Journey Into The Aftermath |✔

Chapter eighteen: Fears

Picking up skulls and random other bones with horror ever slow on leaving our expressions, we walked down the middle aisle of the grocery market from hell. I brushed my hands on my jeans as we approached the thrones themselves. From all the disgusting skeletons laying around the room, some in withered, paper-thin clothing and others in silver knight armor that has been rusted and fractured to the point where a breeze could wash it away, a smile teased Chase's lips when he looked at the thrones up close. Well, throne, because the queen's chair was nothing more than a small stub. The upper right half of the kings chair was missing, leaving a jagged crack where it used to be connected to the rest of the chair. It sent more cracks through the back of the throne. It didn't help that dirt and heavy amounts of dust layered it too.

Chase had to step through a couple heads and some rocks to get to it, but when he did, he took a long gulp of air and released it onto the top of the seat where cushion used to take hold. Dust particles flew into the air and curled back to him, rolling around in the air and becoming circular funnel as he blew to the left and right. Instead of taking another breath, he waved his had around the dusty air to flash some more out of the way as he coughed and covered his nose and mouth with his free arm. All the dust was clearly visible because the powerful rays of light pouring in through the mostly nonexistent roof and the narrow, but glass-missing windows on the right side of the room.

"I can't believe I'm seeing this right now," I stammered as I approached. "It's astonishing."

"This isn't my first castle, but it still is pretty mind blowing." Chase bragged as he dragged a finger across the engraved detail on the glorified chair, leaving a single line of revealed detail on the chair among the the faded grey blur that smothered the rest.

"All ways gotta ruin a moment, huh?"

Shocked that I didn't expect this earlier, Chase jumped on the seat of the chair that was clearly meant for someone much larger than him. He looked at me as he sat up straight straight and put on a serious face like he was actually running a kingdom. As if I was some simpleton that was totally in awe of his presence, he looked down at me without moving any other part of his body but his head. "You there!"

I played along. "Y-yes, King W-winters?"

"Take my picture." he said overly mighty. I cracked out laughing as I took several steps back, watching out for age-old corpses behind me. I pulled out my phone and swiped for the camera.

In my shot was Chase, leaning back slightly in the battle damaged chair with a rock hard face surrounded by piled bones and multiple wedges of rock mixed in with light flooding in from the side, illuminating his features. It was actually a pretty epic picture if I say so myself.

I got a second picture of him busting out in laughter while leaning over the ledge. I put the camera away to see roughly the same image happening in motion as his the laughing slowed. He looked over at me, nodding with a soft smile that was inundated in sunlight, making his eyes seem even bluer. "Your turn"

"Oh no," I crackled. "I'm never in the pictures I take."

"Come on," he urged. "It'll be great, trust me."

With a bit more convincing and partially dragging me to the seat, I curled up in the chair and leaned on the armrest with my feet tucked next to each other on the other side. My phone didn't make any noise as he pulled down the camera, still staring at the picture. "Beautiful" he whispered.

"Was it that bad?" I asked, smiling wildly. I never heard his comment and I got up and began to walk over to him. He then pulled up the camera again to take another picture. "Nooo, don't do that!" I called though fits of laughter. I put a hand over the lens as I took back my phone while smiling uncontrollably. "I probably look hideous!"