La Bastille (ManxBoy)

Verse Trois - Steel hearts

Verse Trois – Steel hearts

To love you is my punishment. And your punishment is what keeps me alive.

—Etro, La Bastillian, La Bastille 2089 AP

In Dominic's eyes the world seems to be clouded in a tempest of red. The harsh color and the darkness it brings slowly envelop his body like molten fire as he burns from within.

The air smells and tastes like burnt copper in his tongue and mouth.

It's the acrid smell and cutting taste of something very familiar.

His very own blood.

His heart races, abruptly slows down, then squeezes in his chest tight before it jumpstarts yet again to pound with an electric jolt. Over and over the feeling stirs his insides, making him want to throw up but nothing comes out.

"A girl screaming," Cid gasps as if witnessing an event unfold before his very eyes.

The boy doesn't know why, but for a fleeting moment he feels like he's seeing through the eyes of the man who's thrashing on the ground before him. As if he's able to tap into Dominic's mind and bring out the worst memories from the man's psyche, "No! Make it stop!!" Cid screams as he tries to disown the memories that are not his own, but of the man who's down on the ground fighting to take back control.

Dominic can feel invisible intrusive hands sinking into his brain matter, pulling apart both his hemispheres as if in an effort to pry open what is inside. It's almost impossible but he can feel his brain splitting in the middle as if a surgery is being conducted while he's wide awake, and it makes him thrash on the ground trying desperately to stop the pain caused by something that is slicing.

Cid slows his breathing to relax and bit by bit the hold he has on Dominic fades away, "I'm sorry," he whispers, shaking, then steadies himself as he walks to round the corner to get as far away as possible.

The apology reaches Dominic's ears but his mind is too busy trying to overcome the critical mass of nerves that is threatening to explode inside his head. He recoils like a ball while pulling at his hair as the world around him starts to spin. But still he manages to clasp his gun and with a shaky aim shoots only to miss his target.

Outside Dominic's body the world appears normal. Absolutely still with no strange occurrence. Nothing is really moving. The earth isn't shaking. Only he can feel the shifting of the ground beneath him. And so he continues to retch, gasp, and heave while trying to keep his head from exploding.

The cold rush of panic chokes his breaths as the fleeting sensation of life fading away becomes apparent. And before that happens he pulls out a rectangular sheet of thin glass from his breast pocket. His phone.

He can feel his heart giving up, constricting as it tries hard to pump blood into his brain in order to keep his consciousness alive. Dominic starts to shake, fighting for his breath as the beating organ slows down with each passing second. And so with what's left of his energy—and with hands trembling—his fingers perform an awful job of speed dialing for backup, or anybody who can help.

Dominic fights to stay awake. He mutters words to himself that remind him to stay alive. His blood is spitting through his veins, as if finding its way back into his heart with difficulty, giving him intermittent heartbeats that are not enough for his organs to sustain life.

"Hel-lo? Help me..." his voice breaks, trying his best to call for help to whoever picked up, "Please..."

He wills himself to focus, with his heart beating an unfaltering rhythm, keeping him alive, barely. His heart is working much too hard and before he can utter another word he feels himself flatline.