FC (Original)

Stanley could hear voices.

They were muted, distant- as if he was hearing them from underwater. His vision was blurred, but he could make out dark silhouettes drifting around him, their figures distorted and unrecognizable. He was aware that he was lying on some sort of surface, his hands gripping the edges of it.

In the back of his mind, Stanley wondered if he was going insane- if that’s what it felt like. He attempted to move, but it was like he was a statue, with a body of stone, unable to move.  The healer’s eyes moved lazily across the room, but all he could see were those figures, gliding, constantly moving, whispering.

Stanley? Stanley, can you hear me?

What’s wrong with him?

He’s gone into shock. He needs to rest.

Any news about Katie?

She and Kaiden are still gone.

A burst of familiarity blossomed in a small part of Stanley’s head. Kaiden. An image floated into his eyes, of a boy with brown eyes and brown hair, his lean figure slouched in mid-laugh. For a few moments, Stanley forgot about the figures, forgot about the voices, and entered a state of dull happiness. More pictures flashed before his eyes, faster now. He was standing in a line, looking at the boy. He was sitting on a train, watching as he left his whole life behind. He was sitting around a campfire, surrounded by a bunch of people. He was walking in the woods with the boy. He was crouched down, picking herbs off the ground. He was-

Nowhere. Stanley was nowhere.

Suddenly, an unexpected surge of anger and grief rushed through him and he could feel something wet running down his cheeks. Something had happened to the boy- Kaiden. Something had happened to Kaiden.

Slowly, Stanley began to shake, his hands holding onto the edge of the surface so hard that he began to feel a dull pain. The liquid was pouring from his eyes like miniature waterfalls and ended by dripping off of his chin. “Kaiden,” he breathed quietly.

He didn’t know how or why, but in the blink of an eye, the black figures were suddenly surrounding him, their voices sending spikes of pain through his mind. The healer vaguely registered the feeling of hands on his shoulders, holding him down.

“Kaiden,” he hissed. The searing pain in his head had intensified, but the figures were still chattering urgently, their empty faces peering down at him. Stanley struggled to escape their grip, but now more of them were pinning him down. “Kaiden, kaiden, kaiden, kaiden,” he repeated, the word strangely comforting. “Kaiden!”

But the voices didn’t understand. They kept on talking, echoing in his head.

Don’t let him move, I’m going to give him a sedation.

Quick, do it now before he lashes out again.

Okay, hold him still.

A piercing pain erupted in the side of Stanley’s neck and all his muscles instantly went limp, his control over his body vanquished. He couldn’t move his mouth either, couldn’t tell them to stop, couldn’t tell them that they were hurting him. Then his hearing faded, and the voices were gone- and all he was left with were the dark silhouettes, before they were gone too, their faceless expressions melting in with the wave of darkness that had engulfed him.

---

The group huddled around the campfire that night were surprisingly quiet. Todd, and Angus were polishing their armor and weapons, occasionally trying to make conversation, but it never went anywhere and they both lapsed into silence once more. Molly’s humourous personality had died down for a while, the dark girl glancing over her shoulder every now and then to check if Cher and Abbey had returned. On the other hand, Nia had just returned from her shift in the infirmary and had switched places with Sandi to watch over Stanley, who couldn’t be left alone- not after what had happened a few hours before.

All the light from the sun was gone, and they were left with the usual blanket of stars covering them, a full moon hanging in plain sight. Chill air was blowing through the trees and ruffled Todd’s blond hair, which hadn’t been cut since the choosing ceremony. 

Todd was the only one from Neidon, originally part of Erita. Under other circumstances, he would have never hung out with any of these people, never would have even made conversation. He hadn’t trusted any of them at first, but over the last few days he’d somehow managed to grow on them, and had even managed to strike an unlikely friendship with Angus. 

As he cleaned his sword, he stared at his distorted reflection in its blade. He didn’t think of himself as anything special- just a teenage boy with the usual blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin. Most of the people from his region had similar features- and similar emotions. 

Everyone knew that the residents of Neidon had stone hearts and unwelcoming personalities. It was mostly a stereotype, but it was true that most of his people didn’t like any of the other regions, due to the centuries of war and rivalry in the past. It was forbidden to cross into any of the other areas- that was the first rule everyone was taught. But as he got older, Todd had heard more and more stories about people sneaking into other territories to see friends, lovers, you name it. 

He, himself, had never broken the rules, for he knew the consequences. He’d heard just as many stories about what happened if you were caught- none of them good. 

The rider thought about Cher, Stanley, Kaiden and the others. They were all brave in their own way. Cher had stood up for Katie and had fought for what she thought was right, Stanley had attempted to venture outside of the camp in search for Kaiden alongside a few of the girls- even though he had barely recovered from an attack only a few hours before and Kaiden was probably being held prisoner as they spoke. Everyone in the group had done something to prove themselves- except for Todd. 

He shook his head. He would help save Kaiden (or Katie, depending on how things turned out). 

He had to. 

Nia’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. “So this is how it’s going to be?” She demanded, everyone’s eyes suddenly on her. The healer stood up, her hands on her hips. “Kaiden and Katie are gone, and we’re just going to sit here moping?”

“Well what are we supposed to be doing?” Molly asked, looking up. “If you haven’t noticed, our best fighters are either captured or aren’t here at the moment.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t be doing something,” Todd interjected. He’d had enough of just sitting around. “We could be mapping routes, scouting for clues- no one’s even gone looking for Cher or Abbey!”

The brunette picked up her satchel, the orange light from the fire casting strange shadows on her face. “Todd’s right. The longer we wait, the more chance Kaiden or Katie could be dead.”

Angus stood up. “I agree.”

Everyone turned to Molly in unison. She rolled her eyes, but Todd could see a trace of a smile on her face. Nia held out a hand to help her up and she took it without hesitation. “Let’s save our friends.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth when a piercing scream cut through the air. They all froze, the smile melting off Nia’s face. The sound had come from the infirmary and Todd could feel dread building up in his stomach. 

Nia broke off in a run, with the rest of the group right on her tail. Another scream sounded- closer now. Now that Todd was nearer, he recognized it as a girl’s voice. Ice seemed to run through his veins instead of blood.

Sandi.