Concrete Jungle || Bad Omens || Noah Sebastian

Chapter twelve

Noah found himself once again immersed in a whirlwind of auditory hallucinations. The walls of the cell seemed to close in around him, distant footsteps mingling with whispers that formed an echo of torment. He was not alone. Someone was watching, someone who shared with him the suffering, the terror of being trapped in a place where life felt like nothing more than a faded memory.

As he struggled to grasp reality, his body collapsed into a deep sleep. He found himself catapulted back into his old life, in a world that seemed light-years away. It was a sunny day, and he could feel the warmth on his skin, the fresh air enveloping him as he walked through a park. In the distance, he saw Elise. She was beautiful, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, her eyes sparkling with life and joy.

“Noah!” she called, her voice as sweet as honey, and he felt drawn to her, unable to resist.

“You're here again,” Noah whispered incredulously.

“I've already told you, I'm always here.”

He embraced her, feeling her fragility and the strength of that connection that seemed to transcend all pain. They talked about dreams, about journeys to take, about a future that was receding ever further, yet in that moment seemed so real that he could almost touch it. Every word from Elise was a balm, every laugh a remedy for his wounds.

Noah held Elise tightly, feeling her warm and vibrant presence as a refuge from the torment of his reality. Words flowed between them like a rushing river, with no barriers in sight.

“Do you remember the garden you told me about?” he began, his voice trembling yet filled with renewed hope. “The one where you used to go as a child with your mother. The place where you would have strawberry ice cream.”

Elise smiled, a radiant expression illuminating her face like the sun filtering through the leaves. “Yes, she always took me there. It was so beautiful. The scent of the flowers, the fresh air… and the ice cream, oh, it was my favorite.”

"I promised you I would take you there,” Noah continued, trying to grasp every word, every detail of her face "I'm so sorry I would never be able to do that"

Noah looked at her intensely, his heart tightening while she was saying “When all of this is over, promise me you won’t forget that garden.”

Noah looked down as reality began to dawn on him. His thoughts drifting back to the moment he had seen her fade away, her body carried off by indistinct figures. “You are my heart. If you stop beating, I die with you. How can I go on without you?”

“Just remember the garden. Picture it. The warm sun on your skin, the scent of the flowers, the strawberry ice cream dripping down your fingers.”

Noah closed his eyes, savoring the moment, the freshness of the air, the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves. “You are my garden, Elise."

Noah couldn't hold back. He kissed her, and in the contact of their lips, he felt all the pain and loneliness fade away, leaving only that perfect moment.

He felt the taste of her lips against his and was surprised to find that it was not a new sensation. As if his muscles already recognized Elise’s body, her lips. As if he had kissed her countless times before. As if in another life, he hadn’t been forced to hold her in his arms while life slipped away from the girl he felt he loved. As if his fingers had never been stained with her blood.

The vision began to fade, but not before Elise smiled at him, a smile that illuminated everything around them. “I’m waiting for you,” she said, and Noah felt filled with a hope he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

When he awoke, his heart was pounding in his chest. The cell had returned to occupy his view. The cold walls, the deafening silence. But in his heart, he carried with him a detail that had previously eluded him: the kidnappers had come for Elise when she was already dead, or at least on the verge of dying. The realization struck him like a punch to the gut.

The only way out of there was that. He had to pretend to be sick enough to be taken away, to appear dead.

The prospect terrified him, yet he felt it was the only plan he had left. He needed to convince his captors that he was on the brink, exhausted from deprivation of food and water. He decided he would not touch anything brought to him; he would not be a mere prisoner; he would become a living dead man, a larva waiting for freedom.

But days passed, and the withdrawal from food and water began to take its toll. Hunger consumed him; his body transformed into an empty shell. Noah felt every fiber of his being pleading with him to eat, but he forced himself to ignore those cravings, to empty his mind and body in an exercise of self-discipline that was becoming unbearable.

He could not allow himself to be overwhelmed. The deprivation grew increasingly oppressive, as if someone were slowly siphoning away his essence. Every sound that echoed from the walls put him on high alert, his heart pounding furiously in his chest, but he had to stay focused.

In moments of clarity, his thoughts turned back to Elise. He wondered if she had experienced similar pain, if she had been forced to watch her life slip away while darkness consumed her. The mere thought tore at his heart.

He had to do it for her.

He had to escape from there.

He had to go to the garden.

And as reality grew ever more blurred, Noah focused on the one goal: to be taken away.

Every hour spent in that cell was a step closer to freedom. But like every prisoner, he had to confront the reality of his body giving in. He knew the road would be long and winding, but the idea of surrendering to his fate terrified him more than death itself.

With his mind clouded by hunger, his plan sharpened, but he had to be cunning. He could not allow his captors to discover his true intent.

He remained silent, immersed in dark and tormented thoughts, a man waiting for the moment when life and death would finally intersect.