence structure), please let me know and I'll fix it immediately!

Thank you for reading to the end of chapter 4. Let me know your thoughts and thank you for your time! Have a good rest of your day/evening.