HER: Novel by Nicole Maria Navarro

Pain 20

It was dark condensed in the room. My senses were missing everything. My body not comprehending as I twisted and turned on the floor. I was fatigued and dehydrated. My head was starting to feel the pain from hitting the concrete. I was struggling to comprehend. My mind needed to hear that things would be okay. That I was going to live, and Thalia would spend her days experiencing things that a kid should. What a teenager should. She would be okay as she grew, made mistakes, and fall in love.

I started to become frantic.

My body numb as I stayed nailed to the floor but my eyes looking in every direction of the room. My heart began to race in my chest. Tears swelled up in my eyes. My throat ached as my heart swelled from pain.  I was confined in this small room that didn't let me think. I choked back a sob realizing that this was all on me.

My undoing.

I carried myself up very slowly and the coldness that surrounded me only got colder. I sat upon the bed. Gathering myself. My hair hung loose and my clothes began to smell.

There was a click on the other side of the door. It opened and the man that walked through I didn't recognize. He was at average height, dark hair with a  light scruff. His eyes did not look in my direction. I grew curious, but not enough to care that he was paying me no mind.

My thoughts ventured as he brought in a set of clothes. Fresh blankets. He set them on the floor to the left and walked back out. The door re-opened a minute later. This time he came in with a tray. Plastic cups were set on top, but a glass water filter was what gleamed like a beacon.

The man walked over towards the bed setting the tray down. I watched cautiously. My eyes never leaving his figure as he grabbed a hold of the plastic cup and poured. He handed the water out towards me. I took it from his hand and gulped down what I could.

It was cold. Icy. A clear substance that has the power to subside everything.

I handed the cup back. Wanting more. Needing it in pints. My mind swirled with ideas as he got a hold of the glass filter and re-filled it. He finished pouring, handing it once more in my direction.

He picked up the tray as I watched him begin to walk away. His back turned to me, never peaking over his shoulder. I knew then that this was my literal only chance. I got up from the floor. Wobbly and barely holding enough energy to hold myself up right. In the distance that was put between us I ran in his direction with full force. No longer caring about the consequences. My body made contact with his. His head hot the metal door as the glass filter came crashing onto the floor. Glass particles covered the ground at my feet as I stared at them. I didn't immediately go down to pick up a piece knowing what I was going to do with it. My body was being slammed down and in seconds the man had me on the floor.

My body was stuck, hands not moving as my body wouldn't come to grasp with what I was doing. There was pressure on the side of my face as he held me down. My eyes tearing up as I thought of Thalia. Black and white dots covered my view as thoughts of Sebastian came to mind.

There was a crunching sound and full blown pain that flooded the side of my face. It was now realization. My brain and body put two pieces together as I struggled on the floor, wiggling my way out of his grip, enough to get a hold of the sharpness that appeared in my hand. I gripped the glass. Feeling it. Knowing that I would remember this moment forever as I fought back for my life.

I didn't have any time to comprehend, I just did. This was my life. My daughters life, something that I cherished more than my own. The piece of glass in my hand came up and pierced the mans neck. A grudging gash was slit in the center of his neck and blood spluttered all over my neck and onto my face. It was a luminous color. The taste made me gag as the man grabbed at his neck and flipped himself over on his backside. I was stunned. My body nailed to the ground as he choked on his own blood.

I could hear his cry for help as he continued to reach higher up his neck as if it would do anything to help him. In minutes there was no sound. No heavy breathing. I finally turned my head only to see the soulless eyes of a man that was no longer here. His body drenched in a vibrant color.

Eyes no longer full of brown hues.

I couldn't let go of the piece of glass. I held it tighter, gripping it close enough to my side to draw blood from my hand. I felt drained. My body could no longer intake the experiences as I lay there on the ground. It was my time to go. Find Thalia, but every ounce of my body felt as if it rejected any vital movement.

I began to shut my eyes. The feeling of exhaustion taking over my bones.

My mind.

The loud sound of a door banging against something could be heard. My body frightened at the noise my eyes became alert even if the tiredness engulfed me and my eyes wanted to close shut. I heard a door closing shut and the impact just rattled the walls of the little room.

There were voices that could be heard on the other side. Yelling. Echoes. Growls ripped through the air as I could hear my surroundings. Everything was caving in. Closer. Closer.

I was in a state of shock. I wanted to yell. Shout. Scream for help but I couldn't move. Not one finger lifted as I heard screams coming from the outside in. The pounding of doors. The tearing of skin. I blinked once, twice, and as soon as I heard a pounding of paws I yelled with whatever it was that I had left in me.

There was no longer a place for the pain.