Friends to Be Feared

Chapter 7: Emptiness

I stopped feeling a long time ago.

It could have been days or hours or minutes and I wouldn't know. There was nothing but cold. I distantly felt my body shiver. Everything was so distant. When I could force my eyes open everything was blurred and all the sounds were muffled.

At least, I thought they were.

Perhaps I was already dead and this is just the Hell I had been condemned to.

No, that wasn't right. I could still feel my body, I could feel it shiver and when I coughed my head pounded. But it was all so far away, slipping, slipping...

I felt my body shake. But this wasn't like the other shaking, the shivering. There was a pressure on my shoulder. The shaking stopped. Muffled sound slowly filtered in through the fog that permeated my mind. It was jumbled but eventually I could make out two words.

"Wake up." The voice was familiar. Vague images of flashing swords and harsh words popped into my mind. I flinched.

There were more muffled voices and then some rustling. I shifted, trying to hear what they were saying.

"That's it Merlin. Hey, I need you to drink some water, you're dehydrated." There was a pause. "I'm going to help you sit up Merlin, come on, that's it." The voice was comforting. It brought to mind quiet words and shared laughs. I felt pressure on my shoulders again but this time they didn't let go, pulling me upward. I felt a hard surface behind my back as the pressure was slowly released from my shoulders and my head lolled forward. It was just too heavy. Everything was so heavy now that it wasn't so far away.

I felt a hand slowly open my mouth and pour a cool liquid down my parched throat.

For a moment it seemed my body wouldn't react but then it hit.

The emptiness.

I had forgotten it was there. Now it permeated my whole body, every limb and every muscle was coated in it. As the water tried to force its way down the emptiness tightened its hold. Pain shot through me and I felt he water come back up. I had just enough strength to turn my head as to not get the kind voice.

However all that movement fully woke the slimy nothingness as it shifted. Moving away from my mind and back down to the building warmth in my chest.

My magic.

I gasped and my eyes flew open, my arms clutching the body in front of me.

"Hey, Merlin, Merlin! It's okay, calm down. It's okay Merlin." I hadn't realized I had been struggling, my head flying around but not taking in any of my surroundings. I forced my eyes to focus on the person in front of me.

"Percival?" My voice croaked, the lack of use combined with the lack of water making it little more than a rasp. I looked past him to the other knights and Arthur.

They were all awake, staring at me. Percival began speaking again and I forced myself to focus back, ignoring the rapidly receding warmth that had built up.

"Merlin, are you alright?" He kept using my name, wasn't he angry with me, like all the other knights? He must have seen my confused look and repeated his question.

"Merlin, are you okay?" This one sounded a little more urgent. I was going to respond but I suddenly found myself choking. It was the nothingness crawling it's way up my throat. I could feel the fog threatening to take back over, sending back to that distant place of empty and cold. It seemed to whisper to me.

Give in. It seemed to say. Why are you fighting? Come, let everything fade away...

No! No, there was something I had to do, something I had to wait for...

What, Wait for your death? What's left for you here? They hate you, you're going to die anyway, they will kill you. Just give in now, let the pain fade away...

It was right. There was no point in fighting. There was no point in anything anymore.

There was a loud bang and a shout but I was already falling.

Authors Note: So, chapter 7! I've already got a plan for the next chapter and so that should actually be up soon, maybe even today. Trying to make up for all the lost time. But wow! So many views and likes it's amazing! Till next time! :~)