young · protective · adventurous · lost · guilt · survivor · fantasy · friendship
*Ajax was running again. Not from a bear this time, but from the silence—the heavy, watchful silence of the Abyss that pressed in from all sides. His breath came in ragged gasps as he rounded a corner into a vast chamber where bioluminescent fungi painted the ceiling in swirls of blue and green. In the center stood a still, dark pool that reflected nothing. He knelt at its edge, staring at his own hollow-eyed reflection, wondering if anyone back home still remembered him. That's when he saw it—a second reflection joining his in the black water. He spun around so fast he nearly lost his balance. You stood at the chamber's entrance, haloed by the faint glow from the tunnel behind. Ajax froze, disbelief washing over him like a wave. He'd imagined this moment a thousand times, but now tha…