Wander

//Oceanic//

Coming to a stop in front of the stained glass masterpiece once more, Wander held the torch up to ward away the shadows. He cursed to himself lowly, the flickering flames not able to shed enough light on the other side of the thick fragments of glass, instead flickering and throwing a wide range of colors over his immediate surroundings.

He spun around, frantically searching the floor for anything heavy that he could use to break the glass. What sort of church didn't have a bell tower?

Simple - a church on a floor that wasn't close enough to the roof to justify having a bell tower in the first place. No doubt the castle had one somewhere, if not more, but that didn't matter to Wander right now. All he was worried about was trying to find a way out.

There. He bent over, going to grab a large chunk of stone, but pausing. He then picked it up as gently as he could, trying not to aggravate his wounds further. The task was harder then it sounded - with hands slick with blood, Wanders fingertips did little at grasping for things in their current state. Eventually he was able to get a good grip, hefting it in his hand. Hopefully, it would be heavy enough to break the fragmented masterpiece. 

Not wanting to stall for any longer, he slung the rock as hard as he could at the glass, the small stone whizzing through the air for a moment before making contact dead in the middle of one of the largest fragments towards the lower half of the window. A satisfying crack rang out across the empty chamber, a spiderweb of cracks quickly spreading outward across the multitude of colors. 

Cursing through gritted teeth, he covered the distance to the now ruined masterpiece in three large steps, inspecting the damage. It hadn't gone through the way he had hoped, but maybe...

Taking a deep breathe through clenched teeth, he stuck his elbow out, grasping his hands together at the center of his chest. Before he lost his nerve he let out a loud yell, slamming his elbow into the glass as hard as he could. 

It gave way far easier then he had first imagined. Fear contorted across Wander's face, his momentum carrying him through the downpour of falling glass. Before he even had time to process, he was falling, the world around him a collection of colored shards that joined him on his plummet to Earth. This was it. He didn't know how high up the fall had been, and - 

He never got to finish his thought, pain exploding up his side and a cry of agony escaping from his lips as he slammed into the ground, the wind rushing out of him as he came to an abrupt halt against the ground.

He arched his back, scrabbling at his side, the pain still wracking his body for what felt like forever. His ears filled with the chorus of crushing glass as the rest of the window's colorful fragments splintered even further against the ground around and on top of him. 

Breathing was a struggle for a few minutes, his vision flickering and going dim from time to time. He didn't have the grace to lose consciousness, instead feeling every agonizing moment as his spine continued to tingle and burn everywhere at once.

When the pain finally become a dull throb, he groaned, opening his eyes slowly to see what had happened. He must have lost his torch in the fall - a large hole in the wall about three stories up flickered and danced with the kind of illumination that only fire could provide. He had gotten lucky that the fall wasn't any higher then it had been - he wouldn't have made it, plain and simple.

The only thing he was still registering was pain, so he decided to just try to give himself simple commands to follow. 

Alright Wander first....god, that hurt...first, flex your fingers, make sure that you can still feel your fingers. Please, please please please please....  Sure enough, he could feel them moving slightly at his sides, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. 

Well, at least it shouldn't be anything to serious...okay, uhm, get up - getting up should be next. Letting out a low groan, he shifted slightly, sending cascades of splintered glasses off of his body in a waterfall of color. He gritted his teeth, planting his hands on the ground and pushing himself upright, sending pain in jagged lines up his hands and arms, bringing tears to his eyes.

Fighting through the pain, he finally managed to get to his feet, swaying ever so slightly as his side exploded with another round of pain. Wander coughed up a bead of blood from the corner of his mouth, not even bothering to wipe it off as it slowly made it's way down his chin.

After making sure that he wasn't going to fall over, he surveyed his new surroundings wearily. The overwhelming smell of the ocean was the first thing that his exhausted brain was able to register. A relaxing change from the blood and gore in the previous nightmarish hell. 

The ocean lay before him, the first light of dawn breaking from behind cover of the clouds and turning the tumultuous waves a shade of pink that was truly stunning. Unlike a normal beach with golden sand being washed upon by crystalline waves, he stood upon stones of various shape and sizes for as long as the eye could see. 

Turning slightly to his left, Wander couldn't keep himself from letting out a cry of elation. In front of him lay a small seaside settlement, wooden huts and houses of different design and size spanning into the distance for a short way, before disappearing into more crashing waves.

Not even bothering to take in any more details, he set off as fast as his broken and battered body would allow towards the small village, the oceanic smell giving him a newfound rush of energy.

It was over.

The nightmare was finally over.