A State Of Unconsciousness

The vivid feeling of that dream was still so raw in me. The power, the control, and then the terror. I could still feel the burn of such great power in me. I could feel the weight of those wings behind my back. I could still taste the fear and blood in the air. 

And I could still feel the blade being plunged into my heart. All those feelings felt too real and my body locked down when I heard that crash outside my room, my body locked down in fear and I just stood still, shaking, sweating. 

Then came the rattling at my door, like someone was trying to break inside. That was when I finally snapped out of it. 

Someone was in my house and they were trying to break into my room. I looked around, searching for something to defend myself with, but when I found none I decided it was best I found a way to keep them from entering the room. 

I dragged my sofa to the door, using it to block the door and that was when the rattling got worse. When I dragged my dressing drawers next, that was when the rattling became banging. 

They already knew what I was doing and they were done trying to be subtle. The first bang came and I screamed, searching for my phone. I finally found it, and that was when the second bang came. I unlocked the phone with shaking hands, dialing 911, but just before I hit the red button, a hand broke through my door. 

I screamed in terror, my body shaking, dropping my phone as I looked at the long, skinny hand. It… it didn't look human. 

It was long, skinny with white hair hanging on the dried, black skin. And there were claws. Claws where the fingers were supposed to be. 

These things weren't humans, and there was more than one. The hand withdraws, punching another hole into my door and then a big, pure black eye peeped in from the hole. I could only stare in terror. I didn't even shake. Didn't have the strength to scream, I just stood still with my mouth open. 

When the thing saw me, it went crazy, multiple hands punching into my door and breaking it. I pushed my terror aside. I could be afraid later, but right now I had to survive. I turned and head for my window, pushing it open just as the same time that my door finally broke apart. 

I didn't look back, ready to jump down from three floors if it meant getting away from these things. But I wasn't fast enough. 

My leg was already out the window when a bony hand grabbed me. 

"No!" I screamed, struggling against them, but the hand held tight. Another hand grabbed my arm and they pushed me back, throwing me on the floor. I landed hard, but that pain barely registered as I saw what stood before me. 

There were four of them, tall, skinny things with dried black skin. There was not a single strand of hair on their head, and their eyes were big, black, and bottomless. 

This was definitely a dream. I moved from one nightmare to another. I was still sleeping, I would wake up at any moment. 

But then the creatures let out a piercing shrill sound that rattled my teeth, and I knew this was no damn dream. I tried to escape, tried to crawl and get out from my broken door but they were on me before I could even breathe. 

The first one bit my leg. I screamed, a raw sound that came from my soul as its sharp teeth dug into my flesh. The second one bit my thigh. The third my arm, until they were all biting me, their teeth deep in my flesh. 

"Please, stop!" I screamed, still trying to fight against them, but the harder I fought, the deeper their teeth sank into me. "Please… Stop."

I stopped struggling when the ceiling began spinning, and it felt like I was going to pass out. I was losing blood. These creatures were sucking my blood. 

"Please… Stop. It hurts so much." 

My blinking became slow and heavy, and it was hard to keep my eyes open. Just when I had accepted my fate and just closed my eyes, the creatures shrieked again, but this time it was sounds of pain. 

I blinked my eyes open to see a flash of silver and then one of the creature's heads rolled off its shoulder. I blinked again and saw bare hands tear another creature apart. 

And in another blink, the other two creatures were dead. From my fading state, I noticed two heads, one filled with messy hair and the other, straight, black hair. 

"Aurora," a voice whispered, sounding like I was underwater. "Aurora, you need to stay awake." 

That was proving difficult as I was being dragged into a state of unconsciousness, and then… everything went black. 

***

The smell of antiseptic was what dragged me from my state of unconsciousness. The air was thick with the biting sting of disinfectant, cold and sterile. That unmistakable hospital scent—clean, but never comforting. 

I slowly blinked my eyes open to see an unfamiliar, white ceiling staring down at me. I turned my head to the beeping of a machine and saw an IV connected to my arm. 

Shit, I really was in a hospital. And I was alive. The last thing I remembered was a sword tearing those creatures apart. And also bare hands doing the same. 

My head pounded as I thought, and I was about to sit up when two voices stopped me. 

"Don't get up."

"You can't move." 

I froze, about to turn my head when two faces came into view, staring at me from above while I looked up at them in disbelief. 

"Demon boy? Sin-eater?" My voice sounded hoarse and my throat felt like I swallowed sand. 

"I despise that name," complained Demon boy while Sin-eater left the frame. 

He soon came back with a glass of water, holding it to my lips while he held the back of my head. I swallowed every last drop of the water, sighing when I was done. 

"Thank you," I whispered as I closed my eyes, resting my head back on the pillow. "So I'm alive, ugh?"

"So it would seem," Riven answered softly. 

I remembered those creatures. Their long, bony hands. Their sharp teeth as they pierced into my life and I shivered, my eyes snapping open. 

The two men were still staring at me. 

"What were those things?"

They exchanged looks, looking like they were contemplating whether to tell me or not. Seems they settled on the former. 

"Those creatures are called Zar'Kai," Kael answered. "And they are attracted to power."