Darkness. I was enveloped in the sweet kiss of emptiness. Falling. Falling yet not. Trapped in some perpetual cycle of… movement. Movement. That word doesn't quite do it justice. For I am not moving, not exactly. I know I am not where I once was. I have not moved per say yet I am not the same. I have not changed yet I cannot go back. I know I cannot go back. Something is here that was not here before, and yet there is nothing. Just darkness.
You are probably wondering why I am rambling on on such futile nonsense. In truth I know not why. I suppose it is a comfort that I crave. Nothing. To be ignored. To be another face in the crowd as you might say. However, I know I cannot hide. Cannot conceal myself in this ignorance that is darkness. All darkness must pass. Tolkien. I can barely remember. Though I know that was him.
It is true however, and as I ramble on; I am ironically, frustratingly brought back to that which I wish to avoid. The present. Now. Darkness yet not. Darkness with noise, with voices. I can hear them. People. Darkness with sounds, and colours, blurred figures, pain.
A dull throbbing at the back of my head, tracing across my face and spreading down my spine. Burning. I scream yet there is no noise, no air, no life. I am drowning. I can feel it. The refreshing lapping of water over my skin. No, not refreshing, icy. Shooting thin needles across my body, the water a relentless sea pulling me down further and further and-
A dark shape resembling the movements of a hand dives into the water above me. Above? Up? I feel neither up nor down. Directionless. Lost. Void. Void of all feeling. Numb. The fingers curl around my shoulder and tug. No, not tug. Pull. Haul me up. Up and up until my face breaks the surface. I gasp, feeling air rush to my lungs and chase out the muddy liquid with each cough.
The figure continues to heave my body. Where I know not. I assume shore. I want to thank him yet for the nagging voice in my head that warns me rather to stay quiet, limp.
The water depth begins to lessen, and I feel the searing pain grow as my legs drag along the pebbled ground. I scream, begging the man to stop but he only pulls faster, rougher.
My head lolls to the side as black dots mark my sight. Squinting, I glimpse at my surroundings; snow capped mountains rim around an icy blue lake, rough cliffs trace sharp lines down their length before meeting pebbles below, the sky a pale blue.
The man lets go of my shoulder, leaving me for the moment on the shore. I nudge my head to glance towards my legs and couldn't hold back the muffled sob that leaves my mouth. Blood pools around the shredded limbs. Deep cuts track from my thighs to my ankles, the whites of my bones visible through the flaps of torn skin.
The pain forces me to look away from my mangled limbs. I feel sick, breath coming in haggardly, heart beating loudly in my ears.
Before panic can wrap it's clawed fingers around my heart however, a boot clad foot stops next to my face. I glance up to see a pale man in a suit looking down at me.
His face pulls into a smile, a small sadistic smirk. My brows furrow ever so slightly in confusion but when my gaze locks on to his blue eyes I feel a shiver run down my spine. God help me.
"Welcome to Austria, Azrael"