The Dark Obelisk - Chapter Two

When all hope is lost, when the darkness grows thick around you and drowns out your soul...there is a hope within the night. One breaking ray of sunlight that could have the potential to change it all

She wasn't there. Nobody was there. I was alone.

The ground rushed towards me as I shut my eyes and braced for impact, my arms curled around my body. I slammed into one of the creatures, crushing them beneath my fall as I impacted the ground and bounced a few feet. All the wind was knocked out of my body as my eyes snapped open and I lost my breath. I skidded to a halt, tripping some of the malformed creatures who fell upon me. I could feel them digging their fingernails into my body,  pulling at my clothing as they climbed onto me and more approached from every side.

<No! NO! Get them off of me!> I cried out in my mind as I raised my arms and began to flail. Bam! Smack! Nails dug into my shoulder, raked down my skin. They were going for my eyes, clawing at them, trying to tear them out. They hiss, groaned, emitted horrible, guttural noises of muffled pain. I screamed and fought, kicking, throwing my fists about. Every single one that I hit went sprawling only to be replaced by another. I heard a bloodcurdling screech tear across the sky and it sent them into a frenzy. They raked and tore at me, tearing my clothing, slicing wounds down my arms, chest, back.

"Stop! Stop stop stop! Please!" I cried out, but it was clear nobody was listening. They slashed and tore at every angle of my body, my arms only able to guard so few. I felt myself growing weaker, my eyes stung as blood from my forehead ran into them. I clawed at the ground, tried to pull myself away, but they weighed me down. They were crushing me! They were ripping me! I was being destroyed!

This was supposed to have been a nightmare...but the pain, the fear, the claustrophobia...all of it was so intense. My entire world was spinning, I was disoriented and scared. Panic erupted from within...everything hurt.

<No no no...don't let me die here! Please!> I covered my eyes with my arms and buried my face in the gravel. They never stopped. Every part of me, in blazing pain...I screamed, screamed as hard and loud as I could, my voice going rasp...I was really going to die? Had Yggdrasil truly managed to take me away without realizing it...?

The sounds around me began to muffle...I could feel my consciousness slipping away. It was never supposed to end up like this...I'd thought I'd been on guard. I'd done it this far, hadn't I? I'd managed to protect Khazetuha and kept myself alive...what happened? Why did everything change so quickly?

My body was so damaged...my arms became weak, my strength gave out...I couldn't believe this was really it. It all had happened so quickly...I'd always believed that if I were going to die that I'd be prepared for it...but...

Distant, the world became. Everything faded...I didn't have time to think about it anymore. I wondered what I would see, next time I saw anything? Was there even anything to see?

I just wanted to see her face...smiling...happy...safe again...

The pain stopped. The noise stopped. The weight on me seemed to disappear instantly. Had I died? Was it over...?

If I were dead, why was I still...?

I felt myself lifted up off the ground...things moved rapidly, I was being shaken by the momentum. Everything around me was a blur...I couldn't get my eyes open enough to see. Breathing was difficult...what was going on? I didn't feel dead...just...really tir...

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<Can you hear me?>

Ugh...what? Was someone talking to me?

<Hey...come on, stay with me here!>

With...who? With who where? I couldn't see anything...the voice sounded so distant...so far away and yet...it sounded...

<We're almost there, okay? Just stay with me!>

..familiar...but...who was it? Why couldn't I hear them better...? Why couldn't I move?

<I won't lose you again, Zero. I will not lose you again!>

He knew me...he knew my name...

<Hang in there!>

It sounded...it really sounded like...but...it...it couldn't...

<Zero! Keep your eyes op-

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Oh god, my head was killing me. My whole body hurt...what the hell was happening? I felt stiff all over...I couldn't move...my eyes could barely open...a dim orange light seeped in...something black, fuzzy, indistinct leaned over me.

"Hey....coming to again?" His voice...it was the same one as I heard earlier...

I groaned quietly and felt a short spasm run through my body...-everything- hurt, my head worst of all. A pounding headache, it felt like someone was taking a blunt hammer and ramming it against my skull...I was so weak, it felt like if I even tried to move I'd pass out...

"That's better than before..." He said...I felt something soft brush against my cheek. "...almost thought I lost you, buddy."

He sounded so familiar...but my head was so clouded and so painful, I couldn't think straight...even trying to think of a face just made the ache worse. Something slid into my paw, felt it gripped softly...squeezed, a gentle rhythm.

"Don't worry, Zero. You're safe here..."

I chose to believe that...what else could I do? I was just too tired...everything hurt...I needed to...sl...slee....


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Droplets of wetness touched my cheeks...water?

<Be okay...Zero. Please be okay...>

The sound of the voice...not water...he was there....those were tears.

<Please be okay...>

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I jolted upwards in a cold sweat, elbows propped hard against a cushy surface. I grimaced in thick pain and grunted...my eyes were opened, I looked around in a mild panic. That fear subsided quickly...wherever I was,  I didn't see any commotion going on...I didn't see any...

<...of those -things-.> I shivered at the thought, drew in a deep breath. If they weren't here, then they were the last thing I wanted to think about right now. What was important was figuring out where I was.

With a deep breath, I opened my eyes again and glanced at my surroundings. The first thing I noticed were the fiery orange torches mounted on stone-hewn walls...they casted a warm glow around the room, to where it wasn't bright enough to read but easy enough to see in here. The ceiling and floor resembled the walls, cobblestone. My first impression was a dungeon. Had I been locked up? To my left I didn't see anything of significance...a couple bookshelves and what looked like a round endtable. Dungeons generally didn't have that sort of thing so I ruled that out. I traced my gaze to the right, in hopes that I'd find an ex---

<No...> My breath caught in my throat. My whole body froze up. There, a chair pulled up to what looked like a workbench...there, in that chair, slumped over the desk...he was sleeping...it...it couldnt've been him...it couldnt've been my...

