Frozen Heart
Chapter 35
It was cold, and dark, and Jack was all alone.
Turning around and around proved that the blackness was everywhere, like shadowy molasses, without so much as a sound to be heard.
Where…?
Movement in her peripheral had her jerking around, heart squeezing when there proved to be nothing there, just like before.
Please, no, not this, not again…
Shadows skittered through the black veil, silent as ghosts, and Jack swallowed against the lump in her throat.
Whispers, like claws scraping against rock, rose up from the silence like a bad omen.
“Failure…”
“Disappointment…”
“Mistake…”
The words were hissed into her ears, and Jack instinctively moved to cover them, eyes squeezing shut.
“Stop it…”
In retaliation, the voices grew louder, angry and accusing.
“Failure!”
“Disappointment!”
“Mistake!”
“Stop it!” She shouted over the din, heart twisting painfully.
“Failure!”
“Disappointment!”
“Mistake!”
“Stop it, stop it, stop it-” Jack begged, splintering as the words repeated in her head in a horrible loop. “Please, just stop it-”
Everything was a jumble, like a thousand voices trying to speak at the same time, but one came through with such clarity that it pierced her heart like an arrow.
“MURDERER!”
And Jack screamed, all of her pain and fear and guilt pouring out of her like the flood from a dam breaking.
Everything was cold and dark and no one was there, no one was looking, no one cared-
A growl cut through the maelstrom, thrumming through her body with a familiarity that made her heart try to beat again.
Was that…?
It was like being caught between two worlds, a place of darkness and one of light, and she felt the shadows dig in their claws.
Oh God, please don’t leave me here, please Gajeel, please-!
But it was the next voice that pulled her free, lighting up the dark with such blinding intensity Jack felt her heart jolt.
“JACK!”
Levy.
Turning around and around proved that the blackness was everywhere, like shadowy molasses, without so much as a sound to be heard.
Where…?
Movement in her peripheral had her jerking around, heart squeezing when there proved to be nothing there, just like before.
Please, no, not this, not again…
Shadows skittered through the black veil, silent as ghosts, and Jack swallowed against the lump in her throat.
Whispers, like claws scraping against rock, rose up from the silence like a bad omen.
“Failure…”
“Disappointment…”
“Mistake…”
The words were hissed into her ears, and Jack instinctively moved to cover them, eyes squeezing shut.
“Stop it…”
In retaliation, the voices grew louder, angry and accusing.
“Failure!”
“Disappointment!”
“Mistake!”
“Stop it!” She shouted over the din, heart twisting painfully.
“Failure!”
“Disappointment!”
“Mistake!”
“Stop it, stop it, stop it-” Jack begged, splintering as the words repeated in her head in a horrible loop. “Please, just stop it-”
Everything was a jumble, like a thousand voices trying to speak at the same time, but one came through with such clarity that it pierced her heart like an arrow.
“MURDERER!”
And Jack screamed, all of her pain and fear and guilt pouring out of her like the flood from a dam breaking.
Everything was cold and dark and no one was there, no one was looking, no one cared-
A growl cut through the maelstrom, thrumming through her body with a familiarity that made her heart try to beat again.
Was that…?
It was like being caught between two worlds, a place of darkness and one of light, and she felt the shadows dig in their claws.
Oh God, please don’t leave me here, please Gajeel, please-!
But it was the next voice that pulled her free, lighting up the dark with such blinding intensity Jack felt her heart jolt.
“JACK!”
Levy.