Page 1 of Dead Wrong

A warmth like I’d never felt before. A weighted blanket layered over my skin like swaddling. Or perhaps a cocoon of sorts, preparing me for a metamorphosis, an evolution to strip away all of my flaws, transitioning me into a flawless nubile state.

Yes. That was it. I would be made anew.

How long had I been here, wrapped in this comforting warmth? A day? A week? An eternity? All of them seemed likely answers in the crushing darkness.

There was no viable way for me to gauge the passing of time, as even my lungs had fallen still in this state. My heart rested motionless in the cavity of my chest—which most would find alarming—but the weight bearing down on me smothered any anxieties before they could seize my mind.

A voice, tenor and familiar in its cadence, buzzed around my ear. The words didn’t land cleanly but muddled themselves into nonsensical mutterings that grated against my nerves. Irritation bloomed in my tranquil mind, ripples distorting a still pond.

Who would disturb such blissful peace with their aimless ramblings?

Yet, the intruder’s voice continued, even after I had exhausted all efforts to ignore it. The volume only increased until it was no longer a bothersome insect flitting about my ear but a thunderous rumbling that rattled my bones.

I would never know solace again while this damnable noise droned on. Something had to be done.

Pulling against the weight of my limbs, I struggled to free myself from the invisible cocoon, but my restraints kept me immobilized, locked in place under a warmth that now grew stifling. Another rumbling wave of noise jolted me, and my lungs inflated to the point of pain. Breathing through the smothering blanket was nearly impossible, yet I gasped and wheezed, forcing air through the tight mesh that covered my lips.

This wasn’t right. I wasn’t supposed to feel pain. Pain was something that I’d left behind in this new form of mine. Did it finally catch up to me here, pursuing me into the darkness like a wild beast stalking its prey?

A pressure against my chest drew my attention next, increasing till my ribs groaned, threatening to crack. That damnable voice sounded in my ears once more, closer than ever. Words slowly began to seep through like drips of honey.

“—until it stops… even if we do… Lenny won’t be found… going till we get somewhere….”

Recognition flared in my mind, igniting dormant connections like lightning hitting brush. I knew that voice. I was certain of it. A character from a life before the cocoon. From before I was nothing but darkness and absence. Another wave of searing strength and my limbs moved, muscles coiling against the restraints until they cried out.

“Coming to… doesn’t react well… for most it’s jarring….”

The incessant voice was driving me mad! My fingers curled at my side, nails digging into the meat of my palms. My lungs inflated once more, pushing out the heavy darkness that filled my chest. Just as I tried to locate my tongue to voice my distaste for this agony, a burst of color exploded into my vision. Clouds of shapeless purples and greens swirled over me, replacing the colorless void. My muscles tensed again, an oppressive pattering rhythm battering my ears.

What was that infernal pulsing?

It took an endless collection of time to realize it was my heartbeat hammering away.

How bizarre it felt in place of the stillness.

“Breathe,” the tenor voice commanded, hot breath nipping at my ear. “Breathe, Tobias. You’re almost through it.”

Another gasp ripped through me as my body contorted, a fiery heat rushing through my veins. I’d never known such pain. It was as if every cell in my body was being ripped apart, only to be hastily stitched together again with jagged needles. The dancing colors slowly faded from my vision, replaced by a dull red glow that flared with each beat of my aching heart.

A sudden lurch in my stomach forced my body into motion, rolling onto my side as stinging bile choked me, and I wretched.

Strong hands gripped my shoulders, holding me in place as I heaved a second time. An acrid bitterness coated my tongue as I negotiated another agonizing breath.

“Is it always this messy?”

A second intruder to my peace. The higher pitch wasn’t familiar to me like the tenor was.

“Yes,” rumbled the lower voice. “My magic is starting to take hold. It shouldn’t be much longer now.”

“What a relief. He’s getting shit all over my rug?—”

Fresh pain radiated through me in a wave, swallowing the voice in a dull, rushing sound. Pins and needles stabbed at my dormant limbs, the once pleasant numbness replaced with static discomfort as my heart continued to hammer, pumping white-hot agony throughout my body.

A low, guttural moan welled in my chest, escaping through clenched teeth.

“Tobias,” the familiar voice rang in my ears. “Stay with me.”

Tobias. The name lingered, bringing with it a sense of revelation. I was Tobias before the smothering darkness took me. A life that I couldn’t recall through the crushing darkness. But if that’s who I was before, would the same still be true after I woke?

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