Chapter 18 - Fragments of Darkness

He awoke to the noise of crockery shattering; the tinkling sound reaching his ears as each shard danced upon the ground. What time is it? Rolling out of the bed, Ashley drew the curtains and found himself bathed in sunlight. It was nearly noon already; he'd missed the morning, something Riskbreakers such as himself never did... A frown sneaked its way across his face. Riskbreaker? Where on earth did I get the idea I'm a Riskbreaker?

Shaking his head, he prepared himself for the day. He only had a few days holiday left and he intended to make the most of them. Slipping the white burnoose over his head, he went downstairs to investigate.

Marco was in the kitchen picking up the pieces of a shattered plate, while Tia looked on, a wry smile upon her face.

"Maybe I should let him do the washing next time, not the drying? We seem to lose most of our plates this way."

"Wasn't my fault," the young boy muttered sullenly while picking up the last of the plate fragments.

"Anyway, what are we doing today Tia?"

"Well, I have a few errands to run first. Shouldn't take more than two hours to do," she replied.

"Well, what about you Marco?" he asked, turning to face the boy who'd just finished putting the broken plate into the bin.

"Aww dad, I've got football today. They're counting on me!"

"Well, in that case, you can't let them down, can you? I guess I'll find something to do whilst waiting for your mum to get back."

And then they were gone. He wasn't quite sure how they had disappeared so quickly, but the fact remained that they had. Fragments of memory told him that they had said goodbye and left through the front door but he couldn't quite remember the details. Ashley found it puzzling and ever so slightly worrying. What was going on with his memory?

No, it didn't matter. He loved Tia and Marco and that was all that was important to him. Yet it nagged at him... Shaking his head, Ashley went through the back door and out into the small garden attached to their house. If nothing else, he'd keep himself doing something at least. Stripping off his burnoose, he lay down on the ground stomach first, his hands just below his shoulders. Easily, he pushed himself upwards, extending his arms to full stretch and holding it, before lowering himself slowly to the ground, the lush grass tickling his face. Again, he praised his body before letting it return to the ground. He repeated the process a further hundred and ninety-eight times before lowering himself to the ground one final time. He paused for a few seconds before rolling over, onto his back; staring up at the blue sky that cloaked the world above him. He lay there for a good few minutes, staring up at the boundary of his reality. It seemed so peaceful; fluffy white clouds gently sailed around while the blue stood still, as it would for eternity. A soft sound reached his ears; relaxed breathing as someone stood in the garden with him. Someone unafraid. Bringing his legs up to his chest, he flipped himself to his feet.

And there he was, face to face with this stranger. She was nearly a whole foot shorter than him, a curious face looking at him, bordered by short blonde hair that came to the bottom of her nose.

"Just what do you think you are doing?"

Ashley paused, the sheer boldness of the question stunning him. "What the hell are you doing in my garden?"

"Yours? This garden doesn't belong to you. It doesn't even exist anymore. You're standing in a patch of dirt, can't you see that?"

Ashley looked down at his feet and sure enough, the grass had gone, to be replaced by the dull earth. He looked up and the house was no longer a sparkling white; its walls were crumbling, moss growing fervently in the darkest areas as it fell into ruins.

"You honestly didn't realise what was going on, did you? It seemed so real, you couldn't believe that it was false..."

"Who the hell are you? And what the hell's going on here!" Ashley exploded, his fists clenched at his sides.

"You don't even remember me... how convenient." She stepped forwards, drawing a deep breath, the rose tattoo on her left breast swelling. "I died for you and you don't remember me..."

"TELL ME!"

He didn't even see it coming; her open palm smashed into his left cheek, the pain stinging. Rage poured through his body and he swung a fist at her, only for it to pass straight through her.

"What's happening..."

"You're trapped and you don't even know it. I'm not sure if I can help you Ashley. Just remember, there's a reason for everything that happens. Don't run from it; embrace it. That's as much as I can tell you for now. When you're ready, just call my name and I will be there. Then you can learn the truth..."

"How do you know me? Who are you!" he cried, but to no avail. She turned away from him and started walking as her body faded. She paused and took one last look back, sorrow filling her eyes, before walking through the wall. Ashley ran to the backdoor, pulling it open and leaping inside, but she was nowhere to be seen. Slowly Ashley sank to his knees, her words running through his head again and again. You're trapped and you don't even know it...


Tia opened the front door and walked in, her bag now full of groceries she had picked up in the local market. Silence greeted her when she entered, but that was to no surprise. He was probably in the back, exercising. He spent so much time doing that these days it was a wonder he had time for herself and Marco. Making her way to the kitchen, she put the fresh groceries into the pantry before stealing a glance out of the window, but he wasn't there. Had he gone back to bed? It'd be odd for him to do so; he normally stuck to his daily routine as much as he could.. It was odd enough that she had risen before him but for Ashley to be asleep at nearly two in the afternoon... despite it being the middle of his leave from the VKP. Maybe he was just stressed out from the constant training. Yes, that must be it...

Finished stocking the larder, she made her way upstairs to their bedroom. She still blushed when she thought of it as 'their' bedroom; she had inherited the house from her parents and she always felt their presence whenever she was indoors. She opened the door as quietly as she could, to save waking Ashley, but he wasn't there; the bed lying empty, sheets lying strewn across it. Where on earth is h--, she thought before noticing the open window. Slinging the bag into a random corner, she walked over to it, looking both to the left and right, but there as no sign of him. Impulse drove her as she stepped up onto the windowsill before turning around and taking a firm grip of the roofing. Putting all of her strength into it, she hauled herself upon it; her husband coming into view. He didn't turn to look at her as she herself heard her puffs of exertion. Inside her, she raged. Here I am, suffering for him and he won't even acknowledge me... She scrambled to the apex of the roof and stood one foot either side of it.

"Why are you on the roof darling?" She tried to keep her voice as calm as possible.

"Watching the world go by."

"And why are you doing that Ashley?"

"I want to see if it's real. Something very strange happened today and I don't know what to make of it other than either I'm going crazy or you don't exist."

He felt her hand come to rest upon his forehead for a few seconds. He felt it withdraw. He heard her voice speaking to him. He heard her say that he had a fever.

Fever? That made sense... Why else would he have slept in late? He'd exerted himself and then started seeing things... of course, it all made sense.

"Is this real? I don't know; it seems to be so strange and surreal to me all of a sudden. I think it was the day of the picnic... it's not seemed quite right since then."

"Ashley, you're scaring me."

"Am I? Am I really? Are you even really there to be able to feel fear? I don't know anymore..." Ashley shook his head to himself and gazed down upon the street laid out beneath him. An arm slipped over his right shoulder, a second coming around his chest. Slowly he sunk into Tia's embrace.

"Real or not, I'm here for you Ashley. Whether to you I exist or not, my love will always be real. I love you Ashley Riot." He felt her head come to rest between his shoulder blades, nestling inside the shallow divot. "Here and now, I won't leave you Ashley. I'll never leave you..."