a thousand instincts (#1)

Godhead's Milk (36)

Aeress

     Her eyes flew open as she felt familiar lips briefly press against her before almost instantly losing contact. Without much warning, she shot up and coughed up an alarming amount of water-unfortunately not from her stomach but from her lungs. She could have mistaken it for acid which was coming up her throat from how much it burned. 

     Aeress coughed even when all of the water was gone, as if her body was paranoid that it was still replete with liquid which did not belong. The headache bombarding her worsened until she thought a vessel would pop. She held her head and whimpered, pulling at her wet strands to distract from the true pain of her body, struggling not to pass out again. 

     She looked around and realized that she was still in the arena. The blue light from above seemed fainter, weaker. A strange but understandable relief flooded her chest only for a moment, for she knew the trials would continue testing her. 

     "The first half of the trial is completed," a callous voice responded, not indicating whether they had an ounce of sympathy for Aeress who almost drowned to death. Instead of feeling a great rage, she instead listened, trying to absorb every detail or potential hint. "The next half will take place promptly." So this trial would soon end? She doubted it would be so simple. 

     She was dazed and just sat there for a moment, but she knew better. The urge to just lay back down plagued her, until her suspicions were proven true as she sensed something foreign beneath her skin. It was a strange tingling sensation all over her body, pulsing in waves and becoming more and more present. It flew in longs streams, hooking into her bones and stretching wider. 

     It didn't hurt... for long. 

     Her muscles locked up and her terror spiked into the sky. "What is this?"she demanded, pushing herself onto her knees in choppy movements. She scratched at her arms, raking her nails up toward her wrists before back down. She looked up at the Guides in shock, "you've poisoned me, why?"

     "Correct, Aeress, we did so through the water which you swallowed and stood in, only the strongest of our ranks can sense the venom as it contaminates the host." Guide Jamarious looked impressed, his pale skin was tinted blue by the light. "We call it Godhead's Milk. One of the most deadliest venoms this world has ever scene. Within the hour, the host is nearly guaranteed to parish."

     Aeress was pretty sure she was going to be sick. "Am I going to die?"

     "Thousands of years have passed since the departure of Godhead, yet we have been inadequate in achieving a cure. We have learned though that the blood of one's mate has been known to slow the process, but other than that, nothing which can prevent certain death."

     "That doesn't answer my question." Wow, she thought she would perhaps make it to the third trial at least, but apparently this was how she would die. 

     "If you are Godhead," Guide Alejandra responded with a spine as straight as a board, "the cure should be within you. In your mind. You have approximately thirty minutes before your termination." That was all the instruction she would receive?

     Godhead, please tell me there is a cure?

     I... don't remember. 

      Her limbs trembled, not in response to the poison but to her own realistic, hypothetic scenario in her head that she would die. It was almost like being told that there was no water at the bottom when she had already jumped off the edge of the cliff. What are you talking about? He said that you knew. Why would he say that if it wasn't true? She was very dearly close to losing her shit.