Story Draft

Alina:

I woke up heavier, as if the air had decided to keep a piece of me.
Something in me longed to escape, but it sank deeper instead, pressing on my chest while I tried to draw in air that no longer wanted to move. My breath was thick, aching. The room was small — too small — its white walls glowing like eggshells under a cruel light.

My vision wavered. The edges of things bent and straightened again. For a moment, the air rippled, as if it too was trying to breathe. The cold crawled through the room, though a strange warmth trembled on my shoulders.

I sat with my back against the wall — stone, maybe, or something colder. A thin gown clung to my skin. My hands rested beside my head, palms open, empty. My hair moved when nothing else did, a single thing still free enough to stir.

I didn’t remember how I came here, or whether I had ever left. 

...

Elias: 

“How many are there?!” The command tore out of me before I could catch my breath.

My boots struck heavy against the marble floor. Elysian Manor had always been my favorite place — though not for its ornate decor or its gothic polish. It was because this was where the boundary blurred. The one place where they and I still met.

The first guard stepped forward, still half-asleep. I could sense it. None of them were stable — not really — all they wanted was to go home and doze off. I knew this place lacked structure, but Sir Richardson had no better idea than to keep the subjects here. "For its proximity to Cove cave" he had said. 

When the basement door opened, the first scream rose. It echoed down the corridor, thin and strained, scraping for freedom.

“We found five, sir,” said Alister. Usually drunk, always under pressure, but loyal. I trusted him enough. We stepped forward together, closing in on the first cell. His arm shot out, blocking my path.

“That’s not all,” he said quietly.