How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)

Original Chapter Four: Under the Sea

~Chapter Four: Under the Sea~

So much blood.

"Atasah!"

A familiar face once smiling, now broken and lifeless.

"You should have been here to help us."

If only I was here, I could have saved them.

"This is all your fault!"

-

Cold.

The lack of warmth is enough to startle me from my nightmare. After so much time in the relatively-warm prison, the cold air is a complete shock. It is enough to pull me from my haze of exhaustion, even though a larger part of me wants to return to sleep, where it is warm, safe, and I can just stay in bed.

Why in Skuure's name is it so cold? Am I sleeping on an ice cube?

It takes a great deal of effort to pry my eyes open – it feels like they are sealed shut with magic – and when I am finally able to see, everything is too bright and blurry. Brighter than it ever was in the prison, that is for certain. After a lot of blinking and staring at the light blue ceiling above my head, I realize two things. One, this is not the prison I woke up in yesterday. Two, this is not Yabrogath either.

So...what does that make this place?

There is not a great deal of furniture in the room, aside from the large bed I am lying in and the small tables on either side of the bed, each holding a lamp. There is a chair in the far corner next to a table, facing me. It looks like someone recently was sitting there, as they left a mostly-empty glass of water behind. There is an open door to my right that appears to lead to a bathroom, though I can only see the sink from here. It could be a very odd closet for all I know.

Because of the overpowering cold, it takes me a minute to realize that I am currently tucked into the bed, practically buried under a pile of blankets that offer no warmth. It is quite clear that the curse returned the moment I left the prison – what else could create such a painful cold that does not numb or leave physical damage? – and my magic has been steadily returning while I slept. However, there is more saved up magic than I expected, which leads me to wonder how long I have been asleep, or why I was even sleeping...

Heather.

After wiggling my way out of the sheets – I doubt anyone would be happy if I tore up their sheets while trying to escape them – I climb off the bed. Almost immediately, I want to return to the sheets because of how frigidly cold it is in the room, but my need to make sure Heather is alright gets me on my feet, albeit unsteadily. Suddenly, the world tilts to the side and I reach out blindly for the edge of the bed. Somehow, I end up on the floor instead.

My cheek hurts from where it connected with the hard stone floor, but nothing else was hurt from the impact, and I probably have my jeans to thank for that, as if could have been a lot more uncomfortable. After my head stops spinning, I reach out for the bed again and manage to pull myself up. The vertigo returns, but the bed helps support me until the feeling fades enough to stand up straighter.

I have to slide my feet in order to move, as the muscles in my legs protest at every little action. My lungs hurt, too, making it hard to breathe, but I doubt not breathing would be the way to fix that. Sidr, I shout with my mind. The use of telepathy makes me wince as more magic than I was expecting is pulled from me to send out that thought. Apparently, I did not have as much magic as I believed.

With one hand still just barely touching the bed in case the vertigo returns, I wait patiently for a reply. However, when nothing comes, I start moving towards the door. He must be out of range. Unlike Sidr, who can use telepathy from a range of a full mile, my magic only allows me to extend my thoughts up to a quarter of a mile. What bothers me is that my message was not set exclusively to Sidr, even though it was him I was calling. Any demon in a quarter mile would have been able to hear me, yet there was no response. It seems I was right to think I am not in Yabrogath, nor am I near any of our military bases in this realm.