Set in chapter 34 page 197 in my book may vary in different editions

Thought of this while trying to get to sleep. i had to get it out of my head. enjoy

"Did you fall down those stairs," he hears himself saying. "Or were you pushed?"

That's it.

She lunges forward, enclosing his neck in her hands. His head smashes against the wall. Pain blinds him for just a second then his hands fly to Regine's arm.

Seth grips her as a weak attempt at escape. Tomaz is screaming, tugging at Regine's arm but she is bigger and stronger than the both of them.

A powerless kick put further pressure onto his already strained and bruising neck. Instead, he digs his blunt nails into her wrist, face, shoulder, fingers, anything he can get a hold of. With his throat burning and screaming for some give, his frail struggles continue despite his draining energy.

His vision blurs and he feels sick but his grip is slackening and his eyes are rolling back into his head.

Then the pressure is gone.

The hard, unforgiving ground comes up to meet him and he lands with an audible THUD. A second passes then there's a small, blurred face and small hands gripping at his clothing in a distressed manner, unsuccessfully trying to roll him onto his back. There's still screaming and yelling but it's just hollow noise rattling around his head.

Then there's a pair of larger hands frantically turning him over, desperately slapping at his face, calling his name, begging for him to BREATHE.

"Seth! Come on!"

But he's frozen. He's frozen and not breathing but he's calm.

"Seth! I'm sorry, please!"

Maybe it wouldn't such a bad thing if it ended here. I mean actually ended here rather than going to another crazy afterlife, they were all miserable anyway.

"Mr. Seth! Don't leave, please!"

It wasn't exactly the utopia you're meant to go to after death.

She's slamming on his chest now. Her strong hands (which were a moment ago trying to kill him) are hitting him square in the chest, waking his body up. Even his oxygen deprived brain is roaring, pleading for him to just move-

A sudden intake of breath and his throat is raw and his lungs are on fire but at least he's finally, no longer dying. Oxygen had never felt so good.

Seth is pulled from the cold floor into a pair of arms, warmth surrounding him and relieved vibrations soothing his shock-ridden body.

"It's okay, just breathe, you're okay, Seth"

As the fog in his mind clears he makes sense of the scene around him. An arm is curled protectively around his shoulders with the hand holding his head up. Small whimpers come from very close by, supposedly being held in the other arm.

"Just breathe."

And he does. He breathes.