***Misted Reality: Part 3***
Insomnia. It always comes around when you don't want it to and never shows up when you do.
Seifer Almasy was lying in bed staring up at the ceiling. He was hoping beyond hope that his nightmares would give him a break tonight, and deep down he was praying that he wouldn't fall asleep at all. But, despite his desperate struggling, his eyelids began to droop as they always did, and he knew there was no use in fighting it.
(......I'm......just gonna.....rest my.....eyes......a bit....) Seifer thought groggily. (....and.....if I fall....asleep....I'm gonna have.....sweet dreams.....nice....non-psychopathic....sweet dreams........yeah.......)
Seifer closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift off into dreamland. Nightmares themselves were the least of his worries tonight, however. His true nightmare was only just beginning.........
----------
/Seifer walked casually out of the Dormitory, heading in the direction of the Training Center. His gunblade hung easily at his side, and as he looked around him, his vision seemed slightly misted, like in a dream....../
/Seifer was a little confused about what he was doing, why he was out and about past curfew. But, in the back of his mind he felt the urge to keep moving, a dark purpose hanging in his thoughts where he was too afraid to look./
/There was a lone figure, Seifer noticed, coming towards him from the opposite direction at a leisurely pace. It took him a moment to realize who it was, but after the gap between them had lessened somewhat, he recognized the young Garden student as Ashton Petious. Or, as he was more commonly known around Garden: Trepie Member #1./
/Ashton noticed Seifer about the same time, dawning a nervous grin once he realized who was about to cross his path. The Trepies, particularly the male side, felt a little intimidated by Seifer. After all, it was a well known fact around Garden that Quistis and Seifer were an item. And, since certain male students, like Ashton, wanted to remain male throughout their Garden careers, they generally steered clear of the white knight./
/Seifer felt a strange twinge as Ashton drew closer, almost like an involuntary twitch in his trigger finger. When the two finally came nose to nose, Seifer purposely blocked the other boys path, forcing him to stop. A morbid impulse within him had taken over...../
/Ashton merely laughed uneasily at the situation, trying to start up a conversation, though he obviously wanted to sprint in the opposite direction as fast as he could./
/ "Seifer. Uhhhh......great to see ya!" Ashton mumbled, almost incoherently. "Heading to the Training Center?" he asked then, indicating Seifer's gleaming Hyperion./
/Seifer smirked wickedly, nodding his head. "Guess I'm just in a slice-and-dice kind of mood," he replied darkly./
/Ashton obviously didn't like the sound of that./
/ "Errrrm........so, Seifer....." he tried, clearly filled with anxiety. "....you don't hold it against us for having a fan club for Quistis or anything.......right?"/
/Seifer laughed. "Course not, Ash. I've told you that before. Besides, I wouldn't need a reason like that to.....well.....never mind," Seifer grinned./
/Ashton's eyes grew wide. "Well, I think I'll be going now. Early class tomorrow and all," He swept passed Seifer, hoping to escape the uneasy confrontation./
/ "See you later, Ash," Seifer called behind him, which made Ashton sigh with huge relief that he was actually going to get away. But, then......./
/ "Oh, and Ash, one last thing......" Seifer added, turning towards the retreating boy before he could get too far away. Ashton stopped in his tracks, hesitating a bit as he turned to face Seifer./
/ "Yeah, what i......?" But, he was cut off before he could finish. Literally./
/Seifer's gunblade had been poised above his head as Ashton turned back around, and once the poor boy was facing him, it had come crashing down./
/Seifer hovered above the broken body of the young Garden student, grinning maliciously. "Hehe........never turn your back on a psychopath, that's what,"/
Seifer's eyes shot open, and his breath was heavy and frantic as he tried to sit up. He was covered in a cold sweat once again, chilled and shaken more than ever before. The nightmare had seemed so real.....
"Damn......damn everything!" Seifer cried. "God, can't I even have one night........one night.......?" He fell back into bed, sobbing onto his pillow. The image of Ashton's stricken face and crumbling body threatened to remain even after the night was through....../
----------
It is often not the nightmare itself which frightens us, but the idea of the nightmare becoming reality that sends us cowering under our covers. As for Seifer, perhaps he had a reason to be afraid.......
