Gifted (The Olympus Brotherhood #1)

It Was, Low, Slow, and Deep

Chapter 28

Freya

My head was pounding, every cell in my body was screaming for air. I could barely see.

Water! Trapped. The rescue!

The kid was gone. I hope he made it out. I pushed myself off the pen searching for a way out. I fumbled my way through the water searching for the hole I blasted through to save the kids. I kept fighting the urge to give up. My head felt like it was about to pop, I have to breathe. I have to!

For some reason it didn't hurt like I thought it would, it almost felt peaceful. I began to fall. I fell further and further into the darkness until it threatened to swallow me whole. Until the water ran cold freezing everything in place.

I screamed. It tore through me like a great shard of glass. I felt my eyes widen and pulse quicken, my heart thudding like a rock rattling in a box. Another scream came but it was Alaric he was just as, desperate, hurt, and terrified as I was. I could feel blood draining from my face, before I was even aware of making a conscious decision my legs were kicking furiously, I had no clue what to do.

I was trapped. And no was coming to save me. Save yourself!

Just...just do something! Anything!

This whole mission was my idea, I can do this.

I can!

Smoldering, fire licked the bottom of feet fire flickered and flared in a shower of sparks like a fountain. I had my fire element? I was melting through the ice.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Angry flames covered my body like a hungry serpent, devouring everything in its path. I burned a small hole into the sheet of ice. I could breathe again. I collapsed onto my side in the little space coughing and breathing hard. My flames died out as tears filled my eyes. I tried to push through the pain to sit up.

Everything hurt. Something was ripping out my insides.

"It's fucking Damon!" Alaric shouted in my head in pure agony.

I tried relighting my flames with minimum luck. Beggars can't be choosers. Staggering to stand up and holding my stomach tightly I reached out my hand and tried to melt through the ice.

Until I collapsed again but this time falling into the fetal position. Sharp pain lanced through my head and colorful spots flashed in front of my eyes, it felt like my whole body had been beaten and every movement caused some muscle or bone to ache.

I felt Damon's pain. He was dying. I needed help or all three of us would die.

I need... I need...

Five pressure points started to build near my stomach as if someone were digging their nails into my intestines. The pain started slowly and then all too quickly it was like five sharp knives were being stabbed into my stomach. I pulled my hand back to see blood was covering my palms. The same stabbing feeling happened again, and I cried out, "Ares! ARES! Help me! DAD!"

The knives continued to dig into me. My eyesight blurred, but not because tears were welling up. Everything became fuzzy; then I saw nothing at all. My consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a black and grey static. Throughout the inky space my heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in my ears, alongside my failing pleas for help. I felt my body drain away until finally all was black.

I was floating in darkness.

Being pulled down until I was standing in the middle of a city. But everything was empty. No people walked on the street, no sounds could be heard, the air was heavy with the smell of burnt flesh and smoke hung in a haze that partially obscured the blood-red sun. The wind had left the earth. The skies were barren, no birds flew or sang, and the heat beat down on me like the breath of hell.