The Warmth in the Dark

Ian was floating in the middle of a white room. Around him, various images played out, almost as if he were looking at TV. He tried to move closer to the screens, but his body ignored him. With nothing better to do, he watched the various screens. Each one showed a different view of his body.

One screen switched to a woman’s face. She was pale, with skin and dark brown hair. Her dark hair fell in waves around her shoulders.

“Don’t forget I love you, my son.” Her voice echoed, low and soft. The sad tone of her voice pulled at Ian’s heartstrings.

That voice… was it her who talked to me earlier? Ian thought, feeling a strange familiarity with her.

Tears began falling down her face, even as she tried her best to wipe them away. The room seemed to react to her emotions as rain began falling from above.

Oddly, Ian couldn’t feel the rain. His skin and clothes remained dry, though the water hit the ground around him. Each drop was a steady, almost peaceful lullaby.

The woman turned away from the screen and wrapped herself around his body. Once her arms touched Ian’s body, it changed into a woman — growing to the same height as the man in the warehouse. She was wearing golden armor, and pure white wings grew like those of a giant bird on his back.

The woman quickly kicked a strange creature in the back, catching it off guard before it could attack Paul. The creature rolled across the ground several times before stopping. She quickly caught up to it and formed a spear of light.

She rammed the spear through the creature’s heart, leaving it pinned to the ground. The creature roared, but a huge white light shot from its body, melting it from the inside until only charcoal remained.

The woman then snapped her fingers, summoning a giant shield of light before shrieking down. The screen went dark.

Following the TV’s, the room turned dark as well. Ian tried to fight the urge, but his eyelids grew so heavy that they finally closed. The last thing heard was the woman’s voice.

I’ll always protect you, my child.”

The entire room became silent.

Ian sat in the dark, his mind trying to understand what was happening. His breathing grew harder and faster as everything seemed to close in around him.

Am I going to die here?

His consciousness faded.

Ian shot up, panicking as he gripped his chest. He sucked in as much air as possible, mind racing with the memory of nothing but darkness gripping him. A cold, depressing feeling. A tear slipped down Ian’s cheek, and he rocked back and forth, crossing his arms over his chest.

An arm suddenly wrapped around Ian’s body, helping fight the cold feeling that had spread through him. “Come on, Ian. I need you to breathe in slowly, then breathe out slowly.”

Ian recognized the voice as Nadia’s and quickly followed her instructions. He slowly breathed in, then released it.

“Good. Just keep breathing like that, nice and slow,” she encouraged.

After a few moments, Ian’s breathing steadied. He finally opened his eyes, and his vision slowly adjusted to the dim hospital room. He glanced around, relieved to see he was safe.

His bed was in the middle of the room, with a machine to his left monitoring his vitals. To his right sat Nadia in a chair.

Besides the dream, the last thing he remembered was being thrown into a shelf, and his ribs broke while he struggled to breathe. Carefully touching his side, he was shocked to find no lingering pain. His body felt stronger than before the incident.

A small smile formed on his face.

“Look at you, Mr. Grumpy, smiling again!” the chair squeaked as Nadia leaned forward. “The world must be burning if you smiled two times in a row.”

“You know you’re kinda weird!”

“OI! That’s rude as hell!” She said, flicking him in the head.

Ian caught Nadia’s hand before she could flick again. “Ugh, stop being so childish!”

“You’re calling me childish but still holding my hand? I think we might be moving kind of fast.” Nadia joked. “You should at least take me out first”

Ian hurriedly let go, embarrassment spreading across his face as he scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying… I mean, I was just, ugh, sorry. I’m not used to having conversations with people.”

Nadia covered her mouth, trying to hide her laughter. “It can’t be helped. Honestly, I’m a loner, too. It’s why I’m usually so shy around you and the others.”

“It seems you’re talking fine now.”

Ian rested both hands in his lap.

Nadia shrugged. “I saw you almost cry. I reckon that makes us friends. Honestly, we’d better be friends. If not, I’ll totally spread gossip around the office.”

A mischievous grin spread across her face.

Ian cocked his head to the side, resting his hand beneath his chin as he pretended to think over the conversation.

“Two rejects being friends? I don’t know. It could lead to problems.”

“If it helps, I was the one who volunteered to watch the room in case someone attacked.”

Ian crossed his arms, nodding sagely as he listened.

“Yes, those are brownie points and good reasons to be friends, then.”

Nadia reached across the bed, grabbing one of his hands and forcing Ian to uncross his arms.

“Oh, what an enjoyable time! I can’t wait for the amount of chaos we can come up with, Mr. Hayes.”

She joked in a fake Southern accent.

Before Ian got a chance to respond, the door opened.

A tall man, standing around six feet four, entered the room. He wore a full black suit with a blue tie, his long hair tied into a neat ponytail.

Behind him was a woman in a long black dress that matched his suit. She held a small purse and wore a hat. Both looked to be in their late fifties to early sixties, and both were dressed very well.

“Sorry again, Officer. We wanted to see my—”

The man stopped when he saw Ian sitting up in bed, holding Nadia’s hands.

“I’m sorry if we interrupted something.”

Nadia quickly jumped up, releasing Ian’s hand as she returned to her seat. Her face turned bright red.

“We were… No, you guys… nothing was going on.”

She stammered as she tried to explain herself.

The man sighed as the woman let out a loud squeal and ran over to Nadia, completely ignoring her son in the bed.

“I’m so happy my baby finally found someone! I was so worried about his quiet nature and the fact that he works long hours. He’d never find anyone.”

The woman gushed, tears flying down her face as she looked at Nadia.

“And look how beautiful you are! We must know everything about you. All the details. Leave nothing out.”

Ian felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his head as he stared at the scene, his mind drawing a blank at how everything had become so chaotic.

“Mom, we aren’t dating. She’s just a coworker from my job.”

The woman turned toward Ian with a frown.

“Gabe, we raised you better than to lie. Come on now.”

She gave him one last glare before turning back to Nadia with a smile.

“My name is Natasha, or Tasha for short. My husband’s name is Michael, though he generally prefers to go by Mike. Of course, we are Ian’s parents.”

Ian moaned into his hands, unsure how he could clean up the situation.

Mike, still chuckling, approached his wife and gently pulled her toward the door.

“Now, now, honey. They could be recently dating, and we don’t want to embarrass the new couple any more than we already have.”

He turned and winked at Ian.

“Fine, fine. But Gabe, she is coming for dinner soon.”

Tasha demanded as his father dragged her out of the room.

Mike’s loud laughter echoed through the hallways.

Ian sat awkwardly in the bed, his head still resting in his hands as he did his best to hold back his embarrassment.

“I think I’ll go and grab some coffee.”

Nadia muttered as the door clicked closed behind her.

With a sigh, Ian sank back into the bed. It had been the worst night of his life, but he couldn’t help smiling at the fact that he had survived.

He never noticed the bright light in the corner blinking before disappearing.