...................
"Uhh.......wha-?.....W-Where am I?" Link opened his eyes to a cold, dreary sky. The wind blew cold, pushing the trees against their will and flattening the grasses around Link. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and then, startled, he quickly shoved his fingers through his hair and brought them in front. There was no blood, dry flakes or otherwise. His headache was gone too, he realized, as well as the ache in his arms and legs. He could think clearly too.
Link looked around. There was no one anymore. Not for miles. Link turned his head to where the tent was, only to see a crisp black pile of beams, frayed ropes, and pieces of striped tent. Link realized that someone or some people must have died in the inferno, and stood and bowed in respect. But then his head shot up. Zelda!!!! Was she still in there? Was she okay? Where was she? But then he remembered that she was with him while he was resting on the ground and fell asleep. She must have gone with the soldiers back to the castle, Link thought, I hope she doesn't get into trouble, he added with a pang of guilt. It would have been his fault.
Trying not to think about Zelda being punished, he thought instead about what the soldier had said. 'He has a major concussion. We can't let him drop off. If he goes to sleep, it's curtains.' Had he really fallen asleep? Wouldn't that have resulted in him.....no that couldn't have happened, he was still here, as well as the tent. But what about everyone else? Link decided that he had probably fallen asleep, and survived miraculously, but everyone mistook him to be dead and left him. That thought didn't make Link feel very good, as they didn't take his body to be properly buried, but it was the only solution that made enough sense to pass. Link stared at the vast pile of the charred stage and tent. After a few moments, he decided to walk to Hyrule castle. He had to own up, he wasn't going to let Zelda take all the blame. And he wanted to make sure everyone knew he was still alive. And he didn't want to stay there and watch the wind blow away the dispossessed remains of the once titanic show. He started walking away toward the hill which he and Zelda had climbed over to get there. Walking, he felt as though the ground was moving under him, backwards. He stopped and looked down. The ground was still. He looked up and saw that the hill was still many yards away. Stunned, he turned around to see that the ruined circus tent was yet still five or so feet away. Now fully flabbergasted, he started to run toward the hill. It didn't come closer. Rather, the hill seemed to be going BACKWARD! Link stopped, and the hill followed suit. He started to run again, and the hill continued to move farther away, very fast. Link stopped. The hill stopped. Then Link started to walk backward, very fast. In watching the hill and the ground, he didn't see where he was walking, and tripped into the pile of charred tarp. Flakes rose and fell onto him, and the air smelled smoky. Link sneezed. He was covered from head to boot in black dust. Blinking, he looked up. The hill was right where it was before they started.
Link began to feel unnerved. And who could blame him- heck, anyone who's lost a race to a hill is entitled to fright. He stood up from the ashes, brushed himself off, (he still had a few grey stains on him, but there was nothing that could be done about that) and turned the other direction. I must have landed on my head harder than I anticipated, thought Link. Looking back at the hill, Link decided that was it. He turned back to where he was walking and gave a small gasp. There was the tent, as though it had never burned down, perfectly set up and with flags blowing! Link whirled back to where the tent had been, to see that its ashes were still there. Positively confused at this point, Link looked back at the standing tent, and realized that it was a new tent, a green and yellow-striped one. But who set it up? Could it be-?! Was the show still on? Oh no! Link made a mad dash toward the tent. The ground seemed to move with him, and he flew on the ground toward the tent. Finally he came to a halt. Link put his ear against the rough fabric flaps and listened in. Strangely enough, no one was cheering, no music was playing, no one was singing. Also strange was how the ground was free of any circus litter- popcorn and wet drink stains and pieces of trash. Link pulled his ear away from the flap and looked up at the flags, then back to the flap. He was beginning to have a strange feeling about this circus. But he wanted to find out where everyone went, so he slowly reached for the edge of the flap, pulled open the cloth door, and willed his cold feet inside.
The flap fell back, causing the whole tent to be dark. Link turned around, and tried to find the opening to the flap again- the last thing he wanted was to be in this place with no light- but to his puzzlement the flap couldn't be found! It was all just a solid wall of cloth. Desperately, he bent down and tried to lift if from the bottom, but he couldn't feel the end of the cloth. He even couldn't feel the ground. Link tapped his boot to the ground, but no sound was made, nothing was felt.
