ONWARD IMAGINES

Our Ending | Barley Lightfoot

requested by Exorprism

i used my current stress level from finals week and my sadness to write this one my friends so here we go

this is 5000+ words, just a warning for you

/ / /

You couldn't quite find your breath as the dust settled above your head. Beyond the stones, you heard the sounds of them crying your name. You choked on the heavy air and attempted to sit up. You felt the warmth leaking out of the back of your skull before you even heard the slimy sound of your moist hair peeling off of the rocky floor.

Every beat of your heart hurt. Every intake of breath ached. Every movement of your now broken body was agonizing.

But they were screaming for you. They needed you. 

Sobs racked through you as you dragged your body on your belly, shoving your fingers in cracks in the dirt. You opened your eyes slowly. Where you had fallen, there was only darkness. But directly in front of you was a crack that lit up slightly. It was enough to look like a light at the end of a tunnel and wide enough that you could squeeze your body through if you could stand. 

If you could stand. 

Can I stand?

You pulled your knees up closer to your chest. Your forehead pressed against dirt. Your palms dug into the ground as you forced your shaking forearms to lift up the top of your body. You gulped down a swallow of bile and pulled your knee up more. Your foot slid underneath your body. 

Okay, now stand.

It was easier to command than do. You managed to hold your weight on one leg and then you toppled over, smacking your head against the wall. You slid to your bottom with a cry of pain. Your arm circled around your torso. How many ribs had you broken?

Stand. Up.

They needed you.

You heard them scream out again. You gulped and put your hands on the rock wall behind you. You stood up slowly, inching your back up against it. Your feet spread as you used the toes of your shoes to search for the staff. You kicked it and picked it up weakly.

You heard him scream, and it broke your heart and pierced your ears all at once. You tried to use it as motivation to keep moving, but when you fell again, you knew you weren't going to get up.

/ / 

a few hours earlier

"You know what you could really use?" Barley pressed, your side gently. You rolled your head on your shoulders and looked at him questionably. "You could really use a classic adventurous quest."

"Eh... Barley, I don't really know," you said. "I'm not feeling up for one right now."

"Come on," he said. "You're sad, and I know you love it when we go somewhere cool. Plus Ian has been dying to go on another quest. It's our fault we made him so adventurous, you know." He sighed and crossed his arms. "We raised him too good, babe."

"He's just like you are, Barley. And I blame you for that one. Ian used to be as quiet as I am. But now look at what you did." You laughed a little.

Barley smiled. "That's the first time you've smiled all day."

Of course he noticed that. Barley always noticed the smallest things about you. He noticed the way you stir your tea with your straw before every single drink, or how you add a heart to the top corner of every love letter you left him on the windshield of his van. You always left them on the common yellow office stationary.