Evan, September 14th, 1546

  He screamed as a searing pain shot through his forehead. His hands shook as he realized where he was. Back in that same living room with Aubrey and Norman.

  “Are you alright, dear?” Aubrey tilted her head at him.

  Norman stared at him with concern written all over his face.

  Evan frowned as the pain subsided. This was too much of a coincidence.

  Dying once in a dream? That's possible. Dying twice in a dream? Unlikely but maybe. Dying three times? That sounds so impossible I'd never believe it if it didn't just happen. I have to…confirm my theory.

  He turned to Aubrey. “Sorry. I don't feel well. Do you have a place I can rest?”

  She nodded with an uneasy look on her face. “You have options. There's a room upstairs. Second door on the right. You can use that to sleep. You can sleep on the couch. That applies to you too. If you'd like to sleep separately or with your friend here.” Aubrey glanced over at Norman.

  That confirmed it.

  Evan's facade of normality crumbled and his expression fell. He shivered as he felt his body grow colder. As if the icy hand of death gripped him once more.

  “Evan?” Norman waved his hand in front of his face. “You okay?”

  He turned to him and shook his head. “We need to run.”

  “Huh?”

  He grabbed his shoulders. “We need to run far away from here.”

  “Evan, slow down. What are you talking about?”

  “There's NO TIME! WE NEED TO RUN! NOW!” He tried to drag Norman up but he remained seated in the chair.

  “Why did you ask her if there was a place to stay just to suddenly switch up and say we need to run?”

  “Ugh! Norman!” Evan let go of his hand and glanced outside. Every second mattered. Every second wasted was another second where death grew closer. The Sun would set soon. Then Zeke would be here.

  If that happened, there would be only one possible conclusion. Death.

  Evan knew that he should stay. Maybe he and Norman could find a path forward together. A path that would save all three of them.

  But then images flashed in his mind. He recalled when he had his throat slashed open. When Zeke cut him down. The fear in those final moments. The terror in those final moments. The isolation in those final moments.

  He could not stay.

  So he ran.

  He ran past Norman and Aubrey. He ran outside of the house.

  If that house brought death to him, then he had to leave. There was no other option. He rushed towards one of the gates of the city. It was currently open and some knights were investigating a few carriages that were about to enter. Evan ran past them.

  One of the knights looked up as he did and tried to grab him. But Evan ducked and ran faster.

  “Hey! Boy! Stop right there!”

  Evan didn't listen. He continued to run.

  “Idiot! Don't go outside the barrier!”

  Even as his legs begged him to stop, Evan didn't stop or look back even once. He ran outside the barrier surrounding Akhia and rushed through the forest. He kept running until the only thing he could see were trees in every direction. Then his legs finally gave out and he fell to the ground.

  He tried to take in as much air as he could but it felt like his lungs were being squeezed. He was alone. He was covered in dirt. He was sweaty. But he was alive. He just needed to think.

  Okay…breathe in. Breathe out…okay. I'm…okay. Alright.

  Evan dragged himself over to a tree and lay against it.

  So let's see. This all started when I first was kicked off that roof. I didn't wake up for nearly two months. November 1st was the date. I was with Norman when that Marianne woman killed me. Then a strange woman appeared and suddenly I was awake back when I first was kicked off the roof. If I accept that this isn't a dream, that means that Norman and I were supposed to die that day. But just by waking up, things have changed. For some reason, Zeke Washington has been killing me.

  Evan sighed. He didn't understand what he could've possibly done in their small interaction to warrant being killed twice.

  His reasons don't matter. What does matter is that I've sped up when I was originally supposed to die. But most strange of all is that I keep getting returned to Aubrey's house. Most people only have one life. So why do I go back to a specific point when I die? Why am I special? How can I convince Zeke Washington to leave me alone? What do I do to make sure I survive this? What about Marianne? Why was she after Norman and I? Ugh! There's so many things I don't know! How annoying!

