"No, it does matter, because I'm going to save you," Ember told him.

Ty didn't answer her. How could she make that promise? Ty knew as well as she did that he was dying. He inhaled, feeling as though his lungs were two useless wet socks. They burned as he fought for air. Every breath was a struggle, burning in his throat, and traveling down to burn in his lungs. His head ached, the lack of oxygen making his thoughts run slow and sluggish. It hurt so much to try to stay alive, to try to live.

And yet, Ty couldn't give up. It was impossible to make himself just surrender to the inevitable. His body wouldn't let him let go. It was driving him freaking insane, the combination of the agony and the frustration of being unable to die. It was unavoidable, so why couldn't he just get a swift end to this excruciating pain? Why couldn't he die and get it over with?

He felt a cold breeze ruffle his hair and shivered. The air was cool, though, and that soothed his flaming lungs somewhat. To some degree, it numbed a bit of the pain that wracked his body. It felt good. But Ty still wished he could die sooner rather than later.

Ty flinched as he felt hard, icy rock underneath his back. Ember had set him down on the stone surface of the End. It's okay, his mind said tiredly. This is a good place to die. He felt his body finally begin to succumb to the painless ecstasy of death.

And then he was being shaken by a cold hand. Was it death? Nope. "Stay awake," Ember ordered. "Stay awake, you idiot."

But I don't want to! Ty thought plaintively. She couldn't hear him, of course.

"Em, is he… is he alive?" That was Wispice.

"Only just." Ember sighed. "Ty, stay alive. Please. I didn't want to hurt you! I can't… I can't live with myself if I've killed you," she whispered. "I'm not a murderer."

"That's right. You'd be a murderess," said another voice, this one boisterous and sassy.

"I don't think you're helping, Rose," Aradyn said. What were they all doing here?

There was a low rumbling sound. It sent vibrations through the stone, pulsing through Ty. The ground shook as something very heavy and very alive approached. What was going on?

"Alright. Aradyn, Wisp, Rose, especially Wisp, you guys should probably leave now."

"I—

"Blood, Wispice. Lots of blood."

"Okay," Wispice squeaked. There was a patter of footsteps as she scampered away. Blood? Lots of blood? What was Ember planning?

"If there's blood, I'm staying," Rose volunteered.

"Fine. Ara, you go take care of Wisp. If this goes wrong she's going to flip out," Ember warned.

"Umm… okay," Aradyn agreed. Ty could hear her footfalls as she raced after Wispice.

Ember sighed softly, and he felt her hand on his shoulder. "Ty, I won't lie. This is going to hurt a lot. But it might save your life."

"Don't…" Ty tried to tell her. LET ME DIE! His throat felt as though it were being re-ripped with every breath he took, making speaking almost unbearable.

She ignored him. "Eguire!" Ember called.

The rumbling hum resonated again.

"Alright. I'll get this over with," Ember decided. There was a hiss as something metallic was unsheathed. The cold tip of a knife rested just above Ty's collarbone, slightly below where the bite was.

"Nkaya nko cama," she almost purred, slicing Ty's skin open. He tried to suppress a howl as blood sprayed out of his severed artery. "Eguire cama." The knife moved away, and Ty felt his hand spasm involuntarily as he felt his lifeblood draining away. At least this would be faster.

He felt something warm and wet rub across his bleeding neck, tentatively at first and then eagerly. It was the raspy, catlike tongue of something, and it was drinking his blood, lapping it up like a toddler with an ice cream cone. Ty tried to pull away from whatever this was, but a heavy claw rested on his stomach, holding him down, trapping him. He gave up the futile fight, knowing that he stood no chance against this monster.

"Comple nkaya, Eguire," Ember said, in that strange language. The tongue stopped licking his neck, though the paw remained, pinning Ty lightly against the ground. "Sahl sitro moys votris."

There was a low hiss, and then suddenly a loud roar. The monster's claw whipped off of his chest. Hot drops of liquid spattered Ty, burning almost like acid. Ember's hand brushed onto Ty's lips, and he felt the liquid there as it slid into his mouth. It tasted like he imagined fire might. It was horribly bitter and spicy, and he swallowed several times to try to get rid of the flavor, feeling the strain on his torn throat as he did so.

For a moment, he sensed the bleeding stop, felt the pain abate. Then it came surging back, worse than ever. There was only one solution. Ty pressed his mouth to Ember's hand, trying to collect as much of the life-giving liquid as possible. "Cama," she ordered. The fluid dripped faster, and Ember guided Ty's lips towards the main place that the drops were pooling. He gulped the acidic substance as fast as he could, drinking it in.

The pain in his neck faded away, and for a moment, Ty felt as though he were floating. It was amazing, the cessation of the pain. He'd never imagined the absence of something could be so blissful. Ty reveled in the sensation of nothing.

That made the agony all the worse when it returned. It tore through him, a hundred times more painful than before. He knew he was screaming, but couldn't hear anything. The creature that had drunk his blood roared also, a thunderous sound that stifled all other noises. Ty felt oddly weak and horribly helpless.

He felt the knife's blade at his abdomen and flinched, knowing what was coming. Ember said a few words as she pressed the knife into Ty's torso just below his ribcage, but he couldn't hear them over the panicked rush of blood in his ears.

Ty knew he should be dead. He wished he were dead. He wanted little more than to be dead, because this hurt so much. How could he bleed this long, suffer this long? It shouldn't be possible. Ty felt tears running down his bloodstained face and into his mouth, the salty taste mixing with the copper flavor of the blood that threatened to choke him.

Ember twisted the knife and cut a slit from Ty's sternum down to just past his navel, making him want to scream with pain. Why can't I die? Ember took a deep, shuddering breath. "Nei sitro." She slid the knife out of the wound, and her cold hands connected with the sides of the gore-smeared incision.

Her fingers wrapped under the flaps of skin, so that they were inside Ty's abdominal cavity. And then she pulled, ripping through the muscle and exposing Ty's internal organs. The only thing he could sense was pain, red stars floating through his mind on a background

Ty started to fade into unconsciousness. At last. Anything to escape this torture would be welcome. Why was Ember doing this to him? It was misery, pure and simple. Death couldn't possibly hurt this much.

So... who is the most reliable person for updates? Me! Me! Me!

I'm very sorry about the delay, I just haven't been able to get to my zone lately, and I'm with a serious lack of inspiration for this story. I'm pretty much running on empty at this point, since I have three other stories I want to be writing, plus I'm doing channel art for a potential YouTube channel... and, you know, bunnies. BUNNIES! BLAH!

SOTC: "Out Alive" by Ke$ha