The Elementals : The Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 40 - The Fire That Burns Inside of Me

At many points along this journey, I've said that I've been in the worst pain in my life. Past me hadn't the remotest clue what he was on about. Old me deserved to be repeatedly slapped in the face.

This was agony.

Pure, unrivalled, skin tearing pain. Picture being stabbed by a thousand red hot, electrified needles coated in wasp venom. Got that? Okay, well just add a dash of boiling alive and a sprinkle of being bashed in the chest with a lump hammer and you're partway there.

I couldn't scream, my vocal cords were paralyzed by the black invader coiling itself around my throat. This thing was alive. Shifting and squirming through my veins, wrapping around my muscles, and coating my lungs like sticky tar. Every breath stung like sand. Pain raced down my spine until there wasn't a cell in my body that wasn't recoiling in agony.

I knew my friends were screaming but I couldn't see them, I couldn't hear them. I was completely alone, just me and this foul thing that was desperately trying to take over my mind. Flames tried to force their way through my skin but the mass just extinguished whatever spark I had, locking the heat away, just inches out of my reach.

Bile rose hotly up my throat, acid not stopping the thing from forcing its way down into my gut as I gagged. My chest felt like there a hand gripping each lung, squeezing tighter and tighter. I couldn't breathe anymore.

Get it out, GET IT OUT, GET IT OUT!

The panic attack scrambled any coherent thought. I'm dying. My brain usually thought I was dying in a moment like this but this time it was real. Very real. Breathe, Nick, breathe. I had to get control back. I had to keep fighting.

But it didn't matter. It just pushed on, deeper and deeper until I could feel it from the soles of my feet to pressing painfully against the backs of my eyes. Something warm and wet splashed against the back of my hand.

Through the tears, I looked up at my wonderful Mum. Even though her tears had run dry her face was twisted into sobs. Horror etched onto every line, mouth hung open and screaming in a perfect red O, eyes wide and pleading with who I knew was standing just behind me, howling with laughter.

I wanted to push this away and run over to her. I wanted to tell my Mum not to worry and that I'd find a way out of it. I wanted to tell her it was going to be alright.

Instead, I was curled into the foetal position on my knees, the stabbing torture in my gut threatening to rip whatever consciousness I had away from me. Seriously. I couldn't tell if it was the pain or the fact that the serum had seized hold of my brain but the world was spinning like a teacup ride and if I could have I would have chucked.

I had to hold on. I must! Just for a bit longer. Think Nick, think. What's Mum's maiden name? Penhallow. Where did I grow up? 20...21 Brandfort Gardens. What's my little brother's name? Ma...Mat...no that's not it. Ma...ma...max...Maxie! What about my sister? Lily? No...lil...lay...li...

It was in my chest now, worming and wriggling its way down. My lungs felt heavy, useless. My stomach was filled with bile. My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool. I couldn't think straight anymore. One touch. All it had to do was reach out and take my heart down and that would be it.

It crept down my veins, expanding out like a network of roads and extended outwards. It reached into my heart-

And retreated like a struck dog.

What?

It reached out again with the same result. Hissing filled my ears as it recoiled, snakelike as it writhed backwards for just a moment. It was struggling to break through, but why? It had done just fine with everything else, why was my heart putting up such a fight?