The Revival

02| Dead and Alive

The pain in her eyes is unforgettable. The tears that fell from her eyes and stained his own cheeks are still held beneath his skin, a burning reminder of the day he can never forget. Over and over in his mind, he sees Elia's despaired figure being yanked away from him as the life begins to rapidly drain from his mind. All of the functions of his brain seem like they have now become numb. Numb to everything.

Numb to Elia, even.

If this is what death feels like, Nathan was positive he has landed in Hell. With that horrible scene replaying over and over again in his mind, he couldn't possibly be anywhere else. And while Hell is achingly miserable for him, he takes comfort in the fact that he is suffering it alone. At least Elia is still alive.

Right when everything in his mind turned black, the numbness of everything becoming all consuming, Nathan feels a sharp pain in his lungs. The severity of the sting is something he can only describe as dying all over again, the burn it creates making it hard for him to breathe.

Breathe.

Nathan startles himself with a jerk of his body, his eyes still not quite able to open. What is happening to him? All of a sudden every ounce of numbness is gone and his senses shoot into overdrive. The smell of blood. The taste of metal in his mouth. The murmur of voices.

With his eyes still glued shut, however, Nathan is able to fool himself into thinking he's stuck in some sort of dream. None of this could be real. He couldn't be real. The sight of Elia's eyes falling upon him in such anguish were the most haunting part of that last day and the only affirmation he needed to know his fate. There is no way he could be alive.

Then again, anything truly is possible.

"...can't just leave him here. And Ty said he was tired of lugging him around when we tried to move. Let's just lay low here for a while."

An exasperated sigh fell from a pair of lips that seemed forever away. "In case you hadn't realized it yet, we are in a war, Kat. Nothing about our little campsite constitutes 'laying low,' which is why we need to move. The man's practically dead anyway, he's been out for ten days."

Still unable to open his eyes, Nathan resorts to a different method of trying to gain these people's attentions. If they actually came over to him, he might actually be able to determine if he's just in some sort of dream state that comes along with the post-life territory. Interestingly enough, this is the first time Nathan's actually been certain he's dead, so his experiences with these situations are limited.

Coughing as loud as he can, Nathan only manages to get out a low grumble from somewhere deep down his dry throat. His lips are cracked, and as he tries to wet them to get a better sound out he tastes the blood that has been caked on them for a supposed ten days. That's what he's gathered from the mystery man a few feet away, at least.

The conversation between the pair instantly dies down upon hearing the noise, leaving Nathan with the slightest burst of hope. Muttering up the strength to try again, he is actually able to make a decent sound that might even resemble a cough. Proud of his efforts, Nathan tries to settle back down from all the effort he'd just put out.

"We heard you the first time, mate, no need to get all greedy with the attention," mystery guy states with a laugh. Then, turning to the girl, he adds, "looks like he's not dead after all."

Nathan starts to feel tired after the short exchange, feeling his eyes grow even heavier with the effort to stay awake. He didn't know eyes that were already shut could get that way, but his body has proven him wrong.

Sleep, though, was the last thing Nathan wanted. He'd just gotten out of what felt like an endless cycle of torture of Elia and his own death experience. Nathan is afraid that if he closes his eyes again he'll somehow be sucked back into it like he never left. Reliving those moments over and over again is not something Nathan can bear, not even for a moment longer.

"Shh, it's okay." Suddenly there's a comforting hand on Nathan's shoulder, pushing it back down to the cushion it had ever so slightly lifted off of. "Don't work yourself too hard, you need to rest. We're not going anywhere, don't worry."

With that reassurance in mind, Nathan lets his fears slowly fade away around him, letting the darkness consume him once more. The girl's hand remains on his shoulder, too, as he drifts away into the nothingness of his mind once more.

For the first time in what feels like an eternity, Nathan falls asleep with no thoughts plaguing his brain. No torment, no blood, and no death. Sadly though, there is also no Elia. Holding on to the intent to see her when he wakes, Nathan finally allows himself to let go. 

Back from the dead! How many are you of excited to see what Nathan still has to offer? Leave a comment to let me know what you're looking forward to the most!

-M