Against the Tide - A New Elysium Story [Complete]

Giving Shape to the Impossible

I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die.

A child's voice echoed through the fog.

I don't want to go back to the timeless space. I don't want to die.

She had been wandering for what felt like an eternity, simply following that voice, and she felt exhausted beyond measure. Her body was aching, the gashes that covered her back had stained the white dress with fresh blood. Her feet hurt most of all. She had reached a part of the beach where the sand seemed to be clear of the sharp, broken fragments now, but she kept the boots on - better safe than sorry.

I don't want to be conscious without thought. I don't want to exist without experiencing. I don't want to-

"Stop it, Lars," she interrupted him. "I know you can hear me. I need you to focus. Calm down. Everything will be alright... Come on now, don't leave me all alone out here!"

Alone... I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone in the timeless space.

"You aren't alone. You aren't in the timeless space. Just look around, for fuck's sake."

She stopped for a moment, rubbed her hands over her face and sighed.

"Please... I'm tired... I just wanna get out of here..." she muttered.

When she looked up again, she spotted his silhouette right before her in the dense fog, as if he had heard her plea. She approached him slowly, fearing another outburst. The boy sat in the sand, with his back to her and his arms wrapped around his legs, shivering and sobbing. His oversized looking black clothes were half-soaked and covered in streaks of wet sand. Soft waves were rolling out and receding back into the fog, reaching almost to his naked feet.

"If I come any closer, will you run away again?" she asked carefully.

The boy raised his head and turned to look over his shoulder, traces of black tears covering his cheeks. He stared up at her and seemed to seriously consider it for a moment, but then he shook his head and proceeded to stare out into the fog again.

"Come on, Lars. Let's leave this place," she suggested.

He didn't react, and seemed to ignore her completely now. And she realized that they wouldn't be able to leave this place anyway until they had talked it over - whatever it was that kept him here. She sighed and went around until she stood in the water right before him, blocking his view. The waves cast swirls of sand around her boots. She crossed her arms and looked down at him.

"Why did you run away before?" she asked.

He didn't look up at her and just shrugged. With another annoyed sigh, she crouched down before him and looked at him expectantly.

"Why?" she asked again.

"Because it hurt when you touched me," the boy whispered, barely audibly, and lifted his head to look at her. "Why does it hurt, Null?"

His words answer took her by surprise, and her eyes went wide with shock. It hadn't even occurred to her that he might actually feel physical sensations just as much as she felt them in this place. Right now, she could feel the cold water begin to soak her dress as the waves softly splashed around her, and the stinging pain of the salt water on the bleeding cuts on her feet and legs. She wondered what else he might be feeling at that moment, other than the misery that clearly reflected on his face. Perhaps her pain was bleeding over and affecting him once again.

"I... I'm sorry... I suppose that's my fault," she answered his question.

"Why?" the boy asked again, staring at her with his black eyes. "Why does it hurt?"