Imaginaries

Chapter Three: Afraid of the Dark

The soft click of paws upon stone is the only sound, the early silence encompassing and enveloping the Wall. They are here. Golden eyes glimmer with the reflection of the moon. Two twisted, dark creatures stalk in the shadows, eyeing their new territory, preparing for the hunt.

“Nightmares, here!” comes a shout, and the monsters turn, a menacing hiss growing in their throats. The guards approach. Blades are drawn.

No screams are released into the emptiness. All that can be heard is the quiet crunching of flesh and cartilage, and the hissing of two lights into the sky. The Nightmares look up, blood and sinew hanging from their jaws - without a sound, they disappear into the night, leaving as quickly as they came.

The dawn of the sun sees nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~

The marketplace is bustling, full of an energy that bounces from the people to the buildings and back again, bringing a bright mood to the streets around me. It had taken a long time to bring up the courage to leave the house I had begun to know as home. I now know it was worth it. Though the pain in my stomach is still very there, I do my best to ignore it, the odd wince being the only proof of my wound. I walk beside Niki, hand in hand, being almost dragged along by her excited steps. She looks up at me, her expression urging me onwards, and she points towards a shop on the edge of the street.

“What’s in there?” I ask, forgetting Niki cannot reply. She grins in return regardless, forming her hands into circles and holding them to her eyes. We approach the shop’s window, and I understand -  finely crafted goggles in more metals than I can name, lenses in a rainbow of colours. Above the window hangs a sign: “Smithson’s Engineering Supplies - A Tinkerer’s Paradise”. I can’t help but laugh, looking back at Niki. Or, at least, where Niki was a moment ago, as she scampers into the shop, the bell on the door ringing merrily. I follow her inside, with the rest of the Red Hawks in tow: and for the first time today, I am happy.

She is standing in front of a glass case, bouncing up and down as she stares at the item within. Her brown eyes are glittering with excitement and mirth, resisting the urge to reach out and lay hands on the glass. I come to stand beside her and look into the cabinet. Upon a velvet lining lays a pair of goggles, bronze rims beautifully, intricately engraved with gears and swirls and flowers. It was almost a work of art. The lenses were a shining, scarlet glass, and the leather that held it all together was well-kept and sturdy, finished with a band embroidered with reds and oranges and yellows. Niki glanced at the price tag and sighed, moving away - it was a hefty amount, and for good reason.

I reach into my pocket, and find the money I had been given. “Compensation”, it was, to weaken the blow of the battalion I had lost. It did nothing for me.

The shopkeeper got his cash - I pointed subtly to the goggles in the case, while Niki wandered outside with the others. With a smile, he lifted them from the glass they rested upon, bringing the box and its velvet lining with it. Curling the soft fabric around the goggles and closing the lid, he sighed happily. “That little one has been fawning over these for months - I was worried about her when she left to join the Military.” He chuckled quietly as he continued. “She’s lucky to have a friend like you, eh?”

“I do hope so.” I reply, smiling in return as I take the box with me: back outside, and back into the light. Lucas taps Niki on the shoulder as I approach, and she turns around to meet me.

Her eyes light up when I remove the goggles from their case once again, lifting them into the sunlight. Pulling them over her hair to rest upon her forehead, she almost seems awestruck, a grin fixed firmly on her face. Bouncing with happiness, she hugs me tight, resting her head against my stomach - it brings a wave of pain back to my system, but I fight it back with a grin, hugging her in return.

“Let’s see if we can’t find more things to buy, huh?” I smile, and the others voice their agreement. Niki continues to bounce as we walk, looking up at me and beaming as we go.

~~~~~~~~~~

They’re gone.

The crowd is overwhelming, ever changing, a sea of bodies and endless movement - the claustrophobic memories of the battlefield are rushing back to me, and I can feel my pulse racing faster and faster. Something is wrong, so very, very wrong. I can’t see the Red Hawks, I can’t see Lucas’ towering figure, I can’t see the glint of Niki’s goggles on her head - panic is pumping through my system like electricity. My eyes scan the rooftops as a black shape prowls over the skyline, creeping closer, shining eyes fixed upon the crowd around me. I hear a shout, look away, look back again.

It’s gone.

My hands drop to my sides, fingers enclosing around the hilt of the gun in my holster. It is an unwelcome familiarity. There is a gap in the crowd where a smiling man walks with his friend, unaware of the Nightmare now suddenly behind him, stalking closer, ready to pounce-

Two shots ring out.

The Nightmare fades to nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~

I am still shaking as I am pulled roughly into an alleyway, panic still ringing through every synapse of my mind. “What in Second Earth was that?!” Kieryn exclaims as loudly as he dares, staring at me with horror still etched on his face. I don’t have the strength to reply. Betha shakes her head, pushing him away as she sits before me.

“Just be quiet, will you? The Captain’s been through a nasty shock, you need to let her calm down.” She looks around for a moment, before allowing her eyes to settle back on me. There is worry permeating her features. “Come on, let’s get her home, before people realise what’s happened. We can ask questions later.” My breaths are deep and ragged as the others haul me to my feet, the screams from the square like white noise in my ears. I am still too shaken to understand the chaos unfurling around me. Niki takes my hand anxiously, looking up at me once again with concern, as I am pushed, led, guided, back to whence we came.

My mind is reeling.