Young Writers Society

Second gave Anne a warm, comforting smile and a nod.

"You can trust us," he promised her.

Anne didn’t say anything in reply, but she nodded again at Second. The reassurance seemed to give her some determination.

Carter didn't really bother waiting for an answer - he could see it himself. Anne was across the city square with Second and Minra, but he only really saw Anne. Relief flooded him, and it was like he could finally breathe. Did this mean it was over? He killed his parents. Easy. Anne was safe. This dream-world had given him a chance to finally redeem one of the worst moments of his life, even if only for a moment.

As him and Anne made eye contact, he smiled, and she smiled in return. He wondered if she saw him as he was now - a soldier, capable of protecting the ones he loved - or if she still saw him as a young precocious boy overshadowed by his parents.

As he walked towards her, he tried to enjoy this moment - though it was temporary and fictitious, it was a longing finally fulfilled. He couldn’t wait to hear Anne’s voice again.

And then, like a curtain lifted, the scene around them changed. They were no longer in the center of his hometown, amidst a fire and a massacre. There was no more smell of ash and burning. No more splattered blood and smoke. No more Anne.

They were in a forest.

The air, the plants, the sky... it all looked like home. They were still on Nye.

Hadn’t his dream ended? Weren’t they supposed to move on to someone else’s dream or nightmare? Someone else’s greatest dread?

He looked around, and all he could see so far were trees. The forest floor was covered in fall leaves. Wherever the walked, it would be difficult not to announce themselves. At least, with Minra around.

“...We’re still in my world,” he said to the others, only now finally processing how confusing the previous events might’ve been for everyone else. It wasn’t like he’d had time to stop and explain, with Anne moments away from being hung, but still. They probably expected an explanation. It would clear the air.

“That… that was one of my memories. I apologize for all of the chaos, but I’m sure you all gathered that Anne was supposed to die, and very soon, at that. I believe we did the right thing, as far as passing the test of courage, goes. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do here, though. This doesn’t look like a particular memory of mine.”

The world suddenly shifted.

Second found himself standing in a forest that reminded him a lot of home. Even before Carter spoke, he knew they were still on another planet. There weren't enough similarities for it to be his world. But standing in the forest still gave a comfort that the crowded town hadn't given.

He took a deep breath. Cool, refreshing forest air rushed into his lungs. Second wished he could stand there for a little while longer, but he knew that he had to focus on whatever challenge came up next.

"At least we saved Anne," Second said, giving a small smile.

Minra breathed in, enjoying the slight chill of the clearing and the fresh unpolluted air. She'd never been in a real forest before, and any trees left in her home world were scrawny and bare- similar to the skeleton trees they'd seen in the dreamscape.

Minra almost wished she could explore, or maybe just stand and drink it in, but they were supposed to escape this place. Not go sightseeing.

She turned to face Second and Carter.

"So that's what we can expect the challenges to be like," she said slowly. "We're placed in a memory from our lives, some kind of crucial event with something or someone to overcome."

"I'm glad we were able to save Anne, but shouldn't that have been the end of it? What are we doing here? It's definitely not one of my memories."

She turned to Second, but he didn't seem to be familiar with their surroundings either.

He knew it wasn't either of their memories, but maybe things weren't as straightforward as Minra concluded them to be. In the beginning, the distorted spider creature they met told them they'd be facing their greatest fears. That could certainly include one's worst memories, but it wasn't exclusive to that.

"I'm not sure..." he said quietly, looking around the forest. There was no differentiation, no indication where they should go. Nothing, just trees, until he heard a noise.

The slight shuffling of leaves. Footsteps. A person. It couldn't be anything else in his world. He reached for his sword for a moment before he thought differently of it. They didn't know who it was yet, and though he'd eagerly slain his parents when given the opportunity, he didn't want to be hasty. He was also aware that Minra and Second probably still looked to him for leadership, and he had to keep his wits about him, or at least the appearance that he was.

