Kage, now sitting on the edge of a booth, examined the sea star he fairly won. He guided it with his right hand, focusing nearly all his efforts on the movement. The numbness slowed him, a limitation he ensured would not persist in the future for even now the ability to control the appendage as he wished was coming back bit by bit.
There was nothing special to the toy with its intricate yet cutely designed appearance emphasizing the exaggerated expression the creature made with an exasperated mouth showcasing its red tongue. Two large eyes gleamed with a fuzz that when pressed upon left the indent of his finger in its place. Kage stuffed the item into his pocket discovering that only Daniel shared a knowing grin of the achievement.
The group had calmed down after an afternoon of play. They each ended with at least a single prize to their name. Jacob pridefully wore a gilded crown on top of his scalp while Gan soaked in the honor of defeating each challenge the boy provoked with him. It was a fair trade that left them without an ounce of regret for how they spent their time increasing their own rage against the other. However, where their victories may have been modest, Claire returned to the booth with no less than eight unique forms of plush creatures much like the one Kage acquired. The difference lay in their size as one was of great height and foundation with a long stretched out neck as its defining feature.
Kage couldn't begin to guess what type of animal the object supposedly represented.
Then there was Isaiah and Sam who fell to the cushioned surface with a simple stroke of understanding between the two. From the shouts echoed across the room, their duel must have been a fierce one as their tired stature illuminated the struggle that developed.
Minutes passed as they commented on the features each experienced with their selection of machines. Of course, Jacob was the force that wormed his way into each passing conversation, elongating them to a point where an easy hour passed without much else discussed. They all were granted a moment to reprieve in the day releasing the built-up worries from the months before.
In this realization a furtive glance cut across Jacob. Kage finally grasped the reasoning for this excursion, one that placed a simple admiration on the boy. Long was it since he could recount when they had gotten together to seek such joy. Most days ended with further plans on studying or classes that rotted the brain. Alas, today broke that mold.
There in the embrace of their loud yells as well as cursing language, Kage felt at peace with his place. He spoke not a word but basked in the tide of their conversations, nodding along when feasible or grunting to assuage their gaze. The room was like the edge of a pond. Humid, yet brisk with the splatter of constant swimming to lull his eyes into a deep sleep. He became hypnotized by this effect to the point where when he looked to his left, he expected to see Lisa doing some child-like game with her friends.
Her little soft giggles always served him good.
Yet, this time would never stay the same as the conversation drew to a silence leaving a sole person calmly giving her thought.
"Do you guys remember that night at all? Like… do you see it in your dreams?"
Claire's voice was a pitch below the rest drowning them all into the eerie atmosphere inflicted by the question. Indeed, could they all see each second that beat of the night that suffused their souls into a mire. A recognition of this fact resounded through them with nothing more but a nod of the head.
Until Daniel gave further credence to the fact, "I hear their v-voices. Every time I sleep there is n-nothing but pitch-black b-but the sound of the f-fiends' voices. Th-those damned Villains!"
Jacob froze with a trembling lip, his only remark on the subject. The mere mention of the monsters who strove to tear their entrails out frightened him deeply to a point of stillness. An unrecoverable fear that plagued him forevermore just as it did the same to Sam who shared in the endeavor. She clasped her hands tightly together exhaling deep breaths to restrict the matter.
The rest also showcased a conjoined memory that gave their story of the night; all without speaking so.
"Thank you for bringing us here, Jacob, but I know this is just for a moment. When I go home, they'll be there again. All the people I couldn't do anything to save." Her stare no longer was directed at the generalized group but cinched onto Kage's darkened expression. "I fear they'll tear my throat out for what I was unable to do."
Bodies stacked on top bodies. The blood ran from their eye sockets as Kage gleamed into how futile their living became in the last spurts that told their stories. Although he had not thrust the dagger forth claiming their souls, he may well have as the blade flung past his face. Those were the faces that lay claim to all strange in his view. It was an unshakable testament that demanded this be his own life until the day of death arrived.
A curse hung low over them just as it did for all others that bore the same sin. A sin of compiled weaknesses forgoing any strength earned.
It was this idea that steeped them all into such a decrepit crevice almost willing the sin to take over. So it would have if not for one that had joined them in the first place. The one who chained them to his own will that arrived with a steady balance.
"They will do so…" Claire looked on with a blank stare. "If you allow them to, that is. There's no point in sorrowing yourself with such ideas of death when you still have a life to give."
Kage lied to himself that day. He had to unless he wished to never believe the same thought that would end so many alike. "It's a passing image or sound that awakens you. Soon the very idea will tire itself while you whittle it down into a joking manner. For, there is more to accomplish and more to save along with those achievements. Just persevere and move forward. It's all any of us can do. It's what we have to do in order to rid ourselves of that weakness."
He would lie to them all. They were his friends, that was an undeniable reality that he wished as well to throw into some cauldron never to emerge. He would lie about his unaffected state, about his confidence, about his own strength. It would be a lie for the ages so that none of them may stumble.