Read To Your Broken Bones (I Raise You, Irony) :: EP 5- Brainscrambled

Dylan's grip on the beast's nostrils was firm as it began to flail from underneath him, screaming and thrashing its head like a maniac. He got whiplash from it but only tensed his muscles further, not to risk slipping.

Still thrashing about, it started moving. Its bounds were erratic and fumbled, switching from writhing like a rodent to full-body lunging like a rattlesnake. Its furred, boney tail began to whip around the air, making an awful zipping sound. Dylan's eyes had clasped shut, his feet slipping from underneath him and his underbody slamming harshly against the creature's skull.

Harshly squirming, the creature began to let out a guttural roar. Its throat and skull shivering from the sheer vibrations of its howl, the sound pierced at Dylan's ear's with a deafening ringing.

At this point, it had become difficult for Dylan to keep count, let alone think. The noise and violent movements had given him vertigo, and his heart was beating so aggressively he could feel it at the base of his throat.

Dylan's eyes shot open when the countdown was over, loosening his grip entirely on the beast. Immediately, he was sent flying off the creature, his jaw hitting the gym floor with a sickening smack. The metallic taste of blood stung in his mouth, his head throbbing with pain and dizziness as he attempted to stand. His jaw fell agape, and he choked out a splat of blood, the base of his throat still pulsating from the aggravation of his stressed heartbeat.

He lifted himself limply, barely making an effort to turn his body and face the creature, who was almost entirely unharmed as it steadied itself. His gaze began to stiffen to a stare, and he started to wonder if he had messed something up. He was confident he'd counted 5 seconds, so they had to have 'leaped.' He looked around, noting the regular appearance of the facility, which confirmed that they had both 'jumped' over.

The harsh thumping in his throat returned, his panic setting back in, and fear seeped into his limbs and caused them to tremble. His body had turned to face the creature fully as it began to come to, and all Dylan thought was, "This isn't supposed to happen."

As soon as the creature jerked its head to lock eye contact with Dylan, he turned on his heels and sprinted. He had body-slammed the gym doors as he forced himself into the hall at full speed. But, even as he'd moved past the gym door, aggressive vertigo and blunt-force trauma to his head caught up with him. Dylan felt an overwhelming heat in his forehead, his muscles going limp, and he collapsed on the hallway floor. It was as if his brain was doing a hard reset, and his consciousness began slipping away. His fear had consumed him now as he lay utterly physically and mentally null, feeling the creature's footsteps on the floor as it approached. He couldn't even think but fear still pumped purely through his overworked heart.

It was only a few moments before he could feel something sharp gnashing at his legs and lower back. He blacked out nearly half a second later, his muscles numbing along with him. It wasn't like he would die anyway, but whatever had gnashed at him would probably hurt later, regardless.

When Dylan awoke, he leaned against the wall of the same hallway he'd passed out. His head was still throbbing with vertigo, and his jaw, side, and legs were bleeding. The creature was laid before him like a disgusting gorey carpet, battered and beaten up as it began to melt into a sand-like substance. He observed the dissipation of the creature silently, his hand lifting and slowly rubbing his temples to try and soothe his dizziness. Finally, the numbness in his body began to fizz away, and he flexed the fingers in his free hand.

"Uh…So can you explain now?" a voice asked to the left of Dylan, scaring him for a moment as it first spoke. He could immediately identify the speaker and how irritating their stutters had become. "Dear fucking god, Markus, you scared the shit out of me, jesus christ…." Dylan cursed at him, dropping his hand and turning to face Markus. Markus's expression seemed sour, and he crossed his arms, "I've been here the whole time…? I mean, you literally said you'd explain once you were done, so?"

Dylan hadn't expected the attitude but seemed a bit confused at how lax Markus was about this, "Ok, first off, it wasn't ME who said that, but holy fuck I just can not get into that garbage fire of nonsense right now," Dylan huffed, pushing himself off the wall and approaching Markus at a staggering pace, "Secondly, are you with the fucking feds or just a schizotypical sociopath? Cause that's a severe underreaction for your presumably first time seeing the real-world equivalent of a hell beast."

Markus furrowed his brow, "Excuse me, but you're lecturing me about attitude? You… ugh, you literally said you'd explain it! And what does that even mean, 'it wasn't you who said that'? That makes no sense!" He exclaimed, his frustration growing. Dylan's dizziness had now settled into a mild migraine. The wounds on his body began to throb with pain, "Fuck man… ok… ok, ok, ok…fuck man, I'll just give you my number or something, cause I'm not gonna lie, I kinda wanna go to the ER right about now," Dylan's tone softened as he started to realize his condition, a nervous smile making its way onto his face.

Markus' expression cringed with worry now, his posture shifting as his frustration seemed replaced with concern, "Uhh…yeah, no, you can… give me your number later, let's get you to the hospital…" and with that statement, Dylan was being ushered out of the hallway by Markus. Dylan didn't fight back, mainly because this had now become one of the rare occasions where he was worried about his wounds.

CONTROLCENTER: Sys. ~ New message!

ID: Gud job, Dylan! U hit a new record! Passing out twice in front of you're not-so-secret admirer WHILE looking like a sexy masculine bloody badass? Truly a YA dream!

dyln..darko: shut up

ID: >:I jeez ok loser go back to being depressed or whatever

dyln..darko: i will

ID: ?

dyln..darko: what the fuck do you want

ID: No thx? For saving u? From dying?

dyln..darko: no fuck off

ID: ok :[

CONTROLCENTER: Sys. ~ USER;[dyln..darko] offline

ID: >:] hehehe my evil planzzz my revengeeee it beckonzzz muahahaha

CONTROLCENTER: Sys. ~ USER:[dyln..darko] online

dyln..darko: are you fucking stupid