  He sighed and looked up at the sky. “I didn't want to leave Norman. But what other choice do I have? If I stay there I'm going to die. We can't even fight back. Zeke is the prince. He could just make up a reason for our execution. Or a reason why he had to kill us. And who would cast doubt on him? Would the public dare choose to believe the words of three nobodies or their noble prince? That's obvious. I only see two possibilities on what to do then. Convince Zeke Washington that he shouldn't kill us. Or avoid him until we become knights. Once that happens, we probably won't have to deal with him ever again. I guess it depends on how relentless he is. But there's another problem. He killed Norman and I. In Aubrey's house. So chances are he probably killed her too if she decided to protect us. If we weren't at her house, would he still hurt her? There has to be…something I can do.” Evan suddenly felt his eyes drooping.

  He didn't know why he was so tired. But the air smelled sweet. His gaze dropped from the sky as his head fell.

  “Are those trees…moving?”

  And then his eyes closed.

  ***

  Evan opened his eyes to see that his body was covered in vines. They wrapped around his arms, his legs and his chest. The sun was no longer visible and the light of the moon was the only reason he could see. He tried to move but the vines were tight around him.

  “What the hell is going on?” He tried to pull himself up but it was no use. He could hardly move an inch. He followed the roots with his eyes to try and see where they were coming from. But he only saw trees. A few of them were much closer than remembered though.

  Right at that moment, the ground tore open in front of him. A large green hand shot upwards. It wasn't just a hand. A large body covered in dirt and grass. It looked nearly identical to a normal tree at first glance.

  It had black and green hair made of leaves. The skin was green with hints of brown and looked hard. The creature had a large red rose on its back. It had large black eyes that stared blankly at him. It was over thirty feet tall. Its hands bent and twisted as it created more vine roots and sent them into the ground. Then it tore its hands free and the roots continued to move on their own towards him.

  “SOMEONE HELP ME! SOME-” Evan was cut off as he felt new roots wrap themselves around his throat. He was lifted into the air. The creature towered over him and tilted its head. He had never felt so small in his life.

  A tiny red rose similar to the one on the creature's back formed on its finger. The rose sprayed Evan in the face.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Suddenly he was happy and a bit sleepy.

  The trees don't mean any harm. They just want to stretch my throat open, plant seeds inside of my stomach and watch as roots explode out of every orifice in my body. They want to see the special roots consume all of the mana inside of me as my body is devoured by the tree that would sprout from within. I would become food for the forest. I would become a tree that keeps the forest alive. How noble! How beautiful! I want that!

  A blush formed on his face as his mind was filled with images of the root entering his throat. It made sense. He had to die. In order to help the trees. It made so much sense.

  Evan smiled wide as it lifted another finger towards his mouth. “Ah! Thank you!” He began to tear up as he opened his mouth.

  The vine was inches away from his mouth.

  Suddenly something darted in front of him and cut through the vines holding his body.

  Evan fell towards the ground but something cushioned his fall. He wasn't concerned about exactly what it was. All he knew was that he was separated from his noble tree friends. He grit his teeth in anger and turned towards the one who had dared to save him. But suddenly he was picked up and lifted over their shoulder.

  “Gunther!” The person holding him called out to someone.

  “Got it.” A young male with black hair dove out from the trees with a bunch of knights behind him. “We'll take care of this.”

  One of the knights lifted their hand and a sea of flames was born in the forest. The flames illuminated the area and revealed multiple creatures who all looked similar to the initial tree monster.

  Several vines that were reaching for Evan wilted and dove back into the ground as the flames approached.

  Evan began to pound the back of the person who carried him as the person ran away from the flames. “Let me go! I have to get back to them. The poor things! They just want to use my body to give more life to the forest.”

  “If I didn't stop you, you would've dove right into those flames and been burned alive.” The speaker was male. His voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

  “So? Even burnt and barely standing, I'm sure my body would've made the forest very satisfied. It would be a dream to die like that! A wonderful dream!”

