Page 17 of Broken Bonds

Dressed in my usual nightwear of t-shirt and sweatpants, I sit on the edge of the bed and pull the right leg of my pants up, revealing my prosthetic leg. I gaze down at it and rub a hand along the aluminum thigh. This is another reason my eagerness to let Dr. Pyrrhos take things further is rather shocking. I’m usually very careful about letting my potential partners knew well in advance about my leg, because I know how much it can bother some people.

With a grimace, I go about removing it and setting it to the side so I can crawl into bed. My leg isn’t something I readily talk about, and I’m so good at walking with it that people don’t even guess that I have it unless they see me in shorts…or naked. I rarely wear shorts, though, and I’m very picky about who I get naked with. He had no idea that I have a prosthetic, but I was shocked that he seemed genuinely unbothered by it.

Still, it’s so weird. I’m usually so careful. I’m admittedly pretty self-conscious about my missing leg, though I’m very used to not having it now. At that moment, as if to remind me that I’ll never be totally free of the pain of losing it, the top of my thigh that’s left pulses with a shooting pain that travels to my hip and up my spine. Suddenly, it feels as though my leg has returned, but as a mass of aching muscle. I get these phantom pains pretty regularly, but it doesn’t make them any more bearable to deal with.

Flinching, I curl up and bite my lip to ride through it. These instances never last very long, and after a few moments, the pain begins to fade and I’m able to relax. I release a shaky breath and close my eyes, determined to go to sleep. Before I can go to sleep, however, my mind wanders back to Dr. Pyrrhos as it is no longer burdened with the pain of my phantom limb.

I press my face into the pillow, as if I can somehow hide from my mental image of him. I need to get over this. There’s no future with him. No matter how amazing the sex was, my time here is short and I can’t afford to get involved with anyone that will distract me from my goals. It takes effort, but I finally manage to push my thoughts of him away long enough that I can actually go to sleep. As I begin to drift into unconsciousness, however, that sexy nerd manages to slip right back into my unguarded mind.

Flames dance all around me. I stand in the middle of them as they form a large circle, as if corralling me. Gazing around, I try to figure out where I am. Is this still the facility? Judging by the height of the flames, it seems too cavernous to be the outpost. But, if that’s not where I am, then what is this place? And how did I get here?

I can’t see anything past the flames. It’s all darkness, and there’s no sign that anyone else is there that I can see.

“Hello?” I call. “Can someone help me?”

There’s no urgency in my voice, however, which surprises me. You’d think, standing in a ring of fire in a place I don’t recognize, I’d be freaking out a lot more. Yet, I’m oddly calm as I try to figure out how to escape my circle. I realize with mild surprise that I should feel a lot hotter than I do. It’s definitely warm with the fires, but not nearly as hot as it should be. That’s rather odd, but then again, I’m not sure what about this situation isn’t odd.

I don’t receive any response, but then, a shadowy figure appears in the flames right in front of me. Frowning, I step forward, curious as to who it is…and why they aren’t screaming in agony.

“Are you okay?” I call, yet still I feel somewhat deadened inside. Almost as if I’m numb.

The figure doesn’t say a word but moves close until I can finally make out their face.

It’s Dr. Pyrrhos.

My eyes widen in surprise and my heart beats just a little harder.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him. He doesn’t answer me, and I notice the flames, which had just moments before appeared to have no effect on him, begin licking at his pant legs. The fabric begins to burn away.

I feel a strum of panic in my chest. Can’t he feel that? Why isn’t he moving?

“Dr. Pyrrhos,” I say, that flicker of anxiety building up inside me, pushing me out of my numbed state, “your pants…you’re on fire. You’re going to burn!”

He still doesn’t move, and now the fire has started crawling up his leg and eating away at his flesh. Terror pulses through me now and I try to lurch forward, but it’s as if my feet have been cemented to the floor. I can’t move. I can’t get to him.

I can’t save him.

“Dr. Pyrrhos!” I cry. “Please! Get out of there!”

He just continues to stare at me. I can’t really tell if he even sees me, or if he’s stuck in some sort of trance. Frantically, I wave my arms, trying to snap him out of it. Nothing. I can’t tell if he’s even blinking.

The fire is up to his torso at this point, and there’s nothing I can do. I shout his name over and over again, but it doesn’t seem to register with him. He’s not screaming in pain like he should be. In fact, his expression is almost serene as the fire completely consumes him.

“Aleixo!” I shriek as hot tears run down my cheeks. It’s too late, though. The flames die down enough for me to see that all that’s left of him is a pile of ash.

I jerk away with a startled cry and sit up in my bed. It takes me a moment to orient myself enough that I recognize my room.

A dream.

It was all just a dream.

I release a shaky breath as I press my hand to my forehead. What the hell was that? I never remember my dreams, but the image of Dr. Pyrrhos burning right before my eyes seems seared into my mind. Blinking, I realize that my cheeks are damp with tears.

This is so strange. I don’t understand why this dream shook me so bad. I know it’s not real, so why am I still trembling?

Aleixo

Idiot! How could I be so stupid?

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