The former knight painstakingly slipped a black T-shirt over his head. For some reason, every muscle in his body ached.
(Too many sleepless nights) Seifer thought bitterly. (I wish I knew what was wrong with me.......)
Seifer's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden commotion outside, causing him to lift his head towards the door. It sounded like everyone down his hallway was stampeding past it.
(What the.....)
Seifer stretched out his arms once again, and then reached for the doorknob. Indeed, person after person rushed passed as he opened the door, all seeming hurried and anxious.
"What's going on?" Seifer asked, grabbing the arm of a random person who passed by. "Where's everyone going?"
"Haven't you heard?!" the kid asked incredulously, pulling from Seifer's grip. But, before Seifer could explain that he hadn't "heard", the kid disappeared around the corner with everyone else.
Seifer grumbled to himself, deciding he might as well follow the pack if he was going to find out exactly what had happened to cause so much commotion. He left his room, continuing through the hallways until he was just outside the Dormitory. Once in the main walkway, Seifer could see that the students were all gathered a little ways away......in the direction of the Training Center.......
Seifer's heart skipped a beat.
(No.......it's just a coincidence.......it has to be......)
Seifer hurried to the group, nearly sprinting the few yards that separated them. He could tell that they were all circling something, but with so many people, he couldn't see anything but heads.
Seifer felt his throat closing and his breath quicken as he pushed through the crowd. He just had to see what was there. He had to know if......if.......he just had to know.
Dr. Kadowaki, having been called to the scene the second it had been discovered, stood hunched over something lying on the ground. Seifer strained his neck to see past her, even now that he had forced his way to the front. A part of him knew what he was about to see, but the child in him wouldn't believe it, not even after there was no mistaking what it was.
As Dr. Kadowaki shifted herself to the side, Seifer saw clearly what lie there on the ground. It was the body, or at least what was left of it, of Ashton Petious.
The next thing Seifer saw was darkness, and the cold, unfeeling ground came rushing up to collide with his falling form.
**********
Insomnia. It always comes around when you don't want it to and never shows up when you do.
Seifer Almasy was lying in bed staring up at the ceiling. He was hoping beyond hope that his nightmares would give him a break tonight, and deep down he was praying that he wouldn't fall asleep at all. But, despite his desperate struggling, his eyelids began to droop as they always did, and he knew there was no use in fighting it.
(......I'm......just gonna.....rest my.....eyes......a bit....) Seifer thought groggily. (....and.....if I fall....asleep....I'm gonna have.....sweet dreams.....nice....non-psychopathic....sweet dreams........yeah.......)
Seifer closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift off into dreamland. Nightmares themselves were the least of his worries tonight, however. His true nightmare was only just beginning.........
----------
/Seifer walked casually out of the Dormitory, heading in the direction of the Training Center. His gunblade hung easily at his side, and as he looked around him, his vision seemed slightly misted, like in a dream....../
/Seifer was a little confused about what he was doing, why he was out and about past curfew. But, in the back of his mind he felt the urge to keep moving, a dark purpose hanging in his thoughts where he was too afraid to look./
/There was a lone figure, Seifer noticed, coming towards him from the opposite direction at a leisurely pace. It took him a moment to realize who it was, but after the gap between them had lessened somewhat, he recognized the young Garden student as Ashton Petious. Or, as he was more commonly known around Garden: Trepie Member #1./
/Ashton noticed Seifer about the same time, dawning a nervous grin once he realized who was about to cross his path. The Trepies, particularly the male side, felt a little intimidated by Seifer. After all, it was a well known fact around Garden that Quistis and Seifer were an item. And, since certain male students, like Ashton, wanted to remain male throughout their Garden careers, they generally steered clear of the white knight./
/Seifer felt a strange twinge as Ashton drew closer, almost like an involuntary twitch in his trigger finger. When the two finally came nose to nose, Seifer purposely blocked the other boys path, forcing him to stop. A morbid impulse within him had taken over...../
