Run With The Devil

The Burn

Lyra's pov

I woke up suddenly, a sharp jolt running through my body. For a moment, I wasn't sure what had pulled me from sleep-everything was quiet, the mansion still in the early morning. But then I felt it.

A vibration. Deep inside me, starting low, pulsing through my veins like a wave of heat. It wasn't pain, but it wasn't comfortable either. My muscles twitched involuntarily, and as I sat up, I felt my hands tremble slightly.

I pressed my palms to the mattress, trying to steady myself, but the vibration only got stronger. It was like my whole body was buzzing-alive in a way that felt unnatural, too intense. I took a deep breath, hoping it would stop, but it didn't. Instead, a burning sensation started to spread, like fire creeping through my limbs. My skin tingled, and I could feel the heat under the surface, as if something was boiling inside me, desperate to break free.

My heart raced, pounding hard against my chest, faster than it should have. I reached for the nightstand, trying to ground myself, but my fingers barely brushed it before I pulled back, clenching my fists to keep from shaking.

"What's happening to me?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

I had felt pain before-constant, searing pain from the serums, the tests, the endless experiments. But this was different. It wasn't the sharp agony I was used to. This felt like... change.

Like something inside me was waking up.

I stood up quickly, pacing across the room, my feet moving faster than I intended. The vibration pulsed harder now, and the heat was building, growing stronger with every step. I felt it deep in my bones, like my body was trying to run on its own, faster than I could keep up with. My mind was spinning, trying to process what was happening, but everything felt blurred, disjointed.

I stopped in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. I looked the same-same mixed skin, same electric blue hair, same eyes-but I could feel the difference. My body was thrumming with energy, raw and uncontrolled. It felt like it was pressing against the inside of my skin, pushing against the limits, like I was going to explode if I didn't do something.

I grabbed the edge of the dresser, gripping it so hard my knuckles turned white, and tried to slow my breathing. Focus. Stay in control.

But the burning only intensified, and the vibration became almost unbearable. I needed to run. I could feel it deep inside me-the same need I had felt back in the lab, when they forced me to push my limits. But this time, no one was forcing me. This was something else.

I stumbled backward, pressing my back against the wall, trying to steady myself. My pulse was racing, too fast, too erratic. The heat was everywhere now, burning through every part of me, but still, there was no pain-just that overwhelming pressure, that sense of more.

I clenched my fists again, feeling the tension coiling tighter, ready to snap.

"Stop," I whispered to myself, squeezing my eyes shut. "Just stop."

But my body didn't listen. Instead, the burning surged, and for a moment, I thought I might scream. I pushed myself off the wall and stumbled toward the door, desperate to get out, to run, to do something to release the pressure building inside of me.

I reached for the door handle, but before my fingers even touched it, the room shifted. Everything around me slowed down, warping, stretching in my vision. I could see the dust particles in the air, hanging there, frozen, like time itself had stalled.

But I wasn't slowing down.

I was speeding up.

The realization hit me like a shockwave, and suddenly, I was moving. The world around me blurred as my feet hit the ground faster than I could comprehend. I was running, faster than I had ever run before. Faster than the lab had ever pushed me. Faster than I thought possible.

The heat in my body melted away, replaced by the cold clarity of speed. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. The mansion around me was a blur of shapes and colors, too fast to see clearly. I wasn't even thinking anymore-I was just moving.

And then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped.

I skidded to a halt, my heart pounding in my chest as I stood still, gasping for breath. I blinked, trying to reorient myself, and realized I was no longer in my room.

I was outside.

I had run through the mansion without even realizing it, and now I was standing in the middle of the garden, the early morning light casting long shadows across the grass.

My body still thrummed with the energy, but the burning was gone. It had passed, leaving me shaking but strangely... alive.

I looked down at my hands, half-expecting them to still be vibrating, but they were steady now, the tremors gone.

I didn't know what had just happened, but I knew one thing for certain.

I was changing. Faster than ever before.