`Til' I Collapse-- [Day2][Fight-Blythe&Eliana]

I can't fight anymore. My chest, my arm, my head, my back, my leg - All I feel is agonizing pain. I crumple to the ground, falling onto my stomach. The sand, the blood-red ocean that used to burn my eyes now presses against my face with a soft touch. My jumpsuit is torn everywhere, sand enters to mix with my blood, I can feel it in my skin. But my hand won't move to brush it away, I'm too tired to think about anything other than the pain all over my body. I swallow hard, wishing for an oasis to appear before me and wash me away in its tides. I want to be clean. I want my mouth to stop feeling so sticky with saliva. I want to shave. I want myself to get up. I want the pain to go away. I want to get away from here. I want to go home.

I blink in the sunlight. The rays of light wash over me, their sweet embrace wrapping me up in their comfort.I take a deep breath, but instead I gasp to even take a small gulp of air. How did I get to this point? Eliana. I can't - Where did she go? I know I am not dead yet, my lungs keep filling with air every time I attempt to, so where did she go? Surely she has not left, surely she did not leave because she thought I would die? Am I going to die? I swallow again and let a moan of pain escape my throat. I don't want to die.

The sun is sinking over the horizon, its warm rays no longer as comforting as they were before. I still can't move my arms or legs and breathing almost seems like a waste of time now. I have been watching for a long while now. I have been watching, waiting. The butterfly lies in front of my face, glittering against the sky. Deep reds and purples and a beautiful yellow make a beautiful backdrop, but still the gem wings outshine it all, no matter how breathtaking the landscape may be. All the pain in my body has dulled to a small throb all over. I can't really feel anything anymore; Nothing. A tear runs down my face; I guess my cheek still feels. I think I want the pain back, pain is better than nothing at all. My eyes close as the horizon and necklace blur as tears form in my eyes. I wish I would've taken one last look. But death doesn't ask when you want to go. Death just takes you.

I hear a cannon fire.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I take a deep breath, hold my breath for as long as I can then let it all out, making sure to rid each candle of a flame. I already made my wish. And when I look up from the cake it's right there in front of me. Exactly what I wanted. I had told mom and dad about it for months, pestering them, asking and pleading for them to buy it for me. I thought they may never get it, but instead they had only been holding out on me to give it to me on my birthday. It was perfect. I leap across the table, nearly crushing the cake. I burst with joy, my fingers crinkling the paper and ripping it all without even thinking to save it for mom. I crawl onto the floor, setting the box down. I admire the large box for just a moment before I unfold it's top. I throw the tissue paper every which way, scrambling to find my present underneath it all. My little sister is huddled near me, looking over my shoulder, asking over and over, "What is it? What is it?" in an excited tone. But just as I begin to see it, a loud thud sounds behind me. I almost don't look, but my chair crashes to the floor, hitting me in the back of the head. I'm forced to take notice. Before I know it my mom is screaming, knelt over on the floor. Ms. Alexander bursts through our door as I stand and huddle together with my sister who has started to cry. She takes one look and yanks the phone form the wall. But, our phone has never worked before, so she throws it to the ground where it springs back up as the cord jerks it around. She sprints to my mother and tells her something hastily. I watch my mom hesitate then go to the main hall. Ms. Alexander looks up and quickly shoos us away into our bedroom with precious, yet worthless, cooing sounds. I hold my sister tight to me as she continues to sob into my T-shirt, soaking it through. I can't even think to cry. All I can do is hold my sister tightly in my arms as we curl up in the corner of our room. Emily sniffles and tried to talk in a whisper, but still her words come out in sobs. "Daddy's gunna die, isn't he?" Her words shatter my ear drum and as my lip quivers and my eyes well up with tears, I nod.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Darkness swells around me. My senses tell me that it is cold, but I ignore the feeling. My breath wafts out in front of me in clouds. I still can't see anything. I take a few steps, hoping I will not trip on something or be attacked by some monster. I close my eyes, although it makes no difference, and focus on the sounds I hear. Nothing. The air tastes of nothing but bitter and brittle cold. I feel cold, but I don't shiver. So this dark place is empty. I am alone. I sit down, wondering what to do, wondering if it is all a dream. Maybe I will wake up to the light again if I just close my eyes and go back to sleep. I lay down, breathing in the cold air, finding comfort in its crispness. I open my eyes when a bright light shines through my eyelids. I blink, trying to make out what it is but I see nothing, only light.

"Hello?" My voice echos around, well, here - where I am. Where is here? I get back on my feet, listening for any reply, anything. But still, nothing. No one appears. I almost cry out a greeting again, but a suddenly I hear something like glass shattering behind me. I turn quickly, hoping the light will illuminate something, but instead the light shuts off, bringing a loud banging noise with it. My heart pounds. I want to run, but I can't see. Darkness is prevailing. A light flickers on behind me, candle light. I turn and a lantern dances in front of my face. I take a step back in horror for no one is grasping it yet it is floating about 6 feet off the ground. But nothing happens, it only flickers and floats. I reach up and grab the handle in my hand. The metal clangs as it swings in the air. I hold it out in front of me, searching for something, anything. My feet meet something wet and I step back, realizing for the first time that my feet are bare. The liquid smears on the ground and smudges everywhere. I bring the lantern to the ground, and see that it is blood. Cold blood. I rise back to my full height and raise the lantern high over my head. My heart rate is quickening again and as I walk through the pool of cold blood I begin to hear noises. Faint noises, like heavy breathing.

