Children of Morpheus

Chapter 9

    My hand squirted blood as if it was a water gun. Alexander ripped his shirt and wrapped my hands like a mummy. My legs felt weak to stand and even to run, but I need to. I just need to.

    Alexander placed my left arm in his back and lift me as he moved. I told him where to go as he helped me walk down the path of dead mice and roaches. I felt the energy coming through that corner. I jumped out and slowly pushed myself in walking. 

    The fume came more horrid as we got closer. Bones were scattered, piled, and were crashed into corners like mattresses on the floor. It felt warm inside of this crypt, you can see the steaming heat of stench that evaporates into grayish green clouds. The thick and oozing pool of slime-like blood with melting flesh boiling under. Then an eerie red glow caught our sights as we heard the creatures running and screeching behind us. I stepped on the pool of thick blood and pushed myself faster grabbing the lamp beside the bed of bones with skeleton hands holding it. The candlelight flickered and danced while it brightens and illuminated the room. 

    The two creatures barged in and looked at us wildly. Alexander ran behind me as I stood straight with the lamp in my left hand. My skin glowed black and white that grew into a beam like the sun. The light was blinding, even I can't see what's happening. 

    Then it stopped. I removed the piece of clothing in my hands, and I was fully healed. Not even a scar. I looked behind me, and there was Alexander, covering his eyes from the overwhelming light of myself and the lamp.

    How did that happened? 

    I looked back at them, they grunt and growled as they leaped towards me. I raised my right hand, then a beam came out and passes through them. Burning them alive, as they screamed in an agonizing shriek. Then it stopped. Newly two smoking skeletons can be added in this collection.

    “How did you do that?” Alexander asked in astonishment. “H-how? Y-you shot out light from your hand. That was awesome!” He jumped celebrating. “My God!” He grunted. “Bad idea. My back.”

    “Are you okay?” I asked as I hold him in the back. 

    Then he glowed. 

    “You just healed me.” He bent in straight and celebrated again.

    I moved and saw my phone ditched in the disgusting pool. The bed of bones snapped and looked old like a shrine. There's a lot of bones in this place, I said myself. 

    “Rafael, come quick,” Alexander called out.

    A pile of different objects that belong to the bodies. Like jewels, watches, and any resemblances that reminded them of their families, that made sure that they are also to be remembered.

    Then I had a feeling that someone is toying with me and Alexander. The bones were too many in this place. The creatures dug a tunnel all the way to the new cemetery, connecting these two graveyards underneath us. 

    “Let's go back to the mausoleum, ” I said to Alexander as he felt reluctant going back there.

    “What? There are too many walking skeletons up there!” 

    I picked a necklace from the pile and singled out that one of the skeletons is wearing the same chain. “Just trust me, I know I'm right.”

    We moved back to the mausoleum and heard a cawing sound outside. It's that same crow, that helped us to escape from the walking skeletons. Alexander picked the candle stand and started swinging like it was a baseball bat.

    I opened the door and the skeletons came running in. The crow flew inside and cawed loudly, flying around above. I pointed at the bird as Alexander swung the stand and hit it down.    

    The bird slammed against the bricked wall and gave a small glow that changed its form into a man with a nature like armor texture colored in silver. It grunted and moaned in pain as the skeletons froze and fade into thin air. The man was unconscious, as we gazed at him. 

    “The skeletons were just illusions trying to scare us.” I explained to Alexander. “That crow kept pointing at the mausoleum forcing us to go inside and hide.” I pointed at the man.

    “And, it brought us to the two, now dead, rotting flesh-eating creatures beneath this cemetery.” He continued as he kicked the pointed ear man on the back. “By the way, what is he? A fairy?” He giggled.

    “Yup, it looks that way.” I said. “Do you want to do the honor of killing?” I asked, smiling.

    He nodded and smiled. “Yes, Rafael. I would love to kill this fairy.” 

    I moved the fairy's unconscious body. It's silver and black long hair crumpled against the floor as I drag it outside under the moonlight. Its cloak shimmered under the mysterious glow. I whacked the faery in the face that made it jolted out. 

    Alexander came in with the stand and stabbed right through the chest. Its eyes widen in pain as the red blood poured out from its body, watering the ground. A plant started growing fast. It blossomed and scattered around the fairy's body. Then the corpse grew to a majestic tree that glowed under the moon.

    “Now, I felt bad.” He said then pouted his mouth.

    “That fairy almost fed us to those stenches underneath. It's fair to do this.” I pointed out.

    “Yeah. But still, this tree is incredible. I'll water it twice a week.” He replied. "But for real, how can this majestic could be this dreadful?"

    I stood on the porch of our house and heard Emma and Sebastian with my uncle Dean talking, panicking to be exact. I knocked on the door and it quickly opened. Sebastian opened the door with Emma behind him while my uncle was sitting on the couch, with trouble in his face.

    I smiled. Then Alexander came out from the side and scare Sebastian. He jumped and screamed which made the two of us laughed out. 

