I awoke to a quiet squeak from the door. "Sissy," Jackson was looking at me, a sad expression on his face, "you, okay?" He already looks older. I thought to myself and smiled slightly. His brown curls were messy like usual, but I noticed that he seemed taller. His birthday was coming up on July first, it would be his fifth birthday.
"I'm alright, my head just hurts a little," I said, spilling a fraction of the truth. "Why do you ask Bubba?"
"You just-" he shook his head and entered my room, "you didn't say hi to me, daddy, or Chase when you got home, I was worried." I smiled at him, beckoning him to my bed.
Jackson compliantly came and stood by it, I ruffled his curls, "I'm fine Jackson, don't worry about me," I chuckled. "Aren't little kids just supposed to worry about themselves?" I asked sarcastically. His freckled face turned a light shade of pink.
"I'm not a little kid anymore, I can even sleep in my own bed and use the bathroom all by myself!" He exclaimed triumphantly.
"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Tell me that when you're taller than I am, that's when you'll be a big boy." I shrugged off my grey covers and stretched, realizing I was still wearing my dress and sighed quietly to myself. "What time is it, munchkin?" I asked Jackson, yawning loudly.
"Almost dinnertime," he smiled widely at me, causing me to smile back.
"Your favorite meal of the day already?" I stated, realizing that I'd missed lunch. I silently cursed myself for forgetting to eat. "Let's go eat alright?" He grabbed me with his small hands and practically dragged me down the staircase.
By now our guests had left, thankfully, and I could relax. However, after what happened this morning, I had so many questions to ask Chase. I wanted to know who he was. Although I wanted to ask, I couldn't muster up the courage to do anything of the sort. In a way, I found him intimidating. Of course, it didn't feel like he had any ill intentions, however, after his reaction this morning I didn't think I could ask him anything properly, plus it probably wasn't important anyway.
Similarly, to yesterday, the entirety of dinner was my family eating in silence aside for the few times Jackson spoke to me telling me how well Chase cooked. Which in a way, cut a little deep. He never talked about my cooking that way, but then again, Chase was a trained Chef.
After dinner I quickly went to my room, deciding to get in pajamas after the long day I had. This time I picked a button up white fuzzy top with a pair of black fuzzy pants to match. I went over to my windows to close my blinds, looking out over the yard. That's when I thought I saw a large human-like shadow coming from the forest. I blinked several times, the image no longer there. I assumed I was too stressed to see straight.
I shut my blinds, rubbed my eyes, turned off the lights and crawled beneath my warm sheets. I continued to think about the events of that day, but they were eventually drowned out by the sleep that invited me.
I woke up in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by rubble and grass, with darkened skies above me.
"Fade to the right!" A familiar voice shouted close to me from the right.
Chase? I sat up, my head burning. Two people stood in front of me, blocking shots, and yelling at each other. But they seemed to work gracefully together, coming to each other's aid when a blast from what seemed to be a goblin, would come unexpectedly. Wait, wait, wait. Goblin? Is that magic? Willing myself to get a closer look, I pushed through the burning pain rising through my skull.
"Watch where you're shooting! I can't deal with another injury." She smiled when she spoke, taking a quick glance at her partner. Who more and more seemed to look like Chase. The closer I came to the scene before me, the more I realized the girl looked a lot like me.
"But magic doesn't exist." I spoke, immediately snapping my mouth shut, fearing I would disturb them, but… Either they couldn't hear, or they were ignoring me. But I'm so close… Is this a dream? No, it couldn't be… The longer I thought, the more my head ached, but I couldn't shake the thought.
That's me, and I'm fighting goblins with Chase. Even if they couldn't see me, I stayed a distance away watching. I noticed Chase slowly seemed to get more reckless as the fight progressed. No, it wasn't recklessness, it was ecstasy.
Chase stared at the female beside him for a moment, and in his eyes, it seemed as though he was fighting himself. His eyes grew to a darker and darker crimson as the minutes passed by, and finally it was like he changed completely. He ceased fighting, not daring to defend himself nor the girl beside him. He watched as the female who looked oddly like me took repeated hits, deciding not to help fight. Instead, he charged right into the middle of the battle before them.
Blood splattered across the vivid green grass, a scent of iron mixing with the nighttime air as little screams seemed to pierce the night. He didn't stop, slashing and cutting, a wide smile spreading across his face, one full of insanity. Clenching blades in both hands, he sliced open throats, and cut up heads in one slash. Mesmerized, I completely forgot about his partner.
"Chase!" She called after him, trying to run after him. "Chase, you need to think straight, we need to get out of-" A large goblin took his weapon that looked similar to a bat, hitting the woman directly in the temple. Almost immediately she crashed to the ground in a weightless heap as the dream came to a startling end.