Worlds Beyond: Shattered (ON HOLD)

Chapter Nineteen

I found myself surrounded by darkness once again.

Pure darkness I was accustomed to, the kind of darkness that was so thick and potent I couldn't see a thing, not even myself. All I could feel was the coldness in the air to the marrow of my bones that made goosebumps rise on my skin. The last thing I remembered was passing out on Neros' bed as soon as I walked into his home, too exhausted to eat or do anything else.

Was I dreaming right now? Was this another nightmare?

A light suddenly flickered just a few feet from where I stood. I cringed at the sudden light, letting my vision slowly focus as the shape of a man came into view. Under the bright light stood a tall man dressed in a black skintight suit, dirty blonde hair matted in blood that fell down his face. My eyes widened as I recognized those bright teal eyes of his that glowed as Neros peered past his hair at me.

He looked like someone had actually tossed him into a trash compactor. He was severely wounded, a hand clasped shut over his abdomen to hold what laid inside a huge gash right at the center of his stomach from his right shoulder to his navel, blood dripping from the wound onto the dark floor. It was an oddly familiar view. Where did I see this before? I wanted to run to him and call for help, but I couldn't move or talk.

It was that disgusting sensation of not being in control of my own body.

"Why..." His voice trailed, mumbling something else I couldn't comprehend as he choked on mouthfuls of blood and remained standing. How could he even stand when he was severely wounded? And who did this to him?

"We helped you." A new voice murmured. Was that Cecil's voice?

My eyes drifted to the new light that flickered a few feet from Neros, giving place to Cecil's lean figure in a pair of bloodied jeans and a ragged white blouse. I choked on a scream when he lifted his head in my direction. His platinum blood hair caked in blood fell over his shoulders, hiding his right eye from me. What horrified me was the sight of an empty hole where his left eye should've been, blood trailing from his eye socket down his pale cheeks as if someone had viciously wrenched his eye out.

"We trusted you." Came Cain's quiet voice on the other side of Neros. The light flickered, revealing Cain kneeling on the floor, his auburn curls hiding his face from me, hands hugging his arms tightly as he curled into himself. I almost mistook his red arms as a long sleeved shirt until I noticed it was blood. Dark red blood that tainted his naked shoulders and fell in rivulets of blood down his arms in a pool around him.

"It's all your fault." They repeated hollowly in unison, over and over like a broken CD player. And it hurt. Their words hurt more than any blade to my chest, drilling into my ears the more they sneered those words directed at me. I managed to find my strenght to cover my ears, closing my eyes to shut them out, but that didn't stop me from hearing them.

Their voices became louder and louder until I was sure they were screaming right in my face and suddenly, they abruptly stopped. I frowned, peeking an eye open as I lowered my hands to my sides to look at the darkness around me. They were gone. And I was back alone in the darkness.

"Everything we did for you and this is how you repay us?" My heart stopped at the voice behind me, a voice I knew all too well. The pain I felt was worse than before as I turned around to see Cerberus standing there, tears welling up in his beautiful amber eyes and soaking his cheeks. Seeing him in pain hurt more than those words could ever. It was also an unfamiliar view, seeing Cerberus cry. I had never see him cry before. He seemed like such a strong guy that could take anything and anyone no problem. What could possibly be painful enough to make him cry?

Your words.

I winced at that thought, reaching out to touch him but he quickly took a step back as if he could think of nothing worse than me touching him. I ignored the pain tugging at my heartstrings as I reeled my hand to my chest, swallowing down a wave of tears that were ready to come up any second now.