The Return of Molly

Part 2 ~ A Name

The first thing the tiefling could remember was peace. A quiet, serene peace that surrounded him like a weighted blanket. Here, he was content. It did not matter what came before or what came after, for he was in the arms of the earth and in the earth, he would stay. He was in the embrace just an empty, blank slate, who was lying in peace.

"Molly!" 

It wasn't until a scream interrupted that peace that something in him stirred. Not a scream, a memory of a scream. A strange voice that stirred something in the once-still mind. A memory that made his heartbeat. Suddenly, he wasn't empty, he wasn't blank.

He felt energy flood into his body, a gift from the earth herself, from the one called The Wildmother. It was enough, enough to make him twitch, to make him move. All he needed was a chance and when he had it, he grasped it and refused to give in or let go. 

His eyes flew open and his mouth went to breathe in but instead, he found that weighted blanket a mound of dirt over his body, trapping him and giving him no freedom.

"MOLLY!"

"Molly."

"Hey! Molly."

"Molly! Over here!"

"Molly, could you come take a look at this?"

"Molly! Have you seen any unicorns?"

Who were these voices? The tiefling didn't know. They were familiar but he didn't know why. There were no names or faces to the many different voices but something in the tiefling knew that whoever they were, he had known them well.

In a vicious attempt to escape, he scraped upwards, desperately clawing his way to air and life. He resisted the temptation of letting go, of dropping back into that warmth and serenity that the earth offered, something in him refused. He had to get out, had to get to the surface.

They were waiting for him.

Who? He didn't know, but he knew they were. 

Dirt shifted but he just couldn't seem to break the surface, he couldn't seem to break free from his earthy prison. His lungs were screaming, he wanted to scream. He wanted to beg for help. The earth was too close and it was so dark. There was no escape or freedom, there was no life, only the cruel temptation to give in and collapse in fear and panic... but he would not. He could not.

He kept scraping away at the dirt, weakly trying to make his way to the surface as he felt himself slipping away once again, his lungs empty of air and his mind empty of memory. Who was he? Where was he? What had he done to get himself here? Why did he matter? Did he matter? Should he even continue? What was he supposed to do? Would he die here?

Was he already dead?

Before those thoughts could corrupt him, a new pull of energy entered the Tiefling. It was as if someone had grabbed his hand and pulled it to the surface, though he hadn't felt anything touch his hand. A surge of jubilation and relief flooded through the buried tiefling as his hand broke through the surface and into the cool air above. 

With his remaining strength, the tiefling pulled himself up with all of his might, breaking out of the earth and sputtering as the air suddenly slammed into his face. He took a large gasp breathing in the wonderful sensation of oxygen along with a few dirt clusters still in his mouth. He sat there for a moment, breathing heavily and resting himself, allowing the panic in his body to fade away.

With another push down on the earth, he succeeded in pulling his legs and tail free of the earth. Exhausted and confused he remained crouched low to the ground, taking in deep breaths and trying to decipher what had happened and more importantly; who he was. There was a blankness in his mind leaving him feeling completely empty.