This is the last chapter I had finished when I originally wrote this story. With enough persuasion from readers, I might actually settle down to finish this…
I'm kidding. Even I'm not that big of a jerk. I'll try to finish it, guys.
~*~
Artemis felt like he was being pulled in a thousand different directions; memories flashed before his eyes, some he hadn't thought of in years. Most of them involved Holly; random pictures of her kept popping up and then fizzling out of existence.
Artemis's eyes became watery as thousands of colors seemed to push at him from every which way. He pressed his hands to his ears as he heard his little brothers screaming as they woke from a nightmare; the sound quickly warped into a goblin's snarl.
Everywhere he looked, a new world welcomed him and then was snatched away; Frequently, Holly's troubled face flashed before him for mere milliseconds. He stumbled backwards, and seemed to fall, fall forever.
Screams and cries penetrated his throbbing eardrums. Esperanza pulled every memory she could, distorting the sounds. Grotesque images began to fill Artemis's mind. His loved ones lay dead upon the floor; blood ran in a never ending river, and Artemis couldn't tell whose blood it was.
Artemis was suddenly standing atop a mountain of gold; it melted, encasing him in tons of red hot, molten metal. He screamed, and was quickly pulled from the pile; as he scrambled to escape, he turned to find Holly's head disappearing under the quickly solidifying liquid. Soon she was trapped inside a million dollar tomb.
And then Artemis was once again hanging in nothingness, a million images and sounds and smells attacking him from every side. Esperanza was toying with him.
His father lay dead upon a sea of ice; Opal Koboi sat upon a throne made of human bones, a silver crown perched lazily on her head; his mother curled in her bed, succumbing to her madness.
And Artemis suddenly sat in a church pew, watching Holly walk down the long hall, dressed in white; a faceless man clutched her hand with his.
Holly gave Artemis a burning glare, begging him to save her. Artemis stood stock still, unable to look away as Holly promised her life to the faceless stranger. Their lips met, and Holly's expression became blank. She gazed around the church, her eyes sliding right past Artemis as though he wasn't there.
The scene was sucked backward until it was a mere pinprick of light in the distance. Artemis remained; the void world soon claimed him.
The pure wall of sound was louder this time by far. Hideous noises pushed the bile to the tip of Artemis's tongue; nails dragging down a chalkboard, a child's cry punctured with throaty coughs and retching, a thousand screeching voices joined as one.
Artemis soon forgot where he was and what he was doing there. He was drowning in his own mind. A numbing cold crept up his right leg, while he left leg burned white hot; words had no meaning anymore, and the world was a circle of pain, misery, and guilt.
"You're cracking," Esperanza's voice boomed. Artemis barely heard her. He opened his mouth to scream; terrible tastes poured inside, the nonexistent food choking him.
Artemis whirled about, trying to run; Holly's saddened, betrayed eyes suddenly pierced him from all sides. Another stream of scenes played before his eyes; Butler, splayed upon a tile floor with bullet wounds peppering his torso; his father beating his mother with boredom apparent in his eyes; two boys from Saint Bartleby's, drawing back their welcoming hands as a young, pale boy just smirked at their attempts to be cordial.
Artemis doubled over, feeling as though he might be sick. His spine was wrenched back to its original upright position, forcing Artemis to stare into the eyes of a hairy, hungry troll. It quickly morphed into a giant spider, which spun with lightning speed into a bloodstained sword, fifty feet high, slick blade gleaming.
Artemis was suddenly standing on black, cracked earth; the ground shook beneath him, the dead soil splitting as hideous creatures crawled forth. Artemis let himself fall against the ground, and a crack formed underneath him. He fell down it, falling, falling, the darkness overwhelming. His stomach churned with guilt and anguish, his head throbbed, his heart ached, and his limbs felt dislocated. A strange happiness overcame him, and he felt a desire to laugh; then it was gone, and he cried out in despair once again.
"I think you're ready," Esperanza's voice hissed. She sounded gleeful, but Artemis didn't notice.
The boy landed on the cave floor, but did not awake from his nightmare. The gypsy had pushed him too far. He lay, twisting and panting, still trapped in his own mind. Holly rushed over to him.
"What have you done?" Holly yelled, taking Artemis's head in her hands. Esperanza giggled.
"Well, I had so much material to work with, I just couldn't resist! I guess he went off the deep end," the gypsy said, eying Artemis's pallid, desperate face. "Ah, well; we'll still have some fun, you and I, won't we, Holly?"
Chains appeared around Holly's wrists, dragging her away from Artemis. "NO!" she screamed, crying unashamedly. "ARTEMIS!"
Esperanza howled with laughter, and disappeared without another word, leaving Holly and a partially insane Artemis alone in the isolated cavern.