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Fragments
By Rachel Eve Lachance
He could hear shouting and screaming somewhere off to the right. He squirmed a little and let out a whimper. A hand clamped quickly over his mouth, a child's hand, but a larger child. "Quiet Rihinn", the older boy hissed in his ear, "or they will find us." The shouting was much closer now. Then a fight broke out. They could hear the men's weapons' clanging together. It only lasted a few moments. CRASH! The weight keeping Rihinn pinned to the ground became unbearable as the other boy let out a grunt. One of the men, in full armor, had fallen, dead, right on top of where the two boys were hiding. The older boy remained still despite his pain. Rihinn could hear his companion's teeth grinding in an effort not to cry out. Rihinn could smell fresh blood. He could feel it running down his face. Was it his own? The other boy's? The dead man's? After what seemed like an eternity, the hand over Rihinn's mouth finally relaxed then moved away. The older boy pushed up from the ground, just enough to let Rihinn crawl out from underneath. Once Rihinn was free, he did what he could to help push the body off of his companion. The older boy stood up, shakily. Rihinn was afraid. His eyes darted around to take in the full scene. They were in a field. There were bodies everywhere. Wide-eyed, he looked back at the boy, whose face was ashen, his hair dark and soaked in blood. He seemed dazed. Both boys startled at the sound of more shouting coming from the town that was quickly turning to ash. Rihinn was exhausted. How long had they been running and hiding like this? He stared at the burning town, transfixed by the orange glow and the rising smoke. A tight grip on his arm snapped him out of his reverie. "It's time to go. More soldiers are coming this way", said the boy. He was no longer dazed but he too looked exhausted as he began to run, dragging little Rihinn along with him. Run. Towards the forest. Darkness He awoke in his bed, his body sore and stiff. How long have I been laying here? He shifted under the blankets. Although he was Rihinn the man and no longer Rihinn the child, like in the nightmare, he still felt weak as he tried to sit up. "Hold on, Rihinn. Let me help you." Rihinn jokingly rolled his eyes, took the cup of tea from his mother's
hand and downed the liquid as quickly as possible. Once he was able
to stop grimacing from the taste, he took a bit of fresh bread and raspberry
jam, which his mother had brought over to him. Mother and son sat in comfortable silence for awhile. Once she was satisfied that Rihinn was alright for the time being she collected her coat and shoes. She paused by the front door and turned back to face him as he inhaled a third slice of bread. "Your father should be returning from his trip this evening. I'd stay longer, but I don't want him to return to an empty house and worry about me. Besides, I'm sure you and that loaf of bread will be just fine without me", she grinned as Rihinn finished off a fourth slice. He sat, quietly lost in thought for a moment. He was thinking of the
nightmare. That last mad dash into the forest kept replaying in his
mind. She was almost out the door. Rihinn put what remained of the bread on the bedside table. He laid back down and stared up at the ceiling of his small cottage for a long while. He still couldn't get it out of his mind, the town on fire, the soldiers, that boy. And the more he thought about the nightmare the less it seemed like just a dream. The beginning of Chapter 2 can be viewed at my LJ blog: here. |