If you were to ask Augustus, and if Augustus was to answer honestly, he would tell you, his dream was different from Alexander. Truly, very different. Although some basic elements stayed the same... If Augustus was to answer honestly, his and Alexander's dream were truly not alike...
Yes, he dreamt of people he'd never met.
The same handsome, brunette man wearing those strange "glasses". But he failed to mention, to Alexander at least, that he also dreamt of a woman. She was beautiful. Her long, mahogany hair clipped in place by pink flower. Her smiling, cocoa eyes filled with unexplainable warmth.
It was she who called him. Opened her arms wide, wishing to hold him close.
Yes, he dreamt of being called names he never heard.
"Ger-!"
She would lean over the man's shoulder... Her silken locks falling on those ivory keys, giggling as she whispered sweetly into his ear. They would laugh. The music never stopped.
They would motion him over, and he could feel his legs acting upon a silent command. His expression beaming, names spilling from his grinning lips.
He would run to them.
And then they would vanish.
And yes... he dreamt of chasing.
In a blaze of fire, gone in a flash. And still he would run. The nameless names still spilling from his lips as tears rolled down his face. He was scared. He was frightened. In his dream everything was so big, so tall. Much, much bigger than him. He just wanted to find them... Those two... The man and the woman... He wanted to run into their open arms and simply sob in their embrace... As he always did...
The woman would sing soft lullabies while the man played. And he would cry as he called them those nameless names...
"Mutti... Vati..."
And he would wake up. Just like that.
It was a considerably short dream as compared to Alexander's. But he rather liked it... Sometime, floating adrift between the land of the waking and the land of the sleeping, strong arms would hold him. Strong arms would cradle him. And they would call him his name.
He woke up crying. But content... And some other emotion he could not put a finger on. Whatever it was... Augustus decided he liked it.
Although, he could do well without the tears. It was only through the circumstances of Alexander's dream that he was able to hide this shame. And hidden it would remain.
Hence, Augustus refused to speak about it. Let Alexander come up with his own hare-brained ideas...
This dream was his and his alone.
A hand waved in front of him. Alexander finally regaining control of his sore legs, using his newfound weapon as a makeshift cane.
"Hello? Earth to Gus-Gus?" He all but yelled.
"What?"
"You were spacing out there... Are you sure you're okay?"
"I think it's safe to say at this point, we are not okay."
"True. It has been a weird morning."
"You think?"
It was sarcasm. and it flew right over Alexander's head. "Yes. I do think so."
Augustus palmed his face. "Whatever. You've eaten right?"
"Mmmm, yes."
"Then let's get a move on."
Alexander tilted his head. "A move on to where exactly?"
"You were the one who wanted to explored the Dark Forrest!"
Alexander looked around. "I don't know about you but this don't look like no forest. Even one as whacked up and crazy as the Dark Forrest."
Augustus rolled his eyes, walking away. "We did not come here just to stop the moment there aren't anymore trees. Come on. Maybe we just wandered out of the Forrest by mistake. I see trees in the distance. Let's head that way."
"Wait!" Alexander cried, catching up to Augustus. "We're heading straight for the ruins!"
"Yeah and?"
Alexander carded his hand through his choppy hair, brow furrowing.
Augustus smirked. "I'll protect you."
Alexander huffed. "Shut up, bastard! If there's going to be any protecting around, it's going to be me protecting you."
And with that, he marched ahead of Augustus. Well, more like hobbled ahead of Augustus. His legs still not feeling completely up to the job. But damn if that was going to stop Alexander.
They entered the outer frays of the remains in this fashion, Alexander pitifully leading as Augustus smoothly followed. His half-lidded eyes taking into account every shadow, every misshapen rock.
The structures were pretty large were they were. The shapes of some were still discernible. That one was retangular. The other had a pointed roof. Some of the red tiles, while not completely in one piece, still hung stubbornly unto battered ceilings. A window, without any panes, banged mournfully against the skewed frame. And other times, while the outside was completely decimated, the inside, for the most part, stayed in tact. A couch, though burned with the stuffing spilling out, continued to offer nonexistant comfort. A rusting TV set, with the black screen cracked and inner modules shattered, remained standing. As if the click of a remote could easily release it from slumber. A bed, with all the sheets and all the blankets tattered or rotten, waited emptily for the master never to come.
