Beneath The Surface

Act 3 - I was the monster who killed everyone.

Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia

Kai'Sa's POV
Cough! Cough!

What's that sound...

Cough! Cough! Cough!

"Sniff. Mommy... It hurts..."

"Waaa..."

"Daddy, I'm scared... Are we going to die..."

Cough!

"Kaisa, where are you?"

Who's calling me...

Cough! Cough! Cough!

"Kaisa, please call out if you hear me."

Mom...

I was trying to open my eyes. But these goddamn eyelids remained stubbornly shut, trapping me in the pitch-black darkness of my consciousness. My stiff limbs felt like stones, weighing me down as I continued sinking into the depths of the abyss. In fact, everything hurts so much. Especially my right thigh. The pain surrounding that area was the most intense. Makes me want to just perish right there and then.

"Baby, please..."

I could hear the slight tinge of panic and fear in Mom's voice. The same fear she would always have ever since those strangers came into our village. But this time, Mom's voice wasn't as clear as it used to be. It's slightly forced. Slightly muffled. As if she's hiding something. Trying to downplay her pain.

Pain?

The thought of Mom suffering away in silence got my eyes to fly open. Everywhere was dark, not a flicker of moonlight to be seen. The air was damp and stuffy. A strong earthy smell instantly engulfed my olfactory senses, along with a fishy odour. Blood. The leaking sand from the crevices above, as well as the dust clogging up the air, made breathing 10 times worse. I accidentally took a sharp whiff of air filled with fine particles and ended up coughing uncontrollably, shaking my whole body in the process. This was a huge mistake. Pain shot up my right thigh and I grimaced. The agony was so unbearable that tears welled up in my eyes. It's been a while since I last cried. I don't do this crying thing anymore. The first and last time I did was when Dad's about to leave for work. And it didn't do jack shit. He still left anyway. That's when I learnt that crying was for fools. It wouldn't solve anything.

I slowly looked down at the source of hell. A huge stalactite was impaled deep into my thigh, its dark colour sticking out like a sore thumb against my pale skin. Its jagged edges tore through my flesh to reveal a gaping hole. Crimson-red blood oozed out, forming a small pool beneath my leg. Unfortunately, this was when my brain finally registered everything. That a rock had stabbed me. Pain exploded in my body.

"AHHH!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face.

My vision started blurring. It could be from the tears, or it could be my mind blacking out from the pain. Whatever it was, I felt like dying.

"Kaisa?! Baby, what's wrong???" Mom's voice echoed in the darkness.

But I couldn't answer. All I could do was cry like a fool, babbling incoherently as my rationality slipped away. I was wailing for Mom, hoping that she would hold me in her warm arms and comfort me. But no matter how hard I called for her, all I got were cold words of encouragement, telling me that everything was fine when nothing was. Mom didn't hug me. She couldn't. My body spasmed from the overwhelming agony as I continued sobbing. Mom's voice grew more panicked when she couldn't get me to calm down.

"Baby, what happened?! Tell Mommy!"

"Mom... It hurts... Help me..." I managed to squeeze out a quivering voice.