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"Will be. Still waiting for my body to go numb, then i'll be fine." Gale said, looking back out into the forest. The pain in his arm was starting to radiate, the earlier torment from the kingdom starting to fade sligthly. The poisons still raged in his bloodstream, threatning to take over. |
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"Just sleep. I'll protect you from anyone." She promised, shifting to wrap her arms around him without hurting him |
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Kayla’s voice was a soft anchor in the fog of his mind, steady and calm. “Just sleep. I’ll protect you from anyone.” Gale barely heard her words, his body heavy, the poison slowly creeping through him like a slow-moving fog. He nodded weakly, trying to give in to her words, to let the exhaustion swallow him whole. But as soon as his guard dropped, the poison surged, bursting from the fog in a violent flare, catching him completely off guard. The pain hit him like a tidal wave. It started deep in his chest, a constricting heat that spread rapidly, wrapping around his ribs like iron bands. His body went rigid, his breath seizing in his lungs as if the air had been sucked out of the cave. His vision blurred at the edges, and the fog in his mind thickened, but the pain was sharp enough to pull him into the present, into the agony that now dominated every inch of him. His muscles locked, his whole body tensing in a way that felt unnatural. His chest heaved, but no matter how hard he tried to breathe, the air felt distant, cold, just out of reach. His heart thundered in his chest, hammering harder with each passing second as the poison spread, searing through his veins like wildfire. His breath caught in a strangled gasp, each inhale a struggle, his body fighting against the suffocating grip of the poison. He tried to speak, tried to call out, but the words never came. Instead, a low, guttural groan tore from his throat as the pain flared up, a deep, aching throb that ripped through his limbs and into his skull. His fingers twitched, his hands clenched, the muscles in his arms quivering with the effort to hold onto anything, to keep himself from being consumed. But the pain was relentless, tearing through him, tightening around his chest and throat. “Gah…” He gasped, the sound jagged and hoarse, like his voice had been stripped away by the sheer force of the agony. The poison flared, and every fiber of his body screamed in protest. His vision wavered, the edges growing dark, and for a brief moment, it felt like he might slip away into the darkness—but the pain was too sharp, too insistent, to let him forget for even a second. His body trembled violently, and he couldn’t stop it. His muscles ached as though they were being stretched beyond their breaking point, and his chest felt like it was on fire. A groan rumbled deep in his chest, and his body jerked, hands pressed to his chest, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt as if trying to hold himself together. The surge came faster than he could anticipate, burning through him, filling him with heat and pain. He gasped for air again, his breath shallow, desperate. He felt like he was suffocating, drowning in it, and yet there was nothing he could do but endure. “Kayla...” His voice cracked, barely more than a whisper, but it was all he could manage. His grip tightened, his whole body trembling as the poison took hold. The world around him spun, the fog of pain clouding his thoughts, and he couldn’t tell where the agony ended and the poison began. All he could do was groan in response, trying to fight it, trying to stay conscious. His body refused to obey, every muscle, every fiber aching as the poison surged through him, too powerful, too relentless to stop. |
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"Gale, Gale, Gale. I'm here. I'm not leaving. Ever." he vowed, pulling him as tight as she could, his warmth nearly covering her front now. "I'm here." |
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The poison churned within him, relentless, fiery. Every inch of Gale’s body felt as if it were being consumed from the inside out, the heat of it pressing against his chest, twisting his muscles in agony. His heart was a war drum in his ears, pounding harder, faster, until it felt like it might burst through his ribs. His limbs trembled, too weak to move, but still desperate to fight the onslaught. Gale gasped for air, but it was futile. The air was too thin, too distant, as though the very act of breathing had become impossible. His lungs burned with the effort, each inhale a jagged, painful struggle, each exhale a desperate rasp. His vision wavered, his mind teetering on the edge of the abyss. But the pain... the pain was still here, sharp, searing, and it was enough to keep him tethered—just enough to stop him from slipping away. His fingers, trembling with exertion, moved blindly, grasping for anything to hold onto, anything to stop him from falling into the void. His hand found her arm. His nails dug into her skin without thought, the pressure of his grip coming from some primal need to anchor himself, to hold onto something that wasn’t slipping away. His pulse thundered in his temples, the intensity of the pain pulling him tighter into its grip. But then it came—an involuntary, guttural yell, torn from deep within his chest. It broke through the fog of agony, the sound ragged, desperate. The scream was raw, violent, the