~chapter 8~
Slowly the three made their way down the slope, Jared being practically carried by Justin and Link. About half way they began to slow down.
"Hey, what are we stopping for? We're half way there." Jared said.
"It's tough haulin' your fat ass!" Link muttered before dropping him and resting on a rock.
"Ow! Hey, I'm not that fat..."
"Perhaps we should wait until we are further along before we rest Link." Justin said in a wise tone. "It still could be dangerous this close to the volcano...and we aren't sure whether that guy survived."
"Eh...yeah I guess." Link said standing.
"All right, I'm ready." Jared said holding out his arms like an infant to its mother.
"Bah. You can walk by yourself! Don't be such a sissified pansy!" Link said smacking Jared in the back of the head and walking down the rocky trail. They made it the rest of the way and towards the house they stayed at. When they entered they found that...
"Our stuff is gone!!!" Justin shouted. The small house had, in fact, been emptied of all supplies which were not there prior to our arrival. Link cursed and kicked over a chair.
"Great...so much for moving on..." Jared mumbled.
"So what are we going to do?" Justin said turning to Link.
"Bah...hold on a sec. Lemme think..." he said frustrated, putting a hand to his brow. After a few moments he spoke. "Alright fine, we're going to have to rest here the rest of the day. We're going to have to head back to Crolita City in the morning." Link and Jared rested at the shack while Justin volunteered to search the other houses for anything useful. After a few hours he finally came back, though it didn't seem he had much.
"All I found was a few rupees, a half burnt torch and one small ration of food." Justin said grimly. Link sighed.
"We have a choice, we can either miss dinner tonight or miss breakfast tomorrow." said Link.
"I'm not that hungry..." Jared said.
"Nor am I. We could probably wait till morning." added Justin. They agreed to wait until morning to eat. Next they had to decide on sleeping arrangements. The bed was large enough to fit two people but not three; one had to sleep in a chair. Link volunteered (after losing to a parchment- rock-dagger match) to take the chair. Quickly night fell upon them and darkness filled the small town. They were able to light the small torch and hung it on the wall. While the other two prepared for the end of the day, Link stepped outside to think. The air was cool, a slight breeze not even strong enough to move leaves blew on Link's neck. The black sky was filled with thousands of sparkling diamonds. The crickets kept up a rhythm of calm peaceful chirps in the background. Link sat for a few moments, watching the faint appearance of his breath when he would exhale. Then he leaned back and stared up at the sky, falling deep into thought. He began to reflect on his life. He thought of the events through his entire time of being as far back as he could remember. Memories of the kokori forest filled his head as he pictured running around with the kokori's, how they would pick on him for not having a fairy, how Saria would stick up for him. A memory of a time when Saria smacked Mido around for being mean flashed in his mind and Link couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He then remembered when his fairy came to him. The excitement that flowed through him was overwhelming, he wanted to rush off and tell his friends. Later came thoughts of the fight with Gannondorf. He frowned slightly, but then moved on to Clock Town. He fought another evil monster, saved another town. How was it possible for one person to do so many great things? It seemed almost surreal, as if he would not believe it had he not experienced it first hand. Then he trembled, remembering the times in Islander. So many of his friends lost. He blamed himself. He could have stopped it if only he hadn't been so foolish. He squinted his eyes tight and sighed, trying to force out the memories. But he could not get rid of them, he never will. He stays haunted by the memories regardless of how much he tries to forget, he cannot. (*authors note* again, you'll have to read my friend's fic to understand this part of the story.) Now he was here. Already so much has happened. One friend had died, another was almost lost today. He wondered how much he could take. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? There's only so much one person, a "hero", can do before he is outdone; so much enemies someone can fight before it's over. He often wondered why it had to be him that was given the gift; why he couldn't have been an ordinary Hylan boy just like everyone else; why the fate of thousands, maybe millions had to rest on his shoulders. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see Jared, standing in the light that shown through the open door.
"You coming inside?" Jared asked softly. Link nodded and exhaled deeply, standing up.
"Yeah, in a second." replied Link. Jared went inside. Link glanced at the stars one more time before heading in.
