Part Nineteen, One: Reality During The Rain

As the torrents of rain continued to soak the dry, decaying earth outside, both Cook and I huddled up against the cold hard walls of a cave in the mountain side. A silence hung in the cave as us human men tried to regain our breath, sanity and focus back from the non stop fighting and un-relentless running.Prowler had ran into the caves a short distance before coming back to where we stood close to the entrance as the down pour drenched this horrid and barren place.
With our bodies as tired and sore as they have ever been, Cook and I head a few feet deeper into the cave, away from the mouth where the rain and winds brought only more misery through coldness and wetness.

“I wish we had a fire here.” I sighed sitting down with a nausea from hunger and thirst. Cook sighed with a nod and sat down in a ball against the rock, silently watching Prowler who came faithfully to curl up against me facing him. Feeling to drained already, I had not enough strength to argue his caution for the beast or query his great distrust either and for long, the cave bore only the sound of the rainfall from the entrance. The ground inside this place was dirt, unlike the decaying dry land outside, the dirt was reminiscent of the sand on beaches but much less coarse and smooth almost, like silver grey dust.
"Guess its time for me too explain myself too you…” Cook said breaking the silence between us. I looked up at him confused, “What do you mean?”“Who I am and why I am the way I am, why I am so distant from you." He said softly, avoiding eye contact with me as though ashamed almost.“Ok.” I nod softly, still reeling in dizziness and nausea.“Before I came to this place and I guess, before I found you out there at the mist, I thought I was left to fight life alone and face whatever comes into my path alone. I didn't trust anyone, not even my family, no none.” He said softly, his voice carrying a sadden weight as he spoke, “Not after what had happened, not after what people did too me.”
“People?” I asked with as little energy as I could to evade this savage starvation and thirst eating at me from inside. “People. The world in general, everyone.”
As Cook continued to speak I felt my body fill with a sour, and sharp pains began to strike at my gut and my head felt more and more like a spinning tea cup at a fair.
"My life back in the other world was something of a lie I guess. To most people I was just a normal guy who had a normal job and got on with his mundane normal life as best he could. But they didn't know me at all, nobody did.” He began in a soft, droning tone as his mind flickered back to his personal reality.


Θ Θ Θ


“A few years back, I found myself involved in a situation that begun this downward spiral that I thought would only be possible in the movies.” I said, knowing that Rekara needed to hear this truth if we were to survive this place together, “I knew about a certain person in this gang, I knew what he had done in the past and what crimes he had committed. Trust me, it was the worst of crimes you can think of, things that could literally make you puke.” I said, finally looking up at Rek’s darkened eyes in the dim light of the cave.“He found out somehow that I knew this, and set out to make sure I would never tell anyone the information I had on him, which was basically pointless because I didn’t mean to know it in the first place, but he wanted me dead none the less.”

There was a short silence as I gathered my thoughts, trying to open up the inner hatred that had been locked up for so long. I had to tell Rek this, then he would begin to understand the type of person I am. I need him now, more than anyone else in the whole world. I want him to trust me and know me inside out. I need it. "One time I was just walking to the store, contemplating life and the pathetic reality of my existence when out of nowhere I was grabbed and bundled into the back of a van The next thing I knew I was being forced into a hessian bag being whacked at and kicked at continuously until I finally lost consciousness. By the time I woke up, I was tied to a chair in the middle of an old factory warehouse.” I said pausing as the images came rushing back to me again, “There were dead bodies on the walls each with a number cut into their bare chest. Even little kids…Jesus! I can still remember that awful stench.”
“To the side of me stood an old butchers table stained with blood and surrounded by a tray of blunt blades. I knew what was going to happen, this is his work and I was about to die a horrible forsaken death because I knew…I knew who he was!” I said realizing my voice grew louder as my memories surfaced.“Who was he?” asked Rekara, weakly.
“When the gun fired I thought that was it, I could almost see my life flashing in my head. But it wasn’t death, it would’ve been to easy to just shoot me in the back of my head.” I continued, almost unable to stop the words from pouring out of me, “ the shot hit into my shoulder and I fainted. Like a pussy, I fainted.”“Christ…” said Rekara softly now.
“By the time I woke up again, I was laying on the butchers table, spread out. I could feel the blood sticking to me as it congealed with my skin. At this point I knew what was going to happen and was trying to escape but with no luck. I was too weak and hurt, god it hurt all over.” I said recalling my fear, “I was so quiet then, so silent as if it was part of the ritual or something. I was scared, literally shaking in fear. The kind of shaking that I haven’t been able to shrug here in this place."

“I know the feeling.” He said, his voice broken and faint.“Dude are you ok?”“I'm fine.” He nod bravely, but I could see in his eyes and color of his skin that he was not well.“Please, continue.” He said softly, politely and I shook my head."Maybe another time…I don't think I can go on anyway. The memories, they're just so vivid still, I'm sorry Rek, sorry for even mentioning it."“Are you for real?” he asked frowning at me. At that point I just wanted to be on my own to gather thoughts again, and I stood up, “Get some rest, we’ll try find some food or water in the morning.” I said moving towards the cave’s mouth where the rain torrent down still. I turned back, and Rekara had fallen to sleep and strength depletion against Prowler and I sighed, turning to face the rain again.