Twenty Second.
The next few days were completely lost to me. I slid in and out of consciousness, never long enough to remember anything. Most of the time I would start to moan before opening my eyes, and then they would flutter open just long enough to see the ceiling before I felt another stab of pain and the blackness returned. I started to embrace these periods of sleep, I didn't feel any pain, didn't have to worry about where I was or who I was with. I didn't even care about the momentary stabs of pain because I knew it would lead to a black euphoria.
I wasn't aware of the passage of time so it could have been weeks or months for all I knew. I was living in a world of blackness where there was no pain and no one to bother me. Then one day the black started to fade. I woke occasionally at first, then more and more as the effects of the vervain started to wear off, but with these periods of alertness came the pain, the burning, the insatiable fire under my skin. As my mind began to clear, the pain got worse, I tried to move my arms, my hands, my fingers, but they were all raw and swollen. I could feel blisters that had formed on my feet and legs, the skin peeling off of my face leaving the sensitive layers exposed.
I tried to scream but nothing came out, my throat was swollen and my vocal chords unable to vibrate enough to create a noise louder than the occasional grainy moan. The more I moved around the more my skin rubbed on the sheets and tore, my back was covered in dried blood from my thrashing around. I searched the room but saw no one. I had no idea where I was, the room was only large enough for the bed, a small dresser and a wooden chair that sat next to the door. Tears filled my eyes, overflowing and rolling into the open wounds on my face causing them to sting even more.
I was crippled with pain, I tried to see out a small window next to the bed, but all I could see was dead grass and dirt. I closed my eyes trying desperately to concentrate, but it didn't work. I was so tired but couldn't sleep through the pain. I laid there staring up at the ceiling trying not to move, taking shallow breaths to lessen the pain I felt in my chest. After an excruciatingly long amount of time I thought I heard a door close and footsteps in the distance. I tried to call out and instantly regretted it as pain shot down my throat. I listened as this mystery person walked around through different rooms. I heard the refrigerator open and close and something being poured. Then, finally I heard the footsteps coming towards the door, a latch unlocked and the door swung open.
For a split second relief washed over me, Elena had come to get me out of here, but that elation quickly dissolved as I felt the cold descend on me. Fire and ice simultaneously took over every nerve in my body, I lay paralyzed, defenseless as she entered the room. The cold seemed to settle into my head, hands and feet while the fire scorched my insides. My hands, still covered in blisters and blood from the vervain now took on a gray/blue appearance, the joints frozen into place. My teeth chattered so violently that I was sure they would soon start to crack and break off. Instinct told me to get as far away from her as possible, but my ravaged body could not comply. I stared up at her as she made her way over to the bed and brushed a wisp of hair from my face.