We get back to the Academia as quickly as we can, but it still takes up a lot of valuable time. I hadn't thought we'd be in any kind of hurry today, so we're on foot, which really makes things slow. When we finally get there it's way later than I'd like; if I leave for Aldhill now, I'll need the fastest horse the school has assuming I want to be back in time for the curfew. The stable hand probably won't think too kindly of me if I return a horse much too late two days apart.
We get to the stables just as he's feeding them.
"Good evening, Woodsham," he says, somewhat vary but cheery enough. "You want to go on an evening ride, do you?"
"Something like that," I say. "But I would need a horse."
The stable hand, Will I believe is his name, looks at me in surprise. Then he says, "You know as well as the other students that the horses are only for the teachers to lend, unless it's an emergency. You'll have to do with a pony."
"Much too slow, I am in a hurry," I say. I had anticipated this could happen.
"That is unfortunate," he says with a shake of his head. "But them's the rules. Just cause you returned White Diamond home on Tuesday don't mean I can go off lending him to ya just like that. You get a permission from the principal, maybe.... but right now no can do." He turns back to the horse he was brushing.
"Please, sir, it's an... emergency. Of sorts," I say, but I know a lost battle when I see one. He raises his eyebrows at me.
"You get permission from the principal, and I'll lend you any horse you want," he repeats and I get the feeling the conversation is over. Gil and I slip out of the stables into the warm evening air.
"Damnit," I say. There's no point in going to the principal, by the time it'd take me to convince him that I need to go to Aldhill it'll be too late to go at all. All I can do is hope that it won't be too important, whatever is going on up there. Or that I'll get another chance to investigate it.
"Tough luck," says Gil, patting my shoulder.
"Yeah, it was kind of a long shot anyway," I say, running my hand through my hair. "It's okay, I guess. Now I'll have time to finish my physiology essay."
"Oh my gods, I'd forgotten all about that!" Gil says, a clear expression of panic on his face. I chuckle softly. "Not funny, you have to help me with that!"
"Yeah, yeah, let's go. We should find Alica too, she probably forgot too."
~x~
I'm walking down a corridor on campus. It is long, and barren, and I am not entirely certain where it ends, but I have a class to get to and I know it's along the corridor. It has to be. Somewhere.
I pass room after room, but they are all locked and the schedules beside the doors make no sense, so I move on from each one. There's no point for dawdling here, I mustn't, no time to stay anyway, I have a class to get to. I wonder absently where Gil is, where Alica is, because we have all the same classes, surely they should be here too, but it doesn't seem too important right now, so I ignore their absence and focus on finding the class. They're probably there already, as I am the one who is late. So, very late.
I hear a set of footsteps behind me. I pay them no mind. There's always footsteps in the halls of Academia. So many people, so many places to be. So little... time.
I stop beside a classroom to inspect its schedule, and I hear the footsteps stop. The schedule tells me nothing of use, and the door is locked either way, so I continue along the corridor. So do the footsteps. The same thing happens at the next door. I'm starting to get irritated. Whatever game the person walking behind me is playing, I don't find it amusing, and I rather feel like giving them a piece of my mind, but I am late for class and don't have time for something like that. I mustn't turn around and so I ignore the steps, even as they grow louder and closer.
I walk for a long time, a very long time, the footsteps trailing my every move, and finally, finally I have enough and whip around, ready to yell my head off, only to find...
Nothing. There is no one behind me. I run my hand through my hair, surprised, because I was certain there was someone there, surely there was. I could hear them. I turn back around, because I have to get to class, and if there's no one there I have no reason to stand here.
The footsteps start again, but they are small now, distant, and clearly walking away. After a moment they disappear entirely. I keep walking.
There is a corner in the hallway and when I turn it I am momentarily blinded by a bright light. As my eyes get used to it I notice I've come outside the school building, and am standing in the middle courtyard. I look around, but there's no way to get back into the building; there's no doors or windows, just four walls all around the grassy patch of land. How annoying, I think. I really need to get to class. I start to walk around the sides, keeping my right hand on the wall, in case there might be a door after all.
The footsteps star again. They're really close this time, but I will myself to not turn. I mustn't turn. I have more important things to do. Important things. Important... Yes.
I've gone all around the courtyard now, but I go again. I can't stop. I mustn't stop. Never stop. The footsteps are closer and closer. My heart is beating in my ears, but I don't stop, I don't turn around, I don't....
I start to sprint. I need to get out of this courtyard, I can't stay here! I need to be somewhere, I don't have time! The footsteps behind me are running too, running after me and gaining. My fingers drag along the ragged stone wall keeping me trapped, they are getting scratches all over them but I don't take them off the wall, I can't. I mustn't. I mustn't.
