Hell [Sequel]

6 - Disturbance

[Praxus]

As if things couldn't get any worse.

Akhet had said that Xyan probably needed some space after we found out he left. And I knew that was most likely the case - he never goes anywhere without at the very least telling me. I have nothing wrong with it. Except I did, deep down.

I lay alone in bed, the sun slowly rising outside. I stared at the ceiling without words, the sheer weight of the absent presence threatening to crush me. Deep breaths. In, out, in, out. In, out.

In, out.

In...

Out...

My head spun. I was clenching my jaw too hard. My heart bounced around in my chest like a trapped rabbit, ready to explode from its cage in a frantic panic. I could already feel my breaths growing shallower, the walls beginning to slowly close in on me the more I sat there.

In, out, in, out, in- no, nonono, I can't do this.

Before I knew it I was on my feet and walking quickly from the room, carrying myself to Aiko's room where I knew Akhet was. My head slowly began to clear, my lungs expanding with my breaths as I found myself not crumbling inward. A pale red gaze met mine as I nearly stumbled into the room, sending a wave of soft comfort through my body.

Akhet looked at me, blinked, and I already knew she could tell what was wrong. Her voice rang in my head in a soothing tone. "Couldn't do it?"

I sighed, rubbing my temples with a frustrated, sad expression. "Nope. I can't, I can't do anything without him. Without anybody."

"For what it's worth, I'm always right down the hall. You could shout and I'd be there."

"I know, I know, it's just..." I lashed my tail. "I don't even know what it is. I don't remember what happened to make this so intense, but it's... it's there and it's not going away."

I wasn't sure what happened before I'd died to make me like this. Nothing happened after my death - in fact, I'd spent countless hours before Xyan had come across at the beginning of my time here merely trying to gather my mentality back together after multiple bouts of panic. You'd think the exposure would help, but no such luck. Xyan was the only reason I found my sanity again.

Akhet looked at me with sadness. "I'm sure we can figure something out. For now, you're welcome to stay in here."

I sighed. "That would be great, thanks."

I walked to Akhet, sitting down on the floor with my back to Aiko's bed and my shoulder close to the nightstand. The sunlight streamed through the window in front of me, washing the room in warm light, dulled by the lens of death we saw through. Dust floated absently in the air, through the light and disappearing back into the unlit room. I sighed, relishing the peace of mind that company brought me.

Akhet read silently and I stared off into space without a word for quite some time. I couldn't be sure specifically how long, but it was long enough that I'd started to drift in and out of sleep. I only realized this when I was suddenly jolted awake by the strangest, most unsettling feeling. I sat there staring at the ceiling for a moment, trying to decipher what exactly it was. It made my stomach twist, my tail twitch with unease. An awful sense of foreboding crept across me as I looked around the room, finding its peak as my eyes met the window.

Akhet felt it too, I could tell. We met gazes and both stood, Akhet bookmarking her page and setting the book down on the stool she sat on. With an uneasy glance at her, I walked carefully to the window as she remained by Aiko's side. I peered outside, looking about until I found the source of what I felt.

My heart dropped as I met white eyes that stared from the ground.

"Akhet... you might want to see this."

-

[?]

Something is wrong.

My hand froze on the page, the quill I held lying still with my fingers. My eyes narrowed, that odd sensation crawling over my limbs. The sensation that told me something was off.

I glanced at the words on the page and, wiping a bit of black from the end of my quill and setting it down, stood, my eyes sweeping the small cavern. Glittering eyes pried into my soul, the same that watched me peacefully and kept me safe from the confines of the horrific dark. Nothing was strange about my surroundings - they were as they always were, grey and dark with little dots of stones that shone when I came near.

My feet carried me across the uneven ground, my hand finding the wall and grazing it with my gloved palm. Shards tickled my skin through the cloth, whispering their pleas to be free of their stoned prison. My other hand instinctively reached for the gemstone around my neck, though mine differed in the point that it was a faint purple, like me, teal flecks scattering the inside like broken glass in a freeze frame after exploding. As I touched the cold surface I shivered, my hand wincing away as if in pain as I let it fall to my side.

Eventually I made my way into a different section of the cavern. Yes, this disturbance was stronger here. It was closer.

I found this disturbance... familiar. Another one like him, perhaps? Heavens, I prayed not. He was enough to almost drive me from sanity, I pitied the poor soul that may have succumbed to the disease that he had fallen to as well. A horrid thing, it was, and I felt sick at the thought of more like him.

I glanced around, decided now that I would leave to investigate. It was, I thought, my only way of knowing what was happening.

I've not been to the surface for a while, anyway. Maybe it's time I get out of this cave for a bit.

Unease on my mind, I spread my wings, diving upwards through the ceiling and through the earth towards the heavens above.

-

1042 words

[Gradient:]
Looks like someone's got anxiety~
:)