someone like you
It came back in flashes.
Darkness,eruptingoutoftheroomlikeabombgoingoff.Everyonescreams—thesoundsoloudandpiercingLeawantstocoverhisearsbutno,notimenotimehehastorunhasto—
He hadn't been fast enough.
Coldnessstabbingintohischest,knockinghimoffhisfeetandsqueezingthebreathoutofhislungs.Hetriestoscreambutnothingcomesout.Thedarknesspressesonhimlikesmotheringearth.
No, no, it hurt too badly to remember.
Ripping,tearing—liketheveryfabricofhisbeingisbeingtorninhalfandseparatedanditfeelswrong,wrongwrongno—stop-!God,stop!
He can't breathe. It hurts to remember.
Hemustbedead.Thisisdeath.Heisstandingabovehisbody,watchingitshrivelanddarkenandtwistuntilit'stallanddarkandformlesswithglowinggoldeneyes.Hemustbedead.
So why…is he thinking…right now?
"Lea? Lea! Oh, god, Lea! Please open your eyes!"
Isa.
He sat up, suddenly, chest heaving with new breath. He is cold and warm and nothing, wearing a white shirt and long white pants he'd never seen before.
Isa is sitting next to him, wearing the same clothes. He looks just like Isa—except with a bleeding wound in the shape of an "X" on his face and his eyes were different…slightly…blank…
"Isa?" He reached out to touch his friend's face. "Isa? What happened."
A slight sob escaped Isa's mouth. "I don't know, Lea. I don't know. I—thought I'd died but then…now we're awake and…and…"
Lea. He was Lea still. Even if his chest felt light and empty and breathing was weird and Isa was bleeding and his eyes were blank.
Axel wanted to cry, but he couldn't for some reason. Everything—everything felt empty.
"I'm so scared." Isa chocked out. "What's—what's going on…?"
"Disappeared." Axel licked his lips. "Remember? How some of…the apprentices disappeared…? Maybe…this happened to them, too."
"But what's happened?" Isa cried. "What happened to us!"
"I don't know." Lea reached out and wrapped his arms around Isa, pulling his friend to his chest and burying his face into Isa's hair. "I don't know."
"Something's wrong with us." Isa's voice was muffled, breathing erratic. "We're—not the same anymore."
"I know." Axel swallowed. "But you still look like you, Isa."
A snort. "Classic Lea answer."
Lea smiled. "We'll make it through this, Isa. We're…we're still friends, right?"
Isa peeked up at his best friend. "Of course we are, Lea. Don't be stupid."
It would be okay. They'd stay friends. No matter…what happened beyond this second that would remain.
Everything would be okay as long as they were together.