Chapter 3: Nightmares and Regrets

Andrew left his room and met his parents in his living, his heart clenched, and his breath hitched. He hadn't seen his parents in many years, losing them very early on. Now that they were alive and in front of him smiling, he had no idea what to say.

Andrew's parents noticed that he had walked, while his father just waved his hand and continued to watch the TV his mother got up to greet him.

As she walked closer Andrew felt his heart beat faster, despite realizing this new reality he still struggled with everything. How much of this was real? How was he able to live and gain such a chance?

As his thoughts began to race, something in his mind started to take over, and the world in front of his eyes began to fall apart. The ground beneath his feet crumbled as he fell.

He fell.

He fell endlessly, into a bottomless abyss, unable to understand what was happening. As he kept falling, the winds that hit his body began to grow in temperature. The air shook under the heat as Andrew's body began to sweat, the winds searing seemingly searing his body.

All of sudden, his body hit the ground, with a resounding thump. Fortunately, nothing had been broken, but Andrew still felt the immense aching and pain that the shock from falling had brought him.

Slowly recovering from the aftermath of the fall, Andrew slowly got up. When he got up and looked around he was met with a familiar view. The earth was cracked and the sky consumed by darkness, the land was desolate and the air polluted. Not a single sign of life could be seen for miles on end. The very land itself felt cursed.

As Andrew continued to look around he finally recognized where he was. Andrew had officially found himself in the now barren lands of Alaska, the aftermath of the Alaskan ID (dungeon) collapse.

Trudging through the shattered earth he made his way over to what seemed like the ruins of a house. The inside was tattered and broken as if a tornado had torn threw everything and swept it all apart. As he continued to explore the ruins of this once home he heard a crunch. He had just stepped upon a broken picture frame. In it were a family, mother, father, and their child all smiling while seemingly partaking in fishing.

As he continued to gaze at the frame, he found the people within the picture familiar. In an instant, his heart chilled as he recognized the family in this photo. Despite how much younger they looked, he could recognize the faces of his mother and father. The picture was one that they took on his tenth birthday. His father had wanted to show him how to fish, and his mother had insisted on using whatever he caught as dinner that day.

Panic soon settled in his heart as he started to explore the ruins of the house in a rush. In an instant, he arrived at what was the master bedroom of the home. The room was deathly silent, only the faint sounds of wind existed. Much of the items within the room had been destroyed, cupboards and wardrobe doors all broken, lay hanging of a single hinge.

As he continued to explore the remains of the room, he suddenly noticed something right in the corner of his eye. Turning around his gaze fell upon a peculiar shadow in the corner of the room. Moving closer to get a closer look, Andrew found what seemed to be two figures huddled in the corner. The moonlight which shone through the ruins, was all that illuminated the room. As the light shined through, it bounced off a piece of jewelry on one of the figures. The glint from the jewelry brought Andrew's attention to it. His eyes widened as he immediately recognized what it was, the wedding rings of both his parents, a simple but beautiful pair of golden rings. Finally realizing their identities he called out.

"Mom, Dad!"

As he got closer he was able to see his parents, or at least what remained. What he saw shook his body to its core. Two bodies half-decayed and huddled up against each other. Their bodies had already been mostly consumed by the manners of maggots and bugs, any remaining flesh had turned an unsightly grey, as parts of their bone could be seen through the decay. Their hands held together and intertwined in one final loving embrace as their heads rested against each other.

Confusion, rage, pain, regret.

All these emotions swirled around Andrew until only two could be seen despair as the dark as abyss, and anger as fiery as the depths beneath. A raging fire began to flow through his veins as his body began to shake violently.

All of a sudden a familiar voice called out to him.

"Andrew, Andrew, ANDREW"

Instantly Andrew broke out of that vision as he stirred to clarity, realizing that he had almost lost himself in a nightmare of a memory. His mom, and his dad, both of them were currently alive.

As this happened his mom went up to him, she spoke while touching his face.

"Are you alright honey? Why are you crying"

"Huh" was the only response that Andrew could say as he touched his face. The wetness of his tears now staining his hand. Sniffling a little, he chuckled as a bright smile shined across his face.

"Nothing Mom I'm just happy that's all"

Reached forward he pulled his mother into his arm whispering " I love you, Mom"

He was back and he could finally change everything.

No, he had to.