Never Without You │ BOTW modern AU fanfic

Already dead

Malice's POV

I walk down the street, not sure where I'm going. Some homeless guy is following me around but I ignore his vulgar remarks. He's offering to pay me for some action but I know he doesn't have the money. 

I keep walking.

It's getting dark quickly. I won't find shelter in time. It's pitch black within seconds and the old man is gone. Everyone is gone. I panic. I know Ganondorf is coming for me. I feel his presence.

I want to run but my legs don't move. As if frozen to the spot, I can only move in slow motion. I can't even turn my head to see if he's close yet! My heart is racing because I know this is my end! I shut my eyes. I don't want to see his face.

A hand grips my shoulder!

I jolt awake and instantly draw my knife in defense! I'm not going out without a fight!

Confused, I scan the room in panic. Where am I? How did I get here? Didn't I fall asleep in an alley near the beach? I have no clue what's going on but there's someone else in the room with me and I know I will die if I don't fight!

Voices echo through my clouded mind. I can't see straight, just blurs of faces left and right. The drugs are still in effect. 

Suddenly I'm on top of someone and I don't hesitate to cut deep into the body below me. Somehow, I hit my head on the ground, numb to the pain. I'm back on my feet when anxiety strangles me. Something is crushing me from all sides! Where am I! My chest doesn't have room to breathe. Where did that person go! As if wearing a straitjacket, I can't escape! Where did my knife go! Help!

My lips move but I don't hear my own voice clearly. It blends with the echoes of other voices. I don't know what I'm saying or what anyone else is saying. My eyes are open but I can't see anything. My fingertips are numb. It's like I'm already dead. 

I'm already dead.

I'm already dead.

I'm... Dead.

I let out my last breath. Stop fighting and let myself sink deeper and deeper into darkness.

✤ ✤ ✤

I'm waking up slowly. Am I still alive? I keep my eyes shut. I'm scared to open them but I know I have to.

For the first time in days, I feel lucid. Not only do I feel more present in the world, but I feel a lot of pain in my body which tells me that I'm wide awake now and that the drugs have worn off. I don't know how much of the past couple of days was a dream or reality but I know I'm no longer stuck in a nightmare. Question is, am I still in the alley? Did I ever get attacked? And if so, was it him?

I blink against the painfully bright light, my head throbbing in rhythm with my pounding heart.

Not moving my head, I take a moment to scan what's in front of me. I'm laying in a bed, I think, facing a window. No bars. That's a good start. I don't recognize the walls or the curtains or the sheets. Also a good sign. And there's a sofa chair in the corner and a potted plant on the nightstand. I'm definitely not at Ganondorf's house. I'd knock on wood if I had it in me to move my hand right now. 

I try to stay calm. This place doesn't look like a jail cell or hospital bed. Where the hell am I?

Confusion and disorientation haze my mind as I struggle to piece together the events leading up to this. I feel frozen, just like I did in my dream. I try to sit up, but gravity feels ten times too heavy and I'm unable to move even just by an inch. It's like my body isn't communicating with my mind. It's just lifelessly lying there.