Burn As Bright (Frerard)

25

Frank stood in darkness. There was nothing around him, no matter where he looked. He was alone in this void of nothingness.

He tried to call out, but no sound escaped him. He brought a hand up to his neck before trying to yell into the darkness, but still nothing.

He took a step forward, but it didn't seem like he moved at all. He spun around, hoping to see something, anything, that might have been a relief from the darkness. There was nothing.

"Don't leave."

The soft whisper echoed off of the emptiness. Frank recognized it, but he still couldn't make a sound to respond. He didn't even know where he was, how could he leave?

"Don't go back."

Back? Frank's brow furrowed. There was nowhere to go. Darkness waited wherever he turned.

"He's getting closer."

The words were no longer a whisper. Frank covered his ears at its sheer volume. More voices added to it as it began to speak again, but there were so many that he couldn't make out the words.

Frank dropped to his knees, pressing his hands over his ears to try and drown out the sound. There was so much, but it only seemed to get louder.

"T̶̡̟̭̻̹̣̙̰̫̤͓̮̠̙͒̽͜ḩ̶͖̭̤̪̉̓̇̔́̈̈́̄̃͆̀͝ͅȩ̵̗̝̠̪͕͒͗̌͒̕͜͝r̴̨̭̙̗̘̐͛͋̐̂͗̈́̿͛͆̌̈́̄̐͜͝e̷̛̗͂͆̍͌̈́̀̐̄̄̓͘͘͜ ̵̧̖͇̭͚̭͖͚̘̭͊̅͋͊̉͑͆͐͂͘͘y̸̨͈̙̯̮͇̭̬̺̺̯͔̌̀̌̆ǫ̵̨͕̪̠͉͍̪͖̬̂̽̊̉̈͋̄͛̑́̑͛̚̚u̴̧̢̳͈̭̤̙̟͓͖̝̺̦͋̃̈́̐̂̽͐ͅ ̵̰̪̹͖̘͖̘̼͙̓a̵̗͎̪̫̞̦̬̱͆̓͂̄̀̓̽̐̐̓̂̔̕͝r̴̡̨̜̳̲͕̣̳͍̟͎̱̙̅̉͋͝ͅȩ̶̝͎̦̻̦͙̣͍̳̟̫͚̦͚̐͐̏̎̐"

Through everything, the fragmented pieces of one message broke through as a bright whiteness consumed the dark.

Frank gasped, jolting upright with his chest rising and falling rapidly. For a moment, everything was still consumed by white. It quickly faded back to the recognizable colors of the shelter's interior. A hand landed on his shoulder,making his head snap in that direction.

Ryan looked at him with worry. "Are you okay?"

Frank couldn't bring himself to speak. The words seemed to catch in his throat. He instead nodded, though his breaths were still erratic.

"You were just asleep, it was just a dream." Ryan assured him, scooting closer and rubbing his back. "You're here in the now, focus on that."

Frank gulped, trying to hold back another gasp for air. The now. Ryan's contact. The grass beneath him. The shelter around him. That was all real. It was just as it had been before. He tried to speak again, succeeding with slow words."How... how long was I asleep?"

Ryan frowned. "Not long. You still look tired."

Frank shook his head. "I can't rest anymore. Has the smoke gotten closer?"

"I don't know. I've been here with you." Ryan brought his hand to Frank's shoulder again. "You shouldn't worry over that right now."

"I have to." Frank pressed his palms against his eyes until squiggles and shapes of colors formed. "It's something bad, Ryan."

"Is it who was looking for you?" Ryan asked, "Is it why we're preparing to leave again?"

Frank's shoulders slumped. They shouldn't have to leave this place because of him. They shouldn't have to deal with him.

"You know, they used to round up people with magic." Frank's gaze was brought back to Ryan as he spoke softly. "Gerard was one of the last people born with it before it started leaving us on our own. That's why there's so few magic welders left. I'm assuming that's why they're after you. It seems to be why they continue to chase us." A small smile tugged at his lips, "Besides the fact that we taunt them whenever opportunity arises."