Ocean of Trees

Chapter One - Follower

        Warmth, his hand wrapped around mine as the white powder fell upon us. The cars swept by in flashes, recasting two-dimensional silhouettes to dance in front of us. I looked down at my hand, fingers entwined with his, I felt safe. Yet, he hasn't said anything since we've left school. I wonder what he's been thinking about... Maybe what happened between him and Xio is bothering him; he's never acted like this.

        We arrived at a crosswalk and I squeezed his hand, "Gavin, please tell me what's wrong."

        He grinned and gave out a snicker before smiling at me.

        "Nothing's wrong, saying there is something wrong is based on my pure opinion on the matter. But there is something bothering me at the moment..."

I watched as his face went back from a smile to a mannequin  stare. His profile was shrouded in depression as he looked down at the cracked sidewalk we were standing on.

"What is the purpose of life?" he sighed.

        He stumbled after my fist made contact with his abdomen, "Why would you ask such a stupid question?" I argued, expecting him to react with a hook of his own.

But he didn't, instead he only straightened his posture and replied,"I feel as if I no longer have meaning anymore, I just want to die...Life is pointless, all we do is struggle to survive only to die in the end of it all, and losing everything we've worked for. So, please tell me what the purpose of life is..."

        "It's not the same for all of us, so I can't answer that question for you. You'd have to find that out on your own, Gavin." I squeezed his hand," Let's cross before the light turns red again."

        After making it to the other side our conversation went back into silence, and the snow seemed to be falling even more heavily than before. Even though I could see him next to me it felt as if he was transparent, just a faded image of what he used to be. The gray overcoat he wore shrouded his true personality, each of his 10 pockets held a part of who he was and what he wanted to become.

        The wind began to die down as we arrived at my house; my father was in the backyard with an old friend.

"Hey Dad, Gavin walked me home", I yelled, making my presence known.

He signed his hand as if to tell me to come to him, his face was grim.

        "Gavin, do you need to go?" I asked, his eyes were glazed over, it was happening again.

        Gavin

        Everything was dark, except for her... The stillness in the air intensified her illumination. She sat there, floating above him, her wings steadily beating. Yet they were silent, her armor wasn't like the others that I've seen, the hilts of her swords were engraved with a strange symbol... But why was she here? The only time I've seen her kind was before a death, they carried the spirits of those who died to the sky and after that they'd just disappear.

        What does this mean-...? My heart nearly stopped as her head snapped towards me. Her eyes, like flames burned into my soul, but it wasn't pain, instead it was a warm sensation that filled me when her eyes met mine. She opened her mouth and whispered something before focusing back on the man before her, I didn't notice before, but I could see his heart, it pulsed faintly in the surrounding darkness. She drew her swords, and held them together. As she pointed them towards where the faint glow was I could only assume the worst.

        "No!" my voice echoed throughout the emptiness...

        She didn't stop, her swords slid through his chest. She turned them and they came out just as easily. The wound she'd created was bursting with a dark substance, as a high-pitched screech echoed throughout the darkness. I covered my ears in an attempt to numb the pain but it failed. The screeching stopped as I raised my head to look at the scene before me. In her hand she held something, it wasn't moving, but from what I could see; it was him... Not him, but a shadowy form of him. Its eyes flickered like a forge being lit, but slowly darkened and there was no sign of life left in it... She whispered something and let the body fall to the floor where bony claws awaited its arrival. After a cold breeze, I looked up at her as she stared at me once again. I didn't know if I should move or if I should stay where I am; regardless, she didn't give me a chance to think. She spread her wings and flew straight for me, leaving a chill throughout my body as she passed through me, and now... everything is getting dark...