Beyond the Horizon(An apocalypse novel)

Chapter 24: Reality

Sharp, freezing winds ripped past his numb face as he came to.

Yet before he could even begin processing anything, his thoughts froze.

A crushing pain slammed against his mind, nearly knocking him out again. Like a sledgehammer straight to his brain.

He staggered, stumbling onto his side, blood dripping onto the ground in his blurry vision.

The pain vanished as soon as it arrived, yet he still reeled in its wake, thoughts scattering like dust in the wind.

By the time he finally wrestled a strain of coherent thought into his mind, Miles found himself coughing violently.

Drops of rapidly cooling blood dripped down his nose, as a dreadful wind bellowing behind it greedily stole his heat.

His vision cleared mid-cough to find two pale, almost blueish hands shivering as they supported his weight, drifts of snow passing around them.

Only the painful pinpricks originating from them indicated that they were his. Both were completely numb.

The numbness spread to his face as well, his nose and ears getting the worst of it. Breathing as he coughed only served to send dry, painful winds down his throat and lungs.

Yet he couldn’t stop. The shock in his mind only made things worse. Merely thinking was a struggle, much less actually controlling his body.

Forcefully gritting his chattering teeth, he raised a sleeve against his mouth, nearly collapsing at the loss of support. Still, he held on, his body barely balancing on a single arm now.

Covering his mouth helped with the cough as well, with his breaths now going into the somewhat warm sweater sleeve.

The minor relief from it allowed him to gather more of his faculties together, finally realizing what had happened.

’It worked.’

It had all been an illusion in the end. Somehow, [Delusion] had been enough to break it. Not without its costs, though.

His mind still felt spacey now, with a ringing numbness he was sure would develop into a terrible migraine if given time to settle.

Miles glanced around himself.

He was before the broken window once again, with the path to the gym standing clear and unwarped before him.

Around him were the bodies of the rest of the scouting team.

They all lay in various states beneath the window, having seemingly dropped onto the floor randomly. Just like him.

And just like him, the cold had gotten the chance to seep in during the span of whatever duration they’d been lying there for.

Most unfortunately, their eyes remained closed. They were all still in the illusion.

A disappointing, yet ultimately not surprising turn of events.

’I could only really deceive myself to begin with.’

Hoping it would be able to bring them out as well had been merely wishful thinking.

Glancing at the watch on Mr. Morgan’s hand, his frosted eyelids widened a little.

’Twenty minutes?’

Only a mere twenty minutes had passed since they’d been caught by the illusion. He could swear it had been longer, forty minutes at the very least, with all they’d done in there.

’Is time dilating...’

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a nearby groan. He turned to find a demon shuffling its way towards them.

It hadn’t seemed to notice them yet, given its aimless gait. If it had, Miles would’ve already been dead before he could even fight back.

There was little doubt in its path, however; it was heading straight towards him. As it drew nearer, its posture grew more erratic, energized as it looked around, sure it had found something.

Likely his coughing.

It was moving faster now.

Miles glanced at the demon, then at his undented bat dropped a distance from him. Taking his arm off his mouth, he stretched it stiffly towards the weapon.

His coughs grew worse.

Reaching the bat, he tried wrapping his fingers around it. They didn’t budge.

’Move!’

They trembled violently as he forced them to curl around the bat. Yet he didn’t stop, not until his grip felt solid. At least, solid enough.

He couldn’t tell through the mix of pain and numbness emanating from it.

Turning, he found the demon much closer now. It had seen him now, he was sure of that. The thing began sprinting, in a manner that reminded him of the horde from the illusion.

Using the bat as support, he pushed himself onto one leg, then another. Shakily finding his balance on both.

The wind rushing through the broken window did little to help him.

He had little time to consider anything else; the demon was upon him now.

Miles swung at its head.

The stiffness in his arm and a sudden jolt of weakness in his hand affected it, derailing the strike into one of its outstretched hands.

It did little to stop it.

The demon’s momentum barely shifted, crashing into him with full force.

Miles didn’t let go of his bat as he slammed into Mr. Morgan’s body behind him.

Luckily, his strike had deflected the only hand directed at him, so it couldn’t go ripping into his body the moment he fell.

He forced the bat between their bodies just in time to block a scratch to his face. The creature didn’t stop, scratching with its other arm. The force behind both staggered his bat arm, pushing the metal closer to his face.

Miles gritted his teeth, forcefully curling the fingers on his free arm and grabbing the other end of the bat. He barely supported it in time to push the gnashing teeth of the creature away from him.

The demon didn’t relent, pushing its weight down on the weapon, biting anytime the bat lowered even a little.

His stiff arms shivered under the force. The flares of pain that spiked with each push told him they wouldn’t be lasting for much longer.

’Fuck!’

He glanced frantically for anything that could help.

His eyes paused at his legs tucked below the creature.

Miles looked at the demon’s face, at its blackened teeth drawing nearer and nearer with each push.

He took a deep, sharp breath. Then he dropped his arms.

The sudden drop caught the creature off guard, sending it falling towards him, its teeth coming straight for his face.

In that same moment, he hooked his legs around the creature’s calves.

Then before it reached him, he pushed. With his bat, his arm, and everything he could. Flipping it onto the floor beside Mr. Morgan.

Its head landed near Grimm.

He was on top now. It was below.

Miles gave it little time to reorient itself, using both hands to hold the bat over its head.

It was only now, sitting upright, that he got to see its face. A girl with blonde hair, its glazed eyes shaking as it stared at him.

He recognized her. A girl from his class. A name he’d never bothered to learn.

Miles brought it down. Over and over again. Skin splitting beneath it, pieces of bone flying off, then flesh and whatever lay beneath.

As he did so, more scenes flashed through his mind. Of blood, of flesh, of pleading.

He could almost hear a voice.

"Please... please..."

Yet he wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t.

Mr. Morgan wasn’t here now.