Who am I? *A Mortal Instruments Fanfic*

Another

Blackness again. This time, no bodies litter the ground. Instead I see my friend Sophie running toward me. She calls my name, but it sounds panicked. She stops suddenly and collapses on the ground. I try and run to her, but my feet are rooted to the ground. Blood pools around her. I scream, the sound pierces the darkness. In small groups, more of my friends and loved ones, come and then drop of the ground, slowly bleeding out.

The floor tumbles from under me, and I spin into oblivion until darkness slams into my feet, sending shock through my legs. A small figure comes toward me. It gets bigger, the black hair streaming behind her. "Isabelle!" I shout. She keeps running and she stops dead, as though someone grabs her. She slowly she falls onto nothing, doubling over, agony clear on her face. Lying face up, eyes open, staring again into nothing.

Alec comes into view and this time when he stops, the skin slowly comes off in strips like someone is skinning him. Blood pours out of his wounds and he falls, his mouth in a silent scream. More people I don't recognize, yet I know are Shadowhunters, come and die in front of me, an invisible presence tearing their limbs or skin off. All the while, my feet are glued to the floor, making me incapable of coming to help them. All I can do is scream as I watch the blood mix into a small scarlet lake.

The bodies clear away somehow and I'm alone on the black. I hear a boy calling my name. The voice is so familiar. Then the boy comes into view. Jace stops and looks around, looking for me. I try and shout but now my voice doesn't work. He starts running and like all the others, he stops. Time seems to slow down. The skin above his heart tears away. He doesn't scream. Then a blacker flash appears and it goes straight for his heart and it drives straight through. He drops to the ground, blood spilling over. His arms become torn like Alec's. Now he gives a silent scream, face contorted in torment.

My feet become released and I race over only to find I'm too late. The blacker black appears and puts lacerations in my flesh. There was nothing I could do but shriek in the torture. The black drops me. A cold familiar voice comes out again. "See? This is a battle you cannot win. Your friends still don't accept you. They are all lying dead." The other corpses appear again. "Join me, and all this will stop."

"No! I will never! They will accept me." I murmur, too weak to do anything else. "Then watch your friends die over and over." The laugh sounds like glass shards being injected into my ears. Then spikes rain down on me, going through my skin. More screaming fills my ears. The last thing I see, before I black out and die, is Jace. Blackness closes my vision almost completely...

"Ari!!" Again my eyes burst open and I'm gasping for breath. I swivel around and see Alec and Izzy, their faces filled with dread. I am again covered in a cold sweat. I glance around and I don't see Jace. Panic seizes my throat. Tears well up and I almost scream again. Hands enclose me, and I glance up and see gold. I weep into Jace's shirt again. I can't even speak. Alec and Isabelle come over and sit down. Iz rubs my back in comfort and Alec doesn't know what to do. Jace caresses my hair. "Shhh. It wasn't real. It's ok." He assures. I look up and see comfort in his eyes, but just as much concern and fear.

Bed sheets are in tangles around me. "Jace it was awful! I saw you all die! You all just stopped then were tortured. Oh. It was horrid!" I manage to get out between sobs. The fear and concern is evident in Jace's voice was obvious, and it is clear he is trying to not let it in. "But it's not real. We are alive and not tortured." I knot my hands into the soft, white material of his shirt, trying to block out the images. I am shaking violently. I don't get anything else out. I just silently shed tears as Jace tries to calm me down, but I just hear soft noises as I cry to sleep.

Darkness meets my dry and crusted eyes. I glance around and see not just my room, but three figures, sleeping in chairs or on the windowsill. Jace is in the windowsill, his head dangling down. Alec and Isabelle lean against each other like siblings do. I don't go back to sleep, instead I creep around and get dressed. A movement makes me stop dead. I see Jace's eyes open and look at me. "You're awake. Are you ok?" He asks, all compassion is his voice and eyes. Alec and Iz wake up too, but instead of compassion, it's a combination of that and fear. "Yes. I just need to try and take my mind off of it."