Dreaming of Demons (Dream x oc)

[28] Specifics don't Matter

It was strangely quiet when I opened my eyes to the sparkly, deep-purple sky above. The pain in my body had pulled back into a dull throb, though my arms still stung. I coughed, slowly pushing myself to my feet, feeling stiff. My legs shook with the first step I took, but I forced them to keep moving. I was sluggish, the world like a fuzzy dream. The only thing I chanted in my head was to keep moving because I wasn't about to stay out here in the night.

I limped by a giant, jagged hole near Punz's castle. The walls of his fortress cast a deep shadow that swathed over the crater, dousing what was left of the crimson vines in darkness. My nose crinkled at the smell, a burnt, earthy sage that prickled the back of my throat. There was no way the Egg could have survived such damage.

Having seen enough, I carried on, gradually walking off the pain in my leg. The stairs I had to climb nearly caused me to collapse, and my vision began to grow hazy. I didn't even remember making it up the rest of the way until I sank into my bed and my eyes fell shut once more.

The lack of Eggpire members knocking at my door the next morning was probably a good thing. Or maybe a bad thing. The explosion the night before was enough to knock me straight off my feet and onto the ground, but who knew if Bad and Punz got out? Wherever they were, I just hoped they weren't dead.

I pushed my sluggish body out of bed, my arms pricking with needle-sharp pain. I lifted my arms to the warm, morning light to get a better look at my injuries.

My eyes widened, throwing the sleepiness out of my head. I blinked a couple of times to clear my blurry vision and make sure I was actually seeing what I thought I was looking at.

Small, orange needles stuck into my skin, creating angry red welts. Most of them scattered on the underside of my forearm, but a few others had managed to get stuck on my upper arms. The explosion from last night flashed in my mind, and I relived the pain that had staggered up my arms. The thick vines must have exploded from inside the Egg room, shooting needles in every direction. Thank goodness I had thrown my arms up in front of my face.

I didn't have any tweezers, so I had to make do with using my fingernails to pull the needles from my skin. They were stuck fast, and it took many attempts just to get a single one out. Every time I accidentally poked myself with my fingertip, pain would shoot up my arms. It was a grueling process, and it didn't help that my hands and arms were shaking from the lack of energy and pain. Eventually, I was able to extract all the needles, but not without my eyes watering.

And then came the part I was absolutely dreading. I stood in my bathroom, one of my arms hovering over the sink while the other held a bottle of saline over it. I was frozen, debating whether I even wanted to do it. But the idea of getting infected by these things was enough to make me consider pouring it all over my arm.

I raised my gaze heavenward and blew out a steady breath to compose myself. Before I could keep myself waiting any longer, I tipped the bottle.

The solution almost dropped from my hand as I doubled over. All I could do was press my forehead to the countertop, letting it's cool surface ground me as I waited for the mind-dizzying pain to pass.

After disinfecting the other arm, I tightly wrapped them both in bandages and went to lay in bed, my arms numb at my sides. I barely remembered the rest of the day's events other than the fact that I had gained a headache. I wasn't really surprised, though. My body just felt like throwing every sort of pain at me. I just hoped the next day would bring less pain.

I woke up the following morning to a bruise I could only feel if I twisted a certain way. My left arm was stinging again, but thankfully not as much as the day before. It would just have to take longer to heal. The headache, however, was still pressing on my mind, and it was tempting to sleep the day away again. But I need to get up and actually do something.