"D...dad?" I spoke weakly, my voice barely above a raspy whisper. It couldn't be...and yet...

As I looked upon him...I saw the length of smooth black hair that ran down past his lower back...I saw his head in his arms, sleeping face turned towards me. He had marks on his cheek like mine, though his were sharp white lines while mine were more curvy...his eyes were closed, but I knew that face...I knew that if he had opened them, I'd be staring into a piercing, jade green gaze...the kind of gaze that you knew you could never lie to and get away with it...but you'd never have wanted to...because you'd know, if you knew him, that he'd forgive you for whatever you did...He wore tattered, unwashed clothing but I recognized it...a thick denim windbreaker over a black undershirt, a dark pair of loose fitting jeans...and just like everyone else in the family, he wore no shoes.

I couldn't believe it, it simply couldn't be possible and yet there was no denying it. The man who sat at that table was my father...someone who I'd not seen in over seven years...someone who I'd thought had been killed by Yggdrasil...he was right there.

Right. There.

My body shivered and shook as tears began to run down my face...

"Dad..."

He mumbled something and stirred.

"Dad...." I said once more, as I began to inch towards him...I had to wake him. I had to touch him. I had to hear his voice...he had to be real.

He shifted in his sleep, rubbed his forehead along his arm as he yawned...

I pulled closer...I wasn't paying attention. I fell right off, lost my balance and slipped off the bed, collided with the ground and squeaked out in pain as I landed upon what was apparently a very bad arm.

"Mmmmm...?" His eyes fluttered open. He seemed momentarily disoriented until he focused his gaze on me...I strained to look up at him...saw those eyes...he saw into mine.

"Zero!" He cried out in distress as he leapt from his chair and came quickly to me. He bent low and slid his arms under my body...protective...strong...I felt them grasp me, I felt him pull me closer...

<You're real...> Tears ran freely down my cheeks...he must've believed it was because I had fallen.

"Are you alright? I should not have fallen asleep. I---"

"Dad..." I interrupted him...I could barely speak at all...

He blinked with worry, pulled me closer to himself...

I forced myself to move...I willed my aching muscles to work...I leaned up, wrapped my arms around his neck...and squeezed. I felt him pause for a moment, before his arms came to encircle me...so close, I could smell his scent...that familiar scent, the same scent I'd always smelled when he'd tucked me into bed at night, hugged me close, kissed my cheek...the same scent I'd always smelled when I wore one of his coats to fight off the cold, or just to feel safe...

"I missed you..." I spoke softly...every ounce of the remaining strength I had went into holding onto him...he squeezed me close...

"I missed you too, Zero. I missed you too."

I became weak again....everything slipped into darkness...my muscles slumped, but this time, I knew I was okay.

I knew I was safe.

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I woke up to find tresses of dark hair tickling my cheeks. I blinked, resisting the urge to sneeze as I drew my head back and blinked, disorientation fading quickly. I felt him breathing softly...air wisping through his nostrils in a light snore...I saw that his back was leaned up against the wall, whilst I had leaned upon him...we hadn't moved. How long had I been out...?

What did it matter, honestly? My arms retook over his shoulders, around his neck...I squeezed him hard and he stirred, his eyes slowly came open...he smiled, a gentle smile.

"Hey...how're you feeling?" He asked as he leaned his head back a bit to look at me.

"Everything...everything hurts." I blinked and groaned softly...I couldn't ignore the fact my whole body still felt like it was on fire.

"Yeah. They beat you up pretty bad, kiddo. But you took it to em, you know?"

I blinked.

"Whole bunch of them were knocked awry by the time I got there...always knew you had a mean left hook." He smiled softly, nudging me with his forehead.

"What happened? I...I thought they were going to kill me..." A shiver ran throughout my form...there had been so many of them.

"Long story short...they found out what happens when people mess with my boy." He chuckled quietly as he brushed his paw along my back.

I'd seen my father fight before...many times. Heck, he was the one who trained me...I never doubted his prowess in battle. He had always been so fast, so efficient. He had a weird style, to be perfectly honest. He trained with two-handed melee weapons but focused on wielding them in one hand...said it gave him an edge if an opponent took out one of his arms, thinking it'd disable him...

I rested my forehead against his shoulder and closed my eyes as tears began to flow anew...I felt him patting my back, his breathing soft and comforting to me.

"I thought you were dead...you've been gone for so long...I thought he killed you..." I sobbed.

"Can't keep me down, even when you think I'm out. I always find a way back. Can't miss out on my boy...always wanted to see you kick some a*s." He chuckled. I found myself giggling too, in between sniffles.

"Guess I didn't do so good this time, huh?" I sighed.

He gave me a squeeze and a gentle shake. "You took a lot of damage, Zero. Yet here you are, right now. Awake and alive. Bruised, but alive. In my book, Death had an a*s and you kicked it." He turned to me and planted a kiss against my cheek, before he began to nuzzle...I felt wetness...out of the corner of my eye, I saw the glint of tears upon his furr. "Can't believe I doubted you, kid...I can't believe I thought I'd lose you...you're...too tough for that..." His voice cracked as he trembled, as he cried.

I cried too.

Author's Note

Comments always welcome. Please disregard typos.