Tomorrow's Dreams 【Pokespe】

Chapter Three| Dysphoria

We waited in a tense silence until the blanket of night embraced us; it was only then that we were safe to enter the home. Gold still opposed the idea of returning to the crime scene, for fear of us being they royal guards' next victims. Nonetheless, I urged him forward. Though, I agreed with without hesitation, but I knew the available supplies were too good to pass up in our situation. We didn't know when we'd be able to stock up on food or clothing, let alone traverse anywhere near any form of civilization again; there was both an opportunity and a risk before us, and we needed to accept the risk.

We crept silently, our numb feet chilling into a shade of blue from the freshly fallen snow. I shivered at first, but soon grew painfully numb to the cold nipping at my frostbitten heels. The grey clouds obscured the night sky above us, preventing the gentle glimmers of light from lighting our path. My pajamas did little to protect me from the gentle, ice cold breezes, but Gold had it much worse. His clothes were tattered beyond repair; I was surprised they still managed to cling to his body.

We neared the house, seeing only a silhouette against the slightly darker backdrop. All the candles had been blown out by the guards, as if they were confirming the death of the Soul family. It sickened me to think like that, but I could not help it. All I knew was that they had most certainly murdered my family, and they intended to frame Gold. Though it was second-handedly his fault, my family's life was not ended by his hands.

The door was left ajar, but the home radiated a heartbreaking silence. It seemed that the guards had abandoned the scene to return to their lord, but there was no true way to tell without entering the home. The stench of death burned my nostrils, confirming my darkest reality. I could feel the fear and tension twisting my gut; my knees were growing weak. The idea of finding my family dead rang through my head.

Gold nudged my forward silently, so I took one deep breath before entering the home. Immediately, a saw a feeble glow emanating from the kitchen right through the next doorway. I began to gag at the smell, but I had to continue on and collect what we needed.

Gold followed closely behind me and I crept silently across the first room; I would not be seen, and I would not be heard.

As I came to the kitchen, I saw the single candle still blazing at the kitchen table. No one was near it. I glimpsed at the room adjacent to us—the living room. I saw no one, so I crept to the table and grabbed the candle, careful to make no sound. My first objective was to get a satchel from my room to hold what we needed.

I found the house to look mostly normal, albeit messy, as I snuck through the kitchen. The only thing I noticed was another light shining under the closed door leading to the living room. I knew that my family would likely be in there, and the worsening stench only confirmed it. Though, I needed to go through there to get to my room; I had to face it.

I hesitated before opening the door that led to the living room. The first thing I was met with was barricaded windows and multiple lit candles scattered across the room. I didn't see my family, but I could see the blood splattered across the room from their struggle. Nervously, I walked to the left, averting my eyes from the living room as I headed to my bedroom.

I took swift, light steps towards my room, making as little sound as I could manage. My room was left unlit, but the guards had trashed my room like they were searching for a hidden treasure worth their lives. Using the candle, I scanned the room for my satchel. Luckily, it was on the floor only a few inches from where I had put it. I stepped into the room and grabbed it, admiring the memory I had to carry with me wherever we may go next.

The brown leather glowed gently under the candlelight, looking as perfectly intact as it did the day I received it. I smiled gently, staring at it for a moment.