"Hello?" Again my voice echoes around me with no response or reply. Th lantern swings in front of my face, flickering into the darkness, wishing me to see into its depths. Suddenly a light flashes on, revealing a hunched figure. I walk slowly towards it, the blood seeping into my toes and pattering on the floor. Thinking the object is human, and thinking it is a woman, I speak again. "Hello? Miss?"
No response, no movement. Only the sound of her breathing. As I approach, I reach out a hand, to touch her shoulder. She flings around, screeching like a banshee and knocks me to the ground. Blood splashes onto my face and is all over me as she pins me to the floor. The lantern has left my hand and has rolled away, still illuminating the area though. I look up, trying to make out who this woman is, but her face is so distorted. Her eyes bulge from her face, blood drips from her mouth, her teeth are rotted, her hair is white but still long enough to tickle my face as she leans over me. I cry out, her bony fingers clawing into my wrists. She hisses and wails in my face, her breath putrid. I try to struggle free but I can't, she is too stong.

My breath still comes out in gasps as she leans down to my face. Her lips touch my ear and I want so much to throw her off. The leathery texture rubs against my ear and a small whisper exits from her. Not the sweet kind a lover would have or the cooing kind a mother would give to a child or even the kind an enemy would spit into your ear when he has you beaten. It was different. And it hurt. The noise it made almost caused me to be unable to listen to her utterances, But her words still came through. "This is no way to greet your beloved sister now is it?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I roll over in bed, light shining through our oil stained window. It is still early, and I don't want to wake Emily so I scooch out from under the covers as quietly as I can and make sure to avoid as many creaky wood tiles as I can. The snow has begun to melt outside and there isn't enough left for sledding, but it is still cold and frost still covers everything during the night. I walk through the apartment to the kitchen, hoping that I can climb to the top of the cupboard for a few cookies before mom wakes up and notices. I push a chair over to the counter an climb onto it, then step up onto the counter. I swing the tall cupboard open and already I can smell the cookies on the top shelf. Now, I have took this climb many times before, but it seems that mom placed the cookies on a higher shelf this time, trying to help them evade my stomach. I stand on my tip toes, but still the jar is just out of my reach. "Hey! I want one too!" I ignore my sisters request and just continue to reach for the cookies. But soon I feel a tug on my pant leg and another complaint. "Shush, Emily!" I try to say it quietly but it comes out a bit louder than I want and when I kick my leg back to shake loose from her grasp I almost kick her off the chair. [size=1"I'm telling mommy." And before I can stop her she is gone running to moms room. I hear the door open and Emily starting to exclaim so I start to scream, "Mom, she's lying! Don't listen to her!" I round the corner and dash into the room. But I don't see anyone and Emily isn't saying anything anymore. Suddenly I hear a whimper from my moms bathroom. I sprint to the door and swing it back open where it slams against the wall. All I see is Emily staring into the mirror above the sink, her face red and eyes filled with tears. I turn to see what she is looking at and find myself only staring in horror. i swallow hard as a lump forms in my throat. Blood sits at my mothers throat and is spattered along the wall of the bath tub. I can only blink and stare. "What do we do now? We have no daddy and no mommy!" I turn back to face her just as tears well in my eyes. She starts to wail and falls into me. I turn her away and walk into the bedroom where we crawl into her bed and cry and cry and cry until Ms. Alexander comes into the room, tons of Peacekeepers behind her. I can't even say anything. I only continue to cry and nuzzle myself into my sister soft hair.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I gasp in horror when the words stir in my mind. She hears me despite the fact that her ears are crumpled and torn. He laugh is a wail with a raspy edge to it. Her rotted teeth curve into a smile as she speaks. "Surprised, huh? What did you think would happen to me when you let me die?" I look up into her eyes now, I am sure now that she can see the horror that has crossed my face. But I find myself unable to accept it. This isn't my sister. This is not Emily. I look into her face and stop struggling. She thinks she has won, I can see it, even with her distorted features. I hold the blood that has enter my mouth there for just a moment then spit it straight in her face. She howls but does not allow me to shift beneath her. She rises to her feet instantly, holding my throat, dangling me in the air. But it is not her hand that holds my throat, it is some unseen object. I am floating, just as the lantern had been. She snaps her fingers and a light flashes on, temporarily blinding me. It is hard to get a breath, but I still can, my lungs continue to expand and fill with oxygen. Blood drips from my lips as I try to expell it from my mouth. "You aren't my sister ..."

