Chapter Text
"Hhhrmmrgkk…" a pained groan escapes my mouth as I slowly come to reality. My body hurts. It hurts hurtshurtshurtshurtshurts. There's red everywhere-a wet, sticky, boiling red-its in my eyes, my nose, my mouth. My brain. It's invading my mind, my body, my soul. My breath comes in quick, shallow, gasps. I barely register the fact that I'm not in the Lung anymore. Red red red redredredredbloodbloodbloodpainpainpainpainpain is all I can think about. My mind is suddenly filled with the screams of my dying brothers, the begging to be spared, crying-death-before everything suddenly goes black.
~~~
"hello, simon."
I groan and can't help but roll my eyes at the familiar voices as I try to sit up. Emphasis on try. I fall onto my left side as the realization that my arm is missing becomes too real. The vivid memory fills my mind. The blood vines crawling up my skin, the riping of flesh and tendons, the loud crack of a bone breaking, the burning searing pain.
"simon."
The annoyed voices somehow break me out of my trance. I finally struggle to sit up and take in my surroundings. I'm on a small island, the outside edges are covered in a white sandy, ash like material, the inner part it hard, dry, grey rock. Surrounding me, is... there's- it's. There's so much... it’s-
"blood."
Hot, boiling, red, blood. The blood ocean.
"Where am I?" I ask as I try to regain my composure.
"where do you think, simon?" Its cold voice drips with poison as it says my name.
"What the fuck do you want with me?" I try to sound calm. But my heart is racing, im terrified. I have no idea how I got here. I don't know where here even is! I close my eyes and rub my face with my hand, willing my heart to slow the fuck down.
"you already know," it says dryly, which caught me off guard. it usually speaks with lots of emotion, trying to convince me to join it, yelling at me, beating me down, berating me, to the point where I tried to kill myself. But it always annoyingly heals me. Brings me back to the godforsaken place. Ranting about how it saved me, how we need each other, and other bullshit. But, now it was quick, short, snappy-emotionless. Something was wrong.
I struggle to stand up, my legs are weak, my arm is weak, my whole body is weak. Just standing up takes the breath out of me. I wait for the voices to say something, to make fun of me, to say some bullcrap about how if I join them they will make me strong or whatever. But, nothing happens. I finally catch my breath trying to ignore the fact that the air is warm, and it tastes of iron. I look around and see the same thing all around me. Blood.
~~~
An infernal ticking sound brings me back to the present world, wait, that's not ticking. Clicking. Keys clicking. On a keyboard. I shoot up to a sitting position, trying to see who else is in the room with me. Only to be immediately assaulted with an overwhelming wave of dizziness, pain, nausea and a intense blinding light. I instantly fall back hard onto a bed as a massive migraine takes over me. I can barely register the sound of footsteps heading my way as I grip my hair, trying desperately to rid my body of all this pain.
~~~
It takes me a moment to realize I'm back on the stone island... fuck meeee. I don't move, I just lay there, on the cold, hard, stone ground. Waiting... nothing happens. For a while.
~~~
I hear... is that humming? I don't bother to open my eyes knowing I'll be blinded again. I lay there for a while. Listening. My mind drifts to my mother, the way she would hold me when I was scared. She would hum too. I can almost imagine her arms holding me gently before I drift off to the void.
~~~
"wake up, simon."
I sigh, purposely ignoring the voices. The air is thick with the scent of blood. I can taste it in my mouth. My eyes shoot open at the overwhelming heat all around me. The ground suddenly disappears from under me as I plunge into the blood ocean. The hot, sticky, red substance engulfs me, melting my skin off my bones. I can't move. I-I can't move. I suck in a breath only to choke on blood. It burns my throat. I claw at my throat, not caring that I’m tearing my skin away with my abnormally sharp fingernails. I kick and claw and struggle, trying desperately to get away from this hell. But no matter what I do, I stay stuck in the blood. My vision begins to fade as I panic. I can feel something grabbing my hand, pulling it away from my burning throat. nononononononononono! This can't be happening-this can't be happening! I'm going to die, I'm dying. This is it. I'm dead. I feel a strange chuckle begin to rise in my throat. This is it! I'm finally dead!
"let us help you, butcher."
I barely have time do anything before I feel the skin on the side of my neck being pulled apart. Blood rushes into my neck, my breath coming in quick, short, gasps as panic begins to rise...wait. My breath, I'm breathing. I'm breathing the blood. That thing ripped gills into my neck. I finally give into the panic as my world fades to black.
~~~