It wasn't like him to admit that seeing Anne again had shaken him, as glad as he was to see her.

Though he would've preferred it to not be on her death day. Again.

He closed his eyes, just for half a second, refocusing, and then stepped forward. Even in full armor, his steps were light, barely disturbing the ground. He gestured for the others to follow behind him as he led the way.

"Stay quiet," he ordered in a hushed tone.

The shuffling hadn't lasted very long, but it gave Carter enough of a reference point for what direction to head in. He slowly weaved his way over the undergrowth and the dead leaves of the forest, trying to keep behind the trees and plant life as much as possible.

Something wasn't sitting right, but he ignored it. He let it sit like a pit in the bottom of his stomach, present but forgotten.

As he inched forward, he tried to predict what was coming next. They were in the forest, and trees didn't look as gigantic and looming as they did in the south. They had to be somewhere in the middle of Nye. Somewhere uncharted, probably, which didn't narrow things down, considering much of the land was uncharted and many borders shifted since the calamity.

So what would've brought them out here? A monster, perhaps? But he only ever had a rational fear of those, like any other man. With his sword, he would be able to handle it. But maybe it wasn't something? Maybe it was someone?

But who on earth would he find out -

Carter froze.

He saw a man sitting on the forest floor, dressed in clothes that resembled those in the desert lands: jeans, boots, a leather jacket, all worn and weathered, stained with dirt. A brown wide-brimmed hat, stained by the sun, shadowed his face as he looked down and tied his shoe.

He couldn't see the man's face as he looked down, but a long-dead flame inside of him was being rekindled. All together, hope and hatred began to stir. Was it really him? No, no. It couldn't be. He looked thinner. Less like a healthy soldier, more like a weary traveler.

When the man looked up, he was almost unrecognizable. James had really let himself go, hadn't he. His face was scruffy, with the shadow of a beard. His hair was peeking out of his hat at the nape of his neck and around his temples - longer, but unkempt. His skin looked tanned from the sun. Rougher. Older. James used to have such an innocent, almost naive sort of light in his eyes, but it was clear that it died a long time ago.

Carter hadn't realized he was starting to draw his sword. It was only when the shing drew James's attention that he realized, and became aware again of the presence of Minra and Second, who of course had to be present for this kind of cursed reunion.

But maybe it was blessed. Maybe this wasn't the dream-world making him face his worst fears. Maybe this was a gift - a gift to rid the world of the people he hated the most. To rid his mind of the scum of the earth. To find James himself, and put an end to it all. The five-year chase. It was a gift of the sheer satisfaction of getting to watch the life leave their eyes in a dream since he was deprived of it in the real world.

James was looking up at them but was only really looking at Carter, and his sword. As he should be.

"Well this is just my lucky day," he said lowly. He glanced back at Second, his eyes smiling. "One more life to take and then it's off to one of your nightmares," he whispered, barely audible.

He looked back at James, who was only now just getting to his feet. Slow.

"You look old," he said to James.

James's relatively neutral expression didn't change. He only blinked.

"Thanks. So do you."

The smile in Carter's eyes faded into a glare, unamused.

Carter knew the man that they had just found in the forest. Second really shouldn't have been surprised by that, seeing that they were on Carter's world. But what he hadn't expected was for Carter to draw his sword. It just seemed wrong. The man was defenseless, and wasn't standing over some execution.

He was just alone in the forest.

"What's going on?" Second asked, ready to move the second that Carter tried attacking the unnamed man. He glanced over at Carter. "Who is he, and why do you have to kill him?"

Minra moved closer, eyeing the newcomer warily.

The man seemed weary and travel-worn. Dirty clothes, scruffy beard, and untidy hair. He wore a carefully blank expression that revealed nothing of his relationship to Carter or his intentions.

The hat... it reminded her of something. A cowboy, maybe? More old-world stuff.

