Chapter 13

A familiar scent floated into Karkat's nose. He had smelled this scent recently. Smoke? Karkat looked out into the distance. An orange glow was pulsing from behind a hill ahead. "Signless...?" He stopped walking and called over to his ancestor, who was once again caught up in conversation. He paused to look at Karkat, confused by his worried expression. Karkat pointed to where the smoke was rising. Signless, as well as the rest of the group, turned their focus on where he was pointing. Disciple let out a tiny gasp. "Oh no.. you don't think it's..." Signless didn't let her finish as he broke into a sprint, speeding ahead of everyone else. "Hey! Wait up!" Karkat called, chasing after him, with the others close behind. He caught up once Signless had stopped at the top of the hill, looking below him in anger. Karkat looked as well, and his eyes widened. They had made it to the next town, but it wasn't what they had expected to see. The whole village had been set ablaze, hot orange flames destroying every building. Faint cries of fear from those trying to escape the wreckage sounded over the crackling and hissing. This is just like my nightmare! Karkat thought as he stood frozen in front of the burning fire. "Damn it! Not again!" Signless shouted angrily. His eyes were burning hotter than the flames before him. "Fucking highbloods! What gives you the right?!" He roared. Psii came over to him, attempting to calm him down. "Eathy there. Juth calm down-" Signless pushed him away. "Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down when trolls lives are being burned away by others with no remorse or reason?! Does it not infuriate you?!" Psii exchanged glances with Rosa and Dis. "Of courth. We're all upthet. But ith too late for uth to help here now." Signless looked to them, then the town, then back again. "I-" He sighed in submission, though he was clearly still upset. "I know." He only just then looked to Karkat, who was still rooted in place. No. No no no. All the horrible details of his nightmare were flooding back to him in high definition. I didn't... It wasn't... His mind scrambled over thoughts in a panic, unable to process anything. Signless approached him cautiously. "Karkat...?" He reached for him to see if he was okay. I.. I have to... I need to.. Panicked, he lashed out at Signless's approaching hand, his eyes wide and unfocused. "NO!" He shouted, making Signless recoil in surprise. Then one solid thought flashed into Karkat's mind; Run. So Karkat backed away a few paces before turning around and sprinting away at full speed. "Karkat!" He barely heard his name called over the sound of his heart pounding out of his chest. He had to get away from there, away from his nightmare come true. He ran faster than he ever remembered running before, the wind whipping around him. He kept going until he was to tired to go any further, and fell on his kness where he stopped, his lungs heaving. It wasn't long before Signless had caught up with him. "Karkat! What's wrong?!" He knelt down beside him, rubbing his back with one hand and gently grasping his shoulder with the other. "Are you okay? Hey, talk to me." Karkat looked up at him, trembling. "I j-just couldn't st-stay there..." He stammered, his voice shaking. "Th-there was too much.. f-fire." Signless looked at him with sympathy and concern. "I'm sorry. I should have seen that it was affecting you rather than getting myself worked up." Karkat shook his head, taking a few deep breaths. "N-no. Don't apologize. It's not your fault I'm a fucking coward." He hissed and looked at the ground, feeling stupid for running off. "No." Signless spoke sternly, causing him to look back up. "What?" Signless stared at him steadily. "No. I will not listen to you saying such things about yourself. There is nothing wrong with being afraid, do you understand me? If we didn't posess the ability to feel fear, we'd all be heartless monsters. Being scared is a natural instinct, and it in no way makes you a coward. Got it?" Karkat could only nod, the lecture had left him speechless. "Good." Signless said as he helped  him up. "Now come on, before the others start thinking you won't come back." Karkat followed silently, unable to find the words to say. All he knew is that he felt trapped by his bad dream, as if no matter what road he took, it would always be there, waiting to drag him down. And he'd end up struggling to fight it off like he tried today. But maybe, He thought, looking at his ancestor. I won't have to fight it alone.