Awakening(part 4)

Finding someone in the void was already unexpected, to find a child was beyond that; disheartening even.

He knew the circumstances that caused one to end up here, was it the same for the child? He wanted to think not, but the evidence was undeniable. Unless there was a different way he was not aware of. Yes, that was a possibility, he knew next to nothing about the Nether or the void. To conclude the child had died seemed cruel.

He walked closer, approaching the young boy trying to make out what the child looked like. For a moment he could have sworn the boy's shape shifted slightly or maybe it was his eyes playing tricks on him... or was it his mind? He half hoped that the boy was not a hallucination. It would be great for his mind if he had someone by his side to share the experience of this depressing world.

Michael had been moving towards the boy for more than a few seconds, the distance between them appearing to grow and stretch ever so slightly so that he didn't seem to be getting closer to the boy. It was disturbing and unsettling and took some getting used to. The phenomenal had happened a few times earlier, he had tried to get to a silhouette in the distance just like now, only for it to appear elusive as the space between them dilated and grew.

Eventually however, and to his relief, he managed to get closer to the boy. The boy appeared hazy, or was it his eyesight that had grown blurry, akin to a film of fog becoming lain over his iris. He sighed heavily, dejected and crushed. This was another hallucination. Hope sat on a pendulum that swung wildly, from one extreme to the next. The constant tug was slowly chipping away at his stalwart facade.

His mind felt like it was slipping. His sense of time too. Counting seconds had not helped, seating still and waiting for something to happen proved futile even sleeping only resulted in the same outcome. Was this it? was he finally going to die? Maybe he was, this thought prevalent whenever the Nether refused to make sense.

Before his hope could be completely crushed and his heart plummet into boundless despair, he felt something tug at his pants snapping him out of his turmoil. He looked down, his face twisting into a terrified grimace.

The boy had walked up to him, Michael had been so caught up in his worries to notice.

His head held low, the young child was pointing in a random direction; to the left of where Michael had been heading.

Did he want Michael to walk in that direction. Why? Michael was still trying to ascertain whether this was another hallucination. Would he really follow it's directions. What did he have to loose anyway, he had already lost once all that one was afraid of loosing. Yet, his gut screamed that something was wrong; but he was growing desperate, he was at the end of his rope. Was it really that bad an idea to follow?

"Why, what is in that direction?"

He had only met the child, it would be foolish to follow them blindly. Maybe the child was generous enough to indulge his curiosity. Sadly, the child tugged harder at his pants and kept pointing in the same direction. By now, the sobs had died down. Michael was still confused about what the child was crying over, he had concluded it was because of isolation, or even death. he knew the weight of grief, the trauma it inflicted on ones mind.

Yet, the child was pointing as if they knew more about the void than Michael. His mind refused to believe that possible, wasn't the child in the same predicament as him.

Wait, was that even accurate? Michael was here because of awakening, at least he allowed himself to hold on to that idea. Was that the same reason the child was here? He had forgotten how he thought the void only exclusive to him because of his connection to the being made of light. It could be that this assumption was wrong and anyone who had to awaken had to go through the void. Or maybe he was right to think exclusive only to him because of the connection to that abominable thing.

Wouldn't it mean then that this child too shared the same connection as him? It lend credibility to why the child was adamantly pushing he walk in that direction. Maybe he was actually getting the help he so craved and here he was, looking the gift horse in the mouth.

Skepticism and hope fought for dominance. Should he follow? The child had not answered his question. It fell in line with mannerisms of children who were grief stricken, at least from what he had read. But what if that wasn't it? What if the child was the spawn of some horror that lured it's prey and devoured them or did something worse.

That harrowing thought too made sense, and sadly, the speculation fell in line with his gut feeling. He was conflicted, the weight of either decision causing his head to ache.

The child was still tugging and pointing, his image blurry to Michael's eyes. That too was a suspicious detail that demanded Michael be cautious with his next actions. Yet, against better judgment, he wanted to follow the child's direction.

'I shouldn't this doesn't even feel right. Something is wrong.' He thought to himself over and over, the impasse to grave to overcome.

What options did he have? He was paranoid, scared and apprehensive of anything he didn't understand. A boy whose face was hidden behind a haze was already a mystery, to go in the direction suggested by said boy without any knowledge of what lay ahead was beyond suicidal if not outright insane.

Yet, despite the desire to stay vigilant and away from possible danger, Michael found his legs moving. One foot infront of the other, he walked in the direction the boy suggested. His curiosity won out and he retrained his hope, maybe this was actually a way out.

With his face hidden from Michael, the child smiled.