𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 | 𝗞𝗮𝘇 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗿

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻

ೃ࿔*:･✸⋆➶ ✧

       Fluttering her eyes open, she winced at the lights that attacked her retinas, coughing slightly as she tried to focus onto the surroundings. Immediately everything came rushing back to her and she scanned her eyes around the room, noticing the rest of the group were sprawled around the room. The sound of someone yelling made her weakly try push her body off the ground, trying to focus on whoever it was, it sounded like they were trying to communicate with someone.

       As she focused, she recognised the voice as Wylan, seemingly trying to speak to Tolya. A single glance at the boy made her realise he wasn't going to be responding anytime soon. The words were itching to leave her lips but she just couldn't let them out, her mind was working at a million miles per hour but her body wouldn't cooperate, it was like she just couldn't.

       A groan left her lips, flickering her eyes over to Kaz's form, a feeling of nausea creeping up as she stared at him, expecting him to get up and say it was a part of his plan, he had a plan. His chest was barely moving and she had to keep staring at him to see it move, checking he was okay.

       Through a small gap he'd managed to create in the door, Wylan noticed this movement and recognised the body as Anya. "You're alive." He spoke breathlessly, thankful he had managed to communicate with someone.

       "Barely." Anya retorted, barely able to push her body up. "We've been poisoned, we're dying."

        "Throwing up, or hallucinations?" Wylan asked, his gaze focused on something outside.

       A brief pause followed as Anya thought back to what she'd just been doing, the feeling of Kaz's hands against her skin. Shaking her head tightly, she looked at the boy through the small gap.

"Hallucinations." She answered, hoping he had an answer to this because she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her body upright. "There was this orangey-pink vapour in the air and then everyone just dropped."

       "Uh, the Datura Meloxia." Wylan mumbled to himself, flickering his gaze to the butterflies and flowers he had been marvelling moments prior. Anya watched as he disappeared for a brief moment, returning with something in his hands. She crawled towards the door, wincing as her slightly torn hands made contact with the floor. "Take this, eat it."

       Anya slumped her body against the door, reaching to the gap to grab what he had been handing her. Looking at the small butterfly pressed into her grip she furrowed her brows and turned her head to look at him through the gap. "What?" She whispered, looking at it curiously.

       "It might sound strange, but the list toon doesn't kill them, so I think they might be the antidote." Wylan answered as he desperately begged it to work. "Please, just trust me."

       "If I die, it's on you tiny." Anya told him, wincing as she pressed the butterfly into her mouth, gagging from the taste that exploded in her mouth. When she finished chewing, she coughed and groaned, pulling her body around towards the gap. "Wylan, give me four more."

        Wylan hurried off towards the flower and one by one he handed the girl the butterfly's. First, she pressed the butterfly into Inej's mouth, using her hand to press against the girl's jaw to force her to bite down. As soon as Inej woke up, she briefly explained that Wylan had found something to fight against the poison. While Inej woke up Tolya and began explaining it to him, Anya found herself approaching Kaz's form with the butterfly in hand.

       Crouching down beside his body, she pressed the butterfly into his mouth and he immediately fought against it. She frowned, silently hoping he wouldn't hate her for doing this. Her hands moved to press against his jaw, forcing it closed as she mumbled wake up, desperately begging him to open his eyes and start insulting her, she'd much prefer that.

        In Kaz's hallucination, he saw her, a slight flicker of her face as she begged him to wake up. While his eyes fluttered open, he looked at her, his eyes softening as he relaxed into her hands, thankful she'd saved him from drowning. Within a second, that had all gone and he suddenly became aware of her hands touching against his skin. His expression hardened as he fought against her grip, the girl immediately letting go and moving away from him.

        "I'm sorry." Anya whispered so only he could hear as he gave him a moment to prepare himself, snap back to reality.

       Her eyes moved over to Jesper, noticing they'd managed to get him awake and he, alike the rest of them, seemed shocked that they'd actually made it out alive. They were all slightly disoriented, trying to separate reality from the hallucination despite how hard it was to focus.

        "Is everyone alive?" Wylan called out, looking through the gap cautiously, hoping that they were all okay.

      "We're alive." Inej confirmed as he let out a relived breath.

      Anya's focus remained on Kaz, who seemed to be the most disoriented, his breathing heavy as his gaze flickered around the room. She could briefly hear the others shocked that Wylan had saved them, by others she supposed it was Jesper, but she wasn't focused on them. She was wondering how she was meant to explain to Kaz that she didn't mean to do that, it was the only way she could think for him to wake up. Seeing him like that scared her and she knew she had to wake him up, no matter what.

       "I had the most incredible hallucination." Jesper announced and her eyes flickered towards his. "Did anyone else get lulled into a comforting sense of joy?"

       "I didn't see anything." Kaz replied, his voice quieter than before but still holding that same harshness it seemed to always possess.

       "Me neither." Anya added, her eyes momentarily landing on Kaz's before they moved back to the sharpshooter. Inej noticed the small exchange and noted that she should ask about it later, preferably when they weren't in another near death experience.

       "All right, what's the plan?" Tolya asked, looking over at Kaz for some support.

       "You said there was another heartbeat in the house." Kaz began, his head turned to look at the boy, noticing him nod in confirmation.

       "Southeast corner, the heartbeat's weak." Tolya explained what he had sensed when they first arrived.

       Limping with his cane in hand, Kaz looked over at the door in front of him. "I suspect she built all of this to protect that heart." He told the group, his back turned to them. "Along with a different way in to get to it."

      The schemer was scheming, suddenly everything was back to normal.

ೃ࿔*:･✸⋆➶ ✧
Words~1146.
{edited:no}