Snippet #2405487

“ξυπνώ…”
The word passed through Sage’s mind as he fell… Or was he really falling? He couldn’t tell… It was all so strange to him. Only a moment ago, he was kneeling in a field, with a bus exploding somewhere behind him.. Everything had gone black… And now he was here. Wherever here was… Everything around him was pitch black, a sight that would usually have been comforting and familiar to him, if not for the strange feeling going through his entire body. It was as if something were surrounding him.. Taking hold of him… His heart felt like ice, his body felt… Numb? No, he couldn’t feel anything, and he couldn’t turn to look around. All he could do was look straight… Or maybe the word was down? Yeah, it kind of felt like he was facing down. As he focused, he started to notice voices.. Little whispers around him, speaking the same word over and over… But he just couldn’t make out what it was. Above all else, he heard laughter. Cruel, horrible laughter that sounded something like raking a knife against stone, to him. Horrible as the voice was… It was familiar to him. He’d heard it before. Where, he did not know, but he knew it. ”The prodigal son returns again. It’s not time for you to help me yet, boy. Your time will come… Soon.” The words tore through Sage’s mind as white wisps, like smoke, started to circle about, filling his vision bit by bit as he felt himself being pushed. The laughter started again, but it grew more distant with each moment. The other voices grew stronger now, as the other faded.
” ξυπνώ, ξυπνώ, ξυπνώ, WAKE!”

“ξυπνώ!” Sage shouted, or tried to (the word coming out as little more than a whisper), as his eyes shot open, his body jerking as he rose quickly to a sitting position, his right hand immediately jerking to where his ring was on his left. He looked around quickly, his vision a bit blurry at first, but he could still make out Ishmael and Lucas; two sights that were actually slightly comforting to him. He’d woken just in time to hear something about a place to eat, and Ish’s usual counter to what seemed like a not too terrible idea. “I wouldn’t mind eating…” He said with a slightly trembling voice as his vision slowly started to clear. He looked over both Ish and Lucas, making sure that they weren’t missing anything and were completely unharmed, being more relieved by the well being of Ish than of Lucas. Of course, that was when he noticed a little detail that suddenly became one of consuming importance to him. “Where is Max?” He asked quickly, his voice rising and slowly losing the apparent exhaustion it had held only a moment before.