CHAPTER FIVE: THE VOICE

The hell in his mind wouldn't stop. The voices screaming at him, dragging him through the blazing white haze that threatened to destroy his whole world. Nothing was there, but everything was alive. The walls, the air the cold that tore at his broken skin. It sang along his skin, their broken words lighting his heart with a terror he had never known before. He was dreaming, just dreaming. Nothing was real, nothing was there! But they continued to scream, to shout for a release from within him. Blinding flashes of light followed the god awful pain in his chest, the broken cry tearing from his throat as his world slowly faded to black. Where was he? Who was he?

I'm scared,I'm scared… I'm scared!

Where were those people who had found him? The ones who said they would watch over him? Who said that they would protect him? Was no one there to pull him from this dream? To free him from this hell? God let it all be done! Make this pain go away!

Where could you go, even if they found you?

…huh?

Where would they be, if you never found your way back?

Who's there?

What is the freedom you seek, if not a pathetic dream of what can never be?

The darkness swirled before him, molten eyes breaking the black to gaze at his formless consciousness. They were gold, leering orbs. Devoid of any warmth, and brimming with utter hatred. Nothing in those hues offered any promise of kindness in them as they hovered closer and closer until they barely three inches from his own.

Who will find you in this place, the hell that is now your home? The demons that grow as your own? The depths of darkness you see, are the ones that created me. You pathetic little thing. Thinking you could ever be free. Your lies will kill you.

What do you mean?

You will see…

Everything began to shift once more, spinning out of control with a force strong enough to send him careening at inhuman speeds down, down, down…. Further into the darkness that deemed itself to be his hell. Roxas screamed, but only once. A pair of brutally strong hands gripped his throat, effectively quieting his terrified screams. They were closing around him, unseen fingers grasping with a brutally strong force.

You will be silent. Not a soul is to hear you. Not a soul is to know. YOu have come to me, now I cannot let you go. YOu will never be free. Never. Your life is meaningless.

The hands never ceased their crushing grip on his throat, growing tighter and tighter until Roxas heard a horrifying 'snap' as the bones in his throat began to break. No air could go in, no air could come out. There was only pain, agonizing, unending pain and darkness. There was no slate-haired stranger, no rainy skies to look up to, no lilting voice that calmed his nerves, no phone calls to ease the silence. Nothing but fear, pain and a desperately deep sorrow that dragged him down further than he thought was humanly possible. Is this what the end meant? Was this truly hell? Had he died in his sleep? No, it couldnt be, and yet it all felt so real! So terrifyingly real. No, no, no, nonononono!

I'm scared!.. I'm scared! Christ, this couldn't be real! Wake up! Oh please god, someone! Wake up! Wake up! His mind pleaded, reaching screaming with all of his heart and soul for someone to save him, for some kind of salvation he didnt know he was pleading for. If it meant he could leave behind the darkness that spoke with hellish growls and gazed with hateful golden hues, then he would be willing to believe in anything at all.

Please..! Please!

WAKE UP!

The sudden familiar voice shook him from his terror, the roaring winds in his ears giving way to a different kind of sound.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Who?

WAKE UP!

Who was there?

He reached out, thoughts lost somewhere in the abyss beneath him as he willed himself to grasp onto that tiny bit of hope that maybe someone really had come to save him. He reached... and begged. Begged for whoever was out there to tear him from this madness. To free him from the bone breaking force that was trying to end him. To silence the horrid snarls that lit anew in his ears when he tried to break free.

GODDAMN IT, WAKE THE FUCK UP!

All at once, everything ceased. The only thing Roxas saw was green. A green as deep as the forest, as beautifully captivating as jade. More agonizingly beautiful than an emerald in the morning sun. They were angry, scared, and close enough that he could see the tiny flecks of gold near the irises. Whatever breath he had left was gone in that moment. He blinked away the tears that blurred his vision as his fingers reached out and touched the face before him. Sharp features, cat like and stern. Hair as fiery as the morning sun on the horizon. A look of confusion passed those emerald optics, but made no move to shy from his touch. The skin was smooth and firm beneath his skin. There was no more darkness, no more hateful whispers and mournful cries. Just the guest room in some stranger's house and the warmth of another human being that had pulled him from whatever nightmare that had to be.

