[Naz] Anathema 5

Anathema 5- Brink

Avril

Night time… total blackness. Everything became deep, infinite, immeasurable. You would wander off and no one would find you. You would be stranded, alone, frightened, unreachable. You would be lost…

The muddy ground of the Sleepy Wood Forest squelched underneath my red boots. Beside the constant pelting of rain, everything was quiet, still. I could see my shallow breath escape into the darkness, consumed by some unmentionable gloom that seemed to envelop the woods.

My mind drifted. I looked down at my Shinebow, blinking away rainwater from my eyelashes. Somehow, amidst this blackness, my bow’s golden hue radiated out with glory. It seemed like the only thing that made sense in this world.

Bringing my mind back, I whispered to Iro, “Where exactly are we going?”

Silence.

Looking around, I saw nothing, only empty space. A ring of thunder taunted me from above.

“Sh**…”

I was alone. Curse my thinking…

Breathing in to shout out Iro’s name, I suddenly stopped myself. I knew the way to Sleepy Wood. Why should I risk getting killed by letting the infected know where I was? Exhaling and watching my breath dissipate into the rain, I trudged forward into the gloom.

Before I had even taken a few steps, I felt the air around me freeze. Immediately, I drew an arrow from my quiver and fitted it into my bow. Proceeding cautiously, I aimed my bow in front of me, the steel tip of the arrowhead just waiting to burst out. For some reason, even the rain seemed silent, waiting for an unwanted intruder.

Then I heard it, the voracious snarling coming from all around me. I could feel their hot, sickly breaths coming, tasting the air for fresh meat. Whipping around, I saw one just in time as it emerged from within the blackness.

The bowstring twanged and a split second later, the thud of arrow on bone resounded through the forest as my arrow impaled its head into a giant tree. My eyes darted to the left, where three more were clawing their way through the foliage.

This was a losing fight; I knew if I stayed, I would be a dead woman. Fitting an arrow bomb into the bowstring, I shot one more missile off and ran in the direction of Sleepy Wood. The explosion and screams met my ears for a brief moment, then faded away behind me.

I could hear splashes all around me, but did not know if they were mine or theirs. The storm seemed to want to emphasize my dilemma by unleashing a new found fury. Rainwater lashed down against my skin, pelting the world with tears. Lightning tore across the black sky, accompanied by feral roars of thunder. I smashed through the underbrush… but so did they.

All of a sudden, I felt a stinging pain tear through my left shoulder as I smacked into something solid in front of me. One of the infected had charged out from in front of me, bring us both tumbling and thrashing to the floor. I felt his icy grip close around my neck.

Then, all I could feel was the pain that sliced through me like a hot knife in butter. My neck was on fire; I could not breathe. Even though my eyes were open, I could only see blackness, and for the first time that I could remember, I screamed, shrill into the night. I could feel his hot teeth sink into my flesh.

I was infected…

There was a whistle through the air, and suddenly, the weight was lifted off of me as a Steely tore through the infected’s face. Gasping for breath, I felt a hand grab mine and lift me up to my knees. Fresh blood was oozing down from my neck. Iro’s hand jerked me forward, and I ran.

I don’t know how, or when, but when I finally saw the distant dimly lit streetlights of Sleepy Wood, the screams and shrieks behind me were long gone.

“Iro…” I gasped, starting to falter behind him, “Iro please… wait…”

“We can’t, they’re right behind us,” Iro’s voice floated through the rain into my ears.

“Iro… I’ve been bitten…”

Immediately, he was on me. I could feel his cold hands carefully brush my hair away from the crescent shaped bite wound on my neck. He whispered a curse to himself, then looked up at me, “Don’t you worry, girl… I have a friend in Sleepy Wood that’ll know what to do.”

“I hope you’re right…” I muttered, and lost consciousness.

…Into the blackness…

When you’re unconscious, everything comes back up again, all the pains of the memories long forgotten. You remember them with crystal clarity, no detail forgotten. It was hell for me.

But there are still those memories literally erased, those so distant that not even unconsciousness could revive them. The ancient ones of early childhood that no one could remember.

And then there are those in between, where you’re not sure whether they are real or figments of your imagination. There are only bits and pieces, fragments and shards. Missing…

The knives and needles, the scalpels… The blinding white light. It wasn’t heaven, so what was it?

Their voices above me, angels speaking gibberish. I tried to look closer, at their faces

But straps tied me down, held me fast. I could not move any part of my body. I was naked on a table. The coldness of the metal table below me seeped into my soul.

A syringe floated down from the heavens. I felt it prick my arm, but there was no pain. At first…

Suddenly everything was clear; I could see past the white light. They weren’t angels, but devils. Their operating masks covered their demonic smiles. I knew underneath those white robes were skeletons with no souls.

And they were turning me into a monster…

…Waking from a dream…

“Avril…” I could hear Iro’s voice. “Avril wake up.”

“Interesting…” A new voice…

“Avril!”

My eyelids fluttered open. The room was dimly lit, small and cramped. Iro was looking over me and Ethan was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, snoozing. He was still drenched, so it couldn’t have been too long that I was gone…

“Avril this is my good friend, Dr. Feng MacMillan.” Iro said.

Feng’s blue eyes narrowed upon my neck, and backed away slowly. He ran a hand through his cleanly cut blonde hair. “The wound is convalescing already. I’m afraid the virus is already deep within her.” His Scottish accent was grave, chilling me to the bone.

He straightened himself up and looked at Iro as I propped myself up on the bed with my arms, “You have only one choice, lad,” he looked Iro firmly in the eyes, “You have to kill her.”