His heart pulse quickened. He was trapped, this was a trick. It was so obvious that something was wrong. It all was so wrong. All he could hear was his breathing, fast, paced asymmetrically. The dark was there, so tranquil, so strong, so dark and full...It was everywhere, flooding the room of immeasurable volume, the air became heavy- It was flooding him! All around the dark was gaining, spreading uncontrollably, infesting the atmosphere- It flooded Link through his nose and mouth and, spreading its fingers throughout his throat, strangled him. It flowed through his skin into his mind and heart and lungs. It wouldn't stop! Link choked, ran forward and stumbled, and the dark jumped upon him. Slapping him, strangling him, and all the while weighing down onto his mind and lungs, it grabbed his heart and held firmly. Link screamed and fought for his heart, but its grip was too strong. Already his face started to mutate, and he felt it growing dark. On his head was locked a band, and the brim brushed his forehead. His clothes grew ragged, and his hands were growing cloth- he was growing into a skullkid! Fighting to get the dark off, and still trying to repair his heart, he could feel the finalizations grabbing for him- it was the end, dark was winning- but then a bright light shone. The dark whimpered and cursed in a whisper, and ran off. Link shielded his eyes from the light, turned his back to it, and ran a finger down his cheek. Blackness had nearly consumed it, but already it was trickling away. His clothes regained their stitches, and the gloves melted from his fingers. But something else lifted the wide-brimmed hat from his head. It brushed its melting fingers across his forehead as they lifted away. The light still shone upon him. Link turned and stared past the light, trying to make out what was making the light shine, but all he saw was darkness. Then suddenly the light spun, and it was gone. And something spoke.
"You'll be alright. The darkness won't attack us now, we have light with us. Come on, follow me," A hand that felt moderately human- there were no claws, anyway- slid into Link's and squeezed softly. But despite the kindness in the sound of the voice, Link was in no way reassured. In a panic, he pulled himself up and yanked away from the hand. But the body that owned the hand was much stronger than Link had anticipated, and it clamped on tightly so that Link couldn't free his own. The hand yanked him up and held him against the body of the speaker. From what Link could determine, the body was small and human, the body young girl. She grabbed his arms and held them tightly against his chest crossed, so that he couldn't move. "I don't want to harm you in anyway," she said. "But if you continue to struggle, I won't have an option. You don't have an option either way, the gateway to the outer world is closed, and it's safe farther in where we all reside. So you might as well....give........up." she said more slowly.
Link was still. "Who are you?"
"No one of your concern.......yet."
At this statement, Link, who was much stronger, jerked away out of the person's grab. He made an attempt to run, but the person caught him by his wrist, twisted his head around, and slapped him hard. Link flinched, and with this distraction the person kicked him down onto his chest and sat on his back so that he couldn't get up. Quickly she tied his arms behind him. Then she pulled out a small bottle and opened it. "I didn't want to have to do this," she said quietly. She turned Link over onto his back, knelt beside him, and pinched his nose. Link held his breath for as long as possible, but then when his lungs were about to burst he opened his mouth for a quick breath and when he did the person poured the entire bottle's contents down his throat. Link pushed himself up somehow (his hands were still tied) and ran for the exit. The person made no movement. He kept running, but his legs were growing numb. His whole body was growing numb. Stumbling, he came to a halt, gasping, his body slowly growing heavier and nonexistent.
"Oh, goddesses," he mumbled, before collapsing. His whole body was numb.
The girl now walked over to him. She knelt by him, pulled out a knife, and in a few saws cut him free of the bind on his wrists. "Chloroform." she told him. "Have you heard of its effects?"
Link tried to respond, but his words came out in a soft babble. He couldn't feel his lips, or his tongue, or most of his face for that matter.
"Really, you should have listened to me. I don't lie very often." she paused for a moment. "But I guess I should have told you what's going to happen to you from the start. Well, it's not like it matters now, you'll find out soon enough, once the chemical wears off." She flipped him over and, holding him by his knees and his back, picked his limp body up and carried him off into the opposite direction. Link moved his eyes, the only part of his body (besides his lungs that were functioning), into where he was going. He anticipated what was ahead, and for all that he wasn't half asleep, he was apprehensive for the worst.
