Daydream in Blue (and Yellow) (PG-13 - Implied Character Death. Sort of...)
Characters – Eric, Ensemble
Prompt – Deathfic #11 Illusion
Word Count – 1709
Summary – Eric had a few problems trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not.
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Daydream in Blue (and Yellow)
… The Cavalier dashed through the undergrowth, sweeping aside the sticky plants with his Shield.
The others were still in the clearing with the animals snapping at their heels, they howled with delight as their prey tried to get away. Caught unprepared for once, the others ran in confusion.
Suddenly, Hank cried out as the Bow was yanked from his hand. And he fell awkwardly on his arm.
The others had scattered. No one else was close enough to help.
It was up to him. He was the only one that could help.
He pulled himself up to his full height and…
‘Eric! C’mon, we’re almost there!’
He jerked round. Sheila was staring at him.
‘Come on!’ she said more loudly. ‘The clearing’s just up ahead. The others will probably be there by now. Come on!’
Eric nodded, rubbing his forehead and his eyes. They had been walking for hours through the dark forest, it was boring, it was tiring and Eric was almost asleep on his feet.
‘I know, I know,’ he mumbled. ‘I’m on my way.’
He looked up and saw Sheila roll her eyes and stomp off. Eric gave a sigh and followed, his eyes half closed, hearing only the heavy thud of his own footsteps and the swish of leaves.
… The Cavalier dashed through the undergrowth, sweeping aside the sticky plants with his Shield.
The others were still in the clearing with the animals snapping at their heels, they howled with delight as their prey tried to get away. Caught unprepared for once, the others ran in confusion.
Sheila tried to pull up her Cloak but one of the wolves grabbed it in its mouth and tugged, twisting her around.
Suddenly, Hank cried out as the Bow was yanked from his hand, and he fell awkwardly on his arm.
The others had scattered. No one else was close enough to help. No one but Eric.
It was up to him. He was the only one that could help.
He pulled himself up to his full height and rushed forward fearlessly, holding up the Shield. The closest wolf snarled at him, making a grab for his arm, but the Shield kept it away.
Hank looked round at him, terrified and…
‘Eric…! ER-IC!’
He looked up abruptly. Diana was standing there, glaring at him.
‘What?’ he snapped back.
She gave him another disparaging look. He didn’t deign to reply, he was in not mood for a war of words with her at the moment so, at last, she was forced to speak.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m walking. What does it look like?’
‘And… where are you going?’
Eric gave her a false smile.
‘Forward, of course. To the clearing.’
There was a very brief pause, long enough for Eric to feel suddenly very, very stupid. He knew what she was going to say a fraction of a second before she spoke.
‘Well you’re going the wrong way,’ she said pointedly.
He opened his mouth to argue with her but, looking around, he realised that he was standing in the middle of thick lush undergrowth, not on a nice clear path. He swore under his breath.
‘The clearing’s up ahead,’ she called, her smile now a touch more smug than it had been a few moments before. ‘Oh, and it’s probably more comfortable to sleep lying down!’
She sniggered a little as she turned away.
‘Fine!’ he said, too quietly for her to hear. ‘Fine, whatever. I don’t care. Ha ha ha.’
Once again, Eric forced himself to walk forward, reaching the nice, safe path and trudging forward with slow steps.
…The Cavalier dashed through the undergrowth, sweeping aside the sticky plants with his Shield.
The others were still in the clearing with the animals snapping at their heels, they howled with delight as their prey tried to get away. Caught unprepared for once, the others ran in confusion.
Sheila tried to pull up her Cloak but one of the wolves grabbed it in its mouth and tugged, twisting her around.
Diana tried to get away from the one that was chasing her, but she tripped on a hidden stone and was sent sprawling forward, landing ungraciously on her face, probably getting a mouthful of earth for her trouble.
Suddenly, Hank cried out as the Bow was yanked from his hand, and he fell awkwardly on his arm.
The others had scattered. No one else was close enough to help.
It was up to him. He was the only one that could help.
He pulled himself up to his full height and rushed forward fearlessly, holding up the Shield. The closest wolf snarled at him, making a grab for his arm, but the Shield kept it away.
Hank looked round at him, terrified and…
Was that a scream?
He looked up with a jerk. Ahead was just the dark green curtain of more forest.
