"I don't need to rest."
"Nonsense, you look terrible. Go ahead and sleep, i'll keep watch."
"You don't get it. It's not that I don't want to sleep out of stubborness, it's that it scares me."
"Pardon?"
Noah sat on the edge of the bed, his bruced face covered with blood stains. Exhausted, he decided he would like the moral support.
(Getting up)
"If I tell you why, you have to promise you won't tell anyone."
"Why I would never break your privacy like that Sir-I mean Noah."
Noah sighed.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Well, I guess I should stop beating around the bush then...alright time to let it all out."
"Commander, General, whatever name you use to cover your real one, I have a confession."
"I...keep having these nightmares. Well...I suppose they aren't nightmares, since these are things that actually have happened. Point being, these...flashbacks, they give me small glimpses of the old life I used to live. Small things, my name, my father's voice, a certain girl always by my side."
He interrupted.
"Now why is this such a bad thing?"
Noah began to sweat intensely, he dug his nails into his flesh.
"You don't get it. In those glimpses something is wrong with me. I'm emotionally dead. All around me, I see things. I've seen poverty, cities infected with degeneracy and crime, corruption. One time I saw a family die in a burning building, and all I did was watch! I stood there, not doing anything. What is wrong with me?!"
"Noah-"
"But that's not it. In those dreams, I feel complete emptiness when interacting with anyone. Be it my dad, friend, classmate, anyone and anything fill me with a sense of disgust, like they're nothing but trash in my eyes! It scares me, and I rather not sleep for the rest of my short life than feel that again!" He trembled while uttering out his words, his heart beating faster and faster.
...
"May I speak now?"
"Go ahead." he sighed
Pulling up a chair, He sat infront of Noah.
"Now, where do I begin? You sure are a handful Noah, one of a kind."
Thanks.
"I don't know a lot about you, but I believe you're an honest person with a good heart."
I-
"And if said person with a pure heart comes and tells me they're experiencing certain situations that make them hate themselves and put their mental health in danger, then, well, there's really only one thing I can do."
He grabbed Noah's shoulders.
"Be by their side and tell them everything's going to be fine. Oh, with a smile, of course!" He grinned brightly at Noah before standing up.
He opened the door, and turned his head back one more time.
"We're in this together friend, now get some rest. I'll be here to wake you up."
Hefton closed the door. He purposely leaves it partially open.
"..."
Jeez, why is he so nice?!
Noah groaned and threw himself into bed. As the possibilities of what he might see began to creep into his mind, Noah began to grab his chest. His breathing became inconsistent, his vision tunneled.
Then he saw him.
Through the small gap in the door, Noah saw him. The commander held a thumbs-up sign at Noah, likely smiling. Noah slowly gained composture. Once he was calm, the hand dissapeared.
"Well..."
He pulled the blanket closer to him.
"I guess I could close my eyes for a bit."
Closing his eyes, he lasted ten seconds before falling asleep.
That night, his dreams were anything but nightmares.
