READ THE WARNING

Chapter twenty six

!TW!~ Brief mentioning of suffocation, non-consensual touch (this time it's definitely bad), fighting, gore, mentioning of death

Everything was going blurry. The whole world was falling away. Alex could feel himself suffocating, bleeding, dying.

He felt like screaming, but he couldn't, he couldn't even move. He felt his eyes stinging with tears, his lungs burning.

His eyes flew open and he gasped for breath. 

What the fuck was that?

He sighed, wiping his eyes. His lungs still hurt a bit. It was hard to believe that it had just been a dream, it felt so real, all of it. He'd been suffocating, he was sure he had.

He rolled onto his back and sat up, his eyes immediately widening in surprise at what they were met with. In the wide open closet, Cassander stood, clear as day, watching him.

Alex sat completely still. Damien had told Alex before that he should just ignore him, but that was a lot less easy when they were literally making eye contact. 

It's fine, it'll be fine, don't be scared of him. He looks for weakness, so don't show him any.

"You're scared." Said Cassander, his face twisting into a smile. "That always makes it more fun."

"I'm not scared of you." Alex stood up, out of his bed.

"Is that so?"

the closet flew open and an entire shelf of books fell off Alex's bookcase. Alex jumped and took a few steps back, immediately regretting it.

Cassander walked out of the closet and towards him. "You're not scared? Really?"

"Get out of my house."

Cassander's hand hit the wall beside Alex.

Erebus, I need you, please!

Cassander's smile only became darker as he put his hand on Alex's hip. Alex felt awakened from a trance. He pushed Cassander as hard as possible, moving away from him quickly. Cassander grabbed his wrists tightly, dragging him closer. Alex's struggles made him laugh.

"You think you can escape me?" He asked, quietly. He threw Alex onto the floor, where he hit his head hard. Everything blurred for a minute while Alex tried to sit up and just fell again when Cassander's foot hit his chest.

Things went black only for a second before Alex's vision returned and he tried to sit up again. Cassander's foot dug deeper into Alex's chest and he leaned over his knee, their faces almost touching. "Does this feel familiar, Alex?"

Tears threatened to spill, but Alex wouldn't let them. He hadn't fought back against Adam, but he'd fight back now, he was stronger than he used to be. He drove his fist as hard as possible into Cassander's face, definitely surprising him, but not seeming to cause much harm.

Laughter beside him made him jump. His and Cassander's heads both turned toward Sarah, who was standing just outside the closet, watching them.

"You really think you're gonna hurt him, Cassander?" Asked Sarah, staring Cassander down with a stare Alex had no idea she had. "How's that gonna work out when the big man finds out?"

"Erebus has no power over me." Cassander clenched his fists, rising back to his feet. "He's not as strong as you all make him out to be."

"But he's stronger than you." Sarah approached the two. "And he's on his way right now, so if I were you, I'd make myself scarce."

Cassander looked angry for a second but quickly calmed himself down. "Remind me what's waiting for you on the other side, Ajuki. Remind me what will happen if I kill you right now."