Chinks and Chasms - A Collaborative Story You Can Join

[Ariel.of.Narnia]

Long one, sorry.


“You don’t have to tell her.”

“Tell whom what?” Joseph asked guardedly.

“The nurse.”

The simple half-answer did not match the complexity of Matthew’s loaded expression, but Joseph wasn’t about to try to unravel it. Not when it threatened to unravel his own troubles, and so soon after.... He suppressed a shudder. “No, no, I’m fine.” He set his hands on the ground to help himself up, if only to prove it.

“Your foot’s not.”

As if on cue, the wounded ankle throbbed and flared with heat. “Thanks for reminding me,” he groaned dryly.

Matthew stood and offered a hand. Joseph didn’t mean to cast doubt, but the younger boy’s small frame seemed hardly sufficient for the task. Matthew noticed. “I’m stronger than I look, you know.”

Joseph set an arm behind himself and took the proffered hand with his own. Between Matthew’s hauling and his own shove against the tree, he stood up with a breathless “Right then.” In a trice, Matthew situated himself on Joseph’s weak side and arranged their arms so as to provide the best support he could. Together they limped back to the school, pausing briefly to retrieve Matthew’s sketchbook. This he held in the hand that pinned Joseph’s own to his shoulder and he politely refused Joseph’s offer to carry it.

Silence fell. Though the walk to the nurse’s office would not be long, even hampered with an injury, and though the quiet seemed mutually agreeable, Joseph thought it reasonable to fill the empty space. “Thanks for the help.”

“Does it hurt bad?"

Joseph wondered at the mechanical politeness of his tone, as if he already knew the answer. “It could be worse.” He waited for a response, but Matthew only nodded. They reached the threshold of the Academy and the silence suddenly didn’t seem so agreeable anymore. “Pull up a moment,” he said as he detangled himself away to stand on his own, being careful to lean on his good foot. “How did you know?”

Matthew squinted. “Know what?”

Joseph chose the safe - the obvious, logical - topic. “My ankle. I’d completely forgotten I’d twisted it when I woke up.”

Matthew’s eyes darted to the resumed football game, more than far enough away to be out of earshot of anything but a shout. He hugged his sketchbook - unconsciously, Joseph thought. The younger boy sucked in a deep breath and spilled it back out with, “I see things. Dream things.”

Whispers of Matthew’s madness crept into Joseph’s mind even as pity filled his heart.

“You do too. I knew that Wednesday night.”

Joseph swallowed. He thought back his second night at the Academy. The night a yip of terror woke all but the deepest sleepers in his dormitory. The night that grumblings of insanity pierced the thin veil of restraint. The night he sat by the bedside of a boy who quaked with fear in what privacy his blanket afforded. The night he learned of the bond between those who had seen - still saw - unspeakable horrors. He just didn’t expect Matthew to have felt it too in the midst of his fight to stifle his sobs.

“You dreamed this?”

Matthew nodded. “Parts of it. Weeks ago.”

Joseph took a deep breath and released it. The whole business was fantastic, yet not so very unbelievable, he supposed, even if it was a shock to know his future had been witnessed through a dream in this world. “I see,” was the most he could manage. Laying a hand on the door handle, he continued with, “I think I’m ready to go in now.”

Matthew nodded and took his position at his side to escort him to the nurse’s office. At the door, Matthew released him and took his leave.

“Thanks, Matthew.”

He turned and offered a small smile before he retreated down the hall. Jospeh opened the door, but paused to watch the other boy, who had opened his sketchbook and torn out a page. Joseph frowned thoughtfully. Matthew was right. He had seen something. The difference was that Joseph’s wasn’t a dream.



Suggested: Let’s get to know some of the other kids better! Most of them are all together in a knot, so this is a great time for exploration!

[knightofnarnia]

(Changing to Evelyne) Evelyne had seen the whispering between the two boys and how Joseph had sudenly changed his mind about going to the nurse. There was more to these two then met the eyes. She tucked it into the back of her brain for later.

[renegadeoftheshire]

(Sorry I haven't written here in a while! But I'm back! ;P)
Hunter stood there watching everyone play. Then she started to look around. She walked to the garden and looked at the flowers and the bees flying around. Then she walked around the area some more to see if there was anything exciting to see.

[knightofnarnia]

Hunter got further and further from the others without her realizing it. She wasn't able to see what was coming towards her.