Impulse

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Knock knock." Gemma raps her knuckles against the hollow dry-wall.

*NARRATOR'S POV*

Louis looks up at her filled with dread, mounting his nerves and arteries like hot mercury. He curlsup even more as he tries to disappear into the wall. Maybe she's just taking a guess? How can shepossibly see through all the blackness engulfing them? 

"I can see you, you know." She sounds bored, stepping out of the obscenely narrow passageway toalmost crush Louis' vermin friend's tail. 

He remains quiet and motionless. His body is freezing and he's starting to stiffen in all his joints andmuscles where the cold got to be too much. He wasn't a space heater - nor did he have someonewho was present - so he began the terrible process of being chilled to death.First, his teeth chattered.The cold got to the calcium-rich molars via his sharp intakes of air, letting it heat up in his mouthfor a long time before exhaling. He didn't want that much cold air so he took a few breaths.

 "It took me-" Gemma takes up crouching in front of him, staring at his nude state with eyes ofdisgust. "-a whole year to find this spot. Wanna know why?" 

Next, his ears and nose turned frosty red. He hated the cold here and wondered why suddenly it wasso abundant. Even his eyelids got heavy, his eyeballs drying up and burning when he blinked.

 "It's not meant to be found." She whispers to him, some voice lurking beneath her own and makingit scratchy. 

Louis turns his head and meets her line of vision. It's as cold and twisted as he feels inside. Hisfingers and toes were surely numb now, unable to act on command from the nervous system. Thatrat was about him again, but this time it offered warmth so he didn't care when it found a homeagainst his abdomen. 

"Look." She pinches Louis' waist and he's too close to shutting down his system to flinch. "Look upat the heart and soul of this house." 

He's made to look up by the harshness of her thumb jerking his chin in the direction she aims. Asound meant to be a scream is born as such but dies a low gasp in his throat when suddenly lightfills the room and he's staring at writing on the wall.Writing in blood on the wall because it'd red and dripping even after so many years, decadesof having time to dry up. Louis' scream gears up but Gemma smothers it with her hand, still smilingas rivulets of red dripped down onto the floor.'

It was better in Hell.'

Following the red droplets as they gravitated towards the floor, Louis' gaze falls on the source of theblood. At least a dozen rats lay split, cut and possibly chewed open by a hole in the wall too big to be their own home. The blood is definitely bound by some spell, for it doesn't stop rolling untilLouis feels it strike his feet. 

"How cute." Gemma touches the blood, rolling it between her fingers.

 The rat that followed Louis was not trying to harass him. It was just as terrified as him and soughtsafety in a creature bigger than it was. The rat turned out to be much smaller, a white mouse withlong pink tail. It burrowed into Louis' tummy without harming him, squeaking when Gemma caughtit.

 Louis used what strength he had left to take the creature back, protecting it in the cradle of hispalms away from her.Is this what death felt like? Was it finally over? Louis hopes so at this point. It's too exhausting to goon when every move he made meant a new enemy, a new trap to death.Edward was unhappy with him. Harry was sick of trying to help him. His mother is dead. His fatherwon't miss him after he wakes up and realises whose fault it is that his coma came about. Niallresented him as a friend.