Chapter 6: Dreams of Stone

Simon had that dream-like feel again. This time, he was in a house. He looked around and realized it was oddly familiar. Then he heard footsteps above him. He turned to the steps on the other side of the room and saw his mother walk down the stairs.

“Hey, Simon!” She said, smiling.

“...Mom?” he asked, stepping towards her.

“Yes?” she said.

“You’re…. You’re alive?” he said, tearing up.

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I?” she said, walking to the other side of the room.

Simon was shocked.

How is this possible? He thought, putting his hand on his forehead.

He sat down on the couch and it felt like he fell on stone. He stood up quickly and looked at it. He touched the place he sat at and it was cold to the touch.

What’s going on here? He thought.

“You seemed worried about something,” his mother said.

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

“You just seem tense. Have a seat,” she said, sitting on the couch.

She seemed to pass through it as if it didn’t exist. Then she disappeared as if she was a ghost. Simon stepped back and hit a wall. Somehow he got into the basement.

“What’s happening, Simon?” a man next to a crate of fruit said.

“Dad?” Simon asked.

“Well, who else would I be?” the man said, smiling.

This is weird… Simon thought.

“Can you help me with this?” he said, pointing to the crate.

Simon walked over to it and tried picking it up, but it felt like it weighed a ton. Like the couch, it was cold to the touch. He stepped back and scratched his head.

Why is everything so cold? And why does it feel like stone? He thought.

“Something on your mind?” the man said.

“Uhh, yeah. What’s going on here?” Simon asked.

“You’re dreaming,” he said.

“What?” Simon asked.

“Nothing is going on!” he said, putting some fruit on a shelf.

“Oh….. I’m saying something feels wrong,” Simon replied.

His dad didn’t say anything, in fact, he seemed to freeze.

“Dad?” Simon said, tapping his shoulder.

He was cold to the touch. Simon stepped back and rubbed his hand. Unlike everything else, it was warm.

Where am I? He thought, looking around.

He ran out of the basement and into the living room. His mother was back in the same place as before, but it was as if she was frozen in place. He ran to the door and opened it.

Simon woke up in the hospital. He looked to his side and saw Yuelia sitting next to the bed, fast asleep. He looked to his other side and saw Endro standing in the doorway.

“Good morning,” Endro said.

“Define ‘good,’” Simon said, sitting up, “What happened?”

“You were attacked by the pirate guy again,” Endro said.

“I know that. I want to know how I got here,” Simon said.

“I found you passed out on the dock and Yuelia and some other guy were trying to make you wake up,” Endro said, “Then we took you here.”

Simon rubbed his pounding head.

“You were out for about a week,” Endro said.

“A week!? How many magics is that?” Simon asked.

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let you get any magics without your consent,” Endro said.

Simon sighed in relief.

“But you do get one today. You may feel a small pain in your head…,” Endro said.

Simon then felt a sharp pain in his head. He grabbed his head and slid down on the bed. After the pain subsided, he let go of his head.

“Are you okay?” Endro asked.

Simon nodded, his mind in a haze, “What did you give me?”

“Electimagic. You wanted that, right?” Endro asked.

Simon nodded again. Then Endro disappeared when the nurse walked in.

“You’re awake! That’s good,” she said, looking at his heart beat.

Yuelia woke up and saw that he was awake. It seemed like she was reading a book on whisper magic.

“Hey,” Simon said, smiling.

“Hi,” she said, smiling as well.

“Sleep well?” he asked.

“Yeah…. Can you answer some questions for me?” she asked.

The nurse walked out of the room after she had gotten Simon’s vitals.

“What did Shards whisper this time?” she asked.

“Uhh….. I think it was…. ‘Craffafle?’” Simon said, trying to remember.

“Craffafle…,” she echoed, looking in the book.

She found the word and it’s meaning, “Test.”

“‘Test?’” he asked, “Why would someone… want to test me…. Oh no.”

“What?” she asked.

Simon looked at the equipment attached to him and ripped them out, letting out a painful yell.

“What are you doing?!” she asked, watching him as he tried to get up.

“They’ll be back. If that was just a test, what will the real thing be?!” he said, standing.

He fell on the floor and tried to get on his feet. He found that he couldn’t and started to crawl.

“Simon, stop!” she yelled.

He stopped dead in his tracks, shaking as if he was trying to break away from something holding him back.

“Why?” he said through gritted teeth, “If I don’t get out of here, they’ll find me.”

“Why?” she asked, “just tell me everything!”

“.... They said something about a pendant spawn. A child born of blood magic, no better than a demon, a destroyer of worlds. They, Teebs and Shards, are hunting it, hunting ME! If I don’t find a way to get out of their reach, they might kill me and anyone I’m around,” he confessed.

“Oh…. since when have you ever taken anything alone?” she asked smugly.

“What?” he asked.

“We’re fighting this together. Whether we survive or not!” she said, lifting her finger.

Simon floated up, as if he was being lifted, and was placed in the bed. The equipment magically finding their place again.

“Get some rest. I won’t let the bad pirate get you,” Yuelia joked.

“.... Okay. Thank you,” Simon said, dozing off.