Coming home (emsrocks)

Joel starts laughing hysterically again for no apparent reason. The ground beneath him dances around causing him to lose his balance extremely easy. He slowly waves his arms to the side trying to hold himself up, but it's not easy. His stomach is beyond rumbling. The pain is unbearable though. His stomach feels like it's literally eating itself. His left hand throbs in pain as he struggles to keep himself going. Fatigue is getting closer to taking over his body. The fatigue is about to overcome everything that's keeping him going. What little adrenaline he has left isn't doing much to keep his head up. Tripping the guy was worth it though because he got to fall to the ground again. It only caused Joel to laugh even harder. Joel watches the trees dance beside him laughing at this humiliating defeat he's facing.

"I'm not going to kill you." He says to me shaking his head. "I'll personally take you to the pk though." Joel looks at him still laughing his head off. Words aren't doing very well right now to escape his mouth. The peacekeepers would torture him worse than he's already feeling. It could kill him. He wouldn't last long anyway. He's amazed that he's lasted this long in this fight, but it will all come to an end soon. It'll all be over, and either he will come out victorious, or he's going to be led straight to the peacekeepers to face even worse punishment. He slowly moves around trying to stay on his feet as the world spins around him. He clutches his stomach and leans over in pain, and he realizes that was a mistake.

There's no possible way for him to escape now. No possible way he's getting away. The guy grabs Joel's hand and twist it behind his back causing him to wince in pain; however, the laughter still escapes his lips. "No matter what happens, I'll be dead anyway." Joel says between laughs. "The peacekeepers can kill me, and I'll be free. I won't be...." Words fail him. He doesn't finish the rest of the sentences. He doesn't have to because it's no use. Either way, he will finally find an escape. "I'm... n-n-not afraid." He says between breaths as he laughs. His heart quivers rapidly under his chest. His laughing slowly dies down. He tries to kick the guys legs, but misses terribly.

The laughter continues to escape from the lips of Joel. He laughs at the dancing trees. He laughs at the waves forming beneath him. He laughs at the spinning of the sky. Everything is suddenly funny. He doesn't care that his legs missed the guy completely. He doesn't care about a thing. Sweat drips from his brow slowly rolling down his face and dripping silently onto the ground. The money spread on the ground seems so far away from him that there isn't any possible way Joel could get it. His whole body trembles all over as his pulse is extremely rapid. His vision changes as everything becomes fuzzy. His breathing is quick and shallow. Just one more hit will be all you need. Just hit him one more time as hard as you can. Use the last bit a strength you can do it!

Joel frantically tries to break lose of the grip he has when something hard hits him in the back of the head. "You should be." He growls in his ear. It doesn't matter anyway. Joel isn't afraid of the worse to come. He's welcoming the possibility of death with a smile on his face. His throat grows weak and the laughs fall silent. "You're messing with the wrong guy asshole." The words cut straight through Joel. He doesn't deserve to be called an asshole. All he's trying to do is fight for his life. He's hungry. Maybe he could have approached this guy differently, but it's too late now. He tries to break the grip free, but it's not worth the fight. It only causes the guy to push Joel face down into the mud.

Joel tries to breathe, which was a huge mistake. He sucks the mud into his mouth causing him to panic more. The mud cakes the inside of his mouth. He slowly brings his head out of the mud and spits everywhere. The mud wouldn't satisfy his hunger if he tried to eat it. It wouldn't be very safe anyway. It can have many sicknesses that would kill even the strongest citizens. He wipes the mud out of his eyes and tries to slow his breathing down, but it's no use. He slowly tries to move away, but its not going to work. "Fuck you." Joel barely whispers hoping it's loud enough for the other guy to hear. He takes his left hand, the broke one, and forms a fist crying in pain as he forces it together. He takes aim and swings as hard as he can at the guys face crying in pain as his fist makes impact.

The pain in his hand hurts worse than any other pain Joel has felt. He gets a look at his hand. His hand is swollen, black and purple. The bone is bent at an angle coming dangerously close to slicing through the skin to feel the fresh air. He tries to slow his heart rate down, but it's not working very well. He's tired. His strength is gone. He doesn't even have the strength to move. The trees stop dancing around him as his eyelids slowly start fluttering shut. It takes everything he has to keep himself awake. He fights the fatigue with what little bit of strength he has left. He couldn't make another punch if he tried. He can barely find the strength to keep his head up. His entire body aches. His hand, his stomach, his face, every part of his body throbs in pain.

