1.27 – The Other Side

Nathan slipped in and out of consciousness.

Memories flashed in front of his eyes when he died for the second time. It was black immediately, back then, but now his whole life played out in front of him. Probably because it wasn’t so sudden this time around.

Some of the memories were unpleasant; some of them he loved seeing once again. The memories of his time with his mom were the ones that came to the forefront the most, but surprisingly, Alicia and Vermillion Strike were there too.

There was a voice telling him to step forward, to let go and accept the darkness. It was so pleasant. Distant, but familiar. His closest friend and the worst enemy at once. He didn’t understand what was calling him, but he knew that he would be able to rest if he listened to it. Should he listen to it? He was young and had just received the second chance. Was it alright to just let it go this soon?

He looked at the memories once again. This time it didn’t seem like he was living through them once again, but as if he was watching them through a screen.

So much struggle. All of it ended because of a damned truck, followed by a cliché reincarnation, and now he would die again in his first real fight. Pathetic.

A thought crossed the memories, blitzing through them like a ray of lightning.

No. Alicia was there. Vermillion Strike was there. He needed to save them.

He couldn’t just go to the other side. For the first time in his life, he had begun to look towards something, and now he would just let it go?

He wouldn’t give up that easily.

He walked away from the memories, painfully but slowly, and yet they followed him. And so he pushed away the voice in his head, the one asking him to step forward. It receded, got silent, but not completely. He had to fight. He would fight. He wanted this. He wouldn’t die.

Not like this.

He pushed again with all he had, and then he found himself taking a breath. His vision was still black, but he remembered the face of the man in front of him.

What an idiot had Nathan been. He was in the middle of a battle, and he forgot about the man’s abilities. Nathan focused on the hands pressing his head. For a moment, the pain stopped. Well, not stopped, but it stopped from getting worse.

The momentum stored in his interface, the screen visible even though his eyes didn’t work right. It charged quickly, the thousands going up and up. He didn’t remember where he wanted to aim exactly. His mind still felt hazy, but he felt ready enough.

Nathan reached with his hands in front of him and found what he was looking for: the eyes of the man. He inserted his thumbs, pushed on them, and the head tried to swerve, move out of his reach, but the dirt that still half-buried the man wouldn’t let him. Apparently, he didn’t go out completely, or there was something else blocking him from moving. Whatever it was, Nathan was thankful for it.

Suddenly, the meter stopped charging, apparently reaching its limit. The same thing had happened in his fall. But the limit was more than enough. He inserted his thumbs completely, feeling something soft around his thumbs, heard the muffled scream. And then he released the momentum.

Something moved underneath him and above him. A weight pressed onto his chest, and he couldn’t even breathe anymore. His vision started returning, but there were clouds of black obstructing his view. The part of his vision that did return completely seemed muddled somewhat, as if he needed glasses.

He did realize what happened, however. Somehow he was under the giant man. Nathan had killed him.

He didn’t even have the capacity to think about that fact for now. All he wondered about was how to get the giant corpse from above him. He was so heavy, and unhumanly so, it felt as if a building had fallen upon him. As if a cat was lying on his chest, amplified a hundredfold.

Alicia was pushing onto it from a side, recognizable by her grunts which Nathan would have made fun of in different circumstances. She might as well have been pushing on a car for all it did.

He began slipping into unconsciousness once again, but that was when Vermillion Strike appeared. She didn’t have her usual smile; her scarred face was riddled with flecks of blood.

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Her hair was not wavy like usual, but dripping wet, and her suit was torn in several places. She stepped towards Nathan, saying something to Alicia before she lifted the man and pushed him out from Nathan.

Both of them walked above Nathan, and Alicia immediately went to do CPR. He didn’t even realize that he still couldn’t breathe. His chest hurt with every press, and he coughed up blood as she went on and on. Vermillion Strike stroked his cheek, saying something that he couldn’t hear. He still felt dizzy, feverish even, but he held on to his consciousness like a lifeline. He wasn’t sure whether he would wake up again if he fell asleep now.

Alicia appeared above him and, without hesitation, pressed her lips onto his.

Air flowed from her mouth, and he gulped onto it again and once again. He coughed up more blood, pushing her away, and he sat up, finally able to breathe. His hearing returned, and suddenly he wished that it hadn’t. All he could hear was squealing, and Alicia and Vermillion Strike were in the background, muddled.

He sat like that, just breathing, trying to focus on his vision. The black went away, but still, some of it remained. His head hurt like after drinking for three nights straight and then waking up.

When he finally felt somewhat ready, he turned his head slowly, looking at his surroundings. They were in the tunnel still, and the giant man lay on the ground a few feet away. His head— well, the back of it—wasn’t there.