How About Breakfast?

Despair, fear, unbridled rage.

He experienced them all in flashes. The cause of them was... it was... what was it?

His hand found it's way to the sweat dripping over his brow, his garment stuck to him like a second skin; drenched in sweat. His whole body was trembling and his breathe was uneven.

"A nightmare?"

It had to be, yet, try as he may he could not remember even a fragment of it.

A more unsettling detail, was the view he woke up to was the same.

"So not a dream", he sighed and swung his feet off the bed. The world beyond the window was also the same; a monotonic, depressing background. He sighed even more and swept his gaze across the room.

"Awake are we?" Caster asked in a flat tone from somewhere beyond the door.

Michael made his way to the door which swung open by itself startling him a bit.

A cool breeze greeted him and weirdly enough, the sweet scent of outdoors filled his lungs refreshing his fatigued mind. However, it was a clear contrast to what met his eyes and ears too. It was as if overnight the world around them had come alive with... voices? Sluggish groans filled the air and silhouettes the horizon. Thick mist permeated the vicinity limiting their field of vision, but somehow Michael could tell the mist was not deserted. No, that was not accurate, it was more like he could feel the presence, like how you feel the warmth on someones skin, only it was much more eerie and overwhelming. His skin crawled with goosebumps at the suffocating feeling of unease.

"I take it you feel them?", Caster asked never once averting his gaze from the horizon.

How did he know, did he feel too? Michael would have asked but what was the point, he was too tired of the enigma that surrounded the Nether to even bother.

"Tea, coffee, milk, something strong?"

That question remained unanswered.

Michael's mind was still weighed down by myriad questions his mind frozen in perpetual uncertainty.

"Your tea is getting cold", Caster spoke loud, his voice sounding frustrated.

"Yeah, tea sounds nice."

The two men sat on the front steps staring into oblivion, the sound of the gentle breeze howling as it rushed by. Michael peered into the mist, the constant presence he perceived weighing on him. He focused his attention on the shifting mist, the pockets of darkness that appeared momentarily as the wind tore into the white veil trying to uncover the mystery.

"Do you love eggs for breakfast?" Michael was momentarily stunned, the question was random and a bit odd. Their silence had gone on for a while, it was only natural it would become uncomfortable. Small talk was not that bad either. He decided to indulge Casters question.

"Yeah, scrambled though." he said with a light smile, allowing his mind to remain in the present moment away from all the questions.

"Good, good." After a brief silence he added, "have you ever gone on a hunt before?" This time Michael furrowed his eyebrow at the question.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Oh...", he responded with a light chuckle,"nothing serious, I figured we could got get eggs, you still owe me for saving your life".

Michael stared at him, a confused look etched on his face. Was this man being serious? Then again, could he really turn down the offer? In favor of what? The idleness so far proved detrimental to Michael's mental health and the Caster's suggestion promised to be a change of pace. Yeah, maybe he could go on a hunt. It would allow him to learn a few things about the Nether.

They finished their respective cups of tea and got up, Michael following behind Caster.

The skies were steal bleak, with the occasional snow flake lazily falling to the ground. Michael took in more of their surrounding as the cut their way through the mist along a weathered path.

Michael's thoughts wandered back to when Caster spoke of how the Nether bound souls to their desires.

"How do you know that this whole area is not a manifestation of your desire?" he asked catching up to him.

"Easy, I know my desire." Caster answered matter of factly and a silence ensued.

It was a valid argument, if one knew their desire, then wasn't it right to say that they would know when the Nether conjured a world around it? What was his desire? Michael up until now had assumed his desire to be strength. It was a simple, spur of the moment conclusion, yet now as he thought about it, that conclusion appeared hollow. Ascertaining it's truth demanded Michael spend time retrospecting, that would have to wait until they got breakfast.

They continued to traverse the mist, Caster taking point and Michael following loyally behind him.

***

"You see that field, at the center of it there's a pile of eggs around this time-"

"YOU ARE DERANGED!!" Michael whispered hoarsely at Caster as they hid behind a giant rock. After walking through the mist for a while, Caster had opened a rift which they stepped through into a grass field.

The moment they set foot on the grass, a vine lashed out almost instantly, too fast for Michael to even react to it, but Caster was faster, managing to pull them behind the safety of the giant rock.

"Calm down, it's nothing you can't handle, besides I am here. If you get too overwhelmed, I'll take over." Caster tried to convince a terrified Michael... it was not working at all. Michael's heart was racing wildly, his throat hoarse and constricted from the shock. He stared at Caster, the white of his eyes tainted red, his forehead pulsating as adrenaline pumped through his blood stream.

"Fuck that, fuck the eggs and fuck you. How am I supposed to get to the center of that death field, if I can't even see what is attacking me?"

Caster grinned in a way that made Michael uneasy, as if he had been waiting for this very question. "Simple, you just run as fast as you possibly can. I believe you can match or even exceed the speed of the vines, so this should be an easy task don't you think." Caster said, uncaring of Michael's terrified look.

"Also, if it's any consolation, the whips only lash out if and only if you step on the grass. So, don't step on the grass. Easy right?" Michael glared at Michael with such anger and disbelief. Was Caster hearing himself talk? What about Michael told him that he could actually pull this off? Michael was beyond dumbfounded. He got up, ready to walk away from the killing field but caster pulled him down in frustration.

"Fine, I'll answer your questions once you succeed, where you are, who I am , who you are, why you are here. The nine yards" He finished an innocent smile plastered on his face that did nothing to ease Michael's nerves.

The prospect of having his questions answered nearly convinced Michael. However, the price he had to pay didn't seem as dire, he didn't trust he had even the slightest chance of survival."I think I'll pass?" That was not the answer Caster was hoping for. He proceeded to gently place his hand on Michael's back and smiled.

"You didn't have a choice anyway"

Michael felt something hit his back, where Casters hand was, with the weight of a siege ram. Before he could register Caster's words, he was flying into the boulder shattering it into fragments and then through the air over the grass field.

The ground stirred ready to welcome his arrival.