Breed and Burn: Faceless

Chapter 6 - Better Of Dead

In the intense silence, Axel somehow managed to scream with his entire body. His eyes widened with horror, his face scrunched up in disgust. His scream was the kind of scream which put the thoughts of others on hold.

He was staring at himself. Only it was himself with bulging veins, fangs glinting over pale, bleeding gums. Its skin was wrinkled like a dried prune and thick as wax. Its ribs, collar bones and joints were visible through his skin and its eyes were completely caved in. It only wore a thin, dirty rag around its waist which was filthy with blood and dirt. A mixture of spit and blood slowly dribbled out of the corner of its cracked lips. What gave Axel the urge to throw up was the self-harm scars and scratches that seemed to cover every piece of its skin. A mixture of thick clear and brown gelatinous goo clung to his body.

This was a nightmare only Axel couldn't wake up. He was already awake.

He had to get it into his head that this was reality. 

It felt like the world wasn't there. Like it had never existed, to begin with. It felt like it was stolen and replaced with something empty and fake. All Axel could do was float in the void. Standing still. Watching. Eyes locked.

Snapping into his senses, Axel broke into a run. He ran steadily in a constant direction, hoping to find a wall he could use to find the door.

"Help. Somebody. Please," he said with the little strength his body could provide. Eventually, he forgot about hunger and shouted as loud as his body allowed him to.

The more he pushed himself to run faster, the more distant he felt from the real world. Slowly but gradually, his body was giving into hunger. Distance was all that mattered. He had to get away from the monstrous version of himself. Each, chaotically spaced step felt like his last.

Axel could feel the monster breathing down his neck in long, wet rasps. He had to run away from the monster but how could he outrun himself?

With a mark of desperation, Axel began thrashing his arms around in the spiralling darkness. How could he see that thing so clearly when everything was darkened to the core? The darkness was starting to seep through his skin and diffuse through his insides. Each wave of fresh darkness felt like a solid wall, pushing him back further.

Each second in this place made time feel as though it was taking its own time. Even the size of the room seemed to be increasing. Everything was disorientating.

Between the rattles of the monster's bones and teeth, were repulsive sniffs that dislodged some of the mucus in its nose.

With a distressing whimper, the monster shoved him to the ground. As he stumbled, it never fell over with him but it was agile and quickly regained balance. No honour. No code. As it began kicking and punching every inch of Axel's body, its eyes became sinister and icy. After the first blow to his head, Axel closed his eyes in agony. He was in so much pain his complexion became ashen like that of a corpse.

"Get off me," he said as a sudden wave of pain jolted through his body.

Axel could taste blood in his mouth. His arms lost tension. His legs weakened. Helplessly, he cowered on the floor. Every few minutes he would scream or yell for help. His screams had a raw quality. They were consumed with the realness of someone enduring pain that had no limit, end or start.

"Thee," it spat with pure spite and a mocking undertone as it grabbed Axel by the scruff of the collar and slammed him against the wall.

Pain erupted in his head. The floor beneath him jolted and shook. Dizziness consumed him. All he could focus on was shouting out for help but all that left his mouth was something in between whine and a sniff. His face buckled in strain. As its word filled his head, he felt his mind snap some more.