The Woman's Game - 17. Part Two: Book of Revelations V

They travelled together and it was midday; they had to carry on in order to reach the next town or they would die in the cold.

Ash was the stronger of the two of them so he held The Mental Patient up as they travelled; wishing they could find somewhere to stop that was safe.

‘Ash, where are we. I feel so weak.’ He began to cough.

‘We are nearly to safety, just stay awake. You need to stay awake, please.’ A tear began to drop down Ash’s face.

The Mental Patient tried to stand on his own but fell back into Ash’s arms. The meeting with Death had weakened him to the point of exhaustion. He couldn’t travel much further. Both Ash and The Mental Patient knew this but neither of the two weak boys was willing to accept the inevitable fact. Ash, struggling to keep The Mental Patient up on his feet collapsed onto the floor because of the weight.

A crack of a twig near them. Two wolves approaching them saw their prey collapse. They knew it was time to attack. They pounced one by one, aiming for the flesh of the two men. Ash and The Mental Patient began to scream for help, but there was no-one for miles. No help. No one would ever hear their cries.

‘Help me, Ash. It hurts.’ One of the wolves had hold of The Mental Patient’s foot. It ripped each shoe off and began to bite into the sole of the shoe.

‘It’s fine.’ Yelled Ash, as the other wolf was biting into his arm; Forest dinner for the pair of them. ‘Keep calm and keep yelling. Someone will hear us.’ Ash yelped in pain.

‘I’ll be okay.’ The Mental Patient screamed as the wolf that was eating his shoe began to chew his foot as he slowly worked his way up The Mental Patient’s body. ‘Promise?’ A louder scream.

‘Promise.’ Ash burst out into tears of pain as the wolf bit down into one of his veins. Blood poured all over the wolf faces.

It was broad daylight and these beasts were ripping them limb from limb.

The Mental Patient had already given up. It was to be his time. He closed his eyes and waited for an old friend to come searching for him to take him down the River Styx.

But then, a shroud of light erupted from his fingertips. It was the Blue Dragon.

The Blue Dragon defended its master from the ravenous wolves, destroying each of them and turning them to dust. Ash looked in bewilderment; he had been saved…The Blue Dragon then turned to its master and surrounded him, giving him warmth and shelter until help arrived.

Ash, felt the cold beginning to affect him, so he summoned The Fiend Fyre in order to also protect him. He wondered why it didn’t come forward to save him. Was he not good enough or was The Mental Patient the one that was meant to save them all?

Only time would tell.

The Mental Patient fell into a dreamlike state and tried to remember his name. All he was called by Ash was ‘Boy’. Nothing personal. He dreamt of a name but it escaped from him every time it came close. He tried to remember so much. He still didn’t have a name.

In his dreams, he was constantly searching for his own truth.

Time was to pass…

They found him without clothes with several abrasions to his skin. The other boy was less damaged so they took him to the local hospital without a memory wipe, in order to make sure he would remember the evening’s events.

With the other boy, The Mental Patient, they took him back to be saved…

Days, Weeks and Months passed.

Little did the boys know, that ‘Boy’ would soon realise his name and that would be when it was all going to change. When it was all going to be put at risk for the sake of life, yet again.

**

The base was invaded when she went missing. There was something ominous about the cubic room but the Resistance knew, through some sort of cosmic influence to leave it alone. They found the place where the games were played and they took the smashed crystals that lay on the floor.

In their lab, they managed to piece them back together again and now they had gathered as many of the crystals as they could. Their men were armed and were in their cryogenic chamber. With a portable game board frozen into their arms, they were ready for a war. Although, this excess of preparation would not come to much use in the war itself anyway…

God help their souls.

They locked something away. Something dangerous. Something that was a danger to itself and the public. An independent body moderating the world observed their actions and they were pleased.

So, in turn everyone was pleased. This boy had issues. Issues beyond comprehension. They locked him in a chamber and made him believe that he was insane.

The Resistance were not proud of what they did, but they did what they had to do to have any hope of defeating her.

Of course, the true nature of The Mental Patient was yet to be revealed.

He was still discovering his truth.

They were not proud of the action they were taking but it was for his own safety. The Company were watching and they would not be best pleased if this should go wrong. They had to save what was left of his mind.

He was found, wondering naked in the countryside, saying he had been attacked by some vicious creatures. But something saved him and surrounded him with warmth. Of course, The Mental Patient knew what he was doing.

He wasn’t going to tell them about his Blue Dragon any time soon. Besides, he now knows he has an automatic defence mechanism because of his connection with his dragon.

An ex operative picked him up and brought him ‘home’ straight away.

**

The Mental Patient could hear a ticking clock. He knew it was coming. The world was coming. Death was coming…

He could see The Game and knew what was going to happen and it broke his heart. Parts of his personality were coming back to him and he didn’t know… He just didn’t know…

His memories were making him cry, despite how unclear they were.

They were a haze to him, but that was what made the bigger impact. The haze of memory.

He knew the game was going to be lost by someone precious.

Here he was, locked away in a chamber because everything he had ever done was correct. All of his predictions exactly right to the second. He prayed to his God that this predicted would be wrong.

A beam of light appeared through the game in the window. He had been chained to a storage facility. The room was highly claustrophobic and as the lady opened the door, he felt a breath of fresh air hit his lungs. He hadn’t seen the light in days.

She was an elderly woman. She didn’t speak a word for a few minutes.

She pointed her finger at the main lock around his chest, and the cogs inside began to turn and unlock. As he felt the grip of the chains loosening, he felt liberated and jumped down.

But then she finally spoke. ‘Help me.’ She then ran with her flowery green skirt passing in the wind behind her.

The Mental Patient did what came naturally to him; he followed her down the corridor. A natural born sheep; a scapegoat.

She explained who she was. It was obvious to him. She explained her situation. She had aged badly. He placed his palm upon her cheek and the light from his hands began to shine brightly and enter her face….

An invigoration.

Her skin began uncurl and her eyes became younger.

He had never done this before.

‘It’s okay. It will be alright.’ A bright light surrounded the both of them as a younger, more agile female came out from the light. Alongside her, a child classed insane.

‘You won’t remember this my dear, but do remember; I am always watching.’

With that, the room went to blank and The Mental Patient found himself in an environment that seemed far too harsh to be The Resistance…

He was slap bang in the middle of The Shrouded One’s Headquarters…