Augustus could almost see the people who used to live here. They would be sitting around that dining table over there, talking and laughing. They would be walking down the broken sidewalks, greeting each other amiably. And there would be children, running about and generally making chaos. There would be life, large and small, young and old, filling these barren streets.
Augustus sighed.
"Do you see them, Alexander? The spirits left behind? Do you see them, Alexander? Their lives before death took hold?"
Alexander's response was to run. Dashing ahead and stopping before another demolished structure. Tapping his weapon against the rusting frames.
"What are you doing?" Augustus scowled, rushing after his idiot for a companion.
"Hey, look Gus-Gus!" Alexander grinned wolfishly at him. "This is the same stuff my weapon is made out of. They make the same noises, see?"
Clang! Clang!
"Fascinating." Augustus deadpanned.
"Isn't it though? Can you imagine? This flimsy looking thing holding up houses?" Alexander joyfully exclaimed.
"But your weapon is much more thinner than the ones sticking out of the ground."
"So? My point is, whatever this stuff is, it's everywhere! And if they're all as strong as my weapon here, stronger even... Don't you get curious? I mean, why would they need all this strong stuff? Was it only to make houses? Were they making something else? Maybe the stuff out of ground weren't buildings but weapons? Huge, huge weapons!"
Augustus heaved a deep breath. "I'm sure they had their reasons, Alexander. Come on. We better get moving."
Alexander shooks his head. "No way! Think of all the cool things we could dig up! Maybe we could find one of the really cool weapons they used!"
And without further ado, Alexander ran away. Again. And with his speed, there was no way Augustus could keep up. Augustus palmed his face once more.
This could only lead to more trouble.
There used to be a saying, 'be careful what you wish for'. But unfortunately, Augustus was not aware of it. All the witty sayings and slogans have died along with everything else. So of course, the moment Augustus predicted the horror that was to come with Alexander exploring...
Alexander found a gun...
He did not know it was gun. All he knew was that it looked 'so totally cool' and 'I should show Augustus!'. While the gun wasn't exactly in mint conditon, far from it, the mechanism had yet to completely decay. That is, it was still fully functional. Covered from the magazine to the trigger with dents and scratches but functional. It had been miraculously saved from moisture, having been buried a good feet deep under the rubble and consequently absorbent dust, leaving the residing gun powder still capable of igniting. The questionable amount of time, but it was certainly plenty, had simply made the substance all the more volatile. Able to explode with just the lsightest of jostles.
It would've remained pretty harmless until the end of its day when the mechanism finally broke completely. Had it not been for Alexander's prying and curioust actions.
And here, began the magnificent revival of the all too famous saying, 'curiosity killed the cat'. Because a few moments after unearthing the gun and jogging over to the obviously unimpressed Augustus, Alexander tripped. Tripped and fell. His finger slipping, accidently pulling the trigger with the slightest of touches.
BANG!
Several things happened at this point. First, the gun exploded, throwing Alexander a good few feet back. His arms and face significantly burned. Second, the wayward bullet managed to miss Augustus. Only to burst unto the already fragile supports of a nearby building. The structure groaned, an ear-splitting, screeching groan as the metal gave out, breaking the surrounding supports. From then on, tit was like dominoes. The building fell unto the next building and the next and the next.
Third, Augustus and Alexander both suffered from a flashback. The familiar sound of gunfire, the faint scent of gunpowder triggered painful memories to resurface. Screaming, crying, the scent of blood hanging heavily in the air. Gunfire. Gunpowder. Explosions. Dark, orange flames. The clicking of a multitude of weapons. The sharpened tip of a bayonet. The melody of the mechanism, all working like clockwork. Bullets sailing. Piercing. On target. Wayward. Drilling through flesh and bone. Gunfire. Gunpowder. Burning smoke. Pain. Death. Destruction.
They screamed in unison, falling to their knees as memories assaulted them. Alexander lost in the throes of pain, as reality and illusion collided. The sting of his burns mixing with the agony of battle. He screamed the loudest.
Paralyzed by his mind, Augustus lost sight of his surroundings. Compeltely unaware as a shadow fell upon him. A building teetering forward, a second away from collapsing right on top of him.