ElnorseFall

Chapter Twenty-Nine

          My eyes fluttered open, but white lights blinded me. I tried tilting my head to the side but couldn't.

This must be the afterlife, maybe I didn't have a body anymore? Maybe my spirit was surrounded by light.

Blurry faces appeared above me, looking down at me through some kind of mask. A million questions flew into my mind. 

Was I dead? Was this the afterlife? Who were these blurry faces surrounding me? Family... Friends? 

The faces moved away, replaced by another. Their figure was dark, making them look like a shadow in the light. The figure reached a hand forward, and I felt their cold touch against my cheek, tucking my stray hair behind my ear.

I guess I still have a body then, but why am I unable to move?

I tried to jerk my body to move away from the figure, an odd feeling of discomfort coming over me. The figure tilted their head at me, then started to laugh softly. 

I froze, my muscles becoming stiff. My body physically feared the figure. 

Who were they? How could they gain this involuntary reaction from me in one touch? They were so blurry, so dark. They... terrified me. As if knowing that, they leaned down to whisper in my ear. 

I shuddered at the depth of their voice. A voice that was vaguely familiar. It couldn't be... I must be dreaming.

"Sleep child, sleep."

I didn't want to, but I couldn't keep myself from obeying the command in their voice. My eyes closed, and I surrendered to the darkness once more. 

My dreams were filled with strange memories. I saw my mother, her beautiful face smiling down on me. Another flash and I saw Cronos wrestling with Rain. Flashes of faces surrounded me of people I'd met, but didn't personally know. They spoke loudly around me, but it was all gibberish. One clear voice sounded above the others as the world began to shake.

"Clove, wake up." The voice called, but I didn't want to answer it. The urge to keep my eyes closed overwhelmed me.

"Wake up, Clove." That voice... I knew that voice well. I forced my eyes open, and I found Rain looking down at me. I bolted straight up.

"Were dead... we died? Right?" I asked while glancing around the room. It was small and gray, with one bright light hanging from the ceiling. I was sitting on a bed, though it was more of a slab of metal sticking out of the wall. Rain sat next to me, shaking his head slowly.

"No, Clove. We're not dead." He sighed. I stared at him in horror.

"No... that's impossible, Rain." I shook my head in denial. "I took the pill. We were surrounded by guards, and I took the pill, I-" He put a finger over my lips, silencing me.

"I know, Clove." He dropped his finger and turned his head away from me. "I took the pill as well. Three of my soldiers did."

"We can't be alive right now. We can't be." I murmured in disbelief. 

I hoped this was just a horrible nightmare and we would soon wake up surrounded by the beauty of the afterlife. Perhaps this was a test. I'd heard of trials some faced before journeying to paradise. This was it, wasn't it? 

"We have to be dead, Rain... We have to be." I stressed, burying my face in my hands.

"We should be, we were supposed to be. But they-'' He sucked in a breath and stood up angrily. "It was a trap, the entire thing. Just a set up. They knew we would come, they gave us the facility, drawing us in. By letting us save D'thaya, we fell right where they wanted us." He looked back at me, his hands clenched in angry fists. "Because that's what they've always wanted. Us. They must have found an antidote for the pills... Guessing the Rizen has something to do with that. Typical..." He growled out the last part.