Chapter 6
~~~ "You're gonna have to catch me!" Clark giggled as he started running, followed by 4-year-old Carey. Carey (19-year-old) watched the same scene he had told Fi earlier unfold before his eyes, as it had so many times before. He knew what was going to happen next, but could do nothing to stop it. He tried every time he had this nightmare, but the outcome was always the same. Clark always died in Carey's arms, making him feel even more helpless as tears welled up in his eyes. He usually woke up around this time, but not tonight.
The scene changed quickly into what had happened earlier that day. Carey relived the day's horrible events, but somehow the pain was magnified by being able to see himself there. In the nightmare, he kept seeing ways that could have prevented Clu from dying, and Carey mentally beat himself up for not seeing them before. The whole horrible scene played out before him up until Clu's death, dragging Carey further into depression. He felt the tears start to fall down his cheeks and tried to wake up from this horrible nightmare.
But no such thing happened. The scene changed once more, but this time into one Carey didn't recognize. He was living the scene and watching it happen at the same time. He could see a pretty busy street in what he guessed was the town they were in. He saw two people walking down the street that he recognized as Fi and himself He walked closer to them, moving until he was almost beside them. He couldn't really make out what they were talking about cause they were whispering, but he didn't really care. They looked pretty happy, Fi's face betraying that they were on some kind of mission. The other Carey put his arm around Fi's shoulders and they kept on walking happily, and he could actually feel it. Carey was thinking that maybe this part of the dream was supposed to be happy and make up for the others. As soon as the thought passed through his mind, he instantly regretted it. He saw a man emerge from the shadows and make his way to Fi and the other Carey, who didn't see him until it was too late. The man pulled a knife out of his jacket and tried to mug the other Carey. All three of them (the 2 Carey's and Fi) were scared but managed to keep a sort of clam. The man got fed up with waiting and lunged at the other Carey, slashing with the knife. Just as it was about to hit the other Carey, Fi jumped in front of him. The knife pierced Fi's chest, going deep into her. Even though it was a dream, that moment would be burned in Carey's mind forever. The emotions were real, not a dream. He started crying, holding Fi's body in his arms, holding the body of the girl he loved. She had died because of him, to keep him from dying, when it should have been the other way around. He just sat there in the street crying and holding on to her body, no longer able to see through his tear-filled eyes.
The scene changed for the last time. Carey heard a male voice speaking to him, but his vision was so blurred by tears that he couldn't see the source of the voice. "Carey, you've got to protect Fi or they'll take her too", Clarks voice said. Carey wiped his eyes a bit and saw a young man that looked a lot like him standing there. He recognized him as the grown-up version of Clark.
"Clark?" Carey said weakly. His brother nodded. "But how…"
"There's no time to explain. It's hard enough for me to get here and I don't have much time before I'm pulled back into their control. All I can say is that you've got to protect both Fi and yourself if you don't want the previous scene to become a reality. They want you Carey…" he was suddenly interrupted as his face twisted into an evil version. He began to verbally harass Carey, telling him that his and Clu's death was Carey's fault. Carey felt as if his heart had been torn out and cut up. Fresh tears fell, and he saw his brother's face change back to normal. "Sorry for that bro. I would never hurt you. They were controlling me. I've gotta go now. Protect her Carey. For her good and your own. Clu's here with me. He's safe. I love you little bro…" Clark's voice faded away.
Carey was left speechless at what had just happened. The whole nightmare flashed before his eyes as he everything faded out. ~~~~
"Carey!" Fi said as she shook him awake. She'd been woken up by Carey's screams. She'd heard him scream out her name, along with Clark's and Clu's. She'd gotten out of her bed and seen him crying in his sleep once again, his body shaking as violently as it had earlier that night. "Carey" she said as she saw him stir and open his eyes. She instantly wrapped him up in a hug, comforting him until h is sobs subsided slowly.
"Carey what happened? " she asked him once he had stopped crying. "Just a nightmare", he answered, his voice wavering slightly.
"It wasn't just a nightmare Carey! You were screaming! And you were crying and shaking so hard…" she said.
"Fi, it's just really hard to explain. It was just too painful…" Carey answered. "Try to explain. It'll make you feel better" she told him softly.
"Fi, I….I had to relive what happened today. And everything that happened during Clark's death. I had to watch my brothers die again and there was nothing I could do to stop it. It felt so real and it hurt so much. I've had dreams about this before, but they never felt this real" he confessed. "And I also saw something else, something that hasn't happened yet." He proceeded to tell her about seeing her die in his arms too, as he choked back fresh tears that were trying to come. He told her everything Clark had said also.