The adrenaline that was surging through his veins was masking the pain he felt. He grinds his teeth trying to do anything to keep himself awake. Falling asleep now would cause him to never wake up again despite the fact this other guy is around him. It's safe to say he will leave Joel to die. He tries catching his breath still spitting the mud out of his mouth. The taste is horrible. He opens his mouth to take a deep breath when he's shoved into the mud face first again. He doesn't have a chance to close his mouth before he lands in the mud. The mud slowly goes into his mouth again causing him to panic even more. He fights to lift his head, but his strength fails him. He feels something tying his hands together behind his back. The pain in his left pain causing him to thrash around uncontrollably on the ground.

He opens his eyes and sees he's not laying face first in the mud anymore. His whole body trembles. He's unable to move. He's not ready to talk. He knows what's about to happen. He knows this could be a moment he never wanted to happen. This guy has the opportunity to take Joel straight to the peacekeepers and get him tortured. "What for? What do you need the money for?" Joel looks at him. "Why is money important to beat someone bloody or kill a man? Joel opens his mouth to speak, but no words come. He spits mud out of his mouth again forcing himself to try to talk. "I-I-I've only h-h-had food t-t-that can be one meal." Joel whispers between breaths. "Starving."

Joel's head drops like a bowling ball to the ground. He doesn't have the strength to look around. He fights to keep his eyes open. It's next to impossible now. He can't move his hands to clear the mud off his face. They are stuck tied behind his back. He wants to look up at the guy hoping by some chance he will let Joel go. He hopes by some chance he won't have to face the peacekeepers. His heart slows down rapidly under his chest. His breathing slows down more than it should, but it's enough to let him know he's done fighting. He might not last much longer. A single tear falls down his face. The hunger pains are worse than ever. He tries to bring his hands to his stomach just to remember they are tied up. He tries to lift his head up, but the muscles in his neck don't want to move.

This is it. I'm done for. I'm dead. I have nothing else to help me. Another silent tear falls down his face as he realizes whats happening. "You should have taken a different approach." It's true, and Joel knows it. "I know." He whispers quietly feeling ashamed of himself. He hears loud footsteps on the ground around him. Chills run up and down his spine. The peacekeepers are here to take him away. They are here to take him away to finish the job off. Allow me to die. Joel listens to the two talking and realizes that the one that came back was the younger one he saw earlier. Joel allows his eyes to shut.

The ringing in his ears becomes deafening. He wants to clamp his hands over his ears, but it's impossible. His body throbs in pain begging him not to move. Joel's body begs him to lay still and close his eyes forever, but he has some fight left in him. He's not ready to give up. "It's over Brian we settled it." The guy says. Another silent tear falls down Joel's face followed by another, and another until tears flow steadily from his eyes. It's over. You can go to sleep now. He feels the something being placed in his right hand. He tries to move his fingers around wondering what it is. The next thing is unexpected. He never thought this guy would let him go. Joel forces himself to roll over to face the other guy. "I-I don't de-deserve t-thi-this. Tha-thank y-y-you. How c-c-can I repay y-y-you?"

Ringing in Joel's ears start to roar causing him to barely hear anything. He holds the few coins in his hand staring at them. These coins could possibly save his life if he can get to the shops in time. His body is still fighting the fatigue that threatens to take over him at any time. His heart barely pounds under his chest causing him to work harder than needed to. His breathing is rapid and shallow barely allowing enough oxygen to make it to the vital organs. His body shakes uncontrollably as he lays resisting the urge to fall asleep. Every ounce of strength that remains in his body is used to keep himself awake. His entire body throbs in pain. He tries to prevent himself from shaking, but he has nothing left inside. He can't fight everything, and right now resisting the urge to fall asleep is the most important.

Tears continue to fall silently down Joel's face as he lays there preparing to fall asleep for the rest of eternity. Suddenly, he feels hands being wrapped under his arms. Am I being lifted into the sky? He asks himself. No, my heart is still silently beating below my chest. He looks up to see what's going on. Surprisingly, the other guy is slowly helping Joel to his feet. His body begs him to lay still as pain surges throughout his entire body. His legs shake uncontrollably as he tries to put the pressure on his legs. It seems like it's not going to end well. "Nothing. You don't have to." Joel's eyes widen in shock. He just tried to kill this guy, and he's letting Joel go away without owing him anything in return.

Joel stares at him in awe. He watches him grab something off the horse he was riding. If it wasn't for someone holding him up, he would be face first in the mud again because his legs buckle underneath the weight of his body. He slowly tries to remain calm. The world starts spinning around him, and the trees start dancing again. His feint pulse isn't doing much to keep himself standing up much longer. He watches the guy bring something over to him, and place it in Joel's hand. His eyes open wider than they already are. "There are always people willing to help. You just have to ask." Joel opens the bag and looks inside of it. He reaches a hand inside and grabs the bread and shovels it into his mouth as fast as he can before he can think twice about it. "I-I-I'll always be grateful for this." Joel says with a mouth full. "T-t-thank you."