I trip.
I trip face first into harsh pavement running along the walls, and I do a somersault but I scramble to my feet, quickly, quickly! I'm running on grass now, running towards the center, the big tree there I can see it reach up to the skies, I can use it to get out! Why didn't I think of it before?!
Almost there, I can almost reach but my feet are becoming heavy, hard to lift and I look down, down at the ground that is giving way underneath me, swallowing up my legs as I try to yank them free. I can't get stuck now, I'm so close..! I can't, I mustn't... I...
I can't move, I'm up to my knees in the ground and though I try to flail the best I can do is fall face first onto the ground. Again. It's soft grass this time, but it's too soft, way too soft. My hands get swallowed up as well as I push myself up from the ground.
The footsteps are soft too, falling on grass, not concrete and they are right behind me, why oh why won't they leave me alone, why must they torment me, why must-
There is a shadow, a shadow cast over me as someone stands behind me and I shiver, I tremble and my heart is beating too fast. I can't turn around, I mustn't-
But I must, I say, though the voice doesn't come from me though it is me. I must, I must. What?
The voice isn't mine, though it is mine and I can see myself as I'm stuck to the ground, crawling there in front of myself, still trying to struggle free and I am still not turning.
I must, I say again, and I stop moving, I think. I try to think, but I can't, my brain makes no sense. Why doesn't it make sense? I must.
And I see myself, as I turn slowly, slowly to look behind me, look at the shadow, the one that chased after me, because though I must not I must, I need to. And I see.
I see a face, and I stare at it and it stared back, it's eyes wide and manic and lips twisted in a mockery of a smile and the ground swallows me whole, suffocates me, crushes me within itself. I try to reach out to someone, anyone, but all I see is the face, staring down at me as the ground closes up above me and engulfs me in the dark, and I'm trying to breathe but failing and I need to get out, I am choking, I-
~x~
There is a loud shout and a lot of trashing and it takes me a lot of time to realise it's me doing both of these things. My heart is still beating in my ear, and my breathing is short and swallow, as I try to push off whatever is on top of me. I'm still suffocating, I can't breathe, I can't... There's a noise somewhere near, but it's not footsteps, it's a voice. Gil's voice.
"Oz?!" he's saying, holding onto my shoulders a bit too tightly as I push at the blanket that's really not on top of me anymore anyway. I swallow and try to control my breathing but it is hard and I gasp out a little. I place my hand on his face, just to make sure. "Oz?" His voice is quieter now, but he still looks so worried, so very worried and I would be too, frankly. I put my other hand on his other cheek and close my eyes, leaning towards him as I take long, deep breaths.
"I...", I say, and draw in another shaky breath. Gil shushes me and rests his forehead on mine.
"It's okay," he says and I believe him. "You're okay, it was just a dream. You're okay. You're okay."
"I'm..." I say weakly as I run my thumbs across his cheeks. "I'm okay." I finally open my eyes again to see his relieved face smiling softly at me. I take another deep breath and relax. "Hi."
He huffs out a laugh. "Hi," he says. "You are okay now?" I nod and he, too, relaxes. His hands move from my shoulders to cup my face. "Good."
"Sorry," I say. "I had a very weird dream, I guess."
"Don't apologise," he says. "I'm just glad you're alright now."
"I'm alright," I say. We're quiet for a while, neither moving any further from the other. I really don't mind though, leaning against him with my eyes closed again.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks finally. I shake my head.
"I don't really remember much... I just... want to sleep," I say and I feel him nod against my forehead. He drops his hands from my face, a bit reluctantly perhaps, and we lay back down on the bed where he pulls me close to him. He starts to pull the blanket over us, but hesitates as he realises how forcefully I was shoving it aside just moments ago. I take a hold of it and pull it up with him. I settle against his chest, his arm around my shoulders and I breathe deep, content.
It's warm and it's safe, and I fall back asleep quickly. Tomorrow will be Friday again.
________________________________________________________________
Heyyyyyyy. It's not even midnight, would you look at that. It's short again, I know, but yours was like super teeny tiny so I don't care hahaaa. Idk anyway.
I need to stay up super late today cause I need to go get dad from the railway station in 45 minutes, which otherwise wouldn't be such a problem but my school starts at eight tomorrow and I didn't get enough sleep last night either nnnngh. Oh well.
School's been... interesting. We haven't really done much yet, we don't even have our schedules, but we did make notes today about the food properties of vegetables. Very interesting, yes. There's a lot of chemical names I've never heard of before. But I'm too tired now to care, I'm gonna go bye.
Your topic is... "Ray". I was sure we had used that, but apparently not.
Pie out.
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