Vengeance In His Veins

Chapter 6: Been Dreaming

Darkness! That was what encompassed Lucas' world for a while, he saw nothing, smelled nothing, felt nothing. His entire world had been plunged into a silent emptiness.

After a while, he heard it, distant howling and soon it came to him, he could feel his head throbbing, his entire body was aching and stiff.

The memories came flooding back but it was all hazy and mashed up together, he couldn't breathe as well as he used to and he could smell burning, it smelled like roasted venison.

He could not concentrate on the scent though, his entire body stung most especially his arm and face.

He tried to move, but his body would not respond. He realized his eyes had been closed so he forced it open, but he couldn't keep it open for long.

He saw the image of a wrecked building and he could see smoke coming out from a location he couldn't really perceive properly.

His eyes closed again and he forced it open, he looked sideways and saw footsteps coming towards him, his eyes closed shut and this time his consciousness went with it.

He didn't know how long time had passed but his consciousness finally came back but he was still out of it.

His perception of the world, himself, and his environment was beyond flawed. He could barely remember his own name, he forced his eyes open, but he discovered his vision was halved in a way.

The image before him shifted, becoming a little clearer.

He saw a man standing above him, staring down. His vision focused, and Lucas recognized the man’s face; Kenji.

For some reason he knew who that man was, but could barely remember why he did. He lifted his hand and called out his name.

“Kenji…” his voice was weak and raspy.

Before he could say anything more, the darkness came again, swallowing him whole.

By the time he would open his eyes again he was in a better state. He glanced around and realized he was in a familiar setting; a peaceful one in fact.

He was seated at his family's dinner table, his dad held a newspaper in his hand, mumbling something about the stocks as he usually did while his elder sister was glancing at him with concern.

“You haven't been eating again, you weren't present at last night’s dinner. Look at you, you are almost bare to bones,” his elder sister whined.

His family was here, he realized in excited astonishment.

The memories of what had happened earlier was just a dream, he convinced himself. His younger sister placed a plate of Larb in front of him.

“I reduced the fish inside,” she said with a smile.

He stood up abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor as he turned toward his sister. His eyes bulged in surprise, he touched her face for a while and closed his face.

The warmness of her breathing skin relaxed him and he sighed.

“You are acting very weird,” the girl said with a chuckle.

His arms went around her, but he realized he couldn't really hug her.

She was in some way illusory, he glanced at her but she only greeted him with a warm smile. “It's okay,” she said.

“Sit down, son,” his father said, his voice calm and steady.

Lucas turned, trembling. He glanced at the faces around the table. Something was wrong. His family, they looked... different.

Like ghosts, like shadows of themselves. He hesitated but then sat down slowly, his eyes darting between them.

“What’s happening?” he said, his voice barely in a whisper.

His father sighed, leaning back in his chair. “We’re not really here, Lucas. We’re gone.”

Lucas began to realize that this was the dream, and that sad event was his reality. “No,” he whispered. “No, this can’t be real. You... I saw you. You’re all...”

“We’re dead, son,” his father repeated softly. “But you’re not. You’re still here.”

Lucas shook his head violently, closing his eyes. “No, no…” he sighed. “You can't be dead! Even if you are, I am never leaving this place then. I will just stay with you here forever!”

“But it isn't your time yet,” he shook his head. “This… this is just the beginning of your story.”

“What story will that be without you in it? It will be empty and painful. I don't want that!” Lucas yelled, the peaceful atmosphere shaking under his wrath.

His sister spoke then, her voice soft and sweet, like it had been before everything went wrong. “But we will be with you,” she smiled, touching her chest. “In here, but you need to write your own story, for me, for all of us.”

Lucas shook his head again, struggling to accept their words. His heart ached with loss, with the overwhelming pain of being left behind.

He wanted to stay here, with them, forever. But he knew, deep down, that wasn’t possible.

“I don’t want to leave you,” he whispered.

His sister smiled softly. “We’ll always be with you, Lucas. But now, it’s time to go.”

Lucas stared at them for a while before making up his mind. He had to go, this illusory world will not last forever, he still had a chance to make them proud.

He still had a chance to avenge them. “Goodbye,” he whispered, his voice breaking.

They didn’t respond. They only smiled, watching him with sad, understanding eyes. And then, just like that, they were gone.

Lucas’s eyes flung open, the world around him spinning back into focus. He gasped for air, his heart pounding in his chest.

The room he was in was stark and sterile, the beeping of a heart monitor filling his ears.

He blinked, disoriented, and turned his head slightly. Standing beside his bed, staring into empty space, was Kenji.

His friend stood still, arms crossed, lost in his own thoughts.

He glanced at his own arms and saw that it was wrapped in bandages, he couldn't feel anything from them but he knew instinctively that something was deeply wrong with them.

“Kenji...” Lucas croaked. It took all of his effort to even speak.

Kenji blinked, startled by the sound of Lucas’ voice. His eyes snapped to Lucas, and for a moment, he saw relief in the unreadable eyes of the old man but he quickly masked it with a sigh, shaking his head.

“Good to see you’re alive, boy,” Kenji muttered, though his tone was softer than usual.

Lucas tried to sit up, his body protesting with every movement. His head was pounding, and every muscle in his body ached.

"What happened...?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Kenji glanced at him, his face grim. “A lot,” he said simply. “But you made it.”

Lucas nodded weakly, the memories slowly creeping back. The explosion, the chaos, the desperate fight for survival; his sister. He shelved the thought and glanced at Kenji.

“How did you survive?” He asked, gazing at the man like he was an angel of death.

“I had to, so I did,” he replied with a smile, his voice exuding a singular will.

“I saw them,” Lucas murmured, his eyes heavy. “I saw my family...”

Kenji didn’t respond. He only stared at Lucas for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he sighed again, glancing away.

“Rest, Lucas,” he said quietly. “We’ll talk later.”