71

Chapter 68

"Coal," I mutter, not to him, or me, or anyone, really, but just because I feel that if I say his name, it might change what I'm seeing. I grasp him by the arms, my fingers slipping in all the blood, and I begin to drag him over to the Beast, refusing to accept what is obvious.
"C'mon," His normally handsome face is pale and slack, one eye slightly open, the other closed shut. His blood shows up bright and crimson against his now alabaster skin. His skin is cold to the touch, his arms heavy and lifeless, like a marble statue. "C'mon, Coal... We can do this... Wake up..."
My voice is a soft and hoarse, just a harsh whisper in the howling wind. But he can hear me, I know he can. 'Cause he's not dead, obviously. Coal can never die.
"Help me out here, buddy," I mumble through gritted teeth, my rib cage on the verge of collapsing, as I drag him the last couple feet to the waiting, watching Beast. "I can't do this by myself..."
I look up for a moment, wheezing slightly, when I reach the Beast's side. My progress is paved in blood, a glistening crimson trail of Coal's blood. Shuddering slightly, I squint up to the waiting Beast, because suddenly there seems to be a bright light everywhere, as if the sun is staring me right in the face.
Now that I've got a ride, now that I've gotten Coal over here, I've run out of ideas.
"Hmmm.... What do you think Coal?" I look over to my right, where nobody is standing... Or are they... I blink, and I can swear Coal is standing right there, his chest all in one piece.... "No, that wouldn't work," I reply to him, because he obviously isn't the one who makes the plans.
A sudden wave of nausea hits me, actually making me stagger backwards slightly. My head is whirling, and I feel like someone's turning off the gravity, rotating the earth, tilting the ground back and forth, back and forth, and I close my eyes, rubbing my fingers into my temples, trying to drive away my sudden headache.
When I open my eyes, there are are two Coals lying on the ground to my side, two Beasts watching me, two trails of blood, the images overlapping slightly, blurry at the edges.... Some colors are vivid, others are dull and grey, everything lit with a soft light that pulses with the beat of my heart.
I need to sit down, close my eyes, rest... Just a bit. I'm so, so tired... My eyelids are closing without my bidding, and someone has definitely implanted hundred pound weights in my arms and legs. Just a little nap, just for a while....
"Ash, no," My eyes snap open, and I don't even realize I've begun to sink to my knees. "Don't."
"Coal!" His voice is warbled and muffled, as if coming through a foot of water, and from a quarter of a mile away. But it's his. Well duh, 'cause he's... Not standing right next to me...
My blood runs cold, my heart skipping a beat, when I realize I'm hallucinating. Majorly. Quickly, I pinch my arm, hard, until the pain forces me to cry out, and I look down to see my claws are still extended, and even more blood drips to the ground.
Blinking quick and hard to keep myself awake, I continue stabbing my arm with a single claw until I've fully registered that Coal is almost, if not, dead, lying on the ground. I'm not hearing his voice. I'm not hearing his voice. I'm not hearing his...
What was I doing? I shake my head, trying to remember what I had been doing before my mental shutdown... It's as if my brain is dying, leaving my body on it's own.... What was I...
My eyes begin to water every time I open and close them, until the tears are running down my face, and bile fills my mouth when the salty liquid touches the tip of my tongue, such a shock it is to my dry tastebuds.
I look up, trying to recall why I can't just lay down and die, when I see the Beast, which has kneeled down so it's chest is scraping the ground, it's back maybe ten feet from the ground, not a small height, but much more manageable than thirty.
I mouth 'thankyou' to the Beast because I can't get anything more than a croak from my burning throat. It feels stupid, but when I stop and think about it, I would feel guilty if I didn't. Aaaanyway.