The Zodiac Cycle

3.17 Deep Breath

TW: asthma/panic attack, blood, PTSD.

"IRIS!" Brianna called out, reaching out to her friend.

She had been a lot smaller when she was 12, and looked even tinier curled up in the hospital bed. Brianna ran up to the edge of the bed and crossed her arms over it.

Was she smaller too?

"Iris." Brianna repeated. Her friend shifted slightly, but didn't turn, her back still facing the human. "Are you okay?"

Brianna reached out for her friend, touching her shoulder, but quickly drew back. She felt like she had touched something wet, and when she looked at her hand, it was covered in thick Crimson.

Iris turned to her, the blood seeping through her clothes and across the sheets. her eyes were completely black, hollow and expressionless until she furrowed her eyebrows in anger.

"Why did you leave me?"

Brianna fell back, breathing heavily. "I didn't mean to!"

"What happened to our promise?" Iris swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and stood, the bed creaking and falling apart as soon as she did.

"I tried to keep it! I-" Brianna tried to speak, but the pressure that was building in her chest prevented it.

"I trusted you." Iris continued walking toward Brianna, who, in a panic, scrambled back from the fey above her. Her limbs felt like lead, ignoring the commands her brain sent to them. The blood seeping out of Iris puddled on the floor, coming from two spots in her abdomen. The fabric around the wounds was frayed and ravaged.

"I- I'm- I'm sorry." Brianna couldn't breathe and the edges of her vision started to blur.

"I won't forgive you." The way she had said it didn't match that moment. The voice screamed with pain and betrayal that Brianna remembered so vividly.

Brianna opened her eyes.

She sat up in bed, soaked in a cold sweat and salty tears. She pulled at her shirt, attempting to breathe, but failing. She was on the bottom bunk under Amber and she grabbed the pole holding Amber's loft up, pulling herself out of bed.

Her body continued to deny her commands, and her knees buckled, sending her to the floor.

I wont forgive you.

Brianna wheezed, the pain in her chest causing her to whimper. It hurt so much. She needed to get to a place alone, somewhere she wouldn't wake anyone up. The blurring in her vision from the dream carried over to her then, allowing her to realize just how drastic this attack was. She needed her inhaler, but it was across the room and her limbs refused to listen to her as she pressed her forehead against the cool wooden floor.

She tried rubbing the back of her neck, pulling at her clothes, laying on her side, but nothing was working and she could barely see her hands anymore.

And the world seemed to turn black as whispers circled around her head. Maybe they were memories, maybe they were something else, but she figured they couldnt help her.

Then she got a breath.

Air entered her lungs and tasted like mint, metal and smoke, but before she could release the breath, something stopped it, holding it there as she started to panic. After a couple seconds, the seal was broken and she let the air out of her lungs, coughing. She couldn't tell if she had regained full consciousness or not, but her vision started to slowly return.

She was looking at the ceiling, and there was more red there, like an annoying ink blot that she couldn't rub out. Brianna squeezed her eyes shut again, focusing on breathing in, then out.