Mechanical Gods (lgbtq+)

Chapter Twenty-Three: This is my Heart, and it beats for you

     The memories coalesced calmly, like a veiled mist hovering over the lake as the blue moon danced above, ever so slightly touching the surface of the water with sweet kisses. Mysterious yet fascinating to watch, its calm waters known the peace most sought by those who seek it. And Tyler didn't want to leave.

     Tyler knew he was dreaming. He felt his floating body in the abyss of darkness, staring at the deep waters of the lake below him that had turned blood red. He dared touch it, and the cold shocked him. The answers he sought were hidden in a shroud, gripped by the cloth of truth, sown to infinite threads getting longer the more he pushed his questions to the brink.

     Tyler raised his eyes toward the bank. So far yet so close at the same time, but no matter what he did, he could never reach it. A figure stood at the edge of that bank. He recognized him. Dressed in white, Aiden stood with a reticent stare directed at him. Hundreds of bodies lay beneath his feet, dripping with agony and despair, clamoring as a wild purple fire consumed them, and screaming without making a sound.

     There was only silence, and even that was deafening.

     Aiden suddenly began to emanate a white light, gradually getting brighter. Without warning, Aiden splintered into a thousand of his image, brimming the bank of the lake with their bodies like a wave. They were chanting but their voices never reached him. The blinding white light rushed toward him, enveloping his body.

     Tyler bolted awake, screaming.

     He caught the scent of the antiseptic air, the ping of a machine in rhythm with his own heartbeat, and the unblemished white walls of a hospital room. Or something similar to it because the last thing he remembered was the facility. It wasn't his bedroom in his suite, that he was sure. Although how long he was out, he couldn't determine. The memory of the strange dream came flooding in like Tetris blocks, slowly connecting each other as he lay there in bed staring at the ceiling. Then the things that happened earlier. The memory getting clearer. 

     Aiden, Tyler thought.

     He took a deep breath. That was a mistake.

     It felt like a dull knife twisting between his ribs and a rock lodged right at his sternum. It was not an easy sensation, but he groaned through all that pain as he forced to turn his head from side to side, barely keeping his breathing steady. Tears welled up in his eyes hoping the pain would dissipate. His head was pounding, a hammer battering at a firm and steady pace. At the top of his head was like tiny feet of insects swarming him, giving him an enormous urge to scratch it right away but he couldn't move that fast nor raise his hand far enough to touch his forehead.

     Echoes of footsteps clacked its way outside the door across from him. It was sharp and piercing, each clack getting louder as it drew near. It wasn't long until he heard two, three more, each pair forming an orchestra of footsteps. They stopped; waiting and breathing behind that door. Tyler heard the shuffle of keys and locks unlocking in three malefic clicks before the familiar face of Gideon Reese entered the room.

     Gideon Reese was dressed in his usual attire, now a blue collared long-sleeved buttoned shirt without a tie, dark blue slacks and a pair of black leathered shoes to match them. He was always dressed like he was about to jump into a board meeting, and Tyler uttered a disappointing groan and rolled his eyes. He knew what was going to happen next and what was going to spill out of his lips.

     "So, you're finally awake. That took a while, though, it would have been better if it was long after the shitstorm you just did," Reese said between gritted teeth. He scowled at him, and based on his tone, he was not in a good place for humor.