The Fallen

Blake

I wake up screaming.

The voices that surround me seem to scream in my ears. So I cover my ears as I sit up; my legs hard against my chest. It's as if my body has a mind of its own as I feel myself rocking back and forth on the hard surface I was laying on.

As the voices start to become farther away from my ears, I slowly open my eyes. My vision is blurry at first but once I blink the tears away, I can see a man and a boy standing in front of me.

They both have dark hair and dark blue eyes. They stare at me expectantly, waiting for me to react. But I do nothing. I can't even remember anything.

Where am I? What happened to me? How in the world did I get here?

I don't even notice I've started crying again as the boy puts his arm around my shoulders and whispers in my ear.

"Shhh...It's going to be okay. I promise." His gentle voice calms me down.

I feel weak and my lungs feel like they're on fire. The boy wipes my tears away gently as we stare at each other. His eyes seem to oddly burn through me.

His soft smile makes me, surprisingly, smile, too. That warm feeling quickly disappears when I realize he's still holding my face. I start to pull away and he quickly steps back. Blushing, he lightly pushes me back down on the table. I forgot that I was sitting up.

"Where--" but I can't continue. My throat burns as I try to swallow. The scratchy pain makes me wince. I try to force out another question, but I start to cough.

The boy furrows his brows at the sound of my voice. "I think you have a sore throat. Dad?" He turns to the tall man in white and blue clothes.

The man comes over to my table and turns on a bright light. I quickly look away and close my eyes.

"I think she has a sore throat," I can hear the boy say.

"Hmm," the man says; his voice low and soothing.

I turn my head and open my eyes to see the man crouched down to take a closer look at me. He lightly touches my cheek and says, "Well. Aren't you a pretty one?" He smiles. The same warm feeling wrapping my cold body but this time, it doesn't disappear so quickly.

"Dom, keep an eye on her. I'm almost done so we can continue with the procedure." His face is stern as he speaks to his son, but the corner of his eyes soften when he looks back at me.

Dom shrugs carelessly; giving his father a quick look at the corners of his eyes then focusing on me. He gets a little chair and sits next to the table. His dark eyes giving me chills once again.

I clear my throat. I have so many questions to ask him. I guess I'll just ask the first thing that pops out of my mind.

With much difficulty and pain, I finally say, "Where am I?"

"You'll soon know." He smirks and says, "I bet you have a bunch of questions, huh Doctor Butchy?"

His smirk disappears when he notices my confusion and quickly says, "Oh, um. That's your nickname. I made it up for you. I don't know if you like it or not." He scratches the back of his neck nervously making him look vulnerable for a split second.

I try to shake off my confusion as I clear my throat once more and say, "Um. Is that my...name?"

He grins widely this time and leans over to touch my wrist, but I pull away quickly. He does a surprised laugh and says, "Hey there! I'm not gonna hurt you!" His eyes are shining with delight and his laughter playful. "Here."

He reaches over to hold my wrist again; slowly and hesitant. I slowly take out my wrist out for him this time. Delicately, he touches what seems like a bracelet and says, "That's your real name."

Face is serious but his eyes are full of a reckless shine. His voice is low and almost soothing.

I look over at the fine print on the bracelet. It says "Blake" with bright blue letters. I clear my throat again. "My name is....Blake?"

Dom smiles playfully with the look of surprise on my face. "Yeah! Don't you like it?"

"Um. It's just that...I've....I've never heard of a name like that before." I force a smile.

He stares at me for a second, studying my face carefully. But then he laughs and says, "Well, I think it's a perfect name for a pretty girl like you."

My stomach jumps when I hear this, and my eyes are wide in surprise. I study him for a moment as he looks at something on the other side of the room past my head.

I study Dom more closely this time. He is just like his father. His thick dark hair is into a slight textured style. The spiky fringe in his hair seemed to be combed quickly to the side, showing that softness. His blue eyes carry a small mixture of green and his small smile makes his beautiful eyes shine. The slight hardness of his jawline is noticeable even if he shows no expression.

But I suddenly see one thing that makes my stomach jump once again.

He also has a bracelet with dark red letters. Nerves suddenly block my vision and my heart starts to race.

What is this place? Why am I even here? I need to get out of here....

The man comes over and takes my arm, but I pull it away. Surprise fills the man's face at my reaction. My hands start to sweat and my heart races even faster as he takes my arm once again. This time he tightens his grip on me.

Dom leans over and says, "It's gonna be okay. I promise, Blake. Everything's gonna be okay."

He taps my head lightly, but I don't care. By now my focus is on the needle the man is holding.

"Wha-what are you doing to me?" I can feel tears falling down my cheeks. "Please. Let me go."

The man turns to look into my eyes; his face expressionless. Dom looks at his dad and nods. Almost immediately, he takes a hold of both of my arms. I start to panic as pain runs through my arms with Dom's tight grip.

What are they doing to me? I need an escape...

My lungs start to tighten as I look for breath. I start to move my legs, trying to break free, but the man straps my legs. He takes my left arm out and prepares the needle.

"No! Please! Let me go! No..." My eyes burn as more tears roll down my cheek. I close my eyes and turn my head to the side as I try to kick Dom's stomach.

Wake up! Why aren't you waking up?

Dom holds my body down as I struggle to escape. The man injects something in my arm, and I scream.

"Shhh. It's gonna be okay." Dom touches my shoulder lightly as I struggle to get up.

"No!" Their voices start to become echoes around me now.

Why can't I just wake up from this horrible nightmare? Why can't I just escape?!

Dom isn't holding me down anymore. Why would he? There is no escape now. He brushes my hair gently as I sob.

"Shhh. It's gonna be okay, Blake. I promise."

I'm too weak to speak or struggle with him anymore. My vision turns into a blur of images and the only thing I can hear is my heartbeat in my ears. The images swirl in my head causing this dizziness overwhelm me. 

It's like pushing the backward button on a movie as voices, laughter, and faces start to take over my mind.

My memories...

Everything goes completely black.