Project: Neverbound (A Double Life AU fanfic)

24 - The Impossible

Poem reading created and provided by roweterpsichore
https://youtu.be/5UoPzqS5Q1o?si=oRdHbfOuS-ys60f_

A future gave signs of a never ending tale
Of a mortal with a life that was twice as frail
Loving where love was not
Living where peace was fought
A mortal with will that, even in spirit, would prevail

But could such a mortal be born
When death was a rose's petals and thorns?
To make the wrong answer right
The dark must be light
And so the Impossible was formed

Impulse's heart sank further into his chest as he watched a sputter of blood fly out from Zedaph's mouth when he coughed. Just a moment ago they were sitting on the otherwise empty grass near the tree line of a forest, talking and laughing with each other until the goat hybrid suddenly doubled over in pain.

"Must just be my soulmate-" he'd wheezed out not a second before the hand he held over his mouth was covered in blood. Impulse could recall now that all 3 of them had soulbounds, though at the time, none of them knew who they were. They just knew they would get random pains for seemingly no reason.

Impulse held Zed as he fell limp and the brunette started to panic, desperately looking around and hoping someone would be there, but to no avail. He fumbled with the phone in his pocket, his shaking hands having trouble with dialing 911, but when he eventually got it, it just... rang. No one picked up. He tried again, still nothing. He tried it three more times until he could barely hold the phone anymore, much less try putting in the number again.

His breath started to catch in his throat. He felt a pain on his back, like someone had picked him up and threw him down carelessly as if he were a toy. It sure didn't help his rising anxiety, especially when Zedaph's soulbound was the reason the goat hybrid was currently dying, but at least it didn't last very long.

Warm tears streaked down his face as what little movement he still felt from the blonde slowed to a stop, and his limp body sat in his arms motionless. Impulse could hear his heartbeat ringing in his ears, begging him to do something but unsure of what to do. So he just screamed. He screamed until his breath ran out and his throat burned harsher than dry wood, his last hopes falling in the thought that someone would hear him. Maybe the echo of his voice would carry to town and get a person's attention.

He heard something from behind and turned his head, his heart lightening its weight for a split moment thinking that his call was being answered. Instead, he was met with a bone-shattering jab to the side, his whole body recoiling far across the grass. He held himself in pain as he looked up to see a full-blown Watcher, a pair of wings on its face and back each. It picked up Zedaph for a moment, and upon realizing he was already gone, dropped him back down onto the ground.

At the time, he was just confused and scared. But now he recognized those bright green eyes and threatening scowl; it was the same expression it showed him when it almost killed him at the fountain.

Whether he knew the damn thing or not back then didn't matter to him though, what mattered is that it was clearly aggressive and he had to get away from it.

Impulse was shot a fair distance away, so he scrambled to his feet and took off into the woods, still badly limping from being hit. He stopped after a while, pressing his back against the bark of a tree and listening carefully for any signs that he was followed. When nothing but silence passed for a while, he took out his phone again, this time calling someone he knew would pick up.

While the amount of relief that filled him when the ringing stopped early was more than he'd ever felt in his life, it didn't overpower the fear that was still blazing in his blood. He couldn't conjure up any words to say, he didn't even know where to begin. So his friend began for him.