44. Only my fears have cornered me here [Shared dream]
You are standing alone in the center of a village, simple wooden houses on either side of you, dirt and sand and dust underneath your dress-shoed feet. It's the dead of night. Standing before you is a large wooden platform with a gigantic stake rising up through it. There are scorch marks on it, and at its base sits a length of charred rope, as well as the remains of kindling and brush, all burnt to charcoal. As you look around, squinting through the darkness, it becomes apparent that some of the buildings show signs of fire damage, as well.
You begin to feel uneasy, even as a gentle breeze stirs your hair, even though there is no apparent danger. Fire. The idea sends fear coursing through your veins...
...and then suddenly, the world becomes ablaze.
Flames surround you from out of nowhere, and your instinct is to run, run away from them, except there's nowhere to run, no path through the rising fire that you can take without hurting yourself, no way to escape, and voices begin to swell, echoing through your head, though no people are there to speak them.
"This girl is a witch, and we must purge the devil from her! With fire!" An angry male voice.
"Take me instead. Take my life for hers." Simon.
Smoke begins to sting your eyes, and through the haze of it and heat, a spotlight shines on the still-empty platform. No, not a spotlight- a bright shaft of moonlight.
"Her planet is missing his moon. Time to go."
Qi's voice. But you can't move, paralyzed with fright, sweat both from the fire and from pure, undistilled fear dripping down your face, limbs shaking.
"Time to go."
Qi's voice echoes again, though the tone is much more firm this time.
"Simon..."
"I can't go. Not yet. I'm not brave. I'm not a hero. I'm just a brother and a doctor... doing my job. I couldn't live with myself if I ever tried to do anything less." Simon's voice again, only this time it comes from your mouth, perhaps making it apparent whose dream this is. "There's so much I can't do... so much..."
You close your eyes, waiting for death, waiting for the flames to consume you, but it doesn't come.
"But there's just as much I CAN do. And as long as I am breathing, I will keep doing it. It matters to one very important person. No... it matters to everyone."
And with that, the flames vanish, then the platform, then the village, and just as suddenly, you are normal, clean, soot and smoke-free, standing in the break room at Wellspring with a cup of tea.
"Simon, you have a patient," says a female voice, and you nod, setting the teacup down, rolling up your sleeves.
"Time to get to work."
You begin to feel uneasy, even as a gentle breeze stirs your hair, even though there is no apparent danger. Fire. The idea sends fear coursing through your veins...
...and then suddenly, the world becomes ablaze.
Flames surround you from out of nowhere, and your instinct is to run, run away from them, except there's nowhere to run, no path through the rising fire that you can take without hurting yourself, no way to escape, and voices begin to swell, echoing through your head, though no people are there to speak them.
"This girl is a witch, and we must purge the devil from her! With fire!" An angry male voice.
"Take me instead. Take my life for hers." Simon.
Smoke begins to sting your eyes, and through the haze of it and heat, a spotlight shines on the still-empty platform. No, not a spotlight- a bright shaft of moonlight.
"Her planet is missing his moon. Time to go."
Qi's voice. But you can't move, paralyzed with fright, sweat both from the fire and from pure, undistilled fear dripping down your face, limbs shaking.
"Time to go."
Qi's voice echoes again, though the tone is much more firm this time.
"Simon..."
"I can't go. Not yet. I'm not brave. I'm not a hero. I'm just a brother and a doctor... doing my job. I couldn't live with myself if I ever tried to do anything less." Simon's voice again, only this time it comes from your mouth, perhaps making it apparent whose dream this is. "There's so much I can't do... so much..."
You close your eyes, waiting for death, waiting for the flames to consume you, but it doesn't come.
"But there's just as much I CAN do. And as long as I am breathing, I will keep doing it. It matters to one very important person. No... it matters to everyone."
And with that, the flames vanish, then the platform, then the village, and just as suddenly, you are normal, clean, soot and smoke-free, standing in the break room at Wellspring with a cup of tea.
"Simon, you have a patient," says a female voice, and you nod, setting the teacup down, rolling up your sleeves.
"Time to get to work."