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Within Dreams--Chapter 12
Vitriol had returned to the dungeon soon after her chat with Rea. She was tired, worn out from all the sweeping and scrubbing she'd been doing for the past six hours and she'd had more than enough of the snide remarks from Malign's servants. Bu the time she'd finished with the entire castle she was ready to attack the next person that said a single word to her.
She didn't dare look at the boy, afraid of how badly injured he would appear. She couldn't bear the idea that she'd hurt him possibly past the point of recovery. The only sign that he was still alive was the steady sound of his breathing. He did not move or make any other noise at all.
She was remembering the conversation she'd had earlier with her sister. There was no way she would ever forget it. Especially that final line: "then my sister truly is dead." The separation from her sister had never been so clear, so wide that it actually sent a pain through her heart. But that was what that one little statement did. It made her eyes sting with tears she knew she could never shed.
That feeling of alone-ness made her feel like hitting something. She whipped around to the back wall of the dungeon and hit it with a barrage of fireballs followed by a couple of bursts of electricity that made the room dazzlingly bright. Then she leaned against the wall and slid down so she was sitting on the ground, suddenly tired from the release of energy.
The position she was in forced her to see what she'd done to the boy. It was apparent he was still alive, though how long he would continue to be in that state she had no idea. The burns…the already viscous slashes across his back and chest…the poison…there was only so much a person could take before their body just gave up. Surely there couldn't be much time left before the injuries caused him to bleed to death--if the poison didn't do it first.
As she was looking at the boy, Malign entered the room and said: "I see you're finally appreciating your handiwork. I must say I was quite pleased when you sent that fire flying at him."
Vitriol glared at Malign. He knew she cared about what was going to happen to this boy. He knew she felt guilty about hurting him. And yet Malign was standing there going over every detail of what had happened.
"Why, Malign? Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you so dead-set on killing this boy? Is it because he's from the real world?"
Malign said nothing, but smiled. The two looked at each other quietly for quite some time until Malign breathed: "I do so love watching you squirm. And it's not often I get the chance to see you so worried. Perhaps I'll draw it out just a little longer…."
"Just leave him alone. He's going to die anyway."
"Not necessarily. Certain…arrangements can be made. That is…if you cooperate."
Now Vitriol was interested in what her master had to say. She knew he was capable of healing the boy completely. No poison. No cuts. No burns. No injuries whatsoever.
"What do I have to do?"
"My, my…so eager for order now, aren't we?"
Vitriol just remained silent, trying her best to ignore the chiding remark. It was no easy feat for her, as her pride was what usually guided her.
"Well, I can see that you are ready to obey. And since you did such a good job on polishing all the skulls I think you deserve a break. So I'll make you a little deal. Kill Rea and the boy lives."
Now there was nothing Vitriol could do to save herself from extreme emotional pain. Either choice led to death for somebody. And Malign had earlier stated he would kill Rea himself if she didn't get the job done next time. She would die either way…right?
"Hurry up and decide, Vitriol. I believe time is running out for this boy. He is going to die very soon and if you don't make your decision I'll simply kill them both."
"I--I--"
"Yes?"
"I don't know!" she cried out. The weighty decision was practically splitting her in two.
Malign shook his head and said: "wrong answer, Vitriol." He paused, then smiled and said: "you know, on second thought, don't worry about killing Rea. I've already decided what the fate of both the boy and her will be. I think you will be quite happy with both."
"What?" Vitriol demanded, wondering what trick Malign had up his sleeve this time.
"Rea won't be killed…yet. And I'll heal the boy. But you are to train him to be my slave. Understood?"
Vitriol nodded. It wasn't the best outcome, but at least now the boy would be safe. At least, for a while anyway.
~*~
Joe walked down the hallway of the hospital, realizing just how tired he was. It was only 9:30, but he had not had any sleep at all for the past 48 hours what with staying up the whole night yesterday.
He traced his finger across the stitches that were in his left cheek over the slashes Nocuous had given him with the knife tenderly, and then winced. They still stung a little.
Well, it won't be long before I'm home now, he thought. After the stitches had been administered, one of the doctors had asked him his home phone number. It wasn't until after he'd given out the correct phone number that he realized he'd destroyed his chances at checking on his other friends. Now his parents were on their way to the hospital and there was no way they'd let him leave their apartment after he'd just disappeared.
As he was walking by the rooms on his way to the elevator, he came across a room that particularly interested him. The door was open and sitting in a chair next to the bed nearest the door was… "Mrs. Kamiya?" Joe inquired.
Mrs. Kamiya jumped and looked up at Joe. He was startled to note that her eyes were red and bloodshot, as though she'd been crying for a very long time.
"Oh, you're…Joe, right? Joe Kido?"
Joe nodded and inquired: "what are you doing here?" No sooner had the words left his mouth than he realized it was the wrong subject. Mrs. Kamiya's eyes shone with fresh tears and she whispered: "I'd…rather not talk about it."
That was when Joe noticed that Kari was lying in the bed. The tube was still down her throat and the air was still being forced into her lungs. Hundreds of questions popped up in his mind, but he refrained from asking them, knowing that asking questions would be the worst thing for Mrs. Kamiya right then.
"I've got to go," Joe suddenly said. "Goodbye."
Mrs. Kamiya nodded and Joe left the room before boarding the elevator. So it wasn't just Matt and TK? Kari's hurt, too. And what about all the others? He wondered.
But he didn't have time to ponder these points long because the next thing he knew the elevator had stopped at the main floor. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator….
~*~
"I think we should be discussing how we're going to get all of you back to the real world," Rea said upon her return. She deliberately ignored the inquisitive looks from the six children, knowing there was no way she could tell them where she had been. "Anybody got any ideas on how we're going to beat Malign?"
"I thought you said we might not have to fight," Mimi answered.
"I said there was a possibility that you guys wouldn't have to fight. A very slight possibility and by no means a certainty."
"Well then what do you suggest we do, Rea? Is fighting Malign our only option?" Izzy demanded.
Rea shrugged and answered: "I'm only thinking in your best interests. If you all don't wake up soon, won't people be worried? Besides, I don't think there is a possibility of any of you just waking up, unfortunately. If that was going to happen it would have come about by now."
"So how do we beat him?" Matt asked. "You said it was possible, but you never told me how."
"I wish I could give you a straight answer to that, but I don't know for sure. All I know is that it's possible."
"Are you sure we have to fight him?" Sora queried.
Rea nodded and added: "you guys want to find your other friend, don't you? There is a good possibility Vitriol was telling the truth when she said they had him captive. If that is the case it would be best if we got him out of there as soon as possible."
"Where are we supposed to go?" Kari wondered.
"Well…it's going to be one heck of a long walk. Maybe if we're really lucky I'll be able to teleport us all somewhere remotely close to his castle, but I'm not making any promises," Rea answered. "I advise that we leave now. The sooner we get him away from Malign the better. If he's even still alive, Malign's probably going to be playing some mind games with him soon."
It was quickly agreed that they would set off for the castle right then and there and Rea began to concentrate to teleport the seven of them away from the clearing and hopefully closer to Malign's castle.
And as the green
clearing blurred then disappeared, Kari thought: hold on, Tai. We're coming. Just hold on….