Parched, breath, almost stolen by the dryness of her throat and chest. This was how Akane's senses began to stir. It took a great deal of effort just to open her eyes, but it made no difference in clearing the blackness surrounding her. Akane's lack of sight was of no importance, however, when compared to the debilitating thirst she endured. It took some time, but eventually, she forced her arms to move to reach up, attempting to soothe her blazing throat. She rolled slowly, groaning, as pain shot through every nerve at the movement.
Her weary body and slow reflexes couldn't stop her once she'd reached the edge of the bed, she lay in. The thick, warm covers were dragged down with her to the carpeted floor as she fell with a thump. She lay motionless for a moment, the sudden rush and subsequent jarring of hitting the floor had rattled her senses and caused shockwaves of pain and nausea throughout her body. Her head pounded like she'd run face-first into a brick wall and was still slamming her head against it, in tune with the blood rushing too fast through her veins.
Dazed, Akane lifted her throbbing head and looked around the room, her slowly returning sight revealed a blur of colour and smudges of detail leaking into her vision. She'd been lying on a large bed, facing out into a light, and beautifully designed room. The décor was of no importance to Akane, as the gnawing thirst seemed to only worsen as the seconds ticked, agonisingly by. She was petrified, confused, tired, and rousing in an unfamiliar place with this terrible pain in her throat, which was spreading down to the rest of her body.
Her chest tightened with every desperate gasp for breath as she lay shivering as if frozen, but with a fire travelling into her stomach, making her sick to her core. Her pitiful body was empty, so, all Akane could do, was retch uselessly in a heap on the floor. Desperately, her eyes rolled over the room again, spotting a door, left ajar on the far wall, leading to, what appeared to be a bathroom. Relief flooded her, bringing tears to her painful eyes. Where there was a bathroom, there was water!
Forcing her hands and knees beneath her, Akane crawled on unsteady limbs to the door. The cold tiles sent painful tingles through her hands and bare legs once she'd reached the bathroom. Akane drove herself to keep moving forward, barely registering the strong smell of bleach in the air. Once in the room fully Akane saw a large roll-top bath to her left, a large shower cubicle with pristine glass, slid open beside it and to her right, and further into the room, was the toilet, and to the right of the door, stood a counter, where the sink was positioned, nestled among an assortment of preening products.
Using all the strength she could muster, Akane, moved to the counter and forced her feet beneath her. Once the pads of her feet touched the tiled floor, a whimper escaped her tightly clenched jaw, as a sharp pain shot up her legs and into her spine and head. Still, the overwhelming thirst quickly overtook any other sensation in its ferocious dominance over her senses. On shaking legs, she heaved herself up to the counter and stood over the sink.
Her hands fumbled and shook, trying to fill one of the glasses sat atop the counter with water. Her lips felt cracked and dry as she licked her lips in her desperation, as she impatiently watched the glass fill. She threw her head back, guzzling the water greedily, but she wasn't satisfied. Akane hurriedly filled the glass again, and again. Tears pricked at her eyes as she realised, the water wasn't hydrating her as it should.
Abandoning the glass in the sink Akane lifted her head to gaze at the mirror in frantic confusion. What she saw, threw every conceivable thought out of her head. Staring back at her were two pools of bloodthirsty, red eyes, set wide and wild, looking straight through her!
Her scream was loud, piercing the silence that had surrounded her since she woke. It was a scream of terror, disbelief, and pain. Unimaginable pain. She lurched backwards, flailing away from the terrifying sight, but her legs were no better at holding her weight than they'd been before. The burning in her body and tingling from the tiles on her bare feet were heavily disorientating, causing her to tumble into the shower cubicle painfully.
She shuffled as far away from the mirror as she could, pressing her back against the wall, her screams, still coming in blood-chilling wails. Her eyes were unwilling or unable to tear themselves away from where the bloody orbs had been. This was how Aido found her, as he burst into the bathroom.