Lake Sooty

The May flowers were all finally in bloom. The fort looked beautiful with the different types of flowers. Kyle, Frank, and Jack took us to Lake Sooty for 'training'. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been to in my life. The water, the trees, the birds and other wildlife. I felt a strange connection to nature when we went there. The water was the perfect temperature. The trees were vibrant and casted shadows to cool us off on the warm days. The birds sang lovely tunes for us and we saw the most beautiful deer. With all of us there, it was so much fun. Sam and I got closer and others got close too. No one wanted to return to the fort after going there. Frank and Jack brought so many tents for us to stay the night. The whole time Kyle never left my side, which I was happy about, but I felt like it was for a different reason. I thought the lake couldn't get better, but when the sun set I was in awe. Kyle and I sat on the shore. I looked around and saw everyone enjoying themselves, except for Kent. I didn't see him.

"This is amazing." Kyle said

"It really is." I said

Kyle leaned in closer and began whispering.

"He's watching. I can feel his gaze." he whispered

"Kent?" I asked

"I don't know why he is stalking us." Kyle said

"Strange." I said

"Yeah." Kyle said

"Where is he?" I asked

"I don't know." Kyle asked

A chilling breeze shot through the area. In the distance we heard howling and we mimicked it. Jack got a fire started and we all sat around it. I leaned against Kyle. His warmth and the fire felt so peaceful.

"How about a story?" Nariel asked

"Does anyone know any good ones? Larious asked

"I do." Frank said

"Let's hear it." Jack said

"Once upon a time, there were four men, each from different corners of the world. Each one stood at the top of his game. Each one was feared by his peers, or so they thought. One day, these four men came together to form an alliance. They agreed that no matter what happened, they would protect the land of Eden. They were known as the Four Horsemen. Together they fought for freedom and justice. They were the heroes of their generations. Their names were Swordsman, Magician, Warrior, and Hunter. But when Magician got too power hungry, the others had risen against him to try and stop them. First to fall was Hunter. Then Swordsman. But Warrior, he knew how to defeat Magician. It was really simple, all Warrior had to do was to destroy his staff. It was no easy task once he had tried. In time Warrior was able to break the staff and kill Magician. Then he found himself at the top of the world, with no one else. Depression grabbed him and threw him off of the world." Frank finished the tale.

"That was a good one." Kyle said.

"Thank you." Frank replied

"That was sad." Jack said

"Never heard it before?" Frank asked

"No." Jack said

"Oh. The story is called The Four Horseman." Frank said

"Based on?" Sam asked

"I don't know. It's not real though." Frank said

"We should get some sleep." Jack said

"Yeah." Kyle said

There were nine tents. Two per tent. Of course Kyle and I shared one, but I couldn't sleep that night. I crawled out of the tent cautiously and quietly and to my surprise, there Kent was. Sitting on a log, 'reading'. I chose to say nothing and walked to the shore of the lake and sat in the sand. There was this strange pressure. His eyes felt like knives in my back. I looked back at him and he looked back down at his book. I heard some rustling in the bushes on the other side of us. I stood up slowly and I heard Kent do the same. He got up and walked silently towards me. My instincts told me to unsheathe my sword, but I just stayed in place.

"Don't move. It could be some type of predator." Kent said

"I was thinking it was going to be a rabbit." I said

"Could be." Kent said

"I have a question to ask you, since you're here." I said

"Okay?" Kent said

"Why have you been following Kyle and I?" I asked

"I haven't been following Kyle. Just you." he said

"Why?" I asked, looking at him.

"Because I want answers." he answered

"Answers to what?" I asked

"One second." he said

Kent grabbed a rock and threw it into the bushes. And not to my surprise, a small rabbit hopped out. I looked at him and he just stared back.

"Told yo-" I stopped speaking the second I heard growling.

A lone wolf defensively walked out of the bushes and seemed mad because we scared off its prey. We both unsheathed our swords and Kent walked behind it. It started barking. I flailed my sword around to get its attention while Kent lunged his sword through the back of the wolf. It whined in pain as it bled out. I stabbed it in the head to end its suffering.

"I want to know about your dreams." Kent blatantly said

"My dreams?" I repeated

"Yes, but first, help me with this wolf." he said

"Sure." I said

We picked up the wolf and brought it deeper into the woods and away from our temporary camp. When we returned to the lake, we washed our hands and arms and any other place where the wolf corpse touched. The water was freezing but felt nice and refreshing.

"What dream?" I asked

"I know you saw it too. The fall of Fort Zeke. I had the exact same dream. My dreams have been weird ever since I touched a book at the village." Kent said

"The Dreamer." I said

"Yeah. So you looked at it too." he said

"I didn't open it. I got a massive headache after just touching it." I said

"Same. But I opened it. It was a strange story. I didn't quite grasp it. I also couldn't read much because my head felt like it was going to explode." he said

"Why did you have to follow me though?" I asked

"To see if you had any episodes, like spasms." he explained

"Have you?" I asked

"A few. Minor ones." he said

"What did you see?" I asked

"Fire. Smoke. Walls and buildings crashing down. I saw Athena and the Colonel fighting against the enemy. But I didn't see who or what they were." he said

"Neither did I. In my dream, Kyle grabbed me and tried to lead me to safety but we ended up running into someone. Then I woke up. Each dream is exactly the same." I said

"Yeah, for me too. Well not actually. I had one where I was somewhere else fighting." he said

"The war." I said

"What if King Christopher Bonifre gets allied with Kralovia?" he asked

"Then we would be on the front lines." I said

"That would be intense." he said

"It truly would be." I said

"Why did you think I was following you?" he asked

"To be honest, I thought you were following Kyle and trying to get dirt on him because you don't like him." I said

"You think I don't like him?" he asked

"That was my first idea." I said

"Wow. Just so you know I do like him. He's a good captain." he said

"He is." I agreed.

We sat on the beach in silence for a while. The night was so peaceful neither of us wanted to speak. A fear also grew inside me: what if the dreams are real.

"Don't tell anyone about them." Kent said

"Sure." I said

"Sorry, if I freaked you out." Kent said

"You freaked both of us out." I said

"I guess you can tell Kyle, so it all makes sense to him." he said

"I probably was going to." I said

"I figured." he said

"I'm going to head to the tent now." he said

"Good night." I said

"Good night." he said

The chill breezes made me sleepy but also awake. My mind was racing, I wanted to wake up Kyle and tell him everything that was going on inside my head. I figured that it would be best to do it in the morning, when he would actually listen and not be half asleep.

The trees gently swayed in the wind and the water softly splashed on shore. It truly was one of the most beautiful nights I've ever experienced. I laid down on the cool gentle sand and closed my eyes. The cool breeze caressed my face and lulled me to sleep.