16 Firuz - Dazed

Firuz gasped for air, chest billowing up and down... His legs, heavy with exhaustion, burned with a sweet ache, screaming for a rest. His frail body broken under the whims of adventure, yet he felt a strange lightness in him. A smile blossomed on a face that was accustomed to displaying looks of fear and uncertainty, his laughter echoing off the dark walls that were as immobile as his past.

"I… I can't run anymore." He glanced at his new friend as the suppressed fear in him once again re-emerged and started to whisper 'Is he going to leave me?' His fingers dug into the flesh of his thighs as tears glistened in his eyes. 'Move! Move! Don't give up. Please, I ask just this one time, give me this adventure!'

'What's wrong?' Azad asked with a barely perceptible frown.

"Nothing..." Firuz forced himself to stand straight, controlling his breathing. "You were too fast for me. I couldn't keep up." Firuz forced a smile on his pallid face.

'Too fast?!' Azad eyed the boy before him in disbelief. 'Well, to reach the place we are going, we have to move faster.'

"Faster…" Firuz's chest tightened; suddenly, the walls once again called to him... 'No! I don't want to go back. There has to be a way. I... I can run faster. I will run faster.' His eyes shone with determination, but the burning pain in his legs was a constant reminder of the reality of his situation. "We should move faster. Don't want to miss our adventure." Sweat trickled down his forehead as his breathing stabilized, but the thought of the journey ahead weighed heavily on him; doubts snuck past his walls of determination; he could feel it weakening, cracking under the onslaught of burning pain in his chest..

'Are you sure?' Azad cocked his right eyebrow in question, his brow furrowed in doubt as he stared at the sickly boy before him. Something felt off to him.

"We don't have all day do we?" Firuz forced a smile on his face; limbs still burning with pain. "Show me the way."

Azad stared at the boy before him; he had a lingering feeling of something being off, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

Their adventure began once again, but this time instead of a mad rush, it was a slow and meandering walk through dark alleys and dimly lit streets. Men would occasionally stare at them with a frown on their faces; boys were not supposed to be out, they were to be inside the safety of their houses, and yet a boy appeared before them. Even though they had their misgivings, the hour of peace was precious, and no one was willing to waste it on a foolish boy.

'Firuz! Have you seen something strange lately?'

"What..." Firuz weakly said, even talking had become a chore now. It didn't even feel like he was walking, his legs had long turned numb with pain.The ordeal came to an abrupt end when he tripped on a raised cobblestone. His face slapped against the cold hard rock. At first he didn't even notice the pain, and instead a strange bliss washed over his body. It was as if his body was relishing at the chance of finally being able to rest.

Soon, his senses returned to him. At first, he noticed the pain; then the sweet coppery taste in his mouth; and at last, he noticed he had fallen down. He looked dazedly around him, not sure where he was at. "Arash... Arash where are you?"

Azad dragged him away from the center of the street, propping him against the wall. Firuz noticed the piercing blue eyes, noticed the worry in them. The boy before him was trying to say something, but his voice a low and unintelligible. Suddenly, all sounds disappeared and his vision blackened. Slowly, all the sensations turned into an old and familiar feeling. "It's happening again."

Firuz found himself restricted in his weightless body, floating in boundless darkness bellowing into eternity. "Did I pass out?"

These strange dreams always occurred while he was unconscious, starting at the same place, same feeling of helplessness. Soon, the calls will come and his journey would start. Even though all these visions started same they always ended different. They were like a strange adventure of his own. Suddenly the image of a blue-eyed boy appeared before him. For the first time in a long time he struggled against the ritual he wanted to have his own adventure with someone he could call a friend. He struggled, struggled to get free, struggled to waked up.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" He struggled with all his might and felt the restrictions relent a little he felt his head move a little. It was a small turn of head, but there it was. His little victory turned into the motivation to persevere, but soon the calls came. His body shifted out of the darkness and he found himself floating in a familiar street.

Azad stood before him, horror plastered over his face as he stared at his direction...