The Unkillable Girl - [ONC 2024]

10. Dying again

Amelia continued to stagger along the sidewalk. Her steps were gradually getting shorter and slower as she lost more and more blood. But as her body grew weaker, her determination only grew stronger.

She just had to force herself to walk the half a mile back to her apartment, then she would be able to die in peace. But that would only be a temporary condition. She knew she would soon be brought back to life thanks to her mysterious gift.

Though knowing it was only going to be temporary didn't make things any easier. Slowly bleeding to death was not a pleasant experience. Not only was she feeling lightheaded and dizzy, but she also had to deal with well-meaning strangers who kept stopping them.

She was so short of breath that it was hard to speak. Instead she was having to rely on Darius to do the explaining. But unfortunately, he wasn't being very helpful. He kept agreeing with them, and tried to get her to change her mind about calling an ambulance.

It was a relief when they finally reached her apartment. Darius opened the door for her, and Amelia staggered inside. She made it as far as her couch before she collapsed. She was feeling exhausted and sleepy, but felt like she should fight that feeling and try to stay awake instead.

Darius paced around the apartment with a worried expression on his face. "I really think you should let me call 911," he said.

"I told you, I'll be fine," Amelia replied slowly.

Just breathing was becoming too much effort now. Amelia felt like she was almost drowning. Gasping for breath while she was being strangled from inside.

In Amelia's limited experience of the different ways to die, this was definitely the most unpleasant.

"Please let me do something to help," said Darius. "Have you got a first aid kit?"

Amelia tried to speak, but she just coughed instead. She instinctively brought her hand up to cover her mouth. But when she moved it away again, she found it was covered in her blood.

"This is too much," Darius whined. "I need to call an ambulance before it's too late."

"Don't," Amelia was fighting her body to get the words out. "Promise you won't call them after I die."

"I won't."

Amelia could tell he was lying. He kept shifting his gaze, and was avoiding looking at her in the eyes.

"Swear it," she said.

"I swear on my mom's life."

"No. Swear on someone you actually care about," she said.

"Bitch," Darius said, and tried to look insulted, though he wasn't very convincing. "I do... well... I mean, I don't actually hate my mother."

"Swear on RuPaul’s life instead," Amelia said.

"Aahhh," Darius gasped, and put his hand over his heart. "Too far."

Amelia started to laugh, but it quickly devolved into another coughing fit.

Eventually, she got her breath back. "I'm serious though, don't call anyone. You got to promise me.

Darius winced and groaned very dramatically, almost like he had been stabbed in the heart with an icicle. "Urgh, fine. I won't."

"Good."

Amelia sighed with relief. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She felt lighter now, almost like she could float away.

"I think I'm going now," she said, quietly. "Hold my hand. I don't want to be alone."

Darius quickly sat down on the couch next to her and gripped her hand tightly. Amelia squeezed back. Something felt different this time. It wasn't that she was scared of dying exactly, but for some reason she felt fear. Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen that was confusing her brain, she wondered.