Nidus

Awakening

“I'm so sorry…”

Soft, feminine words, full of pain, echo in my ears quickly fading away to the sound of splashing water. I breathe deeply, gasping for air. The smell of sea water fills my nostrils, the breath of life awakening my drowsy senses. My body aches, from the cold as well as the constant pain; like I had been battered all over my body.

Freezing water laps at my legs, surrounding me in a blanket of ice, splashing onto my bare back. Remnants of torn pants scrape at my ankles. My body rests in the sand, the gritty substance lightly coat my arms in a crusty covering. I slowly open my eyes, letting out my breath. It takes a moment but as my eyes flutter open, the world begins to take shape. I lay face down on ash colored sand, my head turned to the right. The beach stretches as far as I can see. The air is full of the natural ambiance from the sun. The air is cold, and nips at me. A heavy fog swirls out over the water then stretches up into the sky, like a dome. It swirls as if pushed by the wind, but there is no breeze blowing nor does the fog move closer. It just acts like it is hitting a shield.

Unbearable grief suddenly grips my heart, making me gasp in pain. I ache as if I lost something but–-I cannot remember what. I search my mind for any sort of memories, but I draw a blank. I cannot remember anything, the first memory I have is of those three words. And those words, as I ponder them, strengthen the sadness eating away at me.

I shiver slightly as I try to lift my head. But I am so cold from the water that my skin feels rubbery and numb. After a few moments of focusing, I slide my right hand through the surf, leaving deep gouges, to press my palm into the waves, summoning my energy again; I draw my left hand to my other side. Both arms feel stiff, but my left arm especially. I shove down on my hands to push myself to my knees. The moment I do, searing pain bites through the dullness right in the back of my left shoulder. I sharply draw breath and fall onto my right elbow.

I twist my head around to look at the source of my pain. Something with a white hilt-type object is impaled in my shoulder. The area around the wound is ghastly; coated with a bluish slime, sand, as well as both dried and fresh blood. The flesh is swollen. The wound is split open, with my muscle gleaming beneath. The sight makes me nauseous to my stomach and I lean over onto the ground starting to heave my stomach's contents. A little dark liquid hits the surf, which absorbs it, but since there is very little in my stomach, it turns into a dry heave that leaves me shaking. After I stop, I hesitantly look over at the object again. I can feel it inside of my shoulder now, and I can feel myself shaking. I-I need it out of me right now. I cannot wait. I have to get it out of me.

I take a deep breath, then brace my muscles for the pain before pushing myself to my knees with my right arm. The pain ripples through me, my sense of nausea building. Come on, you can do this. Taking another breath to steel my nerves, I reach up to firmly grasp the hilt in my right hand. Even touching it hurts my shoulder and it feels cold to the touch. I look up then gather my strength again then pull it out. I feel the object scraping against my bone, pain flaring through my body.

I grunt through clenched teeth, the object leaving my body to be replaced by a wave of hot blood. The pain radiates from the wound like a poison causing stars flash in front of my eyes.

I fall down onto my chest, clinging onto the object in my hand as the pain overwhelms me. I grunt as I try to control my labored breathing then groan as the pain doubles. I twist my head around to look at the wound again. The fibers of my skin are literally reconnecting with themselves in order to stitch the wound up. In another moment, I watch as the entire wound is healed with only the grime as a grim reminder. The pain subsides just a little, but still holds me in its grip. I need to see what just happened, I need to see the actual flesh.