Was that a scream he’d just heard? Or was it the howl of a wolf?
Eric shook his head. It was getting quite dark and he couldn’t see the others. But at least this time he was sure he was on the path. He could hear his own footsteps. He couldn’t hear anything else.
He steps slowed to a virtual halt. There was something wrong, something that sent shards of ice down his spine and made his mouth go dry.
Then suddenly there was a scream: A real, loud human scream. And it was Sheila’s scream.
The Cavalier leap forward with a start and dashed through the undergrowth, sweeping aside the sticky plants with his Shield. Only a short distance ahead he burst through the undergrowth and into the clear, where the others had been resting. But they were not alone. A number of large, grey wolves with huge curved teeth and shaggy coats were there too… Hunting.
The others were running with the animals snapping at their heels, and the wolves howled with delight as their prey tried to get away. Caught unprepared for once, the kids ran in confusion.
Sheila tried to pull up her Cloak but one of the wolves grabbed it in its mouth and tugged, twisting her around. Bobby was there in an instant, smashing the ground with the Club. The wolf rolled out of sight.
Diana tried to get away from the one that was chasing her, but she tripped on a hidden stone and was sent sprawling forward, probably getting a mouthful of earth for her trouble. The wolf-creature leaped at her seeing her weakness, but luckily Presto was just beside her with the Hat to distract it. There was a sudden flash of light and the creature howled in pain.
Watching the scene play out before him, Eric gave a grin. This was just like…
Suddenly, Hank cried out as the Bow was yanked from his hand, and he fell awkwardly on his arm.
The others had scattered. No one else was close enough to help. Hank was just a few feet away.
The reality of the situation struck Eric: It was up to him. He was the only one that could help.
He pulled himself up to his full height and rushed forward fearlessly, holding up the Shield. The closest wolf snarled at him, making a grab for his arm, but the Shield kept it away.
Hank looked round at him, terrified.
Eric grinned back at him. This was just like his daydream. Except…
Hank wasn’t looking at him.
Instead, Hank was looking just behind him.
There was a sudden swish of movement, and something struck Eric on the back, sending him sprawling forward, just as Diana had done.
He was pinned to the ground, the smell and taste of grass and earth flooding his senses, the air slowly being crushed out of him and pain spreading through his whole body.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be!
There was a snarl and hot breath on the back of his head.
His chest tightened in fear. This was it!
He wanted to scream out, and fight back, and get free, and run and run and run. But he couldn’t move, the wolf had him pinned securely to the ground. This was it!
Suddenly, the pain and pressure was gone.
He heard the familiar hum of the energy arrows, and a vicious snarl.
‘Eric get up!’ someone (probably Sheila) shouted. ‘Get-up!’
He commanded his arms to move but nothing happened.
There was more snarling and snapping, and more arrows flew past.
He forced himself to move. Each millimetre was next to impossible. He ached and was almost paralysed with fear. How he kept on moving he didn’t know.
The wolf leaped again, snapping at his hand. He felt blood flowing. He tried to move, and roll out of the way, but as he did, he saw the huge wolf standing over him, its teeth glinting. He could smell the rotting meat on its breath and he chocked. It moved forward, aiming for his neck.
Only a moment away. He was going to die. He was already dead. He could feel the teeth slip into his neck.
He was dead.
Then suddenly, unexpectedly, someone took his arm and pulled.
‘Wake up!’
Eric jerked upright.
Still filled with panic, he thrashed around for a few moments, struggling to his feet and pulling the tendrils of the vines away from his arms and legs. A long, think spine stuck out from his wrist, and he could feel the burn of a cut on his neck, presumably from the same sort of thing.
When he finally stopped moving, he could hear soft laughter. It was Presto.
‘Good job I came to look,’ he said. ‘Are you alright?’
Embarrased, Eric scowled at him.
‘Fine,’ said the Magician, still grinning. ‘Get yourself together and come on. The camps just up head. Less than a minute away.’
Presto turned and walked back, his shoulders shaking with a suppressed snigger.
Eric pushed himself to his feet, still scowling. The others were probably going to pee themselves laughing. How completely embarrassing. He was never gonna live this one down.
He plodded on, one footstep after another.
Then, not far to his left, he heard a wolf howl…
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