Bonding and Bite Marks

Drowning

A series of images flashed in his vision. Darkness. Rain. Cold. He was breathless. Running. Late? Lost? His chest fluttered anxiously, aching from the strain. His fingers and toes were almost numb. An ache ran through his thighs as he pounded the ground. Not cement. It was softer. Grass? Earth? He stumbled down a muddy bank into the road. Sharp stings shot across his hands and knees. Wet. Muddy. Car. Red. Screeching. Pain. Blinding pain. Absolute agony. The crunch of broken bones sounded in his ears alongside the dull thud of flesh on metal. His body tumbled over the chassis. Thud-thud-thud-slam. The bounce of his body on concrete. Cold. Pain. Dizzy. Blood. Red. Headlights. Someone...someone's here...John couldn't speak through the pain. It seared through every inch of his body. His hip and both legs. His arm and ribs. He could feel sickening warmth on his skin alongside the cold of pattering rain.

He was no longer on a daytime street in Tokyo. It was dark. It was night. He was lying on a mountainside road that looked almost abandoned. He could hear the hum of the car where it had stopped, the patter of rain, his own rasping breaths, and something else. Trees? Wind in the trees. Rustling plants. Sickening warmth pooled around his body, surrounding him. He shuddered. It was so cold. So much pain. He heard his voice rasp out a small broken help, but the figure was hesitant. What are you doing? Help me! John was scared as shaking hands grasped his body, making him almost scream in agony. All he could do was let out a rasping whimper. He heard a voice in his ear. It was a woman. He tried to look at her face, but his eyes wouldn't focus. Everything was blurring.

"I'm sorry! I'm-so-sorry!" she almost sobbed as she dragged him across the rough ground. She was too weak to lift him. It hurt. It hurt so much. He didn't understand. She was sorry. For what? Oh, she was the driver...His head felt slow and foggy as he was dropped against a metal barrier. His back hit it with a dull thud, sending a fresh wave of nauseating pain through his bruised and broken body. What are you doing? He wanted so desperately to ask. The woman was pushing cold, rough items down his trousers and any pockets she could find. "I-I can't...I-have-a-daughter! I'm-so-sorry!" She was hysterical, touching him with pale, quivering hands.

"W-what...why?" His vision blurred as he looked up. He could feel warm stickiness seeping down over his left eye, closing it and tasting iron in his mouth. Blood? Oh, right...I was hit...His whole body shivered in the cold. He was soaked through. The wind was cold. Jo...I-want...He heard the woman sobbing as she gripped his jacket, unsteady fingers fastening the buttons securely. Why are you so sad? He couldn't speak as his lips trembled and a pained whine slipped out.

"I'm sorry." She was still crying she wrestled his limp body up with desperate hands. A fresh wave of agony swept through him as she grabbed and pulled his broken limbs, getting him high enough to sit on the edge. He could barely raise his head to look at her. He was too hazy to make out her face. His heart pounded, blue eyes wide as she pushed. His body tipped back and fell over the barrier. He couldn't even muster a scream, just a cracked, broken whimper. His already broken bones screamed as he hit the restless waves. The icy cold wrapped around him like a vice, gripping his already aching chest.

He was so weak and hazy that his legs didn't have the strength to do more than twitch, one arm hanging useless as the other reached weakly for the swiftly disappearing surface. The dim streetlights somewhere high above were soon out of sight as he sank into the nighttime waters. Why am I sinking? He slowly remembered the rough weights pressing in his pockets and trousers. Stones? Hurt welled in his chest as he realised what had happened. She...killed me...He was almost desperate as his broken body thrashed, agony flooding his limbs as he forced them to move.

I can't die...Not like this...Not-like-this...Noll! Koujo! Koujo! He was terrified as he looked up to see nothing but blackness. It was no good. His hands wouldn't work. His fingers couldn't grasp at his pockets enough. He shook a single stone loose from his pocket, heart pounding as his lungs began to burn. It was no good. His body couldn't take it. He could feel himself sobbing in fear and frustration as his mouth opened, and he breathed on reflex.

His chest flooded with pain like he'd never felt before. Water filled his lungs. He breathed out urgently in objection, but his body simply pulled the water back in again on the next agonizing breath. His body jerked. Pain. So much pain. Cold. His eyes opened wide. Sickeningly wide. It almost felt like his body was forcing them out of their sockets. It hurt so much. His twitches lessened. His body stilled. The pain had dulled. That was something, at least. He could hear his heart thudding, a dull thump in his chest and ears. Besides the thud of his heart, it was so quiet. Almost peaceful. The darkness caressed him. The water embraced him. Noll...Koujo...Jo...Kou...oll...ou...K...No...J...