The Nightmare Game (81 page)

Now safely settled into our new lives, Edmond and
I were pleased to find out that the link we had shared in our battle against
Arrosha has given us a unique bond, unlike any that either of us had ever had
with anyone else. We’re enormously empathetic toward each other and have
retained a sense of what the other is thinking and feeling, a sense of the
other’s wants and needs, a sense that is beyond normal human interaction. As a
result, we’ve grown ever more dependent on each other’s company.

Often though, when I think about how grateful I am
to be alive, how happy I am that Edmond was rescued and that the members of the
group are now safe, I can’t help but wonder about Virginia, Marcus and Zachary.
What reward awaited them for all of their efforts? Were they now in an eternal
afterlife of bliss after their incredible sorrow, eternal peace after their
intense struggles? Or had they had simply found themselves in eternal oblivion?
I had to think it was the former, because for them to have worked so hard for
no reward just didn’t feel right to me.

After a few years, the effects of the essence and
the water began to wear off and the group and I all began to age normally
again. It was good that our lives were now sheltered and quiet, for the fight
with Arrosha wound up taking too much out of both Edmond and I, leaving us in
good, albeit delicate, health in the end.

The Trust arranged for Edmond, myself, and the
group to see their staff psychiatrist, whom they’ve trained to be familiar with
our very unique situation. I don’t think any one else would have believed us,
let alone aided us as indispensably as he has. He’s been invaluable and has
really helped us all in trying to pull ourselves together. Our nightmares are
not nearly as bad as they once were and continue to lessen over time.

Edmond and I are the closest one can get in this
world to true happiness and it’s so good that we have each other. We’re there
to comfort each other on the nights that one of us wakes up screaming.

S. Suzanne Martin grew up in a small town north of
New Orleans. She received her Bachelors Degree from the School of Visual Arts
in Manhattan and worked in design, art, and copywriting. Her interests in art
and fantasy merged this, her first novel, THE NIGHTMARE GAME.

She currently lives in Austin, Texas with her dog
Tango and her cat Delta.