Heartbeat
Blood, a thick hot gush at the back of his throat, alerted him to the fact that he was in pain.
For a second he was astonished. He clutched the place with disbelieving fingers and felt the warmth and the wet oozing out and slicking his hand, crusting his palm, creeping under his nails.
There was a moment of frozen silence. He didn't understand.
More blood welled up in his mouth with a second heartbeat and he staggered, dizzy, weakened, infuriated with his own body. It had no business feeling weak, not here, not now. He refused to be injured and he refused the pain. He was supposed to be winning!
He felt a heavy sensation filling him like lead. How in hell had this happened? It was a small thing, after all, far too small to stop him.
But another spurt brought him to his knees, gasping. The blood trickled over his lips and spattered heavily onto the floor. He gazed at it, sickened. The pain gathered in his chest and spread lazily throughout his limbs.
A shudder shook his body, sending him spasming into a weak cough, tasting metal, feeling his breath grate in his throat. He clenched his fists, blood still trickling out of his mouth, and forced the coughing to stop. His breathing was ragged and uneven and his arms threatened to buckle, but he locked his elbows and kept himself upright, although his eyes were staring at the ground and he let his head hang low. He wanted to get up, to fight, to show that bastard, but he was using up all his strength merely by remaining on hands and knees.
Something came down hard upon his back, knocking him to the ground despite his efforts, and forcing the air painfully out of his lungs. He turned his head, wincing, and glared up at his tormentor in the only act of defiance he could muster.
The pain had set in fully now, a deep dull agony that reached all the marrows of his bones and throbbed in the base of his skull. His vision was beginning to waver and falter; he barely felt the liquid warmth spreading out from his chest and through his clothes, or the coldness of the stone floor seeping in. All that was left was a nauseating numbness eating away at his strength. A strange hard lump seemed to have grown in the centre of his chest, restricting the movement of the air in and out, and distracting his thoughts. Sound died away, to be replaced by a low, muffled humming in his ears that would have infuriated him, if only he had the strength. He tried to force himself to remain conscious, to prove that this wasn't happening, that it wouldn't happen. Not to him.
His breath snagged in his throat, causing him to jolt weakly. Then everything he saw began to spiral away.
-
Author's note: I think that these four stories, written so close to each other and in such quick sucession, can be safely described as a creative spurt. Yesssssss! I've waited long enough.
Story open to interpretation. I deliberately didn't use names, but I think you can guess who it's about.
I would like to take this opportunity to issue a great thanks to Legendary Chimera for adding a noob like me to her favourite authors list and for giving me so much support and encouragement. Thanks also go to Mystical Sand, Dragon Trainer and Emily, who all took the time to review. It really means a lot, and I appreciate it.