last vestige of his body trying to fight against the suffocating weight of the poison. But it was too much. The pressure in his chest exploded, and he couldn’t hold it in any longer. "N-No... I-I can't..." The words tumbled out, broken and strained, barely more than a whisper as his voice cracked, unable to carry the weight of his pain any longer. Gale couldn’t breathe—his own body betraying him, the very air he needed slipping away like water through his fingers. His vision spun, the woods around him tilting, warping, and he could feel the edges of his mind splintering, slipping. The pain grew distant, fading into the background, and Gale felt himself being pulled, not into the relief of unconsciousness, but into something far worse. Something colder, darker, that clawed at him, dragging him away from the fragile thread of existence he’d been clinging to. His grip faltered, the world around him breaking apart, and with that, Gale slipped out of the pain and too somewhere far worse. |
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Kayla barely stayed silent as his scream of pain ripped her heart apart and tore her from the inside. "I love you, Gale.....So much" She said in his ear, trying to reach him within his fog of a mind. "Please.....Please, my love." She pleaded, feeling him go limp. "No, no, no!" Gale!" She exclaimed, tears streaming down her face as sobs racked through her and tore at her. She took his face in her hands, her thumbs rapidly stroking his cheeks as she tried to will him back to her. "Gale.....Gale, please" She said through the tears. "Don't leave me......please." |
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The pain was a suffocating tide, dragging him deeper with every beat of his heart. His chest tightened as if a vice were wrapped around it, and his lungs screamed for air that would never come. The fire coursing through his veins pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, each throb a cruel reminder of how far he was slipping, how far he was already gone. The world around him dissolved. He couldn’t see, couldn’t feel the ground beneath him anymore. His grip on her arm loosened, but in his mind, a flash of memories came—fleeting images, jagged and disjointed. Her face, illuminated by sunlight, her laughter echoing in his ears. Her smile, the warmth of her touch, the way she looked at him with eyes full of unspoken promises. And then the sound of their voices, her voice, calling his name. The moments they'd shared flooded his mind, vivid, almost tangible—so real, so close, but slipping away, just out of reach. Kayla... His breath hitched, each inhalation more shallow, more strained than the last. He could hear her voice, faint, distant—a soft whisper in the chaos. The edges of his vision began to blur, the warmth of her memory slowly dimming as the cold darkness wrapped around him like a shroud. His chest heaved one last time. And then, his eyes flickered shut. His breath caught in his throat, a shuddering gasp. His heartbeat slowed, faltering, each pulse weaker, more distant. The pressure in his chest faded as his body gave in, surrendering to the darkness. The faintest whisper of her voice—"Gale..."—echoed in the blackness. And then... nothing. A few minutes later, Gale’s eyes flickered open. His body was still a mess—muscles tight, chest heavy, and every inch of him felt raw. The pain wasn’t as fierce as before, but it was still there, a dull throb beneath his skin, like something had settled deep inside him and refused to leave. He tried to breathe, but the air felt too thick, too sharp. His chest tightened painfully with each breath, and then a violent cough tore through him. It was deep, gut-wrenching, and it left him gasping for air. A trickle of blood followed, the taste metallic in his mouth as his body tried to purge whatever had been poisoning him. With shaking hands, he shifted onto his side, the movement slow and agonizing, but it was necessary. His lungs burned as they expanded, but he could breathe again—short, ragged breaths, but they were breaths. His chest rose and fell in quick succession, desperate to reclaim some rhythm. His head swam, but his body, though weak, started to feel more solid again. The tremors slowly faded as he continued to pull in air, his heartbeat slow and steady, though still weak. "Kayla..." His voice was strained, hoarse from the effort of speaking, but the name left his lips without thought, the desperation clear even in the quiet whisper. He reached out, his hand trembling, but it found only empty air. His eyes darted around, internally freaking out as he couldn't find her, but the world was still too blurry, too distorted. Yet, the ache in his chest, the need for her, was undeniable. “Kayla,” he repeated, quieter this time, a plea wrapped in the rasp of his breath, his body still fighting to recover from the poison’s grip. The faint taste of blood lingered, but the world was slowly coming into focus. |
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Kayla stayed there, pleading and sobbing more than ever as she waited. After a while, her body weakened with how much she'd cried and shook with fear of losing him. "Gale..." SHe breathed, barely hearing his voice and grabbing hold of his hand as he attempted to reach her |
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"Don't......don't leave me.....please." Gale pleaded, his vision only clearing slightly. |
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Evening Thunderstorms, Hail Possible
