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Sleep should be sound. Sleep should be peaceful. Sleep should be a distraction from the realities of our world. But, as Hugo came to realize, many things in the world are not as they should be.
Whenever he closes his eyes at the end of another long day, whenever night becomes ever nigh, it is not just darkness that greets him. But, for merely a moment, he is at peace. He is soundly asleep, in a place in which worry and pain cannot reach him. It is his own hazy world.
Then he hears the rats.
He cannot see them but knows they are there. At first, it is just one. The hissing has become a common sound for Hugo; just an annoyance and nothing more. The second soon followed. And then a third. After that, Hugo cannot count how many distinct hisses there are; to him, it sounds like an incomprehensible cacophony of beings hellbent on taking a life, no matter how significant.
He reaches out into the abyss, trying to take control of the horde to direct them away. Into the nothingness of his dream, where they can harm nobody. His attempts are futile, though not due to a lack of effort; any ounce of strength, both physically and from the depths of his soul, is quickly drained. He cannot control them.
Then he hears the screams.
They are distant at first, echoing all around him. As the seconds turn to minutes, the screams of the damned seem to outnumber the hisses of the rats. Only for a brief moment, though, before each voice fades into oblivion, overtaken by the rats.
Dead.
All except one.
Amicia.
It is her, Hugo can tell. He has heard it plenty of times before. The voice is filled with anguish, hatred, and above all, fear. Though, not for herself and whatever fate may overtake her; no, it was for Hugo.
He senses the rats begin to swarm her. The hissing turns to snarls, and her screams turn from hate to desperation, and finally to pleads with her maker. He fights with everything he has left to break free, to save his sister.
He loses.
She's gone.
The screaming ceases all at once. All that is left is the hissing of the rats, and a burning rage left in Hugo's heart. He has nothing left to fight for, and nobody left to fight with. Resigned to his fate, he gives in, allowing the rats to turn their attention to him. To deliver him unto a fate unknown.
Then he wakes up. He tries to blink the haze and tears out of his eyes in an attempt to gather his bearings before sitting up. The world is exactly as he left it. Fire and smoke illuminate the night sky, while the moon stood above, with an army of stars, casting harsh shadows on nearby trees.
At first, Hugo cannot recall where he is. It is a forest, that much he knows for certain. Although it feels similar, he cannot quite remember why he is here, or even where here is. But then he turns his head towards the direction of the fire. Smoke temporarily fills his lungs, and he coughs it out, before seeing the brightest light in all of the cosmos. The one that Hugo will always look to, for strength, guidance, whatever it may be, until his time on this world reaches its conclusion.
The one that, no matter the situation, will always fight for his safety. He will do the same for her.
Amicia.
Her back is to him, and she doesn't notice him immediately. She is too busy stoking the fire and staring out into the endless rows of trees, all bearing down on her. Her body is hunched over and, after a long day, looks ready to give in. But it does not. It's as if she delicately balances the weight of not only her world, but Hugo's too, day after day, without so much as a complaint. However, that comes with the sacrifice of pushing herself to her limits frighteningly often. Nobody can talk her out of it, not even Hugo.
It's the sight of Amicia that reminds Hugo of where he is and why he is there.
Rats.
Death.
Destruction.
The outskirts of a town are where they have confided themselves, careful not to unknowingly bring more carnage upon the innocent. For their safety from anyone who wishes them harm, but also for the sake of the town. An unfortunate sacrifice, but one that had to be made, according to Amicia, and if she decreed it so, Hugo will believe her. Always.
Wiping the last of his tears from his face, Hugo stands and approaches the fire. Though the dying embers slowly fade into the night, the fire still radiates plenty of heat to warm a cold world. He is cold, very much so, but he keeps his distance, for if he comes too close, he risks frightening Amicia on accident. Of course, it happens anyway; he should have known better. Amicia is battle-tested, and battle-scarred, and has risked too much to let her guard down entirely. She is quick to her feet, armed with a sling, plus the knowledge and will to use it. He stops, allowing a wave of understanding to wash over her. Relieved, her shoulders slump, and she sits back down opposite the fire, her back to him.
He does the same. Close to Amicia, but not too close. They are but strangers at first; both distant and alone, lost in a world that, at every turn, can and will do its best to bring them down. Whenever a glimmer of hope appears, it is quickly snuffed out by the very forces of nature working against them.
But they aren't strangers, and they aren't alone. When together, when united as one, hope is never lost. Alone, though, is when all can seem hopeless.
Hugo inches closer to the fire, and closer to Amicia's side. If she notices, she does now show it. Her eyes still stare dutifully into the surrounding forest and the flames themselves. He knows she isn't ignoring him, not intentionally. On the contrary, she is the very person standing between him and death. He knows it and loves her for it, but it is moments like these, nightmares late at night and seemingly separated by an invisible barrier, that makes him feel alone. Lost. Hopeless.
A reminder is all he needs.
Hugo makes his way to Amicia's side. Without a moment of hesitation, as if by instinct, Amicia takes her arm and wraps it gently around Hugo, pulling him closer to her. Hugo does not wish to fight it, quite the opposite, but even if he did, he knew he did not possess the strength to do so. She gently tucks him into her side, keeping a protective arm wrapped over him.
It is as if all worries, all the signs of the times have disappeared, if just temporarily. The world is no longer a dark, cold place plagued with misery, despair, and broken dreams. For just one, insignificant moment, the struggle of his world ceases to exist. He does not fear for their safety anymore, for, in the arms of Amicia, everything would be okay. They would make it through the night, through the disease coursing his blood, and through the people who wish them harm.
Together.
Amicia takes his hand in hers. She gently strokes it, in a similar fashion that Mother would do when he was scared. It worked then, and it works now.
Hugo feels his eyes become harder to keep open. He fights, it is what he's good at, after all, but it is a losing effort. The night sky begins to fade away, and the fire starts to feel distant when it is not. No more than it was just minutes ago. What does not change, no matter how close to sleep he gets, is the love he feels from Amicia.
Seconds before sleep overtakes him, he smiles. For in a dark and unforgiving world that despises his very existence, he somehow found Amicia, a paragon of love, hope, and all that is good in the world. For that, he is eternally grateful.
For the rest of the night, he sleeps well.