Kyle: War & Laughing Gas

...Where am I?

I tried to rub my head, only to find that I couldn't really lift my arms. It felt like I was just sprawled out on the ground, but with a bunch of weight pressing on my body from above me. What the... was I buried, or something? That's definitely what it felt like. Shifting my position a bit, I was able to move my arms a little. Shifting, my arms I managed to make a small hole in whatever I was buried underneath, creating an air pocket for me to breathe before I suffocated, and died (again).

Well, might as well start digging... I started kicking my feet a bit, feeling some of the pressure above me slowly ease off. After a couple minutes, I was able to free my legs entirely. Slowly clawing my way out, I found that I was indeed buried, under a pile of dirt and rock. After a few more minutes, I was able to see a faint light glowing through a small hole in the dirt. Punching my fist through the rock above me, I was able to expand the gap, and I somehow managed to pull my head up, then my shoulders.

Sitting up, I took a look around, hoping that it may provide some kind of clue as to what the heck happened. I saw rock-and-dirt walls, a long tunnel, half-burned out light bulbs... It looked like I was in the tunnel to Guild, just below the entrance. Pulling myself out of the pile of rock, I tried to recall how on earth I even ended up down here.

Urgh... How did I even get here? I was actually able to rub my head this time. Man... my head was pounding like crazy... I gently slapped my palm against my ear, trying to shake the dirt and sand out of it.

...Oh, yeah. I felt myself grimace as the memory flooded back. I was an idiot in front of Alexis. Again. I tried to yank my halberd out from where it was half-buried under the pile of rocks, with no success, as I tried to think of something else to take my mind off of it.

Y'know that feeling that you get when you go to the dentist and they give you laughing gas? How when you breathe it in, you feel all light and happy, and you just feel like everything's all right in the world?

Well, the second that Alexis said I could go to the cafeteria with her the other night, I thought that everything was just all right in the world.

And when she'd grabbed my hand... whoa. My brain just totally disconnected at that moment.

Now, in case you guys haven't noticed, I don't really say much to people. I tend to keep to myself, trying to say as little as possible, purely out of fear that I might say something stupid. The only time when I can really talk is when I'm angry. But of course, that's when I say the stupidest things. Go figure.

So anyway, when I sat down at the cafeteria table with Alexis that night, I somewhat clammed up. Especially since that idiot was sitting right across from me, right next to Alexis.

Naylor.

And if that wasn't bad enough, soon he started talking to Alexis. And she seemed to like it. In fact, something that he said made her eyes light up with a smile.

And then get this: she laughed. That idiot could make her laugh more easily with one sentence than I could've with a whole paragraph, no matter how hard I tried. Alexis just... she just seemed to actually like this guy. Unlike me.

I suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.

Sliding my bowl away from me, I stood up suddenly from the table and walking back towards to door to the hallway with quick, brisk steps. As I was walking away, I heard a voice from behind me call out.

"Kyle?" The voice asked. "Where are you going?" I didn't need to turn around to figure out who that was. I didn't care anymore. I began to move away faster.

I sped up to a run until I was back out in the hallway, slamming the door behind me before sprinting through the halls to get as far away from the cafeteria as possible.

When I was convinced that nobody would find me, I leaned against the hallway wall and slid down into a sitting position. I decided to just sit there for a while, staring at the empty white wall across from me. I huffed out a giant sigh as I laid my halberd on the ground beside me.

Just leave it the stupid amnesiac to ruin something like that.

Just what did she see in that moron anyway? I've been here for way longer than he has. I should know Alexis way better than he does. The idiot just shows up here one day, and Alexis instantly likes him.

It's just not fair!

I slammed my fist into the wall beside me, pain instantly shooting up my arm. I didn't care. I welcomed the pain, satisfied with the large dent I had made in the wall.

None of this would've happened if that jerk hadn't shown up here in the first place. On top of that, every time I tried to put him in his place, I just ended up looking like an idiot in front of everyone, including Alexis.

This meant war.

"Wait a minute..." I muttered out loud, realization slowly dawning on me as I gradually brought my mind back to reality.

If I was killed by the first trap, then that must mean that all the other traps were active as well! Alexis was in danger!

Frantically trying to release my halberd from the pile of rock, I told myself to relax and stop and think for a bit.

...Great, now I was starting to sound like Lucas… Never mind that! Focus, Kyle!

Let's see... if I was at the mallet trap, then the next one should be the boulder trap. I wrenched my halberd out from underneath the rocks, the sudden lack of resistance sending me flying back into the wall with a puff of dirt. Fortunately, the wall didn't collapse on me this time.

...But depending on how long I've been out, the group might've already gotten past the boulder trap, which meant that the one after that was... I felt all the color drain from my face in panic. I cursed under my breath, running off in the direction of the next trap with my halberd.

I had to hurry if I wanted to find them there in one piece.

Literally.