  “You don't mean that. It's just the air you breathed in. It's a special kind that makes it hard to think straight. Makes you feel tired. Like you want to give in to them. Like the trees are your friends.”

  Evan pounded his back harder. “The trees are my friends! I love them! We should all die for them!”

  “Some people might die.”

  “Huh?”

  The person suddenly threw Evan to the ground harshly. “Some people might die because of your selfish decision to run out here. The barrier is set up around Akhia for a reason. To keep monsters out. To keep our city safe. But you running out here attracted every monster in the area to you. You were practically serving yourself up for dinner. What's wrong with you?”

  “Nothing! There's something wrong with you!” He picked himself up and stared at the guy. A blond male with very familiar gloves. “Oh. Hi, Zeke!”

  Zeke rolled his eyes. “Hello.”

  Something in Evan's brain was telling him that he needed to run. It was a strange kind of fear that was threatening to overpower his happiness. He shuddered at the feeling. “Why did you save me?”

  “If I didn't I wouldn't get any information out of you.”

  “What would you like to know?”

  Zeke swung down and slashed at his Achilles tendon.

  Evan felt a dull sense of pain as he fell to the floor. His mind was still too foggy to be very concerned about it. “Why did you do that?”

  “To make sure you don't run away if you come back to your senses soon.”

  Evan stared at the blood shooting out of the back of his leg and shrugged. “So? Did you want to know something?”

  “How did you know my name?”

  “Your name?” Evan resisted the urge to giggle. “Why does that matter?”

  “Why do you think I sought you out and cut you down?”

  “Because…you're crazy?” This time Evan did giggle.

  “No. I was told earlier by a little imp that an unknown man knew my true identity. That man took down the barrier of the village I entered right as I got there. That could mean only one thing. He was watching me long enough to know the path I would take. Someone is watching me constantly. He timed an attack as soon as I was there. He knows who I am. And then all of a sudden you show up. A man I've never seen before. And you know my true name. You see through the illusion magic I had set up. Do you get how that looks suspicious from my perspective?”

  “So you'd be willing to kill a potentially innocent civilian over your…suspicions?”

  “I've killed for less.” Zeke shrugged.

  He didn't say it as if he were boasting. Or like he intended to strike fear into Evan's heart. He simply stated it as if it were a fact. In the same way one could state that the Sun would rise in the morning. And that made it all the more comical for Evan. He knew then. The one named Zeke Washington wasn't very normal at all.

  So he laughed. That was the only thing one could do in such an absurd situation.

  Zeke created a strange-looking yellow ball on the bottom of his foot and pressed it against his stomach to push him into the ground.

  “Oh wow! You can…use magic!” Evan spoke in between his laughter.

  “I can. Won't you tell me how you know my name?”

  “Why?”

  “Perhaps this can all be resolved peacefully.”

  Evan cackled at that. “You already cut me open! There's nothing peaceful about that.”

  “Last chance.”

  “Okay.”

  The ball began to rotate. It was pressed into Evan's stomach so naturally it began to tear through his flesh. Ripping through his belly. Covering his body in red.

  “Are you going to talk now?”

  Evan felt the pain mixed with the fear and focused for a brief moment. “Fine. Fine. I'll tell you.”

  Zeke stopped the rotation of the ball.

  “So, I had this dream where I di-”

  Evan's view was suddenly filled by a dark purple mist. He saw familiar white hair. Along with bright eyes. Red. Blue. Green. Pink. Her eyes had as many colors as a rainbow. It was like she had the entire world contained within them. Her hair and her eyes were the only parts of her that he could see.

  She shook her head and laughed softly. “I can't have you telling people about that, silly. Think about how people would treat you if they knew that death…wasn't the end for you.”

  Suddenly the mist was gone and he stared up at Zeke.

  “You had a dream where you what?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Sorry. It appears that I can't tell you.”

