𝓢𝓮𝓮 𝓜𝓮

Chapter 51

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𝔼𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕚𝕝𝕒 𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕣
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I couldn't feel anything anymore—just the dull ache that throbbed in every inch of my body, as if my bones had turned to lead, pulling me down, piece by piece. I was drained.

I was drained. As if my entire body had been emptied out. My muscles felt like they'd forgotten how to work, like they were disconnected from my mind's desperate pleas to keep going.

Even holding on to Dad's shirt took everything I had. My fingers trembled with the effort, barely managing to stay curled around the fabric. It was as though every nerve in my hand had turned to fire, burning with exhaustion from the simple act of holding on.

I couldn't even scream anymore, couldn't call out for him. Even my throat burned, raw from the effort of trying to speak. I couldn't make a sound. Couldn't even cry out.

The exhaustion wasn't just in my body—it was in my mind, too. A fog clouded every thought, heavy and thick, making it hard to hold on to a single coherent idea. It was like trying to swim through molasses, my brain sinking deeper with every second. Everything hurt.

But I still felt how my eyes burned, how my tears didn't stop. I was so sick of it. I was so tired of crying. Of the endless stream of tears that just wouldn't stop no matter how much I willed them to. My body had given up on everything else—strength, control, even the ability to scream—but it hadn't stopped the tears. They kept coming, sliding down my face in silent surrender. I didn't even feel them anymore, just the dull, cold wetness they left behind.

My chest felt hollow, like the very act of breathing took too much effort, too much energy I didn't have. And my mind... my mind felt shattered. Drained beyond repair. Every thought was slow, dragging itself to the surface before slipping away again, lost in the fog of exhaustion. I could barely think, barely process anything except the pounding in my skull, as if the walls of my brain were closing in on themselves. Like my head could split open any second.

For just a moment, it felt like everything was collapsing. My vision blurred and darkened, my thoughts folding in on themselves. And then I heard it.

Emmaline.

The name echoed through my brain, like it had been shouted inside my skull, bouncing off the walls of my mind. I jerked, my whole body tensing as panic surged through me. That wasn't my voice. It wasn't Dad's. It wasn't anyone in here.

It was a boy's voice.

My breath caught in my throat, fear gripping me. The voice was desperate, almost pleading, like whoever it was needed me to hear him. Needed me to respond.

The voice... it was familiar. But at the same time, it was completely foreign. Like something I'd heard before in a dream, and yet I couldn't place it. But right now it only sent a chill down my spine.