"Resist the whispers."
She heard a faint sound. A ghost of a whisper. She turned around, trying to figure out the origin but her vision was blurred. She couldn't see anything.
"Lace of the night."
What was that? A shadow? A person? She couldn't see.
Why couldn't she see?
"I know it."
Her vision started to clear and all she could identify was water. Lots and lots of water everywhere, having no end and no beginning. Just an eternal amount of fluid flooding everywhere. Around her, inside her, filling her up.
"You know it."
She couldn't breathe, the pressure on her lungs was so much that she thought they were about to explode. What was happening? Where was she?
"She knows it."
She didn't know where she was, she couldn't move. No one would help her out of there. Why would anyone? She was going to die.
How did it all come to this?
Gwen jolted awake only to find the weight of a heavy body pressed down on her. She couldn't breathe. She tried to push Atkins away, but he wouldn't budge. He was too heavy, and he was strangling her. She didn't have any time to think about her dream as she attempted to push him again and again but no matter how much she tried, he was way too strong. How did he get out of the binds?
She would die. For real this time. Atkins was crushing her windpipe making black dots appear in her vision.
Was it the end?
All she ever hoped for was to live. Nothing else. Was it too much to ask? Was living a normal life that huge of a wish that the God above Would not grant it?
When she was so close to making a normal friend for once, to find a purpose in her life. Was that how she would die? With all the hollowness inside of her?
That easily?
No.
She refused to die.
Death could wait for another day if it was so desperate.
It took all her remaining strength to kick him in the shin. He finally loosened his grip with a groan when she hurriedly pushed him off and crawled backwards.
Taking a grateful gulp of air, she looked around for any weapon while trying to recover from the fading pressure on her lungs.
Then, acting on memory, she unsheathed the dagger on her hips and stood. From the corner of her vision, she could see Rose struggling against Barlow, landing some jabs on him but also receiving some overpowered hits.
She focused back on her opponent. She had no idea how they both managed to get out of their binds, but one thing was for sure.
She wasn't in a mood to die today.
And she would allow no one to change that fact.
Atkins charged at her when she drew out her dagger in front of her in a threatening gesture. She assumed it worked because they were now encircling each other, trying to point out a weakness in their opponent. Though she was rather proud of herself that he wasn't so cocky anymore, she knew it was a disadvantage.
He was muscular and more heighted than her, there was no way she could defeat him in a combat. So, she did what she did best.
"You're sure your balls are still intact, Atkins?" She smirked and gestured towards his pants.
"Why, chick? You want a piece of it?" he laughed.
"Why would I want it? It's used, and smashed," she batted her eyelashes at him mockingly.
"C'mon, we both know you want it," he smiled, all teeth, "Cunts like you like to beg for an experienced man, don't you?" Gwen gritted her teeth trying to keep her calm. Audacity seemed to be on sale this year.
"One so small like yours?"
"Let's see if it's small when it's inside you," his right eye twitched, and Gwen knew that she landed a jab at his ego.
"I bet I wouldn't even feel it. Although, I can ask my father to build you a pair of wooden runic mechanical balls," it was Gwen's turn to smile when he charged at her, an angry move.
Twisting her body, she turned but not before he managed to land a blow on her left shoulder. Ignoring the pain, she ducked and swiftly twisted to stab him right on his side. She staggered back just in time to see his wide eyes as he fell on the ground, groaning.
Her left shoulder was dislocated from the force of his punch, but she didn't have the time to check on it as she turned around and ran towards Barlow who was upon Rose. The redhead had managed to bruise him up a bit, but he was stronger and would be able to overpower her soon enough.
Gwen knocked him out with the back of her dagger and pushed Rose on her feet, "How did you even manage to tie both of them up?"
"They were distracted," Rose answered between her panting, "How did you even manage to knock both of them out?"
She looked surprised when Gwen shrugged her right shoulder, "They were distracted."
A look passed between them followed by their laughter as it echoed through the mountain.
"That was good," the redhead said between her laughs but winced when she saw Gwen's dislocated shoulder. "That's some nasty work right there."
Gwen raised her right hand to her left elbow and bit her lip, trying to brace herself. Suddenly, she rotated her shoulder and pushed the elbow up, relocating the joint back into its socket. She gritted her teeth at the zap of excruciating pain that spread through the left side of her body.
She recovered only to find Rose staring at her with wide eyes, her mouth agape.
She didn't have time to say anything when they heard Atkin's groans. Gwen turned around to find Atkins slowly standing up again, the wound on his side was slowly healing.
"Don't tell me–"
"What the hell–"
"He's a healer."
"Seriously?" Gwen sighed in exasperation and clutched Rose's hand to sprint. It was almost dawn. If they climbed fast enough, they may lose him soon. She turned her head to see Atkins right at their tail, making her screech and lose her footing. She tumbled on to Rose and they fell.
And fell.
Deep into... water?
Lots and lots of water and they were slowly drifting away. A moment later, Gwen couldn't see anything except water. Where did Rose go? How did this much water even come on a mountain? Was it the stream? No, it couldn't be.
She twisted and turned but there was nothing except water. She tried to swim upwards, but a sudden flow of water current forced her down. And down. Into a black hole sucking all the fluid and everything in between, including Gwen.
After a moment, she found herself flying– no, floating in space. It seemed as if she was in the middle of an endless expanse. It wasn't dark, nor was it light. It was empty. Vacant.
"Hello?" her voice disappeared into the space.
"Rose are you there?" she spoke louder this time but to no avail. However, she noticed that the sound of her voice didn't echo back at all.
Dread like an old rusty companion encircled her heart as a sudden realisation made her stomach drop.
"Am I dead?" she had to be.
There couldn't be any other possible explanation for where she was.
All she remembered was being chased by Atkins before she was submerged in water. But where did that water come from? The stream? But it was too shallow as far as she remembered.
Was she dreaming again?
"Lace the whispers... I know it..." She tried to remember the exact words of her dream, but dread had already clouded her memory.
"We know it... they know it... ugh! Broken down tub of junky brain–" She halted when she saw a faint light in the distance. It was barely visible, but it was there. All her breath rushed out of her lungs when the current suddenly forced her towards the light.
She tried to claw at something– anything– but all her efforts were futile. She was shoved in front of a ginormous pedestal with a small handful of light floating right above it.
Confused, Gwen looked around trying to figure out the force that dragged her there, or just anything to guide her.
She looked at the light again, contemplating her next move. Should she touch it?
She raised her hand and slowly brought it closer to the light. Was it her dream? Or was it a gateway to heaven?
Having second thoughts, she stopped her hand inches away from it. She should probably figure a way out of the place. Yes, that would be a wiser option.
She turned around when the same force from before pulled her backwards. As she made contact with the light, a fire erupted inside of her, eating up her insides and boiling all her blood. It hurt, more than anything, it burned.
Another kind of discomforting pain erupted inside her lungs as she was set aflame. Burning bit by bit until she couldn't feel anything and all she could see was black.
Maybe it was ash, maybe she had been reduced to nothing but flakes.
Maybe that was hellfire, and she was being burnt in hell.