"Oi, kid... you alright? You with us now?" the confusion was replaced with a wary concern, "Kid? hello? Hey, you there?"

Roxas let out a broken sob as he flung his arms around the red-headed savior's neck, whimpering pitifully into his neck. He didnt care who this man was, or where he was, or what that dream could possibly mean. He didn't give a shit about anything at all except for the fact that he was awake, awake and away from the hateful gaze of the demon that lurked in his memory. Everything except the warmth of this stranger was meaningless. It grounded him, brought him back. Saved him, even. No, nothing else mattered. Because so long as he was awake, he was safe.

To say that he was scared would have been an understatement. there was a power out in Dem's house on a rainy fucking night with nothing to use as protection against any potential boogie-man hiding around the goddamn corner. Seriously, just what the fuck even was all this? Scared? No, not at all. Not in the least. Nope. As Axel shone his flashlight on the open door, hearing a soft cackle come from its darkened depths, he could swear he just about shit the whole goddamn statue of liberty in his pants in that moment. This was NOT what he had planned when he woke up this morning. This was NOT what he wanted to do with his day off. He could deal with watching the shit get scared out of some poor sap on the big screen but was less than enthusiastic about casting the main character of this cliche little tirade. Seriously, man, fuck that shit.

"Axeeeeelll!" the quivering whine brought the redhead down from rampant thoughts as he cast a glance at Demyx's face. The poor idiot looked like he was ready to burst into tears. 'He must be just as afraid of this shit as I am', Axel thought, 'Maybe even more so. Shit, think, Ax, think. Fuck this fucking shit, goddamnit'.
He took a deep breath and let it out through his nose, straightening his back with a mock courage that he most certainly did not feel at the moment. It was either they both go investigate, or stay in the doorway of the kitchen until the lights came back on. But without knowing where the breakers for the lights might be, and little to no estimate on how long the power would actually be out, that option seemed like a no-go. Though with the amount of sheer fucking terror he felt at the moment, the idea appealed more to him than marching down the expanse of the overly decorated hallway into the room of god only knows what. Axel took one careful step after another, Demyx at his elbow, shuffling with great effort.

It felt like an eternity until they reached the open door, both of them leaning back as Axel pushed the door open with his toes. The door opened with little resistance, but neither of the two were overly eager to go in. Hell, Axel was to damn afraid to shine his flashlight in there for the fear of some asshat in a clown mask jumping out and screaming at him. But his arm was beginning to fall asleep with how tightly Demyx was gripping it, and he knew he was only adding to the nervousness the longer he took to grow a pair. (Not to say that he didn't have any. But they were certainly on vacation at the moment). With a last ditch effort at what little courage he had left of the moment, he shone his flashlight into the middle of the room and directly upon one blonde boy twitching spasmodically on the carpeted floor, blankets tangled every which way around his torso. Axel nearly dropped his flashlight in shock as sapphire orbs locked onto his, pleading for help.

"holyfucking-"

"Oh my god!" Demyx's hands flew to his mouth, causing him to feeling minutely relieved to have proper blood flow in his arm again. "He's having a seizure!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Oohhh, jesus fucking christ." Axel ran forward, dropping and skidding on his knees next to the twitching form. "Shit, shit, shit!" He stretched out his arms, hovering over the blonde's body. He didn't know if he should grab him, sit him up or leave him be out of fear of hurting him further. "Dem! Fucking call someone will you?!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying! But 911 isn't even answering I mean seriously what the fuck I cant-!" He was freaking out, pulling at his hair, a white knuckle grip on the phone to his ear. "No one is answering! Jesus... oh my god what are we going to do?"

"I don't know! I'm not a fucking doctor!" real terror colored his voice, eyes returning to the now motionless body that lay in a tangled heap beneath him. "Dem! DEM HES NOT FUCKING MOVING. HES NOT FUCKING-"

"I CAN SEE THAT!"

