Nightmarish Reality
Epilogue
By Lady Strata
Okay, here's the last part. Warning: the ending is really messed up. I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it. Read at your own risk.
A scream shattered the early afternoon silence.
The scream had come from Rowen. He sat straight up in his bed, clutching the front of his shirt.
"No," he gasped, "no."
Panting, he looked over at Sage's bed. It was empty.
Rowen bowed his head as a tear slipped from his eye. Of course Sage's bed was empty. It always would be. Sage was dead.
And it was all Rowen's fault.
Rowen started to cry. "I'm sorry, Sage. I'm sorry."
He cried harder as he thought about Ryo, Kento, and Cye as well.
"I killed them," he sobbed, "I killed them all."
An enormous wave of guilt washed over him, and his grief became nearly unbearable. Rowen put his face in his hands and let the tears come. He needed to blow off some steam.
He was crying so hard, he didn't even hear the footsteps running down the hall. They got louder as they rapidly approached his door, but Rowen didn't notice.
The door to his room was thrown open, and someone ran in. They saw Rowen crying and were immediately alarmed.
"Rowen!" they cried, "What's wrong? I was outside and I heard you scream. And why are you crying? Did something happen?"
Rowen took his face out his hands and looked at the person in his room. He stopped crying and stared in disbelief.
"It-it's you! I can't believe it!"
"What are you talking about, Rowen?" his visitor asked, sitting on the blue-haired boy's bed.
Rowen threw his arms around the person sitting on his bed and burst out crying again. This time, however, his tears were tears of joy.
"Oh God, I can't believe it's you!" he yelled, crying hysterically.
"You just saw me last night! Are you sure you're not sick?"
"No, I'm not sick! I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! And you're fine, too! Isn't it great?"
"Uh...yeah. Great."
"I'm fine, you're fine, EVERYBODY'S fine!"
"You eat too much sugar."
Rowen giggled. "No, I don't."
"Just one question. Why did you freak out when I came into the room?"
"Because you're ALIVE, stupid!"
"Um...Rowen, I've always been alive."
Rowen shook his head. "No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. But it doesn't matter now, because you're ALIVE!" He threw his arms around Sage and started crying again.
Sage managed to free himself from Rowen's crushing hug.
"Ro, why were you crying when I came in?"
"I had a dream. I was so scared! I thought everything was my fault. I thought-"
"Wait, wait! Just what exactly was your fault?"
"I killed you and the other guys! It was all my fault! Oh shit, I WAS SO STUPID!"
"You killed us?"
"If I had gotten there in time, I could have prevented the Dynasty from killing you!" Rowen continued, "It was all my fault!"
"Huh?"
"But now you're ALIVE! ALIVE! Can you believe it? I'm so relieved!" Rowen's tears were gone now, and he started laughing loudly.
Sage just stared.
"Oh, I'm so happy!" Rowen jumped out of bed and ran out of his room yelling, "It was a dream! Do you hear me? It was all a dream! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
There was nothing but silence in Rowen and Sage's room as Sage sat on his best friend's bed. After about a minute of dead quiet, he spoke.
"He needs help."
Meanwhile, Rowen ran down the stairs, giddy with relief. He was free! Free of all the guilt and pain!
"I can't believe it!" he said to himself, "I just can't believe it! It was all a dream! The whole thing was just a dream! I actually dreamt I was having a dream! How weird is that?"
He ran right into Ryo and nearly knocked him to the ground.
"Hey, watch where you're going, Ro!"
"It was a dream, Ryo; it was a dream! Isn't that wonderful?"
"What the hell are you talking about, man?"
"None of it was real, Ryo! None of it! It's a miracle!" Rowen hugged Ryo and ran off.
Sage came up behind Ryo and they both stared at Rowen's retreating figure.
Ryo turned to Sage and said, "He needs help."
"No kidding."
Meanwhile, it had started to rain, so Cye and Kento came in. They were laughing and talking when Rowen ran into them. He hugged each of them, then jumped up and down, flapping his arms with glee.
His two friends looked at him like he had grown an extra head.
"He looks like he's trying to fly," Kento said.
Cye cleared his throat. "Um, Rowen? Are you all right?"
"Of course I'm all right, Cye! I've never been better!" Rowen laughed like a maniac and ran outside.
"Wait!" Cye called after him, "Rowen, it's raining! You'll get soaked!"
But Rowen didn't care. Even though it had started pouring, he ran around in the yard, his arms flung wide open, his head thrown back in laughter.
"They're alive! They're all alive! Every one of them!" Rowen yelled to the sky. He laughed even harder and continued to run around in the rain.
Sage, Ryo, Kento, and Cye all gathered around the door which Rowen had left wide open and watched their friend act like an idiot.
"What's he doing?"
"He needs help."
"Maybe he's on drugs."
"I can't believe he's STILL trying to fly!"
Sage shook his head. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Rowen, come inside! You'll catch a cold!"
But Rowen was completely oblivious to all of them. Crazy with relief and joy, he climbed a tree and hung upside down from one of the branches.
Kento stomped his foot. "I know why he's acting like this! He's trying to fly! Can't you guys see that?"
Cye gave him an exasperated look. "Kento, he is not trying to fly. He's just insane."
"I still think he eats too much sugar," Sage said.
Ryo nodded in agreement.
Rowen jumped out of the tree. He held his arms straight out, ran around in circles, and made whooshing noises. He saw his friends staring at him from the doorway. He waved at them, a huge grin on his face.
"Look at me! I'm an airplane!"
The other Ronins groaned and shook their heads.
Except for Kento. He pointed a finger at Rowen, still acting like an airplane.
"See! I told you he was trying to fly!"
A WORD FROM THE LADY
Well, there you have it. The entire thing was a dream. No one died. Rowen dreamed it all. Yes, this means that he dreamed he was having a dream. Weird way to end it, huh? Whatever. Anyway, hopefully this will discourage all torch-bearing mobs who wanted to burn me at the stake. Your beloved Ronins are alive, well, AND STILL KICKING ASS! Sorry. Had to put that in. And I know there are WAY too many exclamation marks in this last part. But I think we can all live with that. It's a small price to pay for keeping everyone's favorite boys alive. Before I go: some of you may be wondering where I got the idea for Rowen acting like an airplane at the end. And the answer is: I have no idea. Now, if you'll excuse me-
(Lady Strata gets up from her chair, walks over to the door, and opens it. She steps outside, oblivious to the fact that it is pouring rain. She holds her arms out straight, runs around in circles, and makes whooshing noises) LOOK AT ME! I'M AN AIRPLANE!
