Ghost of Her Past [Rewrite]

Chapter 5- What Lurks in Shadows

       Only a few hours had gone by, but to Lukas it had felt like days. Days of sitting in the infirmary, monitoring his former friend while fighting to stay awake at the same time. Yet his watch told him that he had only been in there for five hours, much to his dismay. He tried to block out sleep from his mind by writing his next novel, but his brain didn't seem to want to make the effort to form proper sentences or even words.

(A/N: Story of my life right there)

      So instead he stuck with sketching pictures for another project instead. Radar had given him the brilliant suggestion of rewriting the Witherstorm battle to make it child friendly, to attract a larger crowd. A children's book. When Lukas told the others their idea, they were thrilled.

"Just make me look super awesome and buff and I'm in," He remembered Axel saying.

Jesse warned him not to make the book too scary, especially since it was terrifying in actuality. Hell, two of their closest friends lost their lives trying to fight this thing, and with Petra's memory loss and Gabriel's Wither-sickness, the tale had to put a damper on the mood. He decided having bright and colourful pictures would hopefully distract the kids from the horrible truth behind it.

"Brilliant idea," Petra had said sarcastically. "Why don't we brain wash the children with happy pictures to keep the truth from them because reality is so much more horrifying?"

"Petra!" Lukas cried.

"What? It's true," Petra argued. "I was never spared the horrors of the real world. I was forced to face them, on my own. Nobody was there for me to protect me with some- some fantasy world! Why should we have to spare them?"

"Petra, how could you even say that?" Jesse scolded, giving her a glare. "Children are sensitive. We don't want to hear any complaints from their parents because they were having nightmares about this! And we especially don't want to emotionally scar any children!"

       "Besides, it isn't lying if we keep out some of the darker bits. They're just... half truths!" Olivia pointed out.

Petra had sighed, rolling her eyes. "I swear, your innocence is going to get you all killed one day."

Jesse gave her a meek smile and a shrug, and with that the conversation had ended. Lukas had agreed to keep things G-rated for the kids, while still capturing the important bits so that the kids would still understand the story. He was just sketching the scene where Jesse was saving him from the Iron Golem in the basement when...

       "... Lukas?"

       Not expecting the voice, Lukas jumped so much that he nearly fell backwards on his chair, his sketchbook dropping from his lap and clattering to the floor. He looked up, heart racing, to see a familiar pair of murky green eyes blinking tiredly back at him. "Oh, my God, Aiden!" He breathed. "Don't. Do that!"

Aiden winced, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain washed through his body. "S-sorry."

"Freaking gave me a heart attack..." Lukas muttered under his breath. Apparently Aiden heard, because he had the nerve to smirk at him.

Lukas felt his heart flutter, and relaxed, grateful that his friend was awake. He only now realized the awkwardness of the situation they were in. "H-how are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a mine-cart then run through with a sword," Aiden said weakly. "W-what happened?"

"That's what I was going to ask you," Lukas said. "We found you on the outskirts of Beacon Town."