Curse the Mainframe! 43 Nightmares

Elias couldn't help the doubts that started to creep in the longer they darted around, hiding from something they didn't know. They crept up on him. Slowly, silently, eating away at his mind.

The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt.

What if he was wrong?

What if they were wrong?

Were his parents really dead?

The thoughts constantly reverberated in his mind, chasing him endlessly. The silence of the forest was getting to him ever so slowly.

If it wasn't for the slight sounds of Alec's footsteps, he would likely have crumbled from the uncertain pressure. Elias felt thankful. He knew that Alec's footsteps never had any sounds, but he must have known that Elias needed some reassurance.

Elias didn't understand how the younger boy could be so resolute in his decisions. Did he not second guess himself? Did he not feel the doubt plague him that this was truly real? But whatever was the case, he was still thankful.

Alec, unlike what Elias thought, was trying his best not to dwell on the images that were burned into his mind. How could he not doubt that it was all real? However, Alec still chose to believe in his own deductions more.

It was as simple as that. He already decided that this was another test for him, so he would treat it as such.

By the time they made it out of the boundary on the other side of the forest, dawn was already close breaking.

The two had never cut through such deepness in the forest before. They were lucky not to have encountered any monsters that dwelled in the deeper region.

Alec couldn't help but let out a little breath when they were in the clear.

However, they would stay within the forest until nightfall. This was Alec's decision not only because they had to conserve strength, but also because he knew for a fact that Elias was steadily growing more unstable as the silence went on.

By the time they were hidden up in the trees, Elias finally couldn't maintain his silence any longer.

"Do you really think this is a final test of sorts to us?" Elias, who was usually so content to be quiet, felt like he could no longer appreciate the silence. At least, not for tonight. Not here, not now.

Alec paused, thinking about how to properly phrase his answer. "Elias. You're second-guessing yourself. What does your gut say?"

"It's all fake," Elias said, his voice a whisper.

"That's what I think too. It's all staged. Do you think every year, we're given a day off from training at the same date because of the weird reason the clan gives us? That's clearly another hint. Not to mention, do you think your parents are that weak? Do you think our clan is that weak? If there was really an attack on the clan compound, I don't believe that everyone would be slaughtered so easily! Why haven't we seen any of the enemy's bodies? Thinking up to this point, you must take everything into consideration. I'm merely judging from the evidence already presented."

The longer Alec talked; the more Elias regained his confidence.

"If you're still not convinced, then here," Alec said, showing him his hand. There were blotches of dried brown on his hands.

Elias studied them. Though they did look very similar to dried blood, when he sniffed, there wasn't the familiar scent of blood that he was used to. It was indeed fake blood.

That's right. Those reasons were all the evidence that he had used to convince himself previously, so why was he second-guessing himself now?

The fake blood was the final nail in the coffin. Thinking up to this point, Elias once again really admired Alec's mental stability. Even though he was so much younger, the boy was already so much stronger than him in this aspect.

It was a pity that his magical capacity wasn't up to par, but Elias had a feeling that the other boy would bring him surprises upon surprises in the future. There was no basis to this feeling of his. It was just a gut feeling.

"Get some rest," Alec said, a little softer than usual. The sight of a kid like Elias having such haunted eyes made him feel bad. "I'll wake you up later on to switch."

Elias didn't fight him on this. He nodded, closing his eyes. The teenager's breathing evened out quickly, tired out by the things that he saw tonight.

Alec looked up at the moon that was still visible in the sky. The clouds were already lightening with the sun's rays.

Alec absentmindedly patted Bunbun, who was also taking the chance to drift off.

Even though Alec talked so much, his mind couldn't help but think of the scene of his mother's empty eyes reflecting back on him from time to time.

Did they really have to make it so needlessly real? No… that's not right. It's precisely because so many of them got tricked that this last wakeup call was needed.

Though he didn't like it, Alec could still accept the reasoning. He couldn't help but wonder just how many of those who went through it suffered from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

This was also a sort of wakeup call to Alec himself. He never realized just how close he had let Annalise get to his heart. Over the years, she had slowly but steadily wormed herself into his life, planting herself there firmly in the spot of a mother.

He never realized how he had subconsciously started addressing her as 'mother' even as he thought. Though he had previously called her 'mother' out loud, he never took it to heart because at most, he thought that he just saw her as a friend.

However, seeing her helpless form on the floor struck a chord he didn't know existed within him. The irrational rage that had bubbled up briefly when he saw her helpless form surprised him. Even though he knew it was all staged, the emotions that had been born in his heart were very real.

Heh. Who was the one who said that Sins didn't have emotions? He should have gone back and burned that book to cinders. Such bullshit that only gave him the barest of details shouldn't even have been made into a book in the first place!

Alec heard the sound of Elias' breathing quickening beside him. He looked over, seeing the flinch of his body and his laboured breathing. Alec realized that the teen was having a nightmare.

Alec reached over to gently shake the other awake, catching him when he startled.

"…Thanks," Elias said, the haunted look in his eyes fading slightly.

"…Go back to sleep."

"Yeah."

Annalise, who had been lying on the ground for the past hour, relaxed her tensed muscles as she confirmed that Alec had really left.

Her heart clenched as she thought about what this would do to her son's psyche. Though she had done her best to leave various hints for him to pick up, they would never really know whether or not the hints had been picked up or not.

Annalise threw an arm over her eyes as the ceiling rained. She didn't bother to say anything even when her brother entered the room. Or rather, it wasn't that she didn't bother, but the words just didn't want to leave her mouth right now.

Vincent silently waited by the side, sitting down next to her prone form.

She didn't feel like talking, and neither did he.

"I hate having to do this," she said at last, the silence getting to her.

"Me too," Vincent said, and Annalise couldn't help but feel her heart go out to her brother.

Just how many had he sent off like this as well? Some of them never came back.

Such was the position of a Clan Head.

Annalise did not envy the position that her brother found himself in. It was just as well that she had turned down the position because of this reason alone. Though she had cautioned him against it, he had been headstrong in his youth, full of ambition.

"I wonder if this is how our parents felt when they sent us off as well," Annalise said blankly. "Though we figured it out rather quickly, sometimes it still haunts me to this day."

Vincent didn't reply.

After another hour or so of lying on the ground, Annalise picked herself back up. "Enough of that. He will come back in a few years. I'll miss him."

"Alec's strong."

She patted her brother on the shoulder, feeling like she was having an out-of-body experience. Vincent was feeling the same things she was currently feeling as well.

Annalise headed back to her room to shower. Right now, she couldn't bring herself to go into Alec's room.

All of the fake blood were the makings of a terrible clean-up time.

The moment she entered her room, her line of sight was drawn to a white, crisp envelope that had been placed on her desk.

Without knowing the reason why, her heartbeat quickened.

She walked over and picked it up with shaky hands, spotting Alec's familiar handwriting.

As she read through it, a drop hit the paper as she realized that she was crying.

She immediately moved the paper further away to avoid more tears falling onto it, reading it through the watery veil that blurred her vision.

Hehe. She just knew that he would be able to figure it out! She huffed. His acting was so real, too. It had fooled her!

It was just as well. At least now she that she knew he already figured out the contents of the clan's last test to them, she could go over to Elias' parents and let them know that he would find their son as well.

Chapter end

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