"Hey, wake up!"
Who is it? Her focus swims in and out of her consciousness. She can't concentrate on anything except for the incredible pain in her abdomen. A spike-like object protrudes from it, ripping the flesh around it apart. She senses something warm soaking the hand that she uses to clutch her stomach.
Blood, her fuzzy mind concludes. She has been stabbed. Has she been gushing out blood like this? If yes, then it won't take long until she bleeds out.
This is pathetic. She just managed to escape her prison a few days ago. Is she going to die after only tasting three days of freedom?
"Can you hear me?" a deep, rumbling voice resounds.
With her blurry vision, she catches a glimpse of crimson strands in front of her. She blinks weakly, trying to signal to him that she's still awake for now.
"Good. I'm going to pull it out. Can you press on the wound to slow the bleeding?"
Her eyes blink again, feverish. On the next beat, the spike slowly crawls out from her stomach. It takes everything in her to not scream. The puncture spurts more blood at every friction. It throbs as the spike scrapes through her flesh, shredding her tender tissues on the way out. A gurgling, raspy sound croaks out of her mouth as she struggles to endure the pain.
After what feels like centuries of hell for her, she hears a clanking of rock against the asphalt. Her eyes are blurry with tears of ache. Is it over? Is she going to be okay now?
"This is going to hurt. Try not to move."
Before her brain can register his words, white-hot agony sears the area below her sternum. An excruciating heat like no other scorches her abdomen. Previously, it felt like her stomach had been ripped open. But now, it's being roasted alive. She spasms in reflex to the pain, but a hand grips her down in place firmly.
"Just a little more."
When another wave of hot pain washes over her, her eyes roll to the back of her head. The last thing she remembers is the smell of burned flesh and the taste of metallic tang in her mouth.
Written with love since October 2020. Biweekly update on Saturday, starting this week onwards. Tags and the summary of the fic will be updated along the way. The title is inspired by the song "Eyes on Me" by Faye Wong, per suggestion from my now-SO.
I can't express how grateful I am to my beta reader, Al Semper (semper-alternabilis), for all of the feedback, effort, and love they continuously poured into this fic. I also thank my brother and my then-SO who have been reading the fic from the very first draft until it morphed into the shape it is now. This fic would have never existed without the three of you.