Arizium

Chapter 13

I... I don't remember... anything.... 

 I remember hollowness... emptiness...I-I remember death. 

 D... death.... Am I... dead? 

 Is this... what death feels like? Just... eternal... darkness? 

 Death... is boring. 

 A memory faded into her existence. A memory of priests telling her about death and the afterlife, about paradise and bliss. This was neither blissful nor parasitical. It was just... nothing. Not to mention the aching throb that had made it's way into the back of her skull. 

 My skull... do I have a skull? Do I have a body? I can't see anything, but I definitely feel... something. I feel... there. 

 She heard mumbling that seemed to be coming from a long tunnel far away. With nothing better to do, she decided to follow them. The voices got louder very quickly and made her head ache, she no longer seemed to have control of her body. She was floating towards the voices whether she wanted to or not. 

The voices got exponentially louder every second, her head was going to explode, she was sure of it. Amaria let out a harsh scream and opened her eyes, only to squeeze them shut again to block out the bright sun above her. She clutched her head with her hands and whimpered. So much pain.... 

She forced herself to open her eyes and adjust to the light. That... ball... is way too bright. Someone needs to turn it off. It's unpleasant to me and must be removed immediately. She thought angrily. 

Her eyes finally adjusted after some time so she could take in the sudden scenery that surrounded her. There were people around her... strangers.... They were all in a half circle, just looking at her. She was about to speak up and tell them how rude it was to stare, but she felt her mouth resist to be opened. She couldn't even mumble, much less talk. It seemed as if her mouth simply refused to work. 

Gods, I'm going insane. I have to concentrate on what's around me. Yes... concentrate. She counted the people, there were five in total. They seemed to be talking, but she couldn't hear the words leaving their mouths. All of her senses were dulled except for sight, it seemed. She could barely feel the rope that kept her wrists and ankles bound together tightly. 

 All of the strangers were girls, and half of them were short, including the youngest, who was staring at Amaria creepily. There was a strange girl at the end, one of the short ones, her long black hair was.... floating? That can't be right. Her pupils also seemed to be nonexistent, making her look like a dead fish. 

Amaria realized that Lucius was laying next to her, tied in the same way she was, but he still looked unconscious. Dead Girl scowled slightly and suddenly Amaria's ears popped, her nerves tingled, and her mouth unsealed. She breathed in deeply, suddenly aware that she hadn't been breathing. The short brown-blonde haired one opened her mouth to say something. 

 And then Amaria screamed. 

High pitched. 

Loud. 

 Dead Girl squeezed her temples and groaned loudly. Amaria's mouth felt "sealed" once again, but she could still breathe through her nose and hear through her ears. Dead Girl looked angry, Amaria could practically feel the fumes coming off of her. She stalked up to her and got right in Amaria's face. She had ratty looking features, and her small mouth was contorted into a horrid snarl. She grabbed the front of Amaria's gown and lifted her slightly closer to her. 

 "If you so much as utter a syllable that sounds anything like that monstrous beast howl you just did, I will make you beat yourself until you can't use your senses anymore." After a moment, she cocked her head and smiled before releasing Amaria. 

Dead Girl stood up and put her hands on her hips, "I'm Madelina. Don't get on my bad side, it's quite annoying and tedious. Now, I'm going to open that annoying mouth of yours, and you're going to tell me your name. Just your name. No beast howls. Got it?" 

 Amaria nodded and felt her jaw release, she worked it a bit to make sure it was truly open. 

 And screamed at the top of her lungs. 

 She didn't even bother flinching as her vision blacked out and all of her senses completely vanished. The last thing she saw was a bright blonde girl yelling at Madelina.