Shielding the Beast (discontinued)

Twenty-Four | Distance

"Goodbye, Asher."

The words come through the darkness, spoken by a familiar voice-- the only voice capable of making my knees weak and my willpower worthless. Amber's voice.

But she's telling me goodbye. Why? Where is she going?

I can see nothing in but the vast, empty darkness. I can't move my limbs, as if my body is nonexistent. I can only hear her parting words, and feel her presence becoming increasingly weaker. Farther away. Leaving.

Panic consumes me.

She can't leave! I can't let her!

But never in my life have I felt so helpless. The darkness continues to drag me away from her, wherever she may be in it, as the rest of my consciousness slowly fades away.

I'm left alone with so much space, Amber so far away, and yet the distance is suffocating.

.

.

.

My eyes snap open with a start, being met with the dark grey pattern of the cobblestone beneath me, my cheek laying against it. The chamber floor is cold against my bare side, the lack of a shirt apparent.

"Goodbye, Asher."

Remembering Amber's parting words, my body immediately jerks awake, bolting up and lunging forward.

I have to find her. Whether it was real or not, I have to find her.

Instantly, I'm yanked back with the rattling of chains; large, reinforced manacles adorning both my wrists and ankles. Pulling pointlessly against the restraints, a frustrated snarl rips from my throat.

"Easy, Asher."

My head snaps in the direction of the voice, eyes landing on none other than a solemn faced Beta. He's standing, arms crossed, on the other side of the thick, silver bars.

"Where's Amber?! WHERE IS SHE?!" My voice is turned into a roar by the small vicinity of the chamber, the echoes bouncing off the walls.

Silence befalls us, all except for the metal-on-metal sound of the chains being pulled against.

Daniel hesitates before answering, regret filling his currently dull green eyes.

"She left. I thought she would come back, but she never. I underestimated her."

At those words, something inside of me breaks. A shattering of discipline. The snapping of reasoning as blind instincts take over every aspect of my mind. A startlingly familiar feeling racks my chest, crawling up from whatever depths of hell I had tried to shove it into.

My body turns rigid, muscles tensing with unexplored strength. Claws extend from my fingers, digging into the palms of clenched fists and allowing scarlet drops to hit the floor. My jaw clenches with bone-breaking force, canines grinding against canines.

The same feeling of helplessness that overtook me in Amber's hospital room is back. The same feeling of control I'd worked so hard to get back now slipping away again.