If I Die By Sunrise

The Way that You Bleed

I was suffocating, choking as the water made its way into my lungs, swelling them, drowning me. I was losing consciousness but I was too sick to fight.

I couldn't feel the vampire Amy's hands on me anymore. I was just sinking by myself, about to die alone. The emptiness was my only partner as the blackness surrounded me, blocking out my vision and the only ticket I had to being semi-conscious.

The numbness began to crawl its way down my spine where it traveled to my arms and legs. It was too strong for me; I was too weak to protest.

The warmth that the water once radiated now felt like ice as it wrapped around me. This was it. There was no great flash of my life before my eyes, no light leading me out of the darkness. It was just me and the vast oblivion that beckoned to me. I had no choice-I had to bid this world goodbye.

So I did, I let my eyes close and with my last feeble breath, I thought "goodbye."

There was pain, sharp racking pain that I could feel right at my back. Repeated striking pain that fluctuated from incredible, to dulling and then back to incredible in just a few seconds.

But every time I felt it something strange and wonderful happened to my lungs. With new life, they'd stir and sputter, getting rid of most of the water that filled them moments ago. It didn't even occur to me that I was breathing until my brain was awake enough to register the sore drag of air as it pervaded every crevice of my raw air sacs.

I coughed as the pain didn't let up but increased in frequency. It hurt but I was still grateful; the more pain I was in, the freer my lungs were from their aquatic torture.

My eyes remained closed throughout this whole ordeal; I didn't want to look. It felt like hell. I had definitely died and gone to hell and now I was doomed to suffer an eternity of this torment.

I was also scared, what would I see when I finally gained the nerve to open my eyes? Would it be what I always imagined it would be? Then again, how bad did I want to know? Not that bad.

There was a voice suddenly, oh how out of place it was in hell! The voice was so effortless and peaceful that I could've sworn it belonged to an angel- but with my luck it was probably the Devil himself coming around for a chat. Probably to welcome me to the neighborhood, I guessed.

The sultry voice called out my name but I ignored it; I didn't want to remember the last time I heard someone call my name nor did I want to face my maker yet. It was too soon God damn it!

The Devil sighed and a surprisingly cold puff of air encircled me. Involuntarily, I shivered. Seeing that I was responsive, he ordered. "Charley, wake up."

The beating against my back stopped and I was angled into a more comfortable sitting position with my head resting against something hard and cold. It strangely felt like a chest, was I leaning against another body? When did the Devil feel so, so strong, sturdy and cool instead of pointy, sharp and hot? I mentally shrugged, if he was offering me a good place to rest my aching self then who was I to deny that?

I clung to him to also stall time so I wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of my fate just yet. I tightened the towel around me too, I mean I didn't want to make this more awkward then it already was. Then a wild thought popped into my head. If I had truly died and gone to hell wouldn't my clothes be on me? And I died naked, why not give me my clothes or leave me naked? Did hell have a dress code? Special rules about modesty?

The truth has a way of barreling into you like a ton of bricks. My eyes flew open when it all came back to me, the bathroom, the sickness, the water, Amy... and Jerry.

When I looked up he was staring at me as if I was the strangest specimen he ever encountered. I gaped at him in horror. I had no reasonable explanation as to why the hell I was still locked around him like he was a piece of driftwood in an abundant sea. Though, the simple fact that he wasn't yelling and screaming at me to let go just showed that he didn't mind it as much.