  He resumed his rotation and began to tear Evan's stomach open.

  “Sheesh! If you were going to kill me, you should've just let the trees do it!”

  He hadn't meant to say that.

  “How do you know?”

  Evan felt the happiness take over again. “I don't think I like you very much. How would you feel if someone killed your father?”

  Zeke stopped the rotation of the ball again and smiled for the first time. “I'd be happy.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Anderson Washington is a cruel man who tramples over people who have done nothing wrong.”

  Evan smiled as blood began to fall from his mouth. “Is that not what you're doing right now?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I've done nothing wrong. You only have your suspicions to go off of. Yet here you are. Tearing into my body as if I mean nothing! You're being very cruel to a man who has done nothing wrong!”

  “That's…that's not…”

  “How sad. You hate your father because of how he treats others. But then you go around and do the same thing. It's okay when you do it, yes? Oh. The hypocrisy! That's why it's so funny.” Evan laughed again. “You go around pretending to be a noble, nice man but you're just like the one you despise. Should you not hate yourself then?”

  “I'm NOTHING LIKE HIM!” He slammed the orb deep into Evan's guts and began tearing through them.

  All the while Evan laughed. Even as he felt his body being torn open. Even as he was covered in blood. Even as blood continued to fill his throat. It was just too comical.

  Ah yes! I can finally die! Oh. But if only I could've died because of the trees. Damn you, Zeke Washington! I hate you! Oh. But my insides are red. Just like the rose from the tree! And I'm covered in dirt and mud! Just like the trees! I hate you, Zeke Washington! I'm so happy! I'm happy! I hate you! I'm so happy! Happy! I hate you! I'm so so so happy! Oh. Evan's probably going to die. Aubrey too if she tries to protect him. I hope they become trees. Or maybe not. Maybe I can be special. Maybe I'll be consumed and be special to the trees! I happily hate you! I hate you happily! I just want to feel their love. Feel all of their precious love! Be loved exclusively! Be held exclusively! Be coddled exclusively! I want to be…

  With rage in his eyes and a bloody smile on his face, Evan Ryder died once again.

  ***

  Evan stared blankly at nothing with a smile on his face.

  “Evan?” Norman looked at him with a concerned look.

  “Yeah. I'm okay.” He felt his head suddenly clear up.

  That woman said that death wasn't the end for me. So all of this is real. If I stay here, I'll die. If I leave Akhia, I'll die. It's not like I could fight Zeke. Even if I wanted to overpower him, he knows how to use magic. And he's the prince. The only option is to just avoid him. I have to find a way to avoid death, save Norman and keep Aubrey out of danger. The best way to do that would be…

  “Are you alright, dear? Do you need to rest? You have options. There's a room upstairs. Second door on the right. You can use that to sleep. You can sleep on the couch. That applies to you too. If you'd like to sleep separately or with your friend here.” She nodded at Norman.

  Evan shook his head and smiled at her. “No. Thank you, Aubrey. I really am sorry to leave when your roof is still slightly damaged. But I've been putting something off for a while when it's been staring me in the face this whole time. I have to become a knight.”

  “Of course. I figured it was something like that. I've never seen either of you two. So I knew there was something special about you.” She stood up and walked over to another room. “Wait just a moment.”

  Norman looked at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted another head. “First you volunteer to do the roof repairs for me. Now you're saying you'd like to go do more work as quickly as possible? Who are you and what have you done with Evan?”

  He chuckled. “I'm still me. I just realized that this world is so big. And I haven't seen any of it yet. It's your fault. You wouldn't leave me alone. And now I realize that…there are some things I really don't want to lose.”

  Norman chuckled. “That's sweet. But it also sounds really…not cool.”

  “You tried to say that as nicely as you could and it still hurt!”

  Aubrey came back into the room with a large wooden basket. “Here. For your journey.”

  “Ma'am-”

  “Aubrey.”

  “Aubrey.” Norman corrected himself. “We aren't going very far.”

