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I see the stupid throne I sat in all those years and recoil. I have to get out of here. I decide to do precisely what I did the last time I got out. Hopefully, it works again.
I open my eyes hazily and glance around the room of the shack I first woke up in. I quickly try to get up and wince as pain jolts through my arm. I look down at my broken wrist. Oh shit. I forgot my wrist was broken. Why didn’t he fix it if The Demon took over my body?
I cradle my wrist to my body, making sure not to hit it on anything, and stand up. Looking around the damp room, I try to get my bearings. Fucking hell, I’m still trapped.
I stagger towards the dirty window on the other side of the room and try to push it open. It doesn’t budge. I look around the room for something to stand on to get a better view of it and find a crate in the corner. I can stand on this to get to the window. I drag it across the room with my good arm and place it in front of the window, pulling myself up to look through it.
Looking outside, I see the same view from before. With the extra height, this crate gives me, I can see the ground correctly. I grab the handle and open it, but it’s rusted shut. I look around the room again for something strong enough to break the glass, and my eyes land on a wooden log against the far wall.
I hop down off the crate and walk over to it. This log looks disgusting. I grab it with my good hand and bring it back to the window. “Okay, I need to shield my face so that I don’t get shards of glass in my eyes and go blind, Alyx,” I say to myself. I climb back onto the crate, cover my face with my bad arm, and smash the window with one full swing.
The window breaks into pieces, shards of glass flying everywhere and attempting to shield my face only half works. My eyes are safe, but a few pieces of glass cut my cheek, and now I have blood running down my face. I wipe my cheek off on my shoulder and look back at the window.
I pull my sleeve down to cover my hand so I can move the rest of the shards out of the way from the now-shattered window pane. I grab hold of the ledge with both hands and wince as my broken wrist makes contact. I’m not going to be able to use that. I move my arm further out and use my forearm instead of my hand to help lift me. Fuck that hurts, but I have to get out of here. A scream escapes my lips as I push myself up onto the ledge and crawl out the window. I collapse on my back, looking up at the sky and clutching my wrist. I think I’m going to throw up.
I close my eyes to recollect my thoughts and take a few deep breaths. A few minutes pass, and I open my eyes to take in my surroundings. Right, let’s see where the fuck I am.
I’m in a field surrounded by tall, gloomy trees. Great, so, in the middle of nowhere. I looked behind me and looked at where I was trapped for god knows how long. How long was I trapped inside my head? I don’t know. Ten years? Twenty years? Hell, sixty years? I need some clarification. I don’t know where I am, and the air around me feels… different.
I need to walk. Find a way out of here. Wherever here is. I pull myself up and stand, wincing with pain. I need to do something with this fucking wrist. I take a look around, seeing multiple paths to choose from. Each one heads in a different direction. Why are there so many paths? I choose the path to my right and head towards the opening.
The wind is cold yet warm at the same time. This air feels weird. It didn’t feel like this the last time I was out here. The sun is seeping through the cracks of the trees as I walk through the entrance, blinding me. That sun feels fantastic, but it’s a little too bright. I hear birds in the crevices of the trees. Some are loud, some are quiet.
I hear a rustling in the distance. Wait. What was that? It sounds like it’s getting closer. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I stare at the location of the sound. Is it dangerous? Is it going to hurt me?
Suddenly, the rustling stopped. Wait. Why did it stop? As quick as lightning, a doe jumps out of the bushes and into the path.
“Jesus Christ!” I yell, startled. “You scared me!”
The doe abruptly stops and stares at me. Why is it staring at me? It tips its head back like it is apologising to me. Taking one last look in my direction, the doe bounds off in the opposite direction it came.
Okay. That was strange.
I carry on down the winding path. My wrist is throbbing, my face hurts from the glass, and my body is weak from hunger. I wish I thought of a better way to break free of those chains. Sweat beads form on my forehead as I travel down the path and begin to drip off of my face. I wipe my eyes as the sweat is making it hard to see. When did it get so hot? I don’t feel well. Am I going into shock again?
Suddenly, a clearing is ahead of me, and I hear something in the distance. What could that be? Is that water? Walking straight for the clearing, I pull my sleeves over my arms as the prickly branches catch my skin. My village should be around here somewhere. Hopefully, my house is still standing.
I step into the opening I just made and discover where that mysterious sound is coming from. Wait. Is that a stream? Water! I stagger towards the stream as quickly as possible, trying not to trip on the multiple rocks that poke out of the ground. I am so thirsty. I could drink from this stream. Is it safe? I don’t care.
I fall to my knees in front of it and use my good hand to hold my balance. I take a deep breath and plunge my head into the water. The coldness of the water hits me first. I wash away all of the sticky sweat stuck to my skin for god knows how long.
Drink! God damn it, Alyx. Drink! I open my mouth and intake water as quickly as possible until my lungs start to burn from no oxygen. I need some water inside me. This should make me feel better.
When I can’t hold my breath any longer, I quickly pull my head up from the water and gasp for air.
“Jesus. That water was good!” I chuckle as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
As I bask in the warm sun, momentarily relieved of thirst, the pain in my wrist hits me again, and I am reminded of the exertion my body has been through. I don’t feel too good. Am I going to pass out again?
My eyelids start to feel heavy, my breathing shallows and the next thing I see is the trees horizontally as my body hits the ground with a thud. My eyes are now too lifeless for me to keep open. I’m just going to lie here for a minute and wait for the darkness to succumb to me again. Then everything goes black.
Where am I now? I must be dreaming. I was just in a clearing, surrounded by trees and near a stream. I must have passed out due to the pain.
“Now would be a GREAT time to heal me, Demon. At least make yourself useful if I will be stuck with you for all eternity!” I shout, praying he will hear me.
“Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. What would you do for me if I helped heal you?” a voice echoed throughout the chasm.
I huffed to myself. Fucking guy thought about it, and he was right. There is nothing I could offer him that he won’t take for himself anyway.
