Bel is in a furnace.
Every inch of his body burns.
And he aches.
Every muscle inside him—even ones he didn't know existed—aches.
Like the man with the knife had found him and was dragging his blade throughout his whole body, and then stoking the flames under his skin.
Burning...
Burning...
Burning...
On fire...
Kam said to stay awake.
But if he keeps his eyes open, then the metal walls around him start to swim, twisting and bending into shapes that turn Bel's stomach.
Don't close your eyes, Bel.
Don't close your eyes.
Dizzy...
So dizzy...
There's an iron pressure on his lungs.
Squeezing every last bit of air from inside him.
Suffocating.
So hard to breathe...
Kam said to press down.
He said to press down to stop the bleeding.
He said he would find Nina, that he would bring her back safe.
Bel isn't hot anymore.
Now he's cold.
Tendrils of ice are shooting through his muscles, extinguishing the fire that had been burning through them before.
Ice...
Freezing...
Freezing...
Freezing...
And now someone has decided that not only should they squeeze his lungs, but they should shove sandpaper down his throat.
Thirsty...
Water...
Water would taste so good right now.
Why won't his fingers move?
Why can't he see anything?
Why does he hurt so damn much?
Why does he feel so alone?
Kam...
Nina...
Where are you?
Where are you?
Where are you?
"Bel?"
"Bel?"
Nina's voice sounds calmer than Kam's but maybe it's because she's kneeling next to her brother while Kam is still standing. Bel is shaking, sucking in air through clenched teeth, his face mask of blood and dirt and sweat mixing together to create some horrible mural on the ground beneath him.
A mural that widens the crack in Kam's heart.
Nina's fingers are running over Bel's face, her own face a mask of worry lines. Her brows knot together as she takes in the blood on her brother's body. She says his name, softly, over and over again, until Bel's eyes finally crack open.
