Out of the Darkness

193

"This is one of the strongest antibiotics out there, fit for even demonic infections. It's not very well known. It's very hard to get the ingredients and it's dangerous to make. I have very high hopes that this will work." She walked towards me, and I couldn't take my eyes off of the granite bowl. It was like the smoke got thicker and darker with each step she took. I swallowed hard when she stopped in front of me. She lowered herself down to her knees, and set the bowl on the floor. I could see that it was a sort of bloody, black messy paste that was now in the bowl. "Are you sure this is safe to use?" I asked, feeling my throat convulse nervously. Her blue eyes met my own. "No...but I do think it's your only hope. Do you wish to continue? This is all your choice." I glanced at Sam, and he nodded, biting his lip. He was nervous too. I had to try. I looked back at Beth, and nodded. "Okay. Wingardium Liviosa and all that shit." She nodded and dipped her fingers into the paste. She angled her fingers over my wound, then met my gaze. "This is going to hurt like hell," she said, then pressed her fingers to my wound, before I could answer. The pain was instant. Searing through my bloodstream, leaving a boiling trail in it's wake. "Oh shiiit," I hissed, starting to yank my arm away from her. Sam grabbed my arm and stopped me. "I know it hurts, brother, but you have to do this. Just a little longer." I met his gaze, and gritted my teeth against the pain. Holy shit, it really hurt! I think it was worse than the initial bite or any pain that had come from it. I braced my entire body, locking it into place, and watched her fingers smooth over the disgusting mess that was my arm. The paste didn't make it look any better. The black red goop slid over the wound, mixing with the green black mess, making it look like some sort of gory movie ending. I looked away and clenched my jaw against the pain. She had to hurry because I wasn't going to last much longer. I felt it when she moved her fingers away, and breathed a sigh of relief. Until her fingers met my wound again. I screamed, and jerked back, unable to help myself. The pain was so intense, my arm felt like I was being burned alive from the inside out. Sam stood and walked behind me, pushing me back down into my chair. "I can't do it, Sam," I all but whimpered. "I can't. It's too much pain." He held me in place, and leaned down to talk to me. "You got this. She's almost finished. What's a little pain, if it works? You're one of the strongest people I know, Colby. You can do this." If the pain hadn't been taking every bit of rationality that I had, I may have hit him. Little pain? This was anything but a little pain. I yelled again, when I felt her fingers move that hateful paste further up my arm. I could actually smell smoke. I looked down and saw that I was actually being burned alive. The past was bubbling inside my arm, causing smoke to hiss up into the air. I smelled my own burning flesh. "Oh, what the fuck?!" I groaned, leaning back away from it. The lady was chanting something while she smeared it across my flesh, but she was so quiet that I couldn't make it out. I don't think that I would've been able to anyway. The pain was all I could think about. "Just let me die," I pleaded, looking up at Sam. "I can't do this." "Just another minute," the lady, Beth, I think was her name, said. "It's almost complete." What was almost complete? My arm literally being burned from my body. I guess the infection couldn't spread if my arm was gone. She stuck her fingers back in that damned mortar and then back on my arm. "AARRGHH!" I yelled, while trying to shove myself out of the chair and away from this woman. Sam pushed back down on my shoulders, while Beth's other hand dug into my arm. "LET ME GO!" I bellowed, pushing harder. "COLBY!" Sam yelled. "SIT THE FUCK DOWN, OR I WILL KNOCK YOUR ASS OUT!" That actually shocked me into silence for a moment...at least, until the pain reared it's ugly head again. "God, PLEASE, make it stop!" I cried out. There were tears on my face now. I could feel their wetness sliding down over my cheeks. "Finished," Beth replied, smiling and sitting back on her feet. She looked proud of herself. I sniffed and stole a glance at my arm. It was still smoking and bubbling, but the pain wasn't as bad, with her fingers gone. It still hurt like hell though. "How long is the pain gonna last?" I choked out. "Just another minute or two. Not long," she replied. She stood, and grabbed the mortar off the floor. I watched her take it back to it's spot on the dresser, then open the book that she had been looking at before. "Mmhmm, yes. Okay. Every step is accounted for. Except the last one." She snapped the book closed then walked back over to me. When she reached for my arm, I actually shrank back away from her. I think I was traumatized. She pretended not to notice and I was grateful. Her fingers were cool this time, gentle. She feathered them on the outsides of the wound, tracing the black lines that spread out from it. Her mouth was moving but I couldn't hear anything coming out. My body relaxed, becoming almost limp, when the pain eased off. It left me completely drained. I felt like I had been exercising, or something high intensity, all day long. I couldn't even lift my head to look at her or Sam. I wanted sleep. I needed it. "How is that possible?" I heard Sam mutter, as if from far away. What was possible? It didn't really matter to me. I just wanted sleep. "The infection looks like it's almost completely gone. The wound is even starting to heal. How? No one else could help us. They said that he was a lost cause." I giggled a little bit. I was a lost cause. You know why? Cuz I was in love with a ghost. "Anna," I murmured, but it felt weird to say it. It was like my tongue was too big for my mouth, making the sounds hard to move out.