"Uhh.......wha-?.....W-Where am I?" Link opened his eyes to a cold, dreary sky. The wind blew cold, pushing the trees against their will and flattening the grasses around Link. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and then, startled, he quickly shoved his fingers through his hair and brought them in front. There was no blood, dry flakes or otherwise. His headache was gone too, he realized, as well as the ache in his arms and legs. He could think clearly too.
Link looked around. There was no one anymore. Not for miles. Link turned his head to where the tent was, only to see a crisp black pile of beams, frayed ropes, and pieces of striped tent. Link realized that someone or some people must have died in the inferno, and stood and bowed in respect. But then his head shot up. Zelda!!!! Was she still in there? Was she okay? Where was she? But then he remembered that she was with him while he was resting on the ground and fell asleep. She must have gone with the soldiers back to the castle, Link thought, I hope she doesn't get into trouble, he added with a pang of guilt. It would have been his fault.
Trying not to think about Zelda being punished, he thought instead about what the soldier had said. 'He has a major concussion. We can't let him drop off. If he goes to sleep, it's curtains.' Had he really fallen asleep? Wouldn't that have resulted in him.....no that couldn't have happened, he was still here, as well as the tent. But what about everyone else? Link decided that he had probably fallen asleep, and survived miraculously, but everyone mistook him to be dead and left him. That thought didn't make Link feel very good, as they didn't take his body to be properly buried, but it was the only solution that made enough sense to pass. Link stared at the vast pile of the charred stage and tent. After a few moments, he decided to walk to Hyrule castle. He had to own up, he wasn't going to let Zelda take all the blame. And he wanted to make sure everyone knew he was still alive. And he didn't want to stay there and watch the wind blow away the dispossessed remains of the once titanic show. He started walking away toward the hill which he and Zelda had climbed over to get there. Walking, he felt as though the ground was moving under him, backwards. He stopped and looked down. The ground was still. He looked up and saw that the hill was still many yards away. Stunned, he turned around to see that the ruined circus tent was yet still five or so feet away. Now fully flabbergasted, he started to run toward the hill. It didn't come closer. Rather, the hill seemed to be going BACKWARD! Link stopped, and the hill followed suit. He started to run again, and the hill continued to move farther away, very fast. Link stopped. The hill stopped. Then Link started to walk backward, very fast. In watching the hill and the ground, he didn't see where he was walking, and tripped into the pile of charred tarp. Flakes rose and fell onto him, and the air smelled smoky. Link sneezed. He was covered from head to boot in black dust. Blinking, he looked up. The hill was right where it was before they started.
Link began to feel unnerved. And who could blame him- heck, anyone who's lost a race to a hill is entitled to fright. He stood up from the ashes, brushed himself off, (he still had a few grey stains on him, but there was nothing that could be done about that) and turned the other direction. I must have landed on my head harder than I anticipated, thought Link. Looking back at the hill, Link decided that was it. He turned back to where he was walking and gave a small gasp. There was the tent, as though it had never burned down, perfectly set up and with flags blowing! Link whirled back to where the tent had been, to see that its ashes were still there. Positively confused at this point, Link looked back at the standing tent, and realized that it was a new tent, a green and yellow-striped one. But who set it up? Could it be-?! Was the show still on? Oh no! Link made a mad dash toward the tent. The ground seemed to move with him, and he flew on the ground toward the tent. Finally he came to a halt. Link put his ear against the rough fabric flaps and listened in. Strangely enough, no one was cheering, no music was playing, no one was singing. Also strange was how the ground was free of any circus litter- popcorn and wet drink stains and pieces of trash. Link pulled his ear away from the flap and looked up at the flags, then back to the flap. He was beginning to have a strange feeling about this circus. But he wanted to find out where everyone went, so he slowly reached for the edge of the flap, pulled open the cloth door, and willed his cold feet inside.
The flap fell back, causing the whole tent to be dark. Link turned around, and tried to find the opening to the flap again- the last thing he wanted was to be in this place with no light- but to his puzzlement the flap couldn't be found! It was all just a solid wall of cloth. Desperately, he bent down and tried to lift if from the bottom, but he couldn't feel the end of the cloth. He even couldn't feel the ground. Link tapped his boot to the ground, but no sound was made, nothing was felt.
