Angelus Lacrimae, Chapter I
Red.
The first thing I remember was red. The red of my eyelids, with the rainbow of irrelevant shapes and lines an ever-changing kaleidoscope against the thin membrane. The skin was illuminated by the light of a thousand suns all gathered in a sextet above me, and now burning me with their intense, furious glow. Underneath me I felt the hard coldness of metal against my bare skin.
The metal...
His eyes opened with a sudden jolt, and the pupils contracted into pinpricks, shriveling up in protest of the vicious onslaught of white light. His heart threatening to burst through its rib cage, pumping madly on the adrenaline high. The dragon!
The dragon was breathing heavily, gushing green blood from the numerous wounds that marred its scaly, diamond-backed hide. The boy panted just as heavily, his sword covered in the green. There was a pause between them, and the dragon's triangular head bowed ever-so slightly. Its amber, black-slit eyes were dulling, and the grey flap of eyelid was lowering. It was dying.
They stared at each other; the fighter staring at himself in the eye of the beast. A connection was formed as they regarded each other.
I have defeated you, mighty creature. You will die this day.
He was too exhausted to deliver the final blow, deciding instead to wait until it bled to death. His body screamed for rest, the blood-soaked armor upon it feeling as heavy as the world. He took another gasping breath, and began to lower his sword.
You are wrong, human. The eyelid suddenly sprang open, the amber orb within bulging out of its socket in wild anticipation. He had barely enough time to realize his deadly mistake before the jaws ripped open; the long knives within glistening. With a shriek the serpentine body surged forward.
A white flash entered his mind as the memory came to an abrupt end. What happened? Had he killed it? He squinted against the light, bringing a hand up to shade his eyes. He couldn't see anything; the thousand-suns had blinded him and left mutating blobs of dark blue dots in its wake. There was no dragon to be seen. Nor, he realized, were there grass, or trees, or any sounds of the clearing. Indeed, there was no sound at all.
Where am I? The surrounding shadows provided no answer, the only light focused on the cold slab he lay upon. Am I dead? He rubbed his eyes with his hand, and began to recollect his memories.
The boy screamed as he fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder and curling into a fetal position. Through his gloves he felt bone beneath the waves of spurting blood, and his stomach churned.
Oh god...oh god I'm going to die...I'm going to die... He looked up to see the dragon lift its head high, the jaws opened in a wide grin. Crimson rain dripped onto his face - his blood. It shrieked again and stared him in the eye.
I have defeated you. It is you who will die.
It was his own fault...he had let down his guard. Images of his remaining family flashed before his eyes.
Mother...Van... He stared back, daring the creature to take its last blow. Without warning, the dragon turned. Dragging its long body on its powerful front legs, it moved backwards into the forest. The cavernous maw closed and melded into the canopy like a dissipating mist.
'Am... am I safe?' He heard the laborious footfalls grow more and more quiet, until there was nothing but his own rasping breath to comfort him. 'No, with my body...' He rolled onto his back, leaving his hand on the wound and his sentence unfinished. The fountain of blood that flowed from his body pooled around him, drenching his armor and body. Looking up into the sky, his vision blurred with tears of mixed emotions.
'Mother...' His face crumpled as the tears burst past the eyelids that had been keeping them away, and he let out a choking sound that was a partial mix of a sob and a whimper. He wanted his mother, and he wanted to go home.
'Mother...mother!!' he screamed, the frustrated tone and pitch sounding unearthly to his own ears. The pain wouldn't ... go ... away. He wanted it all to just disappear. He wanted to go home now. 'Someone please... ple..ea....ease... oh god please...'
I'm going to die. I'm only fifteen. Alone... is this what dying is like, father?... His eyelids drooped over his eyes, his sobs becoming faint whimpers.
He was tired. He was so tired...