Just Before Dawn

Chapter 12

"What just happened?" I asked, still staring at the spot Wilfred once stood in.

"I – I don't know." Zerek murmured. We just laid there, watching. Waiting until he just pops out from behind or something. But nothing happened. The wind blew and the trees swayed. The birds sang but other than that everything was silent. After a while of staying still, I realized that I was on Zerek. On top of Zerek. I moved away from him and helped him up. He let out the cough that he held when hiding from his father.

"I am so sorry! I wasn't supposed to fall on top of you. Actually, I wasn't even supposed to be here!" I waved to the surrounding trees. "Are you okay? I kinda smashed my –"

"It's okay! Stop apologizing. I am fine. You just kind of caught me off guard, alright." He shook his head with a smile on his face. I smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Then we both got serious. We turned towards ze magical gate. The old man just touched the bars and then poof! He disappeared. We walked around the gate. The bars were about three metres tall and the bricked wall behind it is two metres length wise. There were more trees and bushes and another dirt pathway. If Wilfred went through the entrance then he'll just would've ended up here. But he was old. He couldn't have run so fast down the trail.

"Where could he have gone?" I murmured under my breath, my chin leaning on my fist. Zerek stood to my left, staring at the bars so hard he might break it in half. He lifted his hand and touched the gate.

Only to get electrocuted.

He stumbled back and fell onto the floor with a thud. He stared at the gate in shock, blinked, shook his head, and stood up again. He reached for it again and fell on the floor with the similar result. He did it again. And again. Until I couldn't take it anymore.

"Dude! Are you trying to get brain damage?" I yelled. But he completely ignored me and still continued to walk up to the gate. I waved my hand over his face, but he merely pushed me away from his path and yet again touched the metal bars. His eyes stayed glued to the gate and it seemed to be glazed over. His hand started to bruise to a shade of violet and mustard. My eyes couldn't take this anymore. I couldn't take this anymore.

"Zerek! Stop this! You know nothing's going to happen! What are you trying to accomplish?" He still ignored me and just walked past me. "Hey!" I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back, but it was like pulling at a wall. I slid in front of him and pushed against him as well as trying not to touch the gate. But it was no use, he pushed me away using wind. More like a hurricane. I flew a couple hundred metres from him and landed so hard on the ground the air knocked out of me. I coughed and staggered to my feet. My breathing came out too fast as I ran through the forest. As I came near the area, I drew power from my well and let it flow to my fingers. Zerek stood up again and I sent a huge current of wind at him and he blew back, enough to keep him off balance. Then I jumped on him, flinging him away from the cursed wall. He struggled under me, but I used my earth power to hold him down. His eyes were blank. No recognition. Nothing. I slapped him on the cheek, and he froze.

"Snap out of it, Zerek! Come back!" I begged at him. He still lay frozen under me and I started to shake though not of the cold. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes. Then hours. Then years. Okay maybe not years or even hours, but it was pretty long.

"Zerek?" I called out softly. I turned his face toward me, and his eyes just stared at me, blankly. His head flopped back onto the Earth as I let go. I checked his pulse. It was light...and slow. Very, very faint. I leaned down and I couldn't even hear him breathing. "Zerek? Zerek! Wake up!" I shook him. But his head looked like it wasn't connected to his neck. Something wet landed on his shirt and I realized I started to cry.

"Come on! Don't leave me, not yet!" I tried CPR. But it wasn't professional since I didn't know how to do CPR. I did it twice. Then thrice. Then four times. No progress. At all.

"No, no, no, no!" The tears came down harder and faster. Yes, I barely knew him yet... he was closer to me than my own adoptive mother.

"Help! Somebody help!" My hands felt warm although it was freezing out here. I started banging on his chest, kept calling out for somebody, yet no one heard me. I leaned on his torso and sobbed so hard that I could've missed the sudden rise of his chest. My head shot up and I saw Zerek's wonderful, bright green eyes again. I cried even harder and lunged at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist just as tight as my grip around his neck.

"I-I-I thought I lost y-you" I choked on the words, not wanting to believe it. His grip just tightened and stayed silent. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes before he let me go. As soon as he did I slapped him across his face again.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I picked up his arm and shoved it at his face. "Do you see this? You kept on touching that damned gate and kept on getting electrocuted. Are you crazy!?" I yelled at him. He just shook his head.

"I was –" His voice was raw as if he had been screaming at the top of his lungs. Clearing his throat, he started again. " I saw –" He frowned and tried again, but he couldn't get it out.

"What did you see?" I asked, softly.

"I'm trying to tell you, but it just wouldn't come out." I knew exactly how that felt. It was like trying to tell his father about me being a witch but couldn't. I nodded in understanding, yet I feel a bit... disappointed? Angry? I don't know. I got up and pulled him up off the ground as well.

"We'll take care of the gate later, but right now, we need to treat your wounds." I would take him back to my house, but then my mum will question about Zerek's hand and how he got it and right now I can't come up with excuses. And I wasn't supposed to be outside in the first place anyways. Zerek opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed his mouth and shook his head. We navigated through the wilderness until we finally came onto the park we used to train in. I led him down the stone steps and through the double doors and into my secret place. Leading him to the couch I went to the cupboard near the doorway and grabbed the first-aid kit and headed back over to Zerek. Kneeling down, I grabbed a cool pack and placed it on his palm to stop the swelling. Then rubbed some cream and wrapped the bandage around his arm.

"You can watch T.V you know. The remote is on the table." I jerked my head on the coffee table as I packed up the kit. As I place the first aid kit on the shelf, I sat beside Zerek and watched a random show he put on. After a while, my head flopped down to my chest and it was a bit hard to raise it again and keep my eyes open. Zerek pushed my head onto his shoulder and smiled down at me. I think I smiled back but I was too tired to even think about it. And so, I closed my eyes and fell into comfortable oblivion.