Reborn: War's Nightmare by D. W. Jackson

one small misstep could cause them to be captured or worse. That is the reason that once it was time to sleep, two remained on guard.
    The merchant’s house was large, but it only had two rooms set up for sleeping. Ash and his wives took the master bedroom and gave the other to the married couple. Though Ash had an amiable relationship with the merchant Henry, it was not so well off that he could trust him completely. That was why once it was time to rest, Ash had Henry and Anabel tightly bound both hands and feet before having them placed on the bed for the night.
    The master bedroom was large and the bed of ample size, but it couldn’t hold everyone at one time so Ash offered to sleep on the floor but his request was quickly rejected. After trying to argue his point, Ash gave up on the matter and threw himself on the bed. He was completely mentally and physically exhausted after the days’ events and it wasn’t long before he drifted off to sleep.
    As Ash dreamed, he found himself back in Emelia’s palace sitting in the library on the long sofa next to his wife who was currently reading a book. Looking at her, Ash felt that something was different but at first he didn’t know what it was. After a few seconds of staring at her, he noticed that there were a few more lines on her face and a few strands of gray hair shimmering in the candlelight.
    Ash wanted to say something, but each time he opened his mouth nothing came out. It was as if the world had stolen his voice. “Daddy…daddy,” a loud voice echoed from outside the door. Turning his head, Ash saw a boy about the age of seven run through the door.
    Before Ash knew what was happening his arms were stretching out to lift the boy up into the air. The child started to laugh as Ash threw him into the air. Suddenly the child’s face twisted in pain. Ash wanted to ask what was wrong but before he could speak, he felt something warm hit his hand. Looking down he noticed that his hand held the hilt of his sword and a dark red liquid was trickling down the sword and onto his hand. Following the blade with his eyes, he noticed that the body on the other end belonged to his own son. Ash’s hand let go of the hilt as he backed away. His voice called out feebly to the child who lay unmoving on the ground but there was not even the barest hint of movement. His heart wrapped in anguish, Ash turned to where Emelia had been sitting.
    When Ash turned around, he was no longer standing in the study that he had known so well but in the center of the city market. The ground was littered with bodies of people. His eyes going wide, Ash felt his heart stick in his chest. Yuki wearing a white dress dyed red in her own blood lay at the foot of the central fountain. Ash ran toward the young girl, but no matter how hard he tried, the distance never shortened.
    Breathing hard, Ash fell to his knees crying out before he slammed his fist on the hard ground. His stomach churned and the contents of his stomach were emptied on the stone below him. His eyes watering, Ash looked down, refusing to lift up his head when a trickle of red came into view washing away the bile. The trickle was soon replaced by a steady flow and before long it felt as if Ash was fighting against a river current just to hold his place. With no choice, Ash lifted up his head.
    Once again Ash had changed locations. He was now standing in the small fort where he had once nearly died. It was the first place that he had faced the true horrors of war. Ash expected to see the soldiers laying on the ground but it was not soldiers who added to the river of blood but the bodies of children. Most of the faces were unknown to him but many others he knew well as they were the ones closest to him. Shutting his eyes Ash felt tears stream down his face as he wished that he could pull his own heart from his chest.
    “Ash.”
    “Ash.”
    “Ash.”
    Voices rang out in Ash’s ears as his body was shaken, but he refused to open his eyes