A warm up turned into a 1k long short story (Patreon)

I usually try to write something quick to get the brain juices flowing before getting into what I actually intend to write, and sometimes it gets out of hand because my playlist gets me going and I end up with a 1000 words long scene..... like tonight dfhjkshfs

This is one of the many many many different ideas I have for the start of my next COG (because my brain works on hyperdrive 24/7). It's very rough and unpolished since I'm completely focused on Ace of Spades and have hardly spent time writing down my ideas for the future, but I thought it'd be a good idea to share this tidbit with you all, so here goes!

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The pouring rain is relentless. Every step I take is heavier than the last, every breath burns harder. I can taste death, I can smell its alluring scent of freedom and peace, but I can’t ever reach it.

How long has it been since I’ve woken up in this hell? How many days, how many nights have I dragged my weary self through these seemingly endless plains? I’m tired. I’m thirsty and hungry and so fucking tired.

Yet I can’t sleep. I don’t pass out either, I just keep walking. Endlessly, pointlessly.

My head is foggy, and it’s hard to figure out how I ended up here. Honestly, I don’t think I did it on purpose, or on accident. Hell, I can’t think of a single reason why I’d give up my comfy life in a nice apartment to come here.

All I know is one day, I woke up here.

It could have been weeks ago, or a couple of days, or even just hours. I can’t tell, there’s no way to keep track of it. The cloudy sky has darkened and cleared up every now and then, but the rain is constant, and it gives no room for the sun or the moon to guide the passage of time.

Sometimes it feels as if I’m in a daze, with a voice guiding me forward, though without saying a word at the same time. And sometimes, I’m painfully aware of reality. It’s hard to tell which one is worse.

I spotted bright lights on the horizon when I first woke up, and something told me I had to make my way over there.

Sounds stupid to follow a feeling and walk aimlessly while lost in a bloody barren plain, but what choice did I have?

The lights seem to get closer the more I walk. It might be a city -- god, I hope it’s a city. There’s still a long way to go though, and I’m not sure how much more I can’t take.

I don’t know how much longer this weird energy will keep pushing me forward, or how far can my senses be dulled to keep me from succumbing to the hunger and thirst I know are eating me up on the inside; I can’t survive from rain water forever.

As if summoned by my thoughts, my feet hit a rock and the whole world shifts.

Vertigo hits me and I scramble to get my hands in front of me to keep from falling face first into the wet dirty, though it does very little given how weak my arms are.

It softens the impact, but I still find myself flat against the ground. My soaked clothes and hair stick to the dirt like it’s super glue, and I can’t find the strength to move. I can’t find the strength to try.

So I just lay there. Heavy raindrops hit my face, as if the sky -- as if this very world is mocking me for falling.

I don’t fight back. I give up, I can’t take this anymore. I’ll just rest my eyes a bit, yes, I’ll just… rest.

With my eyes closed, I take a deep breath. It hurts, but the smell of the rain and dirt around me is oddly soothing, I admit. It’s a moment of peace that I thought I’d never feel again, and I’m glad for it.

Exhaustion wears heavy on my limbs, giving in to gravity and pinning me down, even though I’m not even trying to move. All I know is if I tried, I’d fail.

My breathing slows down, my heart rate easing up at long last. It’s been a while, but this feels like I’m about to fall asleep. As unlikely as it is, I hope that when I wake up, I’ll be in my bed, buried in my new duvet with the warm sun gently touching my cheeks.

“Oh? And here I thought you’d have died already.”

A dark chuckle follows it.

Is this my own brain tricking me? It sounded so… real.

“You look like a real mess, human,” the voice says with an eerie mirth to it. “Guess this world was too much for ya, huh? Not that I expected any different, really.”

Another chuckle, sounding much closer this time.

There’s a splashing sound next to me, like when someone steps on a puddle, and a low sigh gets even closer to me. There’s no way I’m imagining this, there’s someone here.

My heart picks up its pace while I struggle to open my eyes. I have to call out to them, to show I’m still alive and beg for help, but I can’t open my mouth more than a crack, and when I open my eyes everything is blurry.

I can make out a man’s head of short, red hair and a slender body crouched next to me. His face is a blur, but I’m sure he’s smiling. Not a kind one, if the tone of his voice is any hint… but I don’t care.

He’s here. I need help. That’s all there is to it.

I try with all my might to do something, to summon that weird energy that pushed me to walk and walk for god knows how long, yet nothing works. I can’t move, I can’t focus on him or even say “help me”.

All I do is lie here, staring at a blurry man who seems to be enjoying my downfall.

And again, where is “here”?

My eyelids feel heavy, darkness creeping up in my mind as my eyes slowly close, despite my best efforts to stay awake. Or even to stay alive.

The man sighs and clicks his tongue, and his voice sounds bored when he speaks the last words I hear before drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

“Oh well, it was time to pay that white haired hound a visit, anyway. Might as well bring him a gift.”