Broken Souls

Methods to the Madness: Awakening

???'s POV

"A-ah..." I felt myself slowly waking up, heartbeat fluttering lightly, and my body tingling with an odd sensation of heat. Laying there with my eyes closed, I could feel that I was on a bed of some sort, and a rather comfortable one at that. Had it all been a dream? Had it just been one long, and terrible nightmare? Finding myself broken, laying in the snow in a pool of my own blood? The pain that I felt... the fear...?

Shifting slightly, I realized that I couldn't move one of my legs, and my left arm as well. Did I dare open my eyes? Fearing what I might see, I took in a shaky breath. I had to find out sooner or later. "Ngh..." Quickly adjusting to the dimly lit room, I concluded that I was in a large room that looked much like a dark hospital wing. Looking down at my right arm, I noticed that there was an IV attached to my flesh right at the bend. That must explain why I felt so odd upon awakening. Giving my arm a testing bend, I then turned my attention to my left arm. Upon close examination, I could clearly see that it had been wrapped in a strange red cloth that had been formed into a supportive sling. Not only that, but it also acted as a bind to cover my chest. What had happened to my clothes?

Wriggling uncomfortably, I felt something fuzzy brush against my lower thighs. "A-ah...?" Gazing downwards, I could see that it was a hoodie. A blue hoodie with white fluff. Somehow, it looked rather familiar. Slowly shaking my head, I gripped the fabric, pulling it back to see what was preventing me from moving my lower leg. It was a cast. "A-...hah..." I dropped the jacket with a quivering hand. It really wasn't a dream, was it? Everything that I had gone through, everything that happened... it was all real.

Quickly, I began to rack my brain for information. For memories. Let's see... I remember voices. Two of them! And... faces. My vision had been too blurred to make out any features, but... I did remember looks of concern on both of them. Concern... for me. I remembered the warmth of another as I was carried a great distance, and I could just barely recall someone patching me back up again. What had happened? Had I really been saved...?

"ZzzZzz..." My eyes widened as I heard the sound of snoring coming from my bedside, right next to my good leg. Was this the person who had rescued me? Squinting my eyes, I could barely make out the humanoid figure beside me. Should I wake them? "E-excuse me...?" Slowly I reached out a hand, gently shaking their shoulder in an attempt to wake them. "P-please... can you tell me what's going on...?" Upon touching them, something felt... different. Their body wasn't soft. There was no skin. They felt almost as hard as... bone.

"Ghnn... hah? Wha...?" A male voice. As the male being lifted his head to meet my gaze, I felt my blood run cold and my SOUL pound in my throat. One red eye. One hollow. A cracked skull. A wide grin.

"Heh... glad t'see yer awake, kid."

It wasn't a dream.

"It's... you."

// AU: I really sincerely hope you're enjoying this story so far! Please let me know in the comments if you want to read more! :) Thank you all! ❤️