, cold and unyielding, but the pain fe

orld around me is dark, and the only sound is t

I hea

.. You have

miliar, achingl

don't know if I'm speak

ice is urgent, tugging at me like invisible h

at my neck again-teeth sinking into me. It's different this

when something cold and thick touche

t my fingers wrap around it, I press it closer. The liquid is... e

, and for a moment, I don't ca

fall forward. A growl escapes my throat as my

ound, my body trembling. For a moment, I

y still. My attacker. His head is twisted at an impo

g to sit up as bile

's voice rings out dryly, h

I manage, my voic

ays simply, as if snapping someo

y mind is spinning, tryi

xpression unreadable. "You'll g

snap, my voice breakin

h catching in my throat as the events of the last few hours flood my mind. "Y

he tilts his head, a mix of curiosity and irritation flickering acro

use me?" I snap, my fear momentarily replaced by ind

thing, then stands, brushing off

to collapse. "What... what are you talking a

t," he says, ignoring my question entirely. "What

sts clenching. "I saw a blonde man playing your vi

er into the night like a lamb to th

hat you are!" I snap, my frustration boiling

into a smirk

wer

lly, as if this conversation isn

cause the whole 'I've been dead for cent

t real," he s

ut you

settling. "Do you see your body l

e street is empty except for us and the no

floaty sense," he says, his smi

the hell

ampi

waiting for the laugh, the punchline, anything to sugges

ible," I whisper

e," he says, stepping

y, sluggish. My pulse thunders in my ears, and a

I gasp, clutching my stomach

ys, his voice softer now

, doubling over

ve in my body is on fire. My screams t

closer now. He's kneeling beside me, his

my nails digging into

rops to a commanding tone. "You ca

vision blurs, the edges darkening, a

g through the haze. But it's too late. The