/Ashton merely laughed uneasily at the situation, trying to start up a conversation, though he obviously wanted to sprint in the opposite direction as fast as he could./
/ "Seifer. Uhhhh......great to see ya!" Ashton mumbled, almost incoherently. "Heading to the Training Center?" he asked then, indicating Seifer's gleaming Hyperion./
/Seifer smirked wickedly, nodding his head. "Guess I'm just in a slice-and-dice kind of mood," he replied darkly./
/Ashton obviously didn't like the sound of that./
/ "Errrrm........so, Seifer....." he tried, clearly filled with anxiety. "....you don't hold it against us for having a fan club for Quistis or anything.......right?"/
/Seifer laughed. "Course not, Ash. I've told you that before. Besides, I wouldn't need a reason like that to.....well.....never mind," Seifer grinned./
/Ashton's eyes grew wide. "Well, I think I'll be going now. Early class tomorrow and all," He swept passed Seifer, hoping to escape the uneasy confrontation./
/ "See you later, Ash," Seifer called behind him, which made Ashton sigh with huge relief that he was actually going to get away. But, then......./
/ "Oh, and Ash, one last thing......" Seifer added, turning towards the retreating boy before he could get too far away. Ashton stopped in his tracks, hesitating a bit as he turned to face Seifer./
/ "Yeah, what i......?" But, he was cut off before he could finish. Literally./
/Seifer's gunblade had been poised above his head as Ashton turned back around, and once the poor boy was facing him, it had come crashing down./
/Seifer hovered above the broken body of the young Garden student, grinning maliciously. "Hehe........never turn your back on a psychopath, that's what,"/
Seifer's eyes shot open, and his breath was heavy and frantic as he tried to sit up. He was covered in a cold sweat once again, chilled and shaken more than ever before. The nightmare had seemed so real.....
"Damn......damn everything!" Seifer cried. "God, can't I even have one night........one night.......?" He fell back into bed, sobbing onto his pillow. The image of Ashton's stricken face and crumbling body threatened to remain even after the night was through....../
----------
It is often not the nightmare itself which frightens us, but the idea of the nightmare becoming reality that sends us cowering under our covers. As for Seifer, perhaps he had a reason to be afraid.......
The former knight painstakingly slipped a black T-shirt over his head. For some reason, every muscle in his body ached.
(Too many sleepless nights) Seifer thought bitterly. (I wish I knew what was wrong with me.......)
Seifer's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden commotion outside, causing him to lift his head towards the door. It sounded like everyone down his hallway was stampeding past it.
(What the.....)
Seifer stretched out his arms once again, and then reached for the doorknob. Indeed, person after person rushed passed as he opened the door, all seeming hurried and anxious.
"What's going on?" Seifer asked, grabbing the arm of a random person who passed by. "Where's everyone going?"
"Haven't you heard?!" the kid asked incredulously, pulling from Seifer's grip. But, before Seifer could explain that he hadn't "heard", the kid disappeared around the corner with everyone else.
Seifer grumbled to himself, deciding he might as well follow the pack if he was going to find out exactly what had happened to cause so much commotion. He left his room, continuing through the hallways until he was just outside the Dormitory. Once in the main walkway, Seifer could see that the students were all gathered a little ways away......in the direction of the Training Center.......
Seifer's heart skipped a beat.
(No.......it's just a coincidence.......it has to be......)
Seifer hurried to the group, nearly sprinting the few yards that separated them. He could tell that they were all circling something, but with so many people, he couldn't see anything but heads.
Seifer felt his throat closing and his breath quicken as he pushed through the crowd. He just had to see what was there. He had to know if......if.......he just had to know.
Dr. Kadowaki, having been called to the scene the second it had been discovered, stood hunched over something lying on the ground. Seifer strained his neck to see past her, even now that he had forced his way to the front. A part of him knew what he was about to see, but the child in him wouldn't believe it, not even after there was no mistaking what it was.
As Dr. Kadowaki shifted herself to the side, Seifer saw clearly what lie there on the ground. It was the body, or at least what was left of it, of Ashton Petious.
The next thing Seifer saw was darkness, and the cold, unfeeling ground came rushing up to collide with his falling form.
**********