Selfish Desire

Raging Fire

And now we have our alternate ending. Enjoy!

~~~~

Katelyn wrapped her arms around Aphmau, using her back to block the attack. She felt the claws tear through her armor easily, like paper. It tore skin and muscle much faster. Pain exploded on her back.

"KATELYN!" Is Aphmau yelling that? Katelyn would assume so. She can't tell. Her conciousness is draining just like her blood. The pain fades into the background. The last thing she sees is Aphmau's tearstreaked face. It hurts her more than any injury to see it. She reaches up to gently pet her Aphmau. Katelyn thinks Aphmau's sobs intensified.

"I-I'm I'm s-so-rry..." Katelyn whispers.

Then, with a burst of strength, she lifts her face to Aphmau's before she's consumed by darkness.

The kiss was gentle, yet firm, even with Katelyn's waning strength. This was made up by Aphmau pressing back. It was burst of passion, so like the flames that surrounded the pair.

Katelyn could taste the metallic tang of her own blood and the salt of Aphmau's tears. The kiss was everything she dreamed, everthing she hoped it was like. She wondered if it was the same for Aphmau.

The flame of passion burned brightly between the two, but sometimes, those fire can be put out very easily.

It seemed like in the timeframe of the kiss, which felt like it lasted for eternity, it ended much too quickly.

Katelyn's hand grew slack, her head lolling to the side. Gone. Flames put out for good.

Darkness surrounded her. She felt like she was floating, but she was disorientated. She couldn't tell what was up and what was down.

Then she was falling. She was falling down into this pit of darkness. She slammed onto what felt like solid concrete, but sank into it. It felt like water, but thicker, like blood.

Going on instinct, she fought her way to the surface, holding her breath. The liquid made her body feel heavy, and sapped her strength. But she kept swimming. She didn't know why, but she knew that something, someone, was waiting for her. Katelyn wasn't going go let them wait any longer.

Then the liquid began to pull her down. Literally. It became more and more difficult to move, let alone swim. It became thicker and formed limbs.

Those limbs wrapped around her legs first. They began to tug and drag her down. Panicking, Katelyn kicked, trying to escape from deadly grip. The resistance of the water drained her even more. She couldn't could her breath anymore.

She gasped sharply, what remained of her air leaving her lungs. The dark sludge flooded her mouth, filling her lungs instead of the precious oxygen she sought.

The shadow-esque limbs reached out, now binding her arms. Katelyn didn't give up. She kept fighting, reaching for the surface. More limbs wrapped around her body, restraining her and dragging her down into the waters.

As the liquid filled her lungs, foreign thoughts filled her head.

You aren't good enough for her.

She deserves better.

You wouldn't be the best lover anyways.

She doesn't love you back.

She wouldn't love you back.

The thoughts struck home. Every single was true. She knew.

Katelyn lost her will to fight. It was inevitable. Even if she did reach the surface, if she got out of this hellish limbo, would the person even love her?

She let darkness drag her down. The thoughts buzzed around in her head, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered at this point.

"...Katelyn..."

A voice. Soft, and gentle. So unlike the harsh jeering of her thoughts. But it was sad, full of sorrow and grief.

Katelyn looked up. A soft light shown.

"..Katelyn..please..."

The same voice. This time louder and clearer. She knew this voice. The light grew brighter. Something sparked within her. The voice invoked a will, her will to fight, to be exact.

The sadness and sorrow of the voice made her angry. Like she should protect the owner of the voice from those feelings.

She fought to reach that light. She thrashed, kicked, and wriggled to escape from the limbs.

They still attempted to pull her down. She barely felt it. The voice caused a spark within her soul and turned it into a raging flame. She pulled her arms out of the limbs's grips, and kicked her way to the surface.

Katelyn was almost there. She burst out from the dark goo, gasping for air. She was just inches away. Reaching out, her fingertips nearly brushed the light.

Then the limbs returned. With a fury a hundred fold worse.

They strangled her torso and neck, lashing around, constricting her arms and legs. They yanked her down. Her hand missed.

The thoughts were screaming in her head.

YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH

YOU DON'T DESERVE HER

SHE DOESN'T LOVE YOU

YOU DON'T LOVE HER

That last thought made Katelyn feel something else. It infuriated her. The others were true, but the last one was not. She growled and struggled to get back to the surface, back to the light.

Katelyn couldn't remember who the light was, but she knew that she loved her.

Almost breaking the surface, she was so close. Her limbs were heavy, her lungs seared, needing air to fill them again.

Her will burned within, but it wasn't enough. Katelyn only could go so far on pure will.

Tears leaked from the corner of her eyes. She was so close, yet she couldn't be any farther. Her body slowed, no energy left to move. She urged them to move, but nothing happened.

She stared up hopelessly at the light, sadness gripping her heart. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to watch as she was drowned and pulled in deeper the light growing smaller.

But it didn't. It grew bigger and brighter. Katelyn could tell, seeing it behind her eyelids. She opened her eyes, checking to make sure her mind wasn't messing with her.

It wasn't. The light was indeed glowing brighter, but it wasn't getting bigger.

It was moving closer. It moved closer and closer.

Katelyn could feel her resolve returning as it moved. She flailed around, once again escaping the vile darkness. She swam up to meet the light. It filled her vision, blinding her, but she kept going. As she swam closer, she felt a slight pressure on her lips and something hugging her.

Then all was white.

[A/N] Sorry this was late. These parts weren't prewritten so I had to write them, which I started yesterday. As mentioned, this is an alternate ending to the original, and it's two parts, which I'll upload at separate times. I also finally drew a proper cover for this book.
...I'm not the best artist.
Anyways, thanks for reading!