    Uncle Dean then hugged me while his voice was shaking. I felt his heartbeat calming down and mine did the same. Then he suddenly stopped and pinched his nose and smiled.

    “I will take a bath again,” Dean said laughing then left the room. “Let's talk about this tomorrow morning.”

    “Where did the two of you go?” Emma grilled us while she fixed his blue eyes on us. 

    “And, why the two of you smelled terrible?” Sebastian said as he pinched his nose and slowly walked behind Emma.

    “You wanna hug, Emma?” Alexander said smiling while he slowly walked towards her. 

    “No! Alexander stop!” Emma cried out.

    She ran behind Sebastian and pushed him right into Alexander's open arms. She laughed while Sebastian made a gagging sound. Alexander let him go and helped him to go outside. As a retching cacophony popped and came running inside the house..

    “What happened?” Emma asked.

    Alexander came in first with a big grin. Sebastian followed holding his stomach, grunting. I brought in the lamp that flickered and touched Sebastian, to heal him. . .     

    He stood up and again, it happened. His eyes turned white and start mumbling words and it quickly stopped. “I feel better now, thank you. my stomach pain is healed but my nose is not.”  

    “Rafael, what happened to the two of you?” Emma asked with a soft voice. “I can still sense pain and fear coming out from you two, especially you.” 

    “We found the missing bodies from the earthquake a hundred years ago. Then their skeletons attacked us and we hid in the mausoleum, panicking.” Alexander squeezed in and told the story fast. “Then something attacked us. These two monster dudes that ate his father and Sebastian's father then Rafael killed them.” He stopped catching his breath. “Then I killed a fairy." Then he danced. “And I danced.”

    I know, I can't believe that he and I are friends. But I don't worry too much, the others felt the exact way that I'm feeling right now. And I don't need Emma's power of empathy to tell me that all my "childhood friends" is feeling right now.  

    “What?” Sebastian and Emma asked in unison as their heads tilted, wondering.

    I told them the story in a clearer and more detailed way as I can after I took a bath. Alexander also got in the bathroom after me and borrowed some of my clothes. We sat on the couch and made everyone hot cocoa. 

    Tears shed up when I told Sebastian that his father's body was eaten. I picked something from my pocket—a watch with his initial—that belonged to his father. I gave it to him. His silence tore up as he held the watch over in his heart. Emma hugged him as her hand stroke his back, trying to comfort him. She also felt Sebastian's emotions swirling inside.

    The three of them left that night. They said their goodbyes and left while the moon was at its peak. I hid the lamp under my bed as it still flickered.

    I sat in front of the vanity mirror, grabbed the pocket watch, and hold it next to my chest. I can feel my heartbeat, slowly braking. My tears fell down and slid on my cheeks as I moaned quietly, grieving.     

    As I remembered every Halloween dad and I visited mom in the new cemetery. And, I can still remember where she is buried. Then I heard from those monsters that they never saw my mom. What happened to her, exactly? And, why did the monsters said they never saw her? She is buried in the graveyard.

    I ran to the new cemetery and stood in my mother's grave. My mind is telling me that I need to start digging to find out if she's alive. But I can't. . . I can't do that. I left a candle beside her tombstone as the flames dances from the wind.

    I walked down the road with only the street lamps brightly shining the street. The air was damp and cold. Then a chill ran into my spine that made me jerked my head behind me. From a glitch street light, a shadow came under that made his face black. I can't see him clearly. 

    I started walking faster. I paced myself looking back and forth to see if the man is following me. And he is. . . I ran. My heart was pumping hard as I felt an intense pressure in my lungs. I did not stop until I reached the house. 

    I opened the door and slammed it behind me. I took a look at the peephole and there was a man standing in front of the door. Then the man knocked. I didn't answer. I kept my mouth shut while trembling.    

    Then he knocked again. . .

    Again, I looked at the hole and he was gone. I turned back and saw a man in a shady cloak with his arms reaching something inside his clothes. I took a step back against the door. But I fell. I'm not in the house anymore. 

    This is a dream. 

    I was back in the woods with the 6 cloaked men. I crawled down as the man stabbed the ground with a wooden stick. It was poked in the right upper point of the star. The stick was twirled and designed with red small stones on the bottom.

It looked familiar, I said to myself. Then they all combusted in a fire. Then I was back in the Dawn's burned manor. 

    And now, I remembered. They used to have a trophy case in the cellar. We used to play down there when we were young. The house was rebuilding itself before the fire exploded like the time is resetting back in the past. 

    I saw my younger self playing hide and seek. I think I remembered this day. There was a meeting of the founding family. I followed myself down the stairs in the cellar. Then the young me noticed something glowed behind him. I saw it. I saw it. . . but then the younger me ran in childish fear and Chad found me. 

    Then the door opened again. My mom was walking towards me. Her face was scarred and destroyed. 

    “Find the wand, Rafael. Find it and—” Mom was pulled back, dragged and screamed for help.

    "Mom!"