Jeremy Laszlo - The Choosing

Seth dreamed a dark dream of a beast with razor teeth and a twisted blade. In his dream he was unable to move, so the beast made a game of skewing his ribs over and over again with the blade. There was no escape, and though the torment was excruciating he could not help but be gratified that neither his brother nor Sara was being hurt and his friend Ashton must have gotten away also. The dream seemed to continue for an eternity, thousands of times Seth felt the blade slice through his flesh glancing off of his ribs and cutting deeply into his organs. Eventually, as if the torture wasn't enough, Seth found himself unable to breathe, thus he started to cough. Coughing it seemed would be the release from his torturous nightmare, for as soon as he began coughing, the dream faded, and opening his eyes he was able to see both Sara and Garret. He tried to speak several times but barely managed any words. Before he lost consciousness again however he had seen Sara smile, and he knew everything would be alright.

After losing consciousness the second time Seth found his condition puzzling, for outwardly he could not seem to wake, though he was perfectly capable of conscious thought. He didn't dream so instead he spent the hours thinking about the past few days. He had learned that his family wasn't his family after all at least not by birth. Then if that wasn't enough he and Garret had to leave their home and their father and friends behind, but had made a new friend of Ashton. Whose friendship has already become invaluable. So the three of them had made their way to Stone Haven where they had met Sara. Seth knew he was already madly and irrevocably in love with Sara, and he hoped that his growing relationship with her wouldn't hurt his relationship with his brother, and up to this point Garret seemed very supportive of them both. So Seth thought over and over, I am not who I thought I was just days ago, though James is still my father in my heart, and Garret my brother, I am unsure who exactly I am. I have lost my father now, but gained both Sara and Ashton, but in the days to come I will probably lose them all at the choosing. What am I to do, Seth thought, when the world takes everyone away from me? With that final thought Seth awoke.

Sara woke with a start realizing she had fallen asleep when she had meant to stay awake. She must have gotten cold while sleeping, as she was now curled up in a ball, lying on her side. She reached down to push herself to a sitting position, and big arms wrapped around her, steadying her. She realized immediately her mistake. She wasn’t lying on the ground at all. She spun around in Seth’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck crying. Seth pulled his arms around her, holding her as tight as he was able and kissed her forehead.

Seth had woken up during the night, weak, but considering the day’s events he felt quite well. He found himself lying on the ground, his head cradled in Sara’s lap. She had been shivering uncontrollably, and Seth was a bit upset to find their blanket wrapped around him. Using what little strength he had, he managed to pull himself into a seated position, and inched his way to the wall, pressing his back against it, dragging the blanket with him. He then sat for a few moments beside Sara, regaining his strength before he carefully pulled her into his lap. He hadn’t been able to lift her, so he left her lying in a ball on his legs, and covered her with the blanket. Her shivering had subsided, and she slept for a couple of hours peacefully. As it turned out it was Seth who was the one to stay awake until she regained consciousness.

Sara let her tears of joy fall unchecked onto Seth’s shoulder.

She hugged him tightly around the neck, completely overcome with happiness. Seth just hugged her in his arms and whispered.

“I told you I would never let you go.”

Sara nodded into his shoulder unwilling to release him even for a second. She did not deserve him she knew. He was hers none the less, and she would spend her life trying her best to live up to his expectations. She now owed him her freedom, her now mending heart, her soul, and after yesterday’s events, her life as well. She relaxed her hold on his neck, unwilling to completely release him, and moved her face to his and kissed him more passionately than ever before. Her entire body trembled with the passion of her kiss, and she didn’t stop kissing him until the trembling ceased. She pulled away from his face slowly, and Seth gasped for air. Sara giggled a little and kissed him again quickly just because she could. Wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of the night kissing him, she knew that he needed rest to heal and so she tightened her hug around his neck once again and whispered in his ear.

“You need to get some sleep.”

Seth’s head shook in response, and he replied.

“No angel, I’ve slept all day. I’m not even the least bit tired.”

Sara nodded, and with a kiss to his neck slid comfortably into his lap, and turned her body to face him. They could not see each other through the darkness, but that did not keep them from peering into each other’s eyes.

“I’m glad your back.” Sara whispered into the darkness.

“Did I go somewhere?” Seth answered sarcastically.

“Yeah, you went to the one place I couldn’t go to be with you.” Sara stated a tone of defeat in her voice.

“I’m sorry.” Seth replied to her earnestly. “I promise I will try to never do it again.” He added.

They sat for hours, against the wall, Sara in Seth’s lap, wrapped warmly in his arms. She slept on and off, waking several times suddenly to look up at him, as if assuring herself that he was indeed ok, then she would go back to sleep.

Though his body did need rest, Seth could not sleep. He sat holding Sara’s body to his until the sun rose outside, and he held her still when she woke long after sunrise. The previous day must have been very trying for everyone, because even after Sara had awoke again, Garret and Ashton still remained asleep. Seth was happy they slept, as it gave him more time alone with his angel.

As Sara woke for the last time that morning, she smiled knowing, even before her eyes opened, that he was looking at her, watching her sleep. It seemed to her that this was becoming a common occurrence. She liked it. She liked waking in his embrace. The first sight she would see of the new day would be his smile. The first voice she would hear was his voice. It was her own personal heaven.

Seth watched Sara stir, watched her beautiful smile spread across her delicate face. He looked at her waiting patiently for her to open her eyes. He didn’t wait long, and he greeted her with a smile. Her Golden amber eyes shone at him like two little suns, they lit a fire in his soul every time he looked into them. The feeling was like a drug, and he was terribly addicted. They sat silently looking into one another’s eyes until Garret awoke.

Garret stirred, stretching, then yawning, opened his eyes. He had been sleeping on his side, facing towards Seth and Sara when his eyes opened. They nearly popped out of his head. Not only was his brother awake, he was sitting up, Sara in his lap, as if nothing had ever happened. Garret jumped to his feet, and would have ran up to them if the low ceiling had permitted.

“Lookin’ good.” Garret stated then a bit more cautiously asked. “How do you feel?”

“Better than you might anticipate bro, but I’m still weak as hell.” Seth answered with a crooked grin on his face.

“I’ll take weak over dead any day.” Garret responded laughing loudly.

Ashton woke to Garret’s laughing and turned to see the occasion. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He had not dreamed, hoped, nor did he even pray that Seth would recover this fast. He too hopped out of his makeshift bed and came to listen to the twins’ conversation.