Shattered Stars

24.1 - Denial

     He awoke, completely changed, completely unaware. He noticed the axe in his hand and the blood running down the handle. He fell on his knees as the axe dismissed into nothing. He was shaking, his eyes couldn't focus. He remembered the dream mentioned in the beginning. He remembered one person who had lived in it. He felt alone, as if no one was in his head this time around.

     His vision blurry, he stood up. He wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hands. The blood from them still dripping ever so slightly. As he took a step forward, his breathing was sporadic. As he took a second to try and breathe normally, he finally noticed the room was frozen. The door was behind a thick layer of ice. He saw his own breath while passing by a shattered mirror.

     His black hair was a mess. His emerald eyes seemed darker than usual as the scar under them was more noticeable than before. He walked towards the door and began hitting the layer of ice with his bare fists. The cracks began to show, and he dug his fingers into them to try and take it off easier. As the door was now clear, his hands were beaten. Although he had strength he was still human after all.

     He ignored the pain and opened the door. As he stepped through it, he saw drops of blood coming from a direction. He began to follow it slowly, being supported by the wall next to him. He began to remember the snow, the people, the journey. He remembered breaking a sledgehammer and watching someone fade away. He remembered cutting someone down with the axe. He remembered digging though someone's skull with the axe.

     His breath started to scatter again as he remembered almost everything. He remembered confining someone in ice as he did all the other things. He remembered throwing that person in a room and being cursed at. He remembered his other self, whom he locked away just before he lost control. He started walking faster as he remembered almost taking someone's innocence away. He began walking even faster as he remembered why he had the axe in his hands just a moment before.

     As he reached the end of the trail, he saw a closed door. He tried opening it, but it was locked. He looked at his hands again, as his breathing was still off. He gritted his teeth as he had no other choice. He moved back and charged at the door with his shoulder, it didn't budge. He did the same thing with more force, still nothing. He let out a scream of anger as he used all his strength to bust the door down with one last charge.

     On the ground, he looked up to see that person he had encased before. His eyes began to tear up again as he crawled forward. He got up to move a bit faster, he stepped in a puddle of blood. Once next to her, he kneeled down and grabbed her up. She was unresponsive, a big cut in her torso. Her black hair covering most of her face, he was unable to see her eyes, although he doubted they would be that deep shade of blue he had seen before. He noticed she was also missing an arm.

     His expression didn't change, tears were flowing from his face. A blue aura seemed to be leaving her body as the blood on his hands only increased. "It couldn't have been me..." he thought. "I wouldn't do this!" he said out loud. Unconsciously, he grabbed onto the aura as he held her up. Not letting it go, not letting her go.

     He remembered his other self. A power to restore, a power to renew. His other hand lit up green as her wounds began to regenerate. Blood still on his hand, he tied the sleeve. He carried her up and began to walk out of the room. His breath still not normal, his eyes still watered. He looked at the room next door and began walking towards it. His vision got blurry again, he closed them for a slight second.

     As if having pushed something back, he let out a deep breath. He kept walking, the aura still in his hand. He pushed open the door with his back, as it was already slightly open. He noticed the bed in the room and began walking towards it. He had a hard time breathing, he laid her in bed. The aura went back into her body as her breath could be seen. He wiped his hands on his pants to get rid of the blood, his hand still stained.

     He took off his hoodie, cautiously, as to not stain it more. He put the hoodie over her ripped shirt and covered her up to her torso with the bedsheet. He closed his eyes again as he finished wiping his hands on his white shirt. He began walking out of the room slowly, he didn't feel well.

     He looked back to see she had moved her arm and was breathing normally. He sighed in relief as he began to walk again. Suddenly, he was on the ground, unable to get up. As he was losing consciousness himself, he couldn't forget the sight from earlier. That sight would haunt him until the end of his days.