That night Link had a bad dream. He was in a dark place which he could not identify. A cold mist hung in the air. It seemed as if he were in a forest. He walked a short way into a clearing. There he spotted Gondar. Suddenly 11 white figures, unable to be recognized, all huddled in a circle around him with their arms stretched forward as if holding him back. The figures began to tremble, then the ground shook. Gondar shriveled up and dissapeared as a dark ball which was hidden by the figures before rose slowly above the circle. As it did, it grew larger and the white figures grew smaller. Soon there was nothing left except tiny white shapes the size of golf balls. The dark ball grew larger and formed into a shadowed figure. It let out an evil laugh and grew to a tremendous size. With a wave of its arms, the 11 white figures were scattered into the air and flug out across the land. The dark figure then dissapeared, leaving Link, who had been hiding behind a tree, alone. The forest around Link suddenly began to fly past him, though he was standing still. Faster and faster it whooshed by until the scenery became a large blur. After a few moments it stopped and Link found him floating high in the air. He looked down and recognized the land to be Artigonia. In the horizon, the dark figure from in the forest leapt up. It raised its arms and stretched them forward like a shadow over the land. The land was enveloped in darkness as if black clouds covered the sun. There was a flash of light and Link found himself over another land. The shadowy wave soon made its way across the terrain, covering it as well. Link had another vision of the entire planet being consumed with darkness as all he could do was stare on in disbelief. Suddenly he felt a heaving in his stomach as he began to fall. Faster, faster, faster still he fell zooming towards the ground and into the darkness.
Link felt himself come in contact with the hard wood floor as the chair he was in tipped backwards. He groaned and wiped his forehead which was slick with sweat. He looked over and saw that Jared and Justin were still asleep. Knowing it would be impossible for him to get back to sleep, he slid on his boots and stepped outside. It was unusually cold. A very slight glow was coming from the east as it began to pass into the early hours of morning. A few faint stars still shone in the sky. He let out a sigh. His breath shown heavily and hung in the air for a while. He decided to walk down the road. He passed the old abandoned houses, cobwebs collecting dew hung in the corners of the doorframes. Broken windows covered with dust were sprinkled here and there along the houses' walls. A small rodent scampered along the cobblestone in front of Link. He made it to a different building. Above the door,
was scratched into a wooden plank. Link pondered a bit at this, then realized it was Elvish writing. Knowing very little but some Elvish, Link figured that the sign read General Store. He pushed open the front door, which was surprisingly unlocked. Dusty broken shelves were all that covered the bare walls. Nothing of use could be found. Even the safe was emptied of all currency.
"Nothing..." Link mumbled before going back out. The sky had grown lighter now but due to the mountains surrounding the village it could not be seen. Link decided to head back to the house. When he stepped through the doorway, he glanced at the bed and gasped.
Empty.
Suddenly he felt something hit the back of his head then his face hit the hard floor and unconsciousness passed over him.
~end~
Slowly the three made their way down the slope, Jared being practically carried by Justin and Link. About half way they began to slow down.
"Hey, what are we stopping for? We're half way there." Jared said.
"It's tough haulin' your fat ass!" Link muttered before dropping him and resting on a rock.
"Ow! Hey, I'm not that fat..."
"Perhaps we should wait until we are further along before we rest Link." Justin said in a wise tone. "It still could be dangerous this close to the volcano...and we aren't sure whether that guy survived."
"Eh...yeah I guess." Link said standing.
"All right, I'm ready." Jared said holding out his arms like an infant to its mother.
"Bah. You can walk by yourself! Don't be such a sissified pansy!" Link said smacking Jared in the back of the head and walking down the rocky trail. They made it the rest of the way and towards the house they stayed at. When they entered they found that...
"Our stuff is gone!!!" Justin shouted. The small house had, in fact, been emptied of all supplies which were not there prior to our arrival. Link cursed and kicked over a chair.
"Great...so much for moving on..." Jared mumbled.
"So what are we going to do?" Justin said turning to Link.
"Bah...hold on a sec. Lemme think..." he said frustrated, putting a hand to his brow. After a few moments he spoke. "Alright fine, we're going to have to rest here the rest of the day. We're going to have to head back to Crolita City in the morning." Link and Jared rested at the shack while Justin volunteered to search the other houses for anything useful. After a few hours he finally came back, though it didn't seem he had much.
"All I found was a few rupees, a half burnt torch and one small ration of food." Justin said grimly. Link sighed.
"We have a choice, we can either miss dinner tonight or miss breakfast tomorrow." said Link.
"I'm not that hungry..." Jared said.