She laughs again, circling me, studying me. She draws a finger around my stomach. The cold makes me gasp and I think she made me bleed because I feel some warm flowing down my body."How does our mothers blood taste, brother? Can you taste the bitter tang that you tainted it with so many years ago when you were born?" She looks up at me and wipes away the drop of blood that drips down my chin. I think I may vomit in her face if she doesn't change the subject soon. I can't swallow anymore, so instead I drool everywhere. She looks down upon my chest where the inked cardinals still fly. She smirks at me then studies them more closely. "So if I had to take a guess, I would have to say that this dead one right here is supposed to be me, correct?" "Not you - Supposed to be my si-sister." She ignores this and moves onto the next one. "And this one, crying, is you." She looks into my face and must find some sort of conformation there. "And this one here," She presses her finger to the laughing bird and I gasp at how much her finger feels like a knife. "That's supposed to be that gang banger you gave me too."

If this person really were Emily I might have cried. Because that was exactly what I did to her. I gave her to that son of a bitch. This lady was spatting the truth right in my face. I wish this were Emily standing before me, then I could say sorry and cry all I wanted. But this wasn't my sister. This was an imposter. "I don't know you. You aren't my sister. I didn't give you t anyone." She twirls around and disappears back into the edges of the dark. I drop back into the blood on the floor and cough for air. I look up as I get up of my knees and see a little girl standing at the edge of the light. She is so beautiful, so small. This face I know, this face is familiar. "Emily." The little girl acknowledges her name with a tiny nod, but does not speak. Not until I take a few steps closer. "Why did you kill me, Blythe? Why did you give me to that guy? Why didn't you save me?" The voice is so sweet, she is so precious. A tear rolls down my face. She holds her hands behind her back and cocks her head questioningly. She blinks her round eyes at me and the sweet little dress she wears reminds me of when we were little. A tear rolls down my face. I take more steps closer to her and when I meet her, I kneel down and look right in to her eyes. Just like mom's. "I'm sorry, Emily. I'm so - so sorry."

I manage to gasp out before I completely start to ball my eyes out and fall into her wrapping my arms around her. I so hysterical that I can't concentrate on what is going on and suddenly I feel sharp pain in my back. I pull away from her, gasping and I see her holding a bloody knife in her hand. I can't say a word. I am too shocked to react. I collapse back into the blood on the ground and cringe in pain. The woman is back, her hand on Emily's shoulder. "Now that's a good girl, Emily. You did great." I can only look up in confusion and before I can see anything else happen, the light goes out and I lay in darkness, bleeding to death in what is said to be my mother's blood. My eyes close and again I feel nothing but cold.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I take a drag from Big D's cigarette and puff it out with a feeling of relief. I nod at him in thanks, and he nods back, turning away to talk to some of the more senior members of the gang. I turn away from them. I'm used to being ignored, mostly because I'm so little yet, but they all respect me. They all know I am the best at fighting and pretty much keep their distance and respect me for that. I hear them talking, but not in their usual tone of loud and boisterous, but instead in whispers. I kick a beer bottle away into the street and wish we could go out and get another. I might go to the drugstore tonight as long as my dumb ass sister doesn't catch me before I go. She is so over protective. I mean, I am older and yet she thinks she can boss me around. I ain't gunna take her shit ... I want a drink. I turn back to Big D when he asks me a question. "Wanna help me out, Blow?" "Sure, anything man." "Go tell your sister I wanna see her out here." I look back at the children's home and stalk off, shoving my hands deep into my pockets. My sister is just inside the door, looking out the window. "What do you want?" "Come on, I need some help with something." She looks at me when I lock my hand around her arm. She rips it away. "What is it exactly?" I grab her arm again and pull her towards the door with me. She struggles, but I don't care. She needs to learn to behave and listen to her elders with no questions asked. She is screaming at me to let go but I am already back to Big D. He smiles at me. "Thanks kid." I nod back at him and let go of my sister. Before I realize it I am surrounded by the senior members and pinned down on the ground, lip bleeding. My sister is screaming and I can't get away no matter how hard I try. I hear Big D laughing through flying arms and I can see my sister lying helplessly on the ground. "Emily!! Damn it let go! Emily hold on!" And then a gunshot.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I wake up and all I see is blue. I sit up and look around and see clouds. Clouds. I am lying on clouds. My heart beats and I think I know where I am. I have finally made it. Heaven. The sky. All my life I have dreamed of this place, climbed and endless mountain to get here. And now, I have finally arrived. There is no longer a hole in my back and there is no more blood or darkness or Emily or woman. Only pure golden light surrounded by clouds. Suddenly, none of my previous life matters. Nothing I did matters anymore. I don't have to fight to repay a debt. I am free. I hear something behind me and turn and stand to see a family. A father, a mother, a daughter. My step-dad, my mom, my sister. They smile at me and I know that this place is the truth. This isn't like where I was before. This is home. I run to them and I can feel my life starting over. My arms lock around them and their hands all reach around my back. This is where home is.