Dreamers- A Merome, Pooflan, Wroetostar and Minizerk Story

⋖Chapter 28⋗

Vikk's P.O.V.

Lachlan jumped up to grab the base of a vine, tying the final knot that would complete our shelter. Plenty of room, strong, cosy, windproof and waterproof, and I was proud of all the hard work we had done to make it like that- as long as we continued to maintain it, I knew it would last a very long time.

I bit down on my thumbnail as I leaned up against a tree trunk, my eyes glazing across the clearing. Harry was asleep on my lap. Most of the others were down by the river, farming and tilling the fields to prepare them to plant in the next week or so, but Lachlan was hanging out. He gave me a little smile but left me alone, knowing that I didn't want to talk to him right then- I wanted it to be me and Harry, and silence.

"Vikk?" Harry breathed, stirring a little.

"Hey Harry." I whispered, making eye contact with him and running his hand through his hair. "How're you feeling?"

"Alright." He said, voice hoarse. "My legs are kind of numb."

That was something I had heard a couple of times now, he could hardly move anything below his waist and he also had a tendency to drift in and out of consciousness. There were periods of time he was awake and responsive but those were gradually becoming less and less where he would hardly react to my touch or to voices.

"Do you want to lie on your back?" He nodded and I gently shifted him so his head was settled in my lap, on my folded legs, and he was lying on his back rather than his side. He let out a little sigh. "Better?" Another nod. "That's good."

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Spring broke, and our conversations became more and more one sided. He was falling into a coma like state that he rarely stirred from and the only reason he was still alive was because I made him drink sips of water every time he was awake, not necessarily coherent, and that kept him going. It was the only thing keeping me going too, knowing he was alive and breathing, but I didn't know how long that would last.

His breathing was slow and laboured, very long pauses in between each movement of his chest. His skin was a dusky colour, mostly around his hands and feet and he was incredibly restless, rolling over or making sudden movements with his hands and arms, but the thing that scared me the most was the visual and auditory hallucinations that made him see and hear things that weren't there.

At first it was little mumbles, words that I either couldn't hear or didn't make sense, but it slowly happened more and more often to the point the other boys knew, taking care of him on occasion when I had to take a break from it, going down to the river to cry my eyes out. Lachlan often followed behind me, comforting me.

I had noticed a change in the younger boy over the last few weeks- almost like he was growing up. It was a sudden change and at first I wasn't sure I liked it but then I realised how much I needed his support and his acting like an adult really helped it because for a little while, I didn't need to be that. I was able to relax, ignore everything for an hour or so and cuddle with Lachlan, letting him whisper stories into my ear to distract me. I was so, so glad for it.

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And then one day, the thing I had been dreading happened. Harry had been asleep for a couple of days by that point, not once moving, not once opening his eyes, and I think I knew in my heart of hearts that it was the end for him. Everyone else knew too because that evening everyone said their last goodbyes, whispered words that he could hear.

Lachlan lingered around the longest, his fingers gently brushing my skin and I think he would have stayed longer too if Rob hadn't called him away, to the shelter, leaving Harry and I alone. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but I was glad to be alone either way.

The trees glowed orange with the fire of the suns rays and Harry's breathing stuttered. My heart was pounding. His face was pale and ashen, sunken, like a ghost of who he used to be. I almost didn't recognise him as someone I had know for years and years, as someone who had rescued me when I was on the verge of death. It scared me.

"Vikky?" He breathed, his voice weak and strained. I couldn't speak. His hand reached out, trembling, trying to find mine and I had no hesitation in reaching out and squeezing it.

"Harry? I'm here, it's okay." I whispered, tears welling in the corners of my eyes. "Please... I don't want you to go."

"I'll always be here Vikk." His chest heaved. "Always. Just... never give in. Keep dreaming." His voice was so soft I barely heard him. "I love you Vikk, know that...."

"I love you too." I sobbed.

"Remember, I'll always love you..."

He trailed off and before I could say more, before I could reply, his breathing slowed completely, stuttered, and then stopped.

In the space of a few minutes my brother, my best friend, the boy who saved my life and had basically raised me, was gone. He was dead, lying in my lap so still that for a moment I thought I was making it up- but it was reality. He was dead.

I let out a wail before I could stop myself, bursting into ugly and wracking sobs. Harry was the only thing I had known for so many years and I physically couldn't comprehend his absence- he had never been absent, never, never since I had first met him. He had always been there for me and now he was gone.

It didn't compute, it didn't seem real. Was it real?

I didn't know what this new stage of my life would bring but right then, the only thing I could think of was Harry.