Shrugging on my jacket, I opened the front door to my house and stepped out into the darkness. I couldn't see anything except blackness, not even my own body. Still, I knew the others were waiting for me somewhere nearby. Nervously, I took a deep breath, summoned every last bit of courage I had, and uttered the words that would let the others know I was there, and thus put the operation in motion.
"Is everyone ready?" I asked the darkness around me.
"Hai!" two boy's voices called in unison to my left.
"Yes," a woman said softly to my right. She was immediately followed by a crisp, "Affirmative," from a girl next to her.
That left only one. I waited for his answer, knowing that once he spoke up we could start. I waited, and waited, for almost a minute, but it didn't come. Finally, I was about to call out his name, to make sure he was there, when he answered.
His voice came out of the darkness in front of me, a lazy, but confident and beautiful voice that still made my heart skip a beat. "No."
Silence fell upon the area as everyone froze. I could almost feel an anime-style sweatdrop forming on my head, and I was pretty sure the others felt much the same way. I tried to summon my patience, to stay calm, and failed.
"What do you mean, 'No'?" I exclaimed angrily. "You're the one who told us all to be ready now!"
"I'm not ready," he replied calmly, ignoring my anger. "I'll never be ready. But I'm still going to do it. And that's all that matters, isn't it?"
Silence reigned again as I took several deep breaths. That was just like him, and I should have expected it. Still, it pissed me off, and it was all I could do to snap an angry reply at him. I would have punched him in the face for the comment, but the darkness was absolute and I had no idea where in front of me he was. And I was too afraid to step away from the house before I had to.
"Fine," I said grudgingly. "I guess there's nothing left to do but start then. You all know what you have to do, so good luck I guess. It'll all be over after this."
That was the start sign. That was the sign that I had to go out into the darkness, alone. It terrified me, but I had to do it. I started to take a step away from the house, hoping I wouldn't run into anything and that my memory of the streets would help me get to my destination even though I couldn't see where I was going, but I was stopped as he called out to me.
"Wait," he said. I paused.
"We each wanted to give you something before we start," came the woman's voice, still to my right.
I felt the air move ever so slightly around me as two small figures moved to either side of me. Perfectly synchronized, two small pairs of lips brushed against my cheek in tender kisses. Then, the boys whispered in my ears.
"Strength," said the one to my right.
"And luck," the other finished.
Then they departed, again stirring the air around me. I almost thought I could see twin tails swishing behind them in the darkness as they ran off to do their duty. The spots on my cheeks where they kissed me tingled with slight magical energy, and I knew I'd just received a bit of help for my coming ordeal.
The next two stepped up to me then, the woman to my right and the girl to my left. A cool ring was placed on my right thumb, the stone set into it radiating warm energy. The girl then pressed something on a thread into my left hand. It was a miniature doll, on a string so I could place it around my neck.
"I cannot watch over you in what comes," the woman said, her voice warm and motherly. "But I can give you this. It can give you some extra endurance when you think you cannot go on."
"Hopefully mine will make you swifter, so you won't need the extra endurance," the girl said. "Anyway, I told you I'd make you a doll sometime... I put a part of me into it, so don't lose it."
I tried to thank them, but they were gone before I could do so. Which only left him... I knew when he moved in front of me, because I could feel the warmth radiating off of his body. He waited until I had put the doll around my neck before pressing a single feather into my hands.
"Speak my name while holding it and I will come to your side," he said. "Use it if you need to."
"But..." I protested, and he placed a warm finger against my lips.
"No buts," he said. "If things get that bad me leaving my spot won't affect it any worse since we'll already be screwed. So don't you dare go and sacrifice yourself. Understand?"
I nodded. He smiled then. I'm not sure how, but I knew that he smiled. Then, he bent forward, and his lips brushed my forehead. "Farewell," he whispered before he left. For a moment, I saw something, a pair of multicolored eyes watching me as he backed away into the darkness.
I gripped the feather tightly in my hand. It wasn't the case, but I felt that if I dropped the feather we would never return. The warmth of his lips still lingered on my forehead as I stepped forward into the darkness knowing that if I failed all would be lost.
Then, a shrill noise pierced the silence, and I woke to my alarm blaring at me. I reached over to the clock and hit the off button groggily. After a few minutes, I sat up in bed, wondering where in my brain my subconscious had found that dream. I could vaguely hear Mom calling to me to get my butt into the shower as I shook my head to clear it. I could still almost feel the spot on my forehead where he had kissed me in the dream.
The image of multicolored eyes danced in front of my own eyes as I headed to the bathroom to get ready for school. They wouldn't go away, no matter how much I tried.