Divinity of Reality

You Either Die a Hero,

Weeks turned into months as they had stayed in hiding. Every night Lucas dreamt of the tree, though it really wasn't a dream. His subconscious had entered a reality of different proportions. His physical body still stayed in the normal world. He almost always saw Sebastian at the tree, each time his strand getting smaller and smaller.

He had began to bond with Zelus, talking to each other about their prior childhood. Zelus explained how he got his titan, though it was a lengthy story. They were stuck together, in fear of the government. Lucas made the food, Zelus was the watch guard. Zelus had only transformed a few times in display for Lucas, one out of self defense.

"They're here." Zelus uttered, his voice quiet. The silence was immediately broken by the sound of the door being busted open, Lucas held a gunpoint. Zelus wasn't spotted, giving him the perfect opportunity to transform. His eyes glowed yellow, electricity circulating through the air. Lucas felt something moving within him. That normally happened whenever Zelus transformed. The bone of the arm grabbed an officer before the muscle conformed, suffocating him almost instantly as muscle built around him. It took a moment, but it fully transformed. Using the plates on its forearm, the titan rammed through the army of men, throwing himself to the ground, sliding them backwards. None of the men came back. Though it caused damage to the house, they repaired it using the spare wood in the basement. 

That night, their dinner tasted of death and guilt.

Lucas quietly moved his head, humming a tune he had heard when he was little. Nothing much had happened since he begun camping out, so old memories resonated stronger than ever. Zelus came in with a dead chicken and a couple boards. "We're gonna be eating good tonight!" he said, a grin building across his face. Lucas couldn't help but smile. Zelus took the chicken into a room over, most likely to tear it apart. That type of thing made Lucas want to vomit.  A loud noise echoed throughout the plains, alerting Zelus. Lucas heard it, but brushed it off as the sound of animals. Zelus left the room, blood covering his apron. "Did ya hear that?" he asked, peering out the window.

 The dusk was illuminated by pitch forks. Lucas's eyes widened. It took only a moment of realization before he panicked. "MOVE!" he screamed, as a canon ball left the canon. He knew he couldn't push him out of the way, and his body instinctively created a wall of bone and flesh. He didn't know he was capable of that. The canon went through it, but was slowed enough to were it only stubbed Zelus's toe. Zelus screamed, from the shock and little pain. "Get up! We only have so long until they-" another boom interrupted as a canon ball crashed into the roof of the house, falling through the attic. "GO! BACK DOOR!" Lucas yelled, pushing Zelus back.

Zelus left and he ran. He ran until the adrenaline had ran out and he couldn't feel his legs. Suddenly, it occurred to him. Why didn't I transform? he thought. But he couldn't waste his time, he had to keep moving. But then he realized something. He turned around, but Lucas was no where to be found. "LUCAS!" he screamed out, genuine fear shaking his vocal cords. He waited a moment, no response. "LUCAS!!" he called out again. Though no response, he saw a figure in the distance. It was Lucas. "LUCAS!" he ran towards him. 

The next few moments felt like slow motion. While running towards him, Lucas began to run towards Zelus. But then, a canon ball hit the back of Lucas's head. Instantly, his head wrapped around the canon ball due to the sheer moment. It landed at the feet of Zelus. Suddenly, it felt like time was normal. He screamed, the canon ball had disfigured the head of his friend.