Fade Eternal | ONC 2023

Four: it's perfectly normal

The door filled his vision as he flew towards it, head first. With how hard Mother had thrown him, there was no way he was going to be able to stop the bone-crunching impact.

He'd definitely get a concussion.

Or maybe he'd crack open his skull and die.

These thoughts flew through his mind in an instant. Fear cut into him, sharper than anything else he'd ever felt.

I don't want to die!

He closed his eyes, unable to bear the final split second of his miserable life. He could feel the rapid beat of his heart, could sense the blood flowing hot and powerful into each limb. It pulsed in his ears, tingled through his fingers, and filled him with a wave of desperate energy.

Yet there was nothing he could do.

His world went dark.

***

When he came to, Fade found himself sitting on a cold, hard floor. His back pressed against a wall that was just as unforgiving. It scraped against his bare flesh when he shifted and lifted his head. He blinked groggy eyes.

What's...?

It was bright, far too bright, like the sun itself flung cold fire down from the ceiling.

He hissed, and lifted an arm to ward off the worst of it. It helped very little, but he managed to squint for a couple of seconds before he squeezed his eyes shut, unable to bear it any longer.

It was just enough to get a glimpse of his surroundings.

He was in a cell. Ten by ten. All concrete surfaces, with the floor gently slanting towards a drain set in the middle of the floor. Opposite him was the door. There might have been a narrow window in it, but he wasn't sure.

He'd been distracted by the blood.

It pooled on the floor and splattered across the walls, fresh enough that it was still wet but old enough to have cooled and begun to congeal. Even when he finally closed his eyes, the image of it plastered itself on the inside of his eyelids, as if determined to etch itself into his memory forever.

Never in his life had he seen so much of the red stuff. How many people had died in this cell? How long before he joined them?

How did I even get in here?

Fade curled up, drawing his knees to his chest and shivered. Goosebumps prickled his arms, though it wasn't entirely from the icy air and cold concrete. Another detail made itself known, one that disturbed him as much as the cell's grim decoration.

He was naked. And just as bloodied as his surroundings. Perhaps even more so. Yet, as Fade gingerly took stock of himself, he found no obvious injuries. Other than being cold, tired, and hungry, he felt okay.

And horribly confused

What was going on? Why was he here?

He tried to remember. The explanation hovered close, he could sense it, but when he tried to reach for it, it danced just beyond his grasp.

The door opened.

Fade stilled, every muscle turning to stone. Someone had just walked in. He listened hard, holding in his breath so it wouldn't interfere with the slightest whisper of sound. Yet instead of footsteps, the next thing he heard was the door closing.

His brows drew together. Was no one coming in?

"You are awake."

This observation was delivered mildly in a pleasant male voice. Clearly, someone had snuck into his cell, as silent as a mouse.