Like drowning a pool of thick venomous ickor, Chester was enveloped by a smog that overtook his senses, leaving his body feeling leaden and his will all but trapped. Surrounded by an endless buzz of noise, he felt as if the world around him was whipping around like an endless dizzying tornado.
Yet still he could do nothing.
But that was nothing new.
This had happened so often over the course of his life that being trapped in a subconscious place after blacking out from illness was old hat. He could feel the fear around him pulsing like a racing heartbeat. He could hear the angry, vicious, vindictive shadows once again gossiping in his ear, feeding his ever hungry masochistic self-loathing.
Beastly. Terror. Freak. Monster. Demon. Horror. Savage. Creep.
Oh the list went on. All the hateful things that circled his mind. All that malcontent and disgust.
Lost in this never ended destructive carousal, he wondered if that guy… Julian, ever made it to the hospital. He hoped he hadn’t hurt him. Would this be the time he went too far? Did it really matter?
He curled up in his little mind prison, draped in his despair… But then something caught his attention, he didn’t expect.
A delightful Ping sound in his mind, if you will, followed by a small splotch of color in his dim blackened world. Like a drop of water color in a void of ink. One drop followed another, and then another, and Chester looked around in mild amazement.
The terrible nightmares being melted away by swirls of light and airy colors.
He felt himself become a little bit lighter, floating in this watery world. Waving his hand along small waves of color, he smirked to himself feeling almost giddy.
Where was all this coming from?
Then closing his eyes he inhaled deeply…
Flowers. Dozens of them. Fresh blooming buds of morning dew fluttering in the air.
He felt his usually tense aching body melt into a state of relief he hadn’t truly felt before. Was this….death? He wondered idly to himself as a watercolor butterfly fluttered playfully by his hands. There was some sort of magic at work here that was for sure. But as the butterfly began to fly off, he felt the delightful illusion begin to dissolve away as well.
“No! Wait! I don’t want –“ But the bliss was robbed from him as he was pulled once more into his very real, very sore physical form.
Hundreds of bright, colorful, fragrant blooms having utterly invaded what would usually have been a rather lonesome hospital suite.
Blinking wearily in disbelief he rubbed the crusts away and pushed himself up in bed, gaping in astonishment.
“Who?...” His eyes wandered lost in the complete marvel of this grand gesture.
There was no way?...
His family would never have wasted money on bouquets of any sort, never mind actual living blooms! The most he ever got was some small expensive trinket relayed through his sister. But this?
Vision beginning to blur from overwhelming joy, Chester biting his lip in attempts to keep himself from crying. Raising his arm to hide his face as he choked back a small sob.
Who did this? Who could ever think that HE, of all people, deserved such a kindness?
Of course it was about this moment when shuffling and movement caught his ear as his gaze snapped to someone rising from a chair hidden behind half of all the invading flowers to his right. His heart instantly leapt in a terrible mixture of fright, humiliating, and relief.
Julian.
He was here.
But… didn’t I? ~ He pondered, sure that he had reverted to dragon form, sure that there would be no way anyone would stay after…. So maybe? Was he here to…
At a complete utter loss for words, Chester actually felt even more frightened and gripped his blankets close to his chest.
“You… Y-You’re still here? W-w…why?” His voice small, confused, and conflicted, tears streaming down his face. “D-Did you do this?”
Yet still he could do nothing.
But that was nothing new.
This had happened so often over the course of his life that being trapped in a subconscious place after blacking out from illness was old hat. He could feel the fear around him pulsing like a racing heartbeat. He could hear the angry, vicious, vindictive shadows once again gossiping in his ear, feeding his ever hungry masochistic self-loathing.
Beastly. Terror. Freak. Monster. Demon. Horror. Savage. Creep.
Oh the list went on. All the hateful things that circled his mind. All that malcontent and disgust.
Lost in this never ended destructive carousal, he wondered if that guy… Julian, ever made it to the hospital. He hoped he hadn’t hurt him. Would this be the time he went too far? Did it really matter?
He curled up in his little mind prison, draped in his despair… But then something caught his attention, he didn’t expect.
A delightful Ping sound in his mind, if you will, followed by a small splotch of color in his dim blackened world. Like a drop of water color in a void of ink. One drop followed another, and then another, and Chester looked around in mild amazement.
The terrible nightmares being melted away by swirls of light and airy colors.
He felt himself become a little bit lighter, floating in this watery world. Waving his hand along small waves of color, he smirked to himself feeling almost giddy.
Where was all this coming from?
Then closing his eyes he inhaled deeply…
Flowers. Dozens of them. Fresh blooming buds of morning dew fluttering in the air.
He felt his usually tense aching body melt into a state of relief he hadn’t truly felt before. Was this….death? He wondered idly to himself as a watercolor butterfly fluttered playfully by his hands. There was some sort of magic at work here that was for sure. But as the butterfly began to fly off, he felt the delightful illusion begin to dissolve away as well.
“No! Wait! I don’t want –“ But the bliss was robbed from him as he was pulled once more into his very real, very sore physical form.
Waking
Heavy crusted eyes wincing from the brightness of cruel reality, Chester raised his arm to shield his strained expression from the sunlight blaring in from the window to his left, mind leaping to catch up with body. It was no surprise when he felt the IV strapped to his arm, the beeping of monitors, or the tightness of the tucked in sheets, or even the brightness of yet another hospital room. What left him completely bewildered, was that the strong scent of flowers were still all around him.Hundreds of bright, colorful, fragrant blooms having utterly invaded what would usually have been a rather lonesome hospital suite.
Blinking wearily in disbelief he rubbed the crusts away and pushed himself up in bed, gaping in astonishment.
“Who?...” His eyes wandered lost in the complete marvel of this grand gesture.
There was no way?...
His family would never have wasted money on bouquets of any sort, never mind actual living blooms! The most he ever got was some small expensive trinket relayed through his sister. But this?
Vision beginning to blur from overwhelming joy, Chester biting his lip in attempts to keep himself from crying. Raising his arm to hide his face as he choked back a small sob.
Who did this? Who could ever think that HE, of all people, deserved such a kindness?
Of course it was about this moment when shuffling and movement caught his ear as his gaze snapped to someone rising from a chair hidden behind half of all the invading flowers to his right. His heart instantly leapt in a terrible mixture of fright, humiliating, and relief.
Julian.
He was here.
But… didn’t I? ~ He pondered, sure that he had reverted to dragon form, sure that there would be no way anyone would stay after…. So maybe? Was he here to…
At a complete utter loss for words, Chester actually felt even more frightened and gripped his blankets close to his chest.
“You… Y-You’re still here? W-w…why?” His voice small, confused, and conflicted, tears streaming down his face. “D-Did you do this?”
