Anathema - The Curse

"I've spent my whole life for this.. this- to find nothing… no gold… no name…" Uncle Harsh starts shouting wildly.

His shouting puzzles me. There are no ships here. There's just a cold cave full of plants with flowers and bushes.

Cold dread starts to seep into my chest as his words catch up to me.

"What are you talking about, you old man?" I shout over his ramblings.

"You are no longer useful to me." He growls venomously.

His tone and change of demeanour fills me with dread. Dread for me and my friends.

He lunges at me but I side-step him. His loose yet ready stance reminds me of a predator in anticipation of a kill.

Years of martial arts training rushes to the front of mind. When he lunges again, I side-step again only to catch him in a chokehold.

He throws off my weight easily and I crash to the ground.

I get up on my feet again and punch him in the stomach, taking him by surprise. Suddenly, Greg attacks Uncle Harsh from the back.

The man falls down to his knees and doubles over. Blood runs down his chin.

I turn to Gregor, only to feel blinding pain slam my insides. I look down into the maniac eyes of Uncle Harsha as he twists the knife in my stomach forcefully.

I hear a scream pierce through the air and in the next moment, I realise that it's my own cry of agony as I fall to the ground.

Gregor roars and lunges at the man and snaps his neck in his rage. I watch the life drain from Uncle Harsh's eyes. I see Gregor and Anya and others rushing towards me, their mouths moving but I can't hear anything.

My eyes feel too heavy and the pain in my stomach is unbearable. I feel the darkness rushing towards me, trying to swallow me up.

With great effort, I say the words I've wanted to say to Anya since before I could even understand my feelings.

"I…love you…, An..ya…"

And then I lose the fight with the darkness as it swallows me up.