In Trench I'm Not Alone

Rain poured from the sky, smacking against the taught fabric of the tent that sheltered Tyler and the Torchbearer, keeping them safe. He wasn't about to admit it, but Tyler had never felt safer. He felt soft and warm and safe in his little pile of blankets in the tent surrounded by wilderness with the real Josh.

"Tyler, did you hear me?" Josh asked from where he sat on his cot, his legs crossed neatly under himself.

"Hm? Sorry, yeah. Repeat the question?" Tyler shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts so he could focus on the conversation.

Josh laughed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "How'd you decide you wanted to leave the City?"

"Oh, it's-" Tyler paused. "It's kinda weird, a long story."

"That's ok, we have time," Josh said, gesturing up at the roof of the tent that was bending just slightly from the weight of the water collecting on it.

Tyler let out a huff of air through his nose and nodded. "It's like... hm... I remember seeing someone escape long time ago, it's such a distant memory."

Josh nodded, showing his interest, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"Some people escaped from Dema, I don't remember how many, but the only person to make it out was this one young guy. He got away from the City pretty undetected, but when he made it to a river in a valley, he was found by one of the Bishops. If I remember right it was Nico."

He tried to ignore the way the corners of Josh's mouth turned down, a subtle hint to his confusion.

"But um- anyway, he got Smeared, and was about to be taken back to Dema, but a bunch of Banditos helped him get away. I think. I'm not sure how it ends, it's really blurry. I remember water, though. Like he fell into the river, or something? Anyway," Tyler faltered, nervously watching Josh for any more signs of confusion. "Um. I thought what he did was cool and I realized that there was more to the world than the City. I guess it wasn't that long of a story." A nervous laugh bubbled out of him.

There was a long pause, Tyler waiting anxiously for Josh to say something.

"I remember that, I was there," Josh said finally, his words measured carefully.

"You were?"

"Yeah, who do you think threw the first petals?"

Tyler blinked, a flash of a memory passing behind his eyes. Yellow petals, raining from the sky.

"But Ty, you know-" Josh paused, holding his next words in his mouth, looking very tempted to swallow them.

"Know what?" Tyler asked, his voice quiet, barely above the rain.

"What do you think happened to him? The one who escaped," Josh asked. Clearly this wasn't what he was originally planning on saying, but Tyler let it slide.

"Um. I don't know, I guess. Maybe he ended up with you guys?"

Josh shook his head, then rethought it, his head tilting slightly to the side. "Well-"

"Josh, what are you talking about? Should I know something that I don't?" Tyler asked.

"That wasn't a random guy, actually," Josh said, looking like he was going to regret telling Tyler this. "That was you."

Tyler blinked, letting out a sudden laugh. "What are you talking about?"

"That's probably why the memory is so weird in your mind, it's because you didn't see it anywhere, or read about it, it was you," Josh explained.

The warmth of the tent suddenly felt too hot. "What?"

"Yeah, you escaped from Dema, you made it to the valley with the river. You fell after we helped you escape, which is probably why you can't remember what happened after the initial memory."