Bartholomew Nelson and the World of Zathya: The Prince and The Heir

Chapter 4

The warm summer rain is what opened Bart's eyes but even then everything was unfocused. As he looked around all he could see were images smeared together by the cloudiness of his eyesight. The sounds all around him were muffled, as if a grenade had gone off directly next to him and blown out his eardrum. He struggled to clear his vision but it was no use. He only caught glimpses of something vivid. Everything else was a blur. He saw that man named Mafortian walking towards him, and his mother was nowhere to be found. Charlotte was on the other side of the yard lying on her back and not moving. Bart struggled to push himself to a sitting position but instantly felt a pain surge from his leg all the way through his body. It felt as if someone was forcing a blade deep into his knee, slowly. The pain that radiated through his body was so severe that it was hard for Bart to pinpoint all his injuries. The scream he let out was bone chilling, so much that he couldn't believe he was the one that made it. He glanced at his leg and saw that his left knee was covered in blood. Even though he couldn't clearly see what was wrong he could definitely feel it. Whatever it was, it prevented him from moving in any way. Bart looked up to find Mafortian almost near him. His mouth was moving but all Bart could hear was ringing. He knew it was only a matter of seconds until he was done for. Maybe if he had been trained he could have done something to prevent this. Then again, Uncle Caleb had said he was no match for these guys, and if he couldn't handle them then even with training Bart would be a goner. The rain was pounding on his head, which wasn't helping the migraine developing as he looked up at Mafortian again. He wanted to pass out. Then, right when his eyelids got heavy, a flash of white light blinded him. He shut his eyes to block out the bright light and when he opened them again, he saw a figure kneeling in front of him. Slowly his ears began to work again, and he could hear the sounds of explosions and people yelling all around him. Then his eyes started to focus, and he saw that the figure kneeling in front of him was a beautiful woman with white hair. Her skin was a light shade of brown, a little lighter than Mafortian's and the others but her eyes were different. They were mesmerizing. Her hair was amazing, and it shined as the moonlight beamed down upon it. Bart was so focused on her looks that he wasn't listening to a word she was saying. Then he realized it was the same woman from the photo with his mom, just a little older.

"He's not responding but his eyes are open," she said to someone else. "Jonah, find his mother and grab the girl. Jester can you carry Caleb?"

"Yeah I got the wimp," Bart heard someone say but he couldn't see who. Not that it mattered. The only thing Bart wanted to do was look at this woman.

"Hurry, we must leave before they recover," she said. She lifted Bart off the ground, which brought back the realization of the enormous amounts of pain he was in. He started to scream as his leg began throbbing and pulsating. "It will be okay Bartholomew, trust me," she said softly. "Everything will be okay." Her voice seemed to calm him. He didn't want to fight the urge to sleep anymore, so he gave in and within seconds he was out cold.

Bart's dream was out of this world to say the least. He was sitting atop a hill looking out into this huge field that seemed to go on forever. The grass was the greenest he had ever seen and the sun was so warm that he felt like he was back home on a cold winter night, cuddled up by the fire with his mom. Those were the best nights for Bart, when she would read him stories of another place, a better world. A world so beautiful that it always seemed like a dream. That's how this place felt now for him. As he sat atop the hill, he could hear laughter and voices but he couldn't see anyone. When he looked up, the sapphire blue sky was the perfect backdrop for the bright yellow sun. Bart stood up and then right when he was about to start walking, all the laughter stopped and it was replaced with screams. The grass caught fire and the sky turned a crimson red. The fire started surrounding Bart until he was up against a tree with a circle of blazing hot flames closing in on him. The screams got louder and louder as the flames got closer and closer until Bart couldn't bear it anymore and he turned away. Everything went black and then Bart was staring at the ceiling. He sat up too quickly, and winced in pain as he grabbed his knee. Suddenly everything came back to him as he remembered what had happened before he passed out. He threw the blankets off to assess the damage to his knee but he noticed nothing out of the ordinary except a large scar on the side of it. His headache returned next and even though the pain wasn't as bad as before it did make him a little dizzy.