There were no visible weapons on him, but Minra doubted he was as harmless as Second assumed.

She looked to Carter and waited for an answer.

Carter pointed at James with a sword. James stayed still, as he was still standing a few feet away from him and out of range of immediate harm (for now).

"This man is a criminal and an enemy of the Moonlight Kingdom - my kingdom - for traitorous acts against the throne. For nearly five years he has evaded capture in cowardice and is suspect of attempting to stir up rebellion. However, his efforts have been quelled, if not by our kingdom's forces then because no one in their right mind would want to disturb peace."

He looked over to Second, then Minra. "I may not find him soon in my lifetime, but here and now I can bring him to justice."

There was a small pause. Carter could feel his blood beginning to pulse through his head like a heartbeat. James was far from defenseless, but he stood there with no weapons, with the posture of an already defeated man, head hanging low.

This wasn't how Carter had imagined it. James was supposed to fight. Not surrender and take it like a dog with a tail between its legs.

"We also used to be friends," James said quietly, his eyes drawn more to the forest floor than the sword Carter had pointed at him.

Carter's upper lip twitched in contempt.

"Used to be friends," Carter emphasized.

"If you could even call us that," James added softly.

Carter took a step forward. Then another. Drawing closer with measured steps, waiting for James to lift his head and look him in the eye, but it didn't happen.

Something clicked.

Second didn't know what the man had done. Maybe he had done something really bad, if he had been on the run for five years. And it wasn't like he wanted to doubt someone he would be spending even more time with.

But Carter had implied that the man had somehow "disturbed the peace". Second knew what that phrase really meant. And he knew that there was more to Carter's former friendship with the man.

Carter sounded upset about it, but the man just looked defeated.

...Second felt like he was looking at Hero.

Second pushed the hilt of Carter's sword down so it was touching the ground.

"That's not good enough," Second said, giving Carter a determined stare. "What did he really do? You can't just kill someone because you feel like it."

Now that the sword was down, Second moved so he was standing in between Carter and the man.

"What were those traitorous acts?" he asked. "And what did he do to you?"

Minra looked from Carter to the man. His former friend.

He wasn't trying to run, or even defend himself. He only stood with his head bowed, silent. What could he have done to make Carter want to kill him? Whatever it was... did it mean that he deserved to die?

"Second's right," she said quietly. "We should discuss this."

"I too, would prefer you to discuss it before you kill me," James said dryly, and that only pricked Carter like a needle.

Carter sent him a pointed glare. "You don't get a say."

This wasn't fair. The didn't need to know what happened. It was none of their business. James's fate had already been decided by the king and his court and it was final, and what happened between him and James was meant to stay between them.

Carter scowled at Second's hand as he pushed down his sword, but he didn't fight it. He drew his sword back and away roughly, feeling a knot in his chest as Second made himself a barrier between himself and James. He met Second's gaze.

"This isn't a trial, and I don't know why you expect anything from his mouth to be trustworthy when this dreamscape is literally built to be against us. This man has humiliated me in front of my peers, he's broken my trust, he's sullied my name, and he's attempted to take my life. Neither of you questioned for a second if Anne's executioners deserved death, so what's your reasoning now? You'll take his word over mine? Who would you rather trust in this death trap? The person who's real -" he pointed to himself "-or that fictitious version of James in this dreamt up reality?" and then to James.

"I'm not going to kill him just because I feel like it. He's a criminal and an enemy of not just myself, but my people. It's my duty to rid the world of scum like him."

Minra thought about Carter's words.

"It's your choice," she finally said. "We couldn't do anything to stop you if you decided to kill him anyways."

She glanced at James. "But this feels off."

"I don't know what the man's done or whether he deserves it, but our last objective in this place was stopping an execution and saving a woman's life. Do you think this is what we're supposed to be doing? Carrying out another execution? We just fought to prevent one."

She turned to Carter again. "We need to be sure we make the right choice. All our lives depend on it."