Fi hugged him tighter as he burst into tears once again. *There's definitely something weird going on here and it's hurting Carey* she thought *And I'm gonna find out exactly how to stop it*. She looked at Carey and realized he was about to fall asleep again. She was pretty tired herself, so she laid him down and started to get up and go to her own bed.
She heard Carey say something "Don't leave. Clark said I'm supposed to protect you and the only way I can do that is to have you close by. Please". He said all this in a very serious whisper. "Plus, I don't wanna be alone" he said in a lighter tone, giving her a small smile. She looked at him and decided to stay. Carey suddenly looked exactly like a little kid again. Maybe it was the smile, maybe it was his request, but the thought made her smile a bit too. Fi lay down next to him and he wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder. She softly kissed his forehead and said goodnight, but Carey had already fallen asleep. She laid awake for a while thinking about what Carey had said. *I'll look it up first thing tomorrow morning. I've gotta find a way to bring Carey's brothers back.* These were her last thoughts before she pulled Carey a bit closer and drifted off to sleep.
[The next morning]
The sound of her bedroom door opening awoke Fi. She stirred a bit and opened her eyes, annoyed at being woken up so early. She focused her view on the door and found her mom standing there looking amused, worried, and confused at the same time.
"Morning honey", she said.
"Morning mom" Fi replied groggily.
"Is there anything going on between you and Carey?" Molly asked, pointing at the position Fi and Carey were in.
*I wish there was* Fi blushed a deep red and moved out of Carey's embrace before answering. "No mom. He just had a really rough night", she explained.
Molly nodded and kissed her daughter's cheek before going back into the hall. She knew what Carey was going through right now. Clu's death hit everybody hard, but it had hit Carey the hardest. She understood why he might go to Fi for comfort. But still, there was something more between those two, even if they hadn't noticed it yet. Molly smiled at the thought as she walked away.
Fi climbed out of bed and went to get her laptop, deciding that as long as she was awake she might as well try to find out how to get Clu back. She sat down next to Carey's sleeping form and logged on to the Internet to begin her search.
Carey woke up to the sound of Fi typing. He sat up and stretched a bit. He decided to just watch Fi for a while, wondering how long it would be before she noticed he was awake. She looked so cute when she was determined to find something. After sitting for a while, he began thinking about Clu and the nightmare he had had. He could vaguely remember having a dream about something happening to Clu a while ago, but he hadn't thought much of it then. Maybe it was a sort of premonition. *Why didn't I take it seriously? Why didn't I tell Fi about it?*
"Aha! Found something!" Fi said happily, shaking Carey out of his thoughts.
"What did you find?" Fi was startled to hear Carey's voice.
"You're awake" she said.
"Nah, I'm just talking in my sleep" he said sarcastically, as he smirked at Fi.
"Not funny. You scared me! You should've told me you were up!"
"So what exactly did you find?" he asked.
"Well, I found out where Clu and Clark are" she said. He just looked at her, so she continued. "They're in this place called Batakas (I know it's a stupid name. It just sort of popped into my head). It's a sort of limbo that exists between the mortal world and the spirit world. The only people who ever get to go there are those that have some special purpose for being there. It's a place full of pixies, except for their ruler, who is a normal person. The ruler is controlled by the Assembly of Evil Forces. He does whatever they tell him to do, mainly cause they can get into his brain and force him to do their bidding. People are transported to Batakas by way of rainbow colored orbs or bubbles. These people usually move on to the spirit world as soon as they accomplish their mission, but some are allowed to return to Earth. This can only happen in the case of people who are there as bait for others. Once the Assembly gets what they want, they may choose to return the mortal to earth." Fi concluded.
"Return to earth? So we can get Clark and Clu back?" Carey said, getting really excited. "So they're not fully dead?" Fi smiled at the look on his face. His smile was huge and his eyes sparkled; he looked like a little kid on Christmas morning.
"Yeah, we might be able to get them back. But only if The Assembly gets what they want…." Fi trailed off. She saw some of the sparkle leave his eyes. She hated to be the to burst his bubble, but how could she lie to Carey now?
"But how do we know what it is they want?" Carey asked.
"Well, we don't…" Fi answered.
Then Carey remembered something Clark had said last night. "Fi, I know what it is they want," Carey said solemnly. All traces of his previous expression were gone. His eyes looked hollow and empty, his face grim.
"What?" Fi asked.
"Me," he said.
