By Enola Jones
He found himself warm and dry for a change. Looking around, he realised he was in a room with a brick archway.
“Where am I?” he wondered aloud. “Where is Alex? Where’s Jim? I was… I was in the fountain….”
“She tried to drown you,” an unfamiliar voice informed him.
“Did she succeed?”
“Yes. But it’s not your time.”
“I don’t – Jim! If I go back – he threw me out –“
“He loves you. You are the little brother he always wished Stephen could be. He is running on fear of betrayal now.”
He paused. “So…what do I do? If I go back, how do I know this won’t happen again?”
“It will. And worse. It will be a long time before Jim realises this pattern and breaks it.” A pause. “If you stay here, it will take him longer to realise it – if he realises it at all.”
His head turned. “He’s calling – I-I can feel it…”
“Go home, Blair. Go on. I will be here when you return.”
“Wait!” But Blair was already fading away. “Who are you?”
Then the arched room was empty – but not for long.
Slowly, the form of a man appeared. He wore an Army uniform with a 1960’s style medallion around his neck. “I’ll be here,” he whispered into the empty room. “I love you, son.”
Then Jacob Sandburg faded away to continue his vigil.
Return to The Realm