His heart pulse quickened. He was trapped, this was a trick. It was so obvious that something was wrong. It all was so wrong. All he could hear was his breathing, fast, paced asymmetrically. The dark was there, so tranquil, so strong, so dark and full...It was everywhere, flooding the room of immeasurable volume, the air became heavy- It was flooding him! All around the dark was gaining, spreading uncontrollably, infesting the atmosphere- It flooded Link through his nose and mouth and, spreading its fingers throughout his throat, strangled him. It flowed through his skin into his mind and heart and lungs. It wouldn't stop! Link choked, ran forward and stumbled, and the dark jumped upon him. Slapping him, strangling him, and all the while weighing down onto his mind and lungs, it grabbed his heart and held firmly. Link screamed and fought for his heart, but its grip was too strong. Already his face started to mutate, and he felt it growing dark. On his head was locked a band, and the brim brushed his forehead. His clothes grew ragged, and his hands were growing cloth- he was growing into a skullkid! Fighting to get the dark off, and still trying to repair his heart, he could feel the finalizations grabbing for him- it was the end, dark was winning- but then a bright light shone. The dark whimpered and cursed in a whisper, and ran off. Link shielded his eyes from the light, turned his back to it, and ran a finger down his cheek. Blackness had nearly consumed it, but already it was trickling away. His clothes regained their stitches, and the gloves melted from his fingers. But something else lifted the wide-brimmed hat from his head. It brushed its melting fingers across his forehead as they lifted away. The light still shone upon him. Link turned and stared past the light, trying to make out what was making the light shine, but all he saw was darkness. Then suddenly the light spun, and it was gone. And something spoke.
"You'll be alright. The darkness won't attack us now, we have light with us. Come on, follow me," A hand that felt moderately human- there were no claws, anyway- slid into Link's and squeezed softly. But despite the kindness in the sound of the voice, Link was in no way reassured. In a panic, he pulled himself up and yanked away from the hand. But the body that owned the hand was much stronger than Link had anticipated, and it clamped on tightly so that Link couldn't free his own. The hand yanked him up and held him against the body of the speaker. From what Link could determine, the body was small and human, the body young girl. She grabbed his arms and held them tightly against his chest crossed, so that he couldn't move. "I don't want to harm you in anyway," she said. "But if you continue to struggle, I won't have an option. You don't have an option either way, the gateway to the outer world is closed, and it's safe farther in where we all reside. So you might as well....give........up." she said more slowly.
Link was still. "Who are you?"
"No one of your concern.......yet."
At this statement, Link, who was much stronger, jerked away out of the person's grab. He made an attempt to run, but the person caught him by his wrist, twisted his head around, and slapped him hard. Link flinched, and with this distraction the person kicked him down onto his chest and sat on his back so that he couldn't get up. Quickly she tied his arms behind him. Then she pulled out a small bottle and opened it. "I didn't want to have to do this," she said quietly. She turned Link over onto his back, knelt beside him, and pinched his nose. Link held his breath for as long as possible, but then when his lungs were about to burst he opened his mouth for a quick breath and when he did the person poured the entire bottle's contents down his throat. Link pushed himself up somehow (his hands were still tied) and ran for the exit. The person made no movement. He kept running, but his legs were growing numb. His whole body was growing numb. Stumbling, he came to a halt, gasping, his body slowly growing heavier and nonexistent.
"Oh, goddesses," he mumbled, before collapsing. His whole body was numb.
The girl now walked over to him. She knelt by him, pulled out a knife, and in a few saws cut him free of the bind on his wrists. "Chloroform." she told him. "Have you heard of its effects?"
Link tried to respond, but his words came out in a soft babble. He couldn't feel his lips, or his tongue, or most of his face for that matter.
"Really, you should have listened to me. I don't lie very often." she paused for a moment. "But I guess I should have told you what's going to happen to you from the start. Well, it's not like it matters now, you'll find out soon enough, once the chemical wears off." She flipped him over and, holding him by his knees and his back, picked his limp body up and carried him off into the opposite direction. Link moved his eyes, the only part of his body (besides his lungs that were functioning), into where he was going. He anticipated what was ahead, and for all that he wasn't half asleep, he was apprehensive for the worst.