"ooooh god... hey! Kid! Wake up! Hey!" He dropped the flashlight to the floor and grabbed the frail shoulders of the seemingly lifeless boy. "Can you hear me?"

"He's fucking dead, isn't he? He's dead, oh my god. oh my god, oh my god."

"He's not dead, Dem, calm the fuck down! And get somebody on that goddamn phone or I swear-!"

"DON'T YOU THINK I'M TRYING?" He screeched back, waving the utterly useless thing in Axel's face.

"Then call fucking Zexion, for christ's sake! I don't care WHO the fuck you get on that fucking phone! So long as they know what the fuck to do, because WE SURE AS HELL DON'T!" he turned his attention back to Roxas while Demyx hit the speed dial on his phone. It rang only once before a bored tone broke the silence on the other side. Axel paid no attention to the hurried explanation his best friend gave, but instead focused on gathering up the limp form in his arms and trying to figure out whether or not the little blonde really was dead.

"Come on, kid... come on! Wake up! I did NOT take you from that place just to have you die like this." there was something in his chest right then that threatened to suffocate him completely. He hadn't known that whatever the kid had was this bad, he just thought that maybe he could save him, that maybe he was doing the right thing. But he was beginning to doubt that such a decision was the right course of action. Not when the outcome was going to be this. Not when some innocent kid he thought he could save was going to just up and die on him because Axel had hoped to do at least one thing right for once. Fuck.. this wasn't supposed to happen!

"Wake up..." why did his chest hurt at the thought of this complete stranger dying? "Wake up!" the flash of those blue eyes pleading as they met his... "Wake up!" He just wanted to do something right, he just wanted to help, he just wanted... he just..-!

"Goddamn it, WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

Electric blue snapped open and locked on to his face, sending a palpable shock through his body that rendered him speechless. They were hazy with confusion, glistening as tears pooled at their corners. Pale lips let out a shuddering breath and shaking fingers reached up and touched either side of his face. The touch was enough to bring him back to his senses. He was only a few inches from his face, searching the stricken features with utter confusion. He cleared his throat briefly, not trusting his voice otherwise and spoke carefully so as not to startle the blonde or cause any further reactions that might be unwanted.

"Oi, kid... you alright? You with us now?" No answer. Those trembling fingers stayed on his cheeks, hesitant eyes now filling with realization. Was the kid going to freak out? God he hoped not. He spoke carefully again, hoping to get some kind of response. "Kid? hello? Hey, you there?"

"Axel? Is he... alive?" came the hushed squeak from the doorway. Before Axel could offer any sarcastic response, he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his neck as a body collided with his. He loud out a strange sound of surprise when a shock of golden hair covered his face. He felt hot breaths alight on his neck as the whimpering mess of a boy sobbed pitifully.
He brought up his hands instinctively, but hesitated before making a move to hold the blonde. He gripped him tightly, murmuring words of comfort into the messy locks. There wasn't much else he could do until some form of help arrived or until the lights came on. Something seriously fucked up had happened in here and Axel was NOT going to question it right now. Whatever the heck had happened was over for now and if it meant he could avoid another horror movie scenario like that again, he would keep his mouth shut until Zexion arrived with a miracle diagnosis or some shit. He adjusted his hold on the frail form and began to rock slowly back and forth, a calming motion normally used on small children, but seemingly effective at the moment. He cast a glance at the sandy-haired blonde and caught the same look of utter confusion and fear that probably reflected his own. Neither of them knew what any of this meant or what they could possibly do to make the situation any better. The best they could hoped for right now was a quick fix of a solution, a band-aid over a gash that would undoubtedly bleed through the sorry excuse for a patch job. Anything to quell the fears in their minds.

'What the fuck did I just get myself into'?

Sorry for the hiatus. Moving down south and finding a job sure took a lot of time and effort!

I'm wondering if anyone is still reading this at all? The internet is weird, so I'm not getting much to work with here. Again, please excuse the haitus, I didn't mean to be gone this long! Whoops!

So, how was your summer vacation, everybody? Anything new to report?