This World Belongs to Us

20: Kivar

Hell.

It was around him.

It was inside him.

It was crawling at his skin and tearing away the muscles from his bones.

It was making his mind ache and his head spin and his legs crumble and his face melt. Kivar had seen the angels attack, but he could not be certain that anything was real. The bullet wounds didn't hurt anymore. His whole body was in agony.

He just had to get high. There was no reason not to. This pain needed to end.

He found himself beside the table with the guns on it. Now there was just one gun, and one knife. The gun had angel blood on it. There was also a small bag and a used needle on the table. Kivar instantly grabbed the bag and pushed it up to his nose. He managed to get a tiny sensation from this. It wasn't nearly enough.

He needed some clarity. Something to focus on. But that would never work. He would never be able to think straight. There was only one thought that occupied his mind: the need to get high.

He must have ripped his bag when Joseph had tricked him with the recording. Or maybe when he expelled the heroin from his system. How could he have been so stupid? Why would he ever leave something so valuable behind?

Kivar was losing his mind. The symptoms had been building up ever since they climbed those long steps to the island. He didn't feel any pain when in the presence of the angels, but they burned Richard and as he recognized those wounds, his lucidity came to an end.

After that, it was like he had been dropped into a pit of fire ants with all of them constantly biting ever part of his body.

Kivar could see everyone around him, but the pain made everything very unclear. He could hear his own voice, muttering something unintelligible. Others were speaking as well. At one point, it had all gone dark. Then he began to hallucinate that people were singing. Then he saw flashes of light move around. He had heard loud noises.

Kivar was unsure whether he was in the present time now. He couldn't tell whether he was inside or outside. His only hope to maintain a grip on the situation and his reality was to feel the blood. Not just his blood, but everyone's, including the attacking angels.

He had to convince his mind there was nothing but the blood. It was all around him. Everyone was just a vessel for the liquid. It moving around inside their bodies. It swirled and danced so beautifully. He stared through skin, and saw only mazes of blood.

He reached out to the tar-like substance on the gun. It was unique to say the least, but he could still hear its call. The blood responded to the usage of his Vi Athenemate. He brought it into his hand and felt it. The angels were just vessels. The liquid inside them felt old and rotten.

Had some time passed? Were things different? Kivar felt the same, but some of his surroundings seemed to have changed. He tried as hard as he could to understand where he was in space and time. The pain clouded his thoughts.

He was engulfed in white. It was up and down, in front and behind. Too bright to see anything. His hand seemed to be outstretched. Was someone holding it? Maybe he was being guided away? Where was he going? Was this still the cabin? It was so hard not to scream from the pain. But something inside him said to not draw attention. He could still picture a threat. Wherever he was, there were angels nearby. Danger was all around.

Moments later, the whiteness ended. He was in a green area. There was a voice talking to him. He felt his blood rush, as well as the blood of this other person. There had to be some logic to this. He just needed a moment to break away from this hell.