Belittling Fate [BL]

Chapter Four | A Lifeless World

Chapter Four | A Lifeless World

After his awfully reckless actions that cost him not only his own life but the life of another - although Gabriel firmly believed that bastard deserved it - he had not expected to still have his consciousness intact and fully capable of cognitive thinking. After the countdown had ended, Gabriel hadn't felt much of anything during the explosion and he was thankful for that. But he didn't have the mind to think about that right then as his mind was debating if he had actually died or it was just him hallucinating because one of his experiments went haywire again.

However, that line of thought was soon dropped when Gabriel analysed his memories again; they were too detailed and he wasn't crazy enough to hallucinate an entire corrupt Empire getting rid of its sole hero and coming for his own life after he refused to cooperate. Though he had to admit that he did have some crazy streak in his head - who would risk their life if they could have very well prevented it? And not once but twice?

After establishing the absolutely useless fact that he might be a little crazy, Gabriel tried to focus on what he was feeling right then. He couldn't feel his body at all, so the thought of motor control was discarded; he only had his thinking to accompany him. At any point in his life, he might have considered it to be a blessing but in a place where there isn't anything but darkness and no hope to move or even see anything, it was more like a curse. As time agonizingly trickled away, Gabriel realized this fact.

He wouldn't even get the chance to start thinking before his thoughts would scatter and he wouldn't even remember what he was going to think about. This cycle was repetitive and unending; it made him think so much in a second that it was like he hadn't thought of anything at all. His mind started to lag and in a distant part of his mind that was still aware somehow, he knew it was dangerous. Soon enough, he started feeling as if he was drowning; in his thoughts, in his efforts, in his memories, or maybe actually in water?

He felt heavier and heavier, and the feeling of nausea was growing by the minute. Just when Gabriel felt like he was on the verge of losing the last sliver of his consciousness, he felt himself getting yanked in a jerking motion. The feeling of being pulled out of drowning was unexpectedly not pleasant; Gabriel might have hated it even more. And just when he felt like these horrible series of drowning and jerking would continue, he felt himself land and his eyes snapped open but closed again without taking his surroundings in.

He couldn't help but fall on his knees and cough, as if trying to expel all the water he accumulated in his lungs while drowning, but nothing came out; slowly his coughs turned into dry and slightly painful heaving. After a minute or two, his breaths calmed down and he tiredly opened his eyes to look around. His eyes widened as he looked around in utter astonishment, "Holy shit...," his voice trailed away as his blue eyes scanned the open ground that seemed utterly bland and tasteless.

Everything around him was in different shades of grey. It was like all kinds of colours had been sucked out of this place and was left utterly lifeless. He was sitting on the ground- no, on a racing track - and there were teens in a crouching position around him as if waiting to race. The track was split into lanes by white lines - the only other colour besides grey - and Gabriel stood in one of those lanes. He looked around and found people standing a few meters away from the racing track on either side. They were either sitting on the ground or standing - all of them were smiling and seemed excited about something. Some even held cameras in their hands, most-likely to record the race that was going to happen.

But within a few seconds, Gabriel noticed that everything seemed to be oddly still. The trees he could see had dark grey leaves and they didn't ruffle as there was no wind, the people stood frozen - as if in a still black and white picture. Gabriel's heart felt increasingly uncomfortable and he looked up, hoping to see something that could comfort him from his eerily still and silent surroundings, but even that attempt at comfort yielded no results as even the sky was a light shade of grey; the sun hung in the wide and unpleasantly bleak sky, casting no heat; only a sickly feeling emerged.