The Immortals

Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Never show fear in the midst of anything.

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Scarlett woke up again, in the bed, but this time, she was chained to it. She groaned and opened her eyes, looking down at the manacles on her hands, handcuffing her to the bed like some kind of prisoner.

She looked around. Dylan and Will were nowhere in sight and she couldn't see anything. The room was dark and she could only make out shapes.

She shook the manacles, hoping to get out. "Help!" She screamed. "Help!" No hero came flying through the door,

No one came to her rescue. She yanked on the manacles, pulled her arms away, but that only made her wrists bleed and bruise. She yanked one more time, hard, and cried out in pain. Sharp pain exploded in her wrist and she gritted her teeth, trying not to scream. She looked at her hands and noticed they were bloody and shaking. She gasped and resisted the urge to scream again.

If there was anything she'd learned from the last incident, it was to never show fear. Even if you were scared someone would kill you or make you Awaken, whatever that was.

Will and Dylan had said that Awakening her was against the Laws. She hadn't put much thought into it but she realized she ought to have.

Suddenly, without yanking on the manacles, pain shot through Scarlett's whole entire body. This time, she didn't restrain herself from screaming. The pain was like an electric shock or all her cells exploding. It wasn't the manacles.

It was the Awakening.

Something clicked in her brain to make her think that but she realized that the click in her brain was right.

She gritted her teeth, determined not to show any pain. Maybe if she stayed silent, Will and Dylan would come back in and think she was passed out, and right when they came near, she could kick them and demand to get out of the manacles and go home.

But she knew she couldn't. They were a whole lot bigger than her and besides, did she really want to go home in pain? Not knowing how to stop it.

Scarlett turned her hands into fists and waited for the next ripple of pain.

Sure enough, she got it.

And this one was even worse. It made her think her cells were on fire, her head was pounding was so bad, Scarlett thought it was being bounced on like a trampoline. The pain went through her whole entire body and she felt her legs spasm and her fingernails dug into her palms, making her bleed. Scarlett couldn't take it anymore. The pain was like flopping to the ground from fifty feet up. And living. She screamed, a sound that made her ears ring.

What did I do to deserve this? She thought.

Scarlett screamed again in agony as the pain left her, now spreading downward, to all of her body, with tremendous pain.

She was silent, as she cried and waited for another shock of pain. They were getting worse and Scarlett didn't think she could handle it. She bit her lip and breathed deeply, enjoying the moments she had without the pain.

The moments Scarlett had without the pain were just five minutes.

She felt another shock go up her body but this time, it was worse than she could ever imagine. It felt as if she were being eaten alive slowly by a bear, and her body was feeling cramped as if she were being buried alive in a coffin meant for a cat. Scarlett screamed and kicked her arms and legs, trying to get out of the bear's mouth or the small coffin. There was another shockwave of pain and she screamed again. It felt like a tidal wave was pulling her under, trapping her in cold waters, and she couldn't get out. Like she was in a cage. Scarlett knew it was fake. She wasn't underwater. But still, her lungs ached and felt like they were being torn apart. She screamed and felt tears pour down her face.

Suddenly, Scarlett saw a bright light as she felt her body being lifted up, free from the pain, from the Awakening. She heard angelic voices around her and thought, this is what Heaven must be like. But instead of the protection from any pain and harm, Scarlett still felt her body's leaded weight pulling her back towards earth like a magnet. She fought against it, wanting anything but going back to that horrible place of pain, but she knew her living self would win.

She emerged from the light and into more light. The lights were on in the place she'd been taken to and Dylan and Will were standing there staring at her incredulously.

"I died!" Scarlett said, panicked. She was frantic, as she tried to move, but the manacles were still on her hands. "I died! I heard angels singing and I felt like I was floating and I didn't know what was going on! Why don't I feel that goddamned pain anymore? Why am I fine now? What happened? Goddammit, leave me me alone! You locked me in a room with nothing but this fucking pain. God, why are you still here! Go! Leave me alone! Don't hurt me! What was that pain? Answer me!"

Dylan looked worriedly at Will and then sighed. "Well, Scarlett, you're a vampire. And that was the Awakening."