City of the Fallen - unedited

Chapter Forty

Everything is hot. It's like lava seeping into my skin. There's nothing around me, I'm in an abyss of darkness. There are cries coming from all around me and I keep my eyes shut.

When I open them, I see Nick, he's lying on the floor. He's skinny and pale, he looks like he hasn't eaten in months. I try to leap forward to help him, but I'm stuck. I can't move.

Then he disappears.

It starts to rain-- I can feel it on my skin, but the water is hot. It slices through the air and sizzles once it splashes onto my skin. So many of my senses are activated, I can smell my own skin burning, I can feel the heat bounce off of my body. I can't see anything now, just blank space like I was closing my eyes. My entire body is trembling, hoping that whatever force is keeping me still will stop.

My body jerks awake and my eyes pop open. I gasp for air, reaching my arms out for something, I don't know what. Every bad image begins to leave my mind and I can hardly remember what I was just dreaming about.

I'm unable to control my breathing, I need more and more air and I couldn't get enough. I sit up in my bed with my hands curled into a fist.

"What happened?" Colton asks, but his voice is drowned by my loud breathing. There's a clear image in my mind that I can't escape from, and it's fire. Fire is everywhere.

I don't respond to him, I can't; I let out several shaky breaths. He puts his hand to my forehead. "My god, you're sweating a ton, what happened?" His hand touches my arm and I jump in response.

"It was." I inhale. "Nick. He was..." I exhale. "He was dying."

"It was just a dream, Juliet. You're fine." He sits down next to me and wraps his arm around me. "Just close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Count to twenty in your head."

I can't breathe, every time I try to inhale, my lungs would contract. I can't get out any words nor speak.

But I count to ten in my head, trying to focus only on happy things instead of the fact that I'm hyperventilating. I relax my neck and wait until my breathing is restored.

Once I get up to eighty, I'm starting to feel normal again. Colton lets go of me and walks away. I sprawl across my bed feeling relieved. It's like being able to breathe normally after having the hiccups for a long period of time. It feels good to breathe.

I have never had a dream that significant or vivid before in my lifetime, I never really had nightmares and even if I did, they never caused a full out panic attack when I woke up.

Colton walks through the door with a towel and I don't even realize that he left the cabin.

"Here, place that on your forehead. It'll help you calm down." He instructs, handing it to me. It's freezing, but feels good against my hot skin.

"Thank you. I don't really know why that happened." My face is getting hotter with humiliation. I really don't want him to see me like that, he would probably use it against me in the future.

"It happens to everybody." He remarks as he packs a few things into his bag. "Traumatic events on Earth can give you nightmares, but in the Afterworld, trauma just goes away sort of. For most people at least. When you come back to the middle world, all of those side effects of trauma come back."

"Well you seem to be fine. You helped me calm down."

"That's because I have been here many times. The trauma never goes away but you learn how to deal with it better." Colton swings the backpack over his shoulder. "And I know how to manage panic attacks. It's all about the breathing."

"Have you had one before?" I prompt unsurely.

Colton turns to me right before we're about to leave. "An uncountable amount of times. Now let's go say goodbye to the kids."

It's early in the morning. The sun casts its dawn shadows over the village, and everything is a silhouette. It's still fairly chilly outside, but it feels good after my entire body was sweating.

"Are we going to eat breakfast with them?" I question after my stomach growls. 

"Nope. We don't have time. We have a specific time slot where we can enter the Underworld and we can't afford to miss it." He replies as we walk past the long table and into Emine and Arslan's house.

He knocks on the door and waits patiently.

"Mommy, it's Colton and Juliet!" A high pitched voice comes from inside.

The door opens to a tired looking Emine, her hair is a tangled mess. "Hey kiddos, going already?"

Colton nods. "Unfortunately, yes. I can't thank you enough for letting us stay here."

"Oh please, it's our pleasure. We always have room for two more. Just be safe with your travels, alright?" Arslan appears behind her, he looks just as tired as she does. The two children burst through the door and wrap their arms around Colton's legs.

"Do you really have to go?" Kara asks.

"I wish I could stay, but Juliet and I have a journey of our own to continue." He looks up at me and so does Kara.

"Do you need anything for your trip? Food?" Arslan inquires, prying Kara's arms from Colton.

"No, we won't need it where we're going." Colton states and fights a smile.

"Alright well come back anytime you need a place to stay, you are always welcome here." She grins at both of us.

"Thank you, for everything." Colton says, "if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. Make sure to thank Arslan again for saving my life all those years ago."

Emine nods. "He knows that you're thankful, Colton." She puts a hand on his shoulder. "But I will tell him anyway."

"Why can't you just live here?" Kara inquires, looking up at Colton.

"I wish I could, little one." He replies. She frowns.

"And it was a pleasure to meet you, Juliet. I hope to see you again sometime." Emine adds.

"It was great meeting you too. You guys have a wonderful family." I tell her.

It's true, both of her children are intelligent, they basically have a farm and are living off of their own crops. They are able to sustain themselves and make it look easy.

"Where are you two headed anyway?" Emine asks. I look at Colton for him to answer.

He's still trying to fight a smile, and his jaw is clenched. "Hell."

Only I can hear it, but he scratches his head a few times. "Just west to the museum, we're going to hike for a bit there too." He says and I nod along with him.

"Well I hope you two have fun." Emine smiles and the kids run back inside.

"We will." Colton sends me a smile.

It's going to be fun alright.