Chapter 2 - Fragments of the past
The world had gone blank, he couldn’t think, he felt like he was floating, it felt nice but it made him feel vulnerable, he tried to move, but he couldn’t, his body wasn’t responding.
Images suddenly swam into his vision, he was standing in a small clearing, surrounded by trees and bushes, in front of him was a river it’s water cool and crisp, a cool breeze suddenly blew past his head, a sense of realization washed over him, it felt like he had lost his senses and they had just returned to him, he felt like he had just been reborn, like he had just taken his first breathe of air, he wanted to take in everything around him, the sights, the sounds, the smells. It felt like everything was new to him, but some part of him felt like he had been here before, he walked forward out into the open, leaving the clearing behind him, the sound of the running water in the river was intoxicating him, the near by trees were rustling with the sound of birds preparing their nests for their new born chicks.
He walked forward more; he felt no pain, what had happened? , the last thing he remembered was a hooded figure shooting a dart into his neck, where was he? The sound of the stones crunched under his feet as he walked to rivers edge, he stared out across the river, as sudden feeling of happiness crept into his mind, it felt familiar for some reason, like he was laughing at a joke he had heard before, he suddenly felt the need to whistle, he rose his fingers to his mouth and let out a loud high pitched whistle, for a moment there was nothing,
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then from across the river, a dog came bounding towards him, tears suddenly came to his eyes, it was Cahal, his dog, it leapt into the river and swam towards him, he wasn’t sure what to do, his dog was dead, it couldn’t be, he dropped to knees and looked in the river, he was a child again, his hair was long, soft and black, his eyes were big a brown, his skin was soft and tanned, he rose his hands to his face and touched his skin, it was real, he looked exactly like he had when he was thirteen, the water rippled and he looked up, Cahal ran towards him, and shook of the water on his coat |
soaking him, he laughed, like he hadn’t laughed before, it came from the bottom of his heart, he actually meant it, he was so happy, the day seemed familiar though, like he should have remembered something. Cahal started to lick him furiously, it had been so long, he hugged the dog, and he didn’t want to let go, he loved his dog so much, a thought suddenly shot through his head, if Cahal was still alive, that meant-, he let go of his dog, and ran into the river, he swam furiously to the other side, he reached the shore and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, left, straight, left again, right, he was reciting in his head the way he took when he was a kid, any second now, he thought, he came to an abrupt stop and stared, he was looking at his home, my home , he thought, he stood there dripping wet, cold, and staring in disbelief, he walked towards it with Cahal happily trotting by his side, he walked up to the front door and knocked, he stood there and waited.
He stood there waiting at the door when it opened. And there stood his mum, her long black hair, her warm black eyes, her red lips, her welcoming face “where have you been?” She said in half playfully, half serious voice, he just stood there, gawking in awe, “close you mouth, you’re going to catch a fly and what were you doing? You’re dripping wet!”
| “I.....uh....was......um.......ah-ah-ahchoo!” he sneezed violently and snorted, he rubbed his nose and looked up, “oh come in before you catch a cold” she mum said, he walked in and looked at his surroundings, everything was how he remembered it, the style, the layout, everything. “come here” his mum said, she bent over and lit the log fire, the warmth of the fire pierced his cold skin and warmed him to the bone, she then threw some herbs and spices into the fire, making the room smell exotic and fragrant, wait, she never used to do that, she then reached into the |  |
cupboard and pulled out a blanket, she walked over to him and wrapped it around him, he didn’t remember any of this, he knew there was something odd, “mum, since when did you start-”, the door burst open “tonight we feast honey!” there stood his dad, he walked in with Cahal dancing by his side, his dad was the same as ever, his smiling and warm face, the stubble around his chin, his dark brown eyes, his hair was longer than Jacks but it was tied back in a neat ponytail, his muscular arms, the small scar on his left cheek from when Cahal caught him with his tooth when they were playing, everything was near enough how he remembered it, he had a fawn hung over his shoulder, while he had four dead rabbits, in a bunch in his left hand, “where did you catch those!” she said in shock , “well the fawn I caught just now, it was grazing just to the north, and the rabbits were from last nights traps I set up”, he threw them onto the kitchen table and walked over to the cupboard and shook of his coat he hung it up, walked over to his armchair and slumped into it, he sat there and stared at the fire, the fire reflected in his dark brown eyes, he turned his head and looked at him, “so Jack, where were you today, you missed a great shot, got the fawn straight through the neck with that arrow you made me ha-ha” he said jovially, and made a hand gesture of an arrow digging into his neck, a clock chimed suddenly, huh, we never had a clock, he noticed that he could only hear the clock, everything else seemed muted, his dad was still talking to him, he got up and looked at his dad, he was still talking to the chair, “dad?......dad?” he walked over to him and tapped him, he was still talking to the chair, all he could hear was the clock, it started to get louder and louder, he looked around, he couldn’t see anything, it was still getting louder, the sound started to vibrate in his head, “AAAAARGH” he yelled in pain, and then the pain started to subside, he felt dizzy and nauseous, his head was pounding, he leant against a wall and to keep himself from falling over, everything was silent again, his dad was still talking to the empty chair, and his mum was lighting the stove, he tried to speak, but his voice was gone, he tried shouting but no noise came out, a familiar sound of angry snarls found his ears, he stumbled over to the window, time had pasted rapidly and it was night, a sense of realization came over him, he knew it, today was the day his parents were going to be killed, he looked over to the table. The were sitting there laughing and eating, “Get out!” he tried to yell, he could feel himself yelling, but he couldn’t say anything, he looked out the window and saw the glow of torches, he turned around and tried to yell with all his might GET OUT! GET OUT NOW! , still there was nothing. Then everything went white, everything was gone, he was standing in nothingness, nothing made sense anymore, he was staring at nothing, he was looking at nothing, he felt like nothing. Images flashed in front of his eyes, screams filled his ears; his dad laid there with five arrows through his chest, his mum laying there; her throat slit,Cahal lying there dead from trying to protect his dad a spear protruding from his chest, he wanted it to end, but he wanted to live, to kill those who destroyed his life, kill those who killed his parents, being here felt like torture, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe, all he could feel was pain, “Jack, I can make it all end, just come with me” the pain in his head was stopping but was still there, he wasn’t sure what to do, should he stay or should he go?, he looked up, and saw a cloaked figure, a dark aura surrounded the being, it offered it’s hand to him “Come Jack, I will make it all better, you will see everyone again”, it stepped to the side, and there stood his family and his friends, they were all smiling and waving at him, he straightened up and took a step towards them, everything felt cold, he took another step, he felt like ice, he wanted it to end, he rose and extended his arm, he was close, just another step and he would be there, he would be away from it all, all the pain, all the suffering, just one more step that’s all it took, he rose his foot to step forward, a hand grasped his shoulder, everything suddenly felt warm again, feeling returned to his body, he felt as though his heart had started beating again, he was laying down, oxygen flooded his lungs and he sat bolt up, pain racked his body again and he was gasping for air, what happened?, he waited for himself to calm down and he rose his hand to his shoulder, who was that?, he rose his head and looked around, he was inside what resembled a tree, but the walls were to perfectly formed to be one, the room was bare apart from a door at the opposite end of the room, he looked down at himself, he was laying in a bed under the covers, he was topless and wrapped in bandages, the air was thick with the scent of healing and scented herbs, he looked around him and could see a small stool next to the bed and on the floor next to it was a bowl of water and cloth, who did all of this?, he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer, he looked at the door, the handle started to turn and the door opened.