"Nor am I. We could probably wait till morning." added Justin. They agreed to wait until morning to eat. Next they had to decide on sleeping arrangements. The bed was large enough to fit two people but not three; one had to sleep in a chair. Link volunteered (after losing to a parchment- rock-dagger match) to take the chair. Quickly night fell upon them and darkness filled the small town. They were able to light the small torch and hung it on the wall. While the other two prepared for the end of the day, Link stepped outside to think. The air was cool, a slight breeze not even strong enough to move leaves blew on Link's neck. The black sky was filled with thousands of sparkling diamonds. The crickets kept up a rhythm of calm peaceful chirps in the background. Link sat for a few moments, watching the faint appearance of his breath when he would exhale. Then he leaned back and stared up at the sky, falling deep into thought. He began to reflect on his life. He thought of the events through his entire time of being as far back as he could remember. Memories of the kokori forest filled his head as he pictured running around with the kokori's, how they would pick on him for not having a fairy, how Saria would stick up for him. A memory of a time when Saria smacked Mido around for being mean flashed in his mind and Link couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He then remembered when his fairy came to him. The excitement that flowed through him was overwhelming, he wanted to rush off and tell his friends. Later came thoughts of the fight with Gannondorf. He frowned slightly, but then moved on to Clock Town. He fought another evil monster, saved another town. How was it possible for one person to do so many great things? It seemed almost surreal, as if he would not believe it had he not experienced it first hand. Then he trembled, remembering the times in Islander. So many of his friends lost. He blamed himself. He could have stopped it if only he hadn't been so foolish. He squinted his eyes tight and sighed, trying to force out the memories. But he could not get rid of them, he never will. He stays haunted by the memories regardless of how much he tries to forget, he cannot. (*authors note* again, you'll have to read my friend's fic to understand this part of the story.) Now he was here. Already so much has happened. One friend had died, another was almost lost today. He wondered how much he could take. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? There's only so much one person, a "hero", can do before he is outdone; so much enemies someone can fight before it's over. He often wondered why it had to be him that was given the gift; why he couldn't have been an ordinary Hylan boy just like everyone else; why the fate of thousands, maybe millions had to rest on his shoulders. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see Jared, standing in the light that shown through the open door.
"You coming inside?" Jared asked softly. Link nodded and exhaled deeply, standing up.
"Yeah, in a second." replied Link. Jared went inside. Link glanced at the stars one more time before heading in.
That night Link had a bad dream. He was in a dark place which he could not identify. A cold mist hung in the air. It seemed as if he were in a forest. He walked a short way into a clearing. There he spotted Gondar. Suddenly 11 white figures, unable to be recognized, all huddled in a circle around him with their arms stretched forward as if holding him back. The figures began to tremble, then the ground shook. Gondar shriveled up and dissapeared as a dark ball which was hidden by the figures before rose slowly above the circle. As it did, it grew larger and the white figures grew smaller. Soon there was nothing left except tiny white shapes the size of golf balls. The dark ball grew larger and formed into a shadowed figure. It let out an evil laugh and grew to a tremendous size. With a wave of its arms, the 11 white figures were scattered into the air and flug out across the land. The dark figure then dissapeared, leaving Link, who had been hiding behind a tree, alone. The forest around Link suddenly began to fly past him, though he was standing still. Faster and faster it whooshed by until the scenery became a large blur. After a few moments it stopped and Link found him floating high in the air. He looked down and recognized the land to be Artigonia. In the horizon, the dark figure from in the forest leapt up. It raised its arms and stretched them forward like a shadow over the land. The land was enveloped in darkness as if black clouds covered the sun. There was a flash of light and Link found himself over another land. The shadowy wave soon made its way across the terrain, covering it as well. Link had another vision of the entire planet being consumed with darkness as all he could do was stare on in disbelief. Suddenly he felt a heaving in his stomach as he began to fall. Faster, faster, faster still he fell zooming towards the ground and into the darkness.
Link felt himself come in contact with the hard wood floor as the chair he was in tipped backwards. He groaned and wiped his forehead which was slick with sweat. He looked over and saw that Jared and Justin were still asleep. Knowing it would be impossible for him to get back to sleep, he slid on his boots and stepped outside. It was unusually cold. A very slight glow was coming from the east as it began to pass into the early hours of morning. A few faint stars still shone in the sky. He let out a sigh. His breath shown heavily and hung in the air for a while. He decided to walk down the road. He passed the old abandoned houses, cobwebs collecting dew hung in the corners of the doorframes. Broken windows covered with dust were sprinkled here and there along the houses' walls. A small rodent scampered along the cobblestone in front of Link. He made it to a different building. Above the door,
was scratched into a wooden plank. Link pondered a bit at this, then realized it was Elvish writing. Knowing very little but some Elvish, Link figured that the sign read General Store. He pushed open the front door, which was surprisingly unlocked. Dusty broken shelves were all that covered the bare walls. Nothing of use could be found. Even the safe was emptied of all currency.
"Nothing..." Link mumbled before going back out. The sky had grown lighter now but due to the mountains surrounding the village it could not be seen. Link decided to head back to the house. When he stepped through the doorway, he glanced at the bed and gasped.
Empty.
Suddenly he felt something hit the back of his head then his face hit the hard floor and unconsciousness passed over him.
~end~