The air was tainted with the sickly smell of something burning. I was almost unable to see the cloudy trail it left in the sky against the multitude of old factories polluting the dank air. The only difference it held against the endless smoke was that, rather than being murky grey in color, it was a dark faded red. It swirled up to the hazy sky, allowing me to pinpoint it's location.
My feet refused to move quick enough against the pavement. No matter how hard and fast I seemed to throw my legs against the ground, I was never pleased with the pace at which I traveled. Nameless streets passed by me sluggishly, and though I had only run about thirty feet when I'd reached a corner, I felt as if my limbs were going to fall off from the exertion.
The sight of the faded red smoke just twenty feet ahead of me motivated my body to continue the strenuous run. I was sure that this wasn't any normal ground that my feet found purchase on. No--this was almost like quicksand, and it wasn't letting up. Not even when I drew so close to the haze that I could see the ash from which it was made of could I go any faster.
I forced my way through the smoke, breathing normally despite the fact that it was all around me. I could see nothing but the red ash swirling around my entire body. It had engulfed me. Just as I was about to lose hope on ever getting past the barrier, I broke through it, coming out on a dead end. The face of a stone wall stared at me almost tauntingly, words smeared across the otherwise blank canvas.
As if the words had flooded a spotlight downwards, my eyes averted to the ground. I didn't move at the sight of Harry lying there. Although I couldn't see his face, I knew that it was him. A simple white t-shirt was hugged tightly to the skin of his back, dark shapes that I knew to be his various tattoos visible through the thin material. His legs were bare aside from a pair of dark boxers. The mop of curls that sat on his head looked lifeless and silver in the weak moonlight that managed to shine through the red haze.
Carefully, I bent down, more curious than afraid as I grabbed hold of the side of Harry's arm and turned his body over. I flinched back halfway through the process, my breath speeding up as I quickly backed away, retreating into the red gloom once more. Through the smoke, I could just make out Harry still.
The smooth skin of his face was peeled back, revealing the dark face of a skull. Although I was not unfamiliar with the bones of the body, the dead, haunting look to the ivory shell set in Harry's face was something that I knew would leave yet another permanent scar in my mind. Blood trailed down the his prominent jawline to the skin of his neck, and where the front of his shirt should have been, was a gaping black hole, dark blood coating the edges. Held in his palm was a heart, clearly destroyed beyond any kind of repair, and lifeless, just as this horrible, lifeless body was.
I was too late... Harry was too far gone.
It was the raucous thunder that woke me. I was suddenly torn from a pair of arms, my body jolting upwards in fear as my eyes scanned the dark room. There were no windows or lights on to provide me any sort of comfort as I heard the storm continue to tremble above the house. I wasn't sure if this was the source of my terror, though.
I hadn't expected the nightmare to come. Nightmares were infrequent for me now, something that was more of a casual occurrence every once in awhile than something I was accustomed to. It was something that I considered a normality, and I had grasped at the idea of something common among others. Apparently, I was far from anything considerably average though.
My body shook along with the thunder that seemed to be vibrating the entire house, tears effortlessly sliding down my face. They were silent, and I knew that it was the horrible storm that had woken Harry when he suddenly jerked away from me in his sleep. Slowly he eased himself up into a sitting position, his eyes finding mine through the darkness.