  “I know. I just wanted to give you boys some fruit and food to enjoy. That way you can start your journey off on a happy note.”

  Evan smiled at that. “Thank you, Aubrey. Truly. You've been very kind.”

  She led the two of them to the front door.

  They grabbed the bags their parents had prepared for them.

  “Take care of him, won't you?” Aubrey looked at Evan as she said that.

  “Huh?”

  “He seems like the wild type. You'll definitely have to keep a close eye on him.”

  “Hey!”

  “Of course, M…Aubrey! I'll make sure he doesn't do anything too reckless.”

  “I'm not a fan of the kind of person you're making me seem like.”

  She handed Evan the basket of food and looked into his eyes. “You'll be safe?”

  “Of course, Aubrey. I'll keep the both of us safe. Always!” He smiled at her.

  She smiled back but there was sadness in her eyes. “I hope the two of you become fine knights.”

  “Of course. Someday the people in Akhia will be cheering my name. You can be my first supporter!”

  And then the two of them left.

  ***

  “Staring every time you hear someone walk by isn't helping you know?”

  “I'm not staring.” Evan relaxed as he lay in a bed together with Norman. Since the two of them were friends, they were instructed to share. “I'm just uncomfortable since you're so close to me.”

  They had arrived at a resting place for incoming knights. The place was full of people. It was hard to get around with a basket and big bags. But they had somehow managed.

  “Be glad you have a bed to sleep on. I saw some people who had to sleep on the floor. Plus, I was in your room before. Just us. In your bed. If you're going to lie, you should at least be better at it.”

  “I'm not lying.” Evan shrugged. He couldn't tell Norman the real reason he checked every time someone walked by. That woman prevented him from talking too much.

  “Why did you want to walk around the city so much before coming here too?”

  “As knights, we'll probably have a lot less free time. I just wanted to walk around a bit before we get stuck with people telling us where we HAVE to walk and why.”

  In actuality, he'd wanted to walk around so there would be witnesses if Zeke asked any of the guards if they'd seen him. There were multiple buildings where people could wait and rest before becoming knights. By moving around so much, Zeke would surely have a problem narrowing down their location. At least, that was Evan's thought process.

  Norman grabbed his hand suddenly.

  “Hey! What are you-”

  “The words you speak don't match the feel of your body. You're shivering. Is something wrong?”

  Evan shook his head.

  “I see. You won't tell me.”

  “Huh!?”

  “I can see it in your eyes. Something bothers you. But you won't tell me. I'll put up with it for now because I can see you're in pain. But don't think you can avoid talking about it forever. I told Aubrey I'd watch out for you. And I will.”

  “What do you mean?” His lip quivered. “I'm not in any pain. I'm fine.”

  Norman pulled him close and held his head in his chest. “It's okay. I'm here for you.” He began to stroke his hair.

  “I'm fine…I'm…ugh!” Evan felt his vision grow blurry. “If I cry, I'm going to punch you.” He didn't know why he got so emotional whenever Norman touched him.

  “That would be unfortunate.”

  Evan let that warmth carry him to sleep.

  ***

  Evan opened his eyes and felt warmth on his back. He grabbed his throat and looked at the bed. The bed. He was in bed. He glanced behind him and saw that sunlight was streaming into the room.

  I made it. I survived. I survived. With Evan.

  He remembered all the times they hadn't survived and shivered.

  The comfort of the sunlight informed him that they had survived the night. That combined with the warmth he felt because of Norman holding him close to his chest. Suddenly his vision was blurry again. But this time he couldn't stop the tears from falling. He covered his eyes and tried to stop them but they fell anyway. They spilled from his eyes and decorated the bed.

  “Good morning, Evan.” He heard Norman’s voice.

  “I'm…so going to punch you!” He hiccuped.

  Norman brought Evan down to his lap and laughed softly. “I can only hope that your blows will be soft.”